“Effective information architects make the complex clear; they make the information understandable to other human beings. If they succeed in doing that, they’re good information architects. If they fail, they’re not.” – Information Anxiety 2 by Richard Wurman
Purchase Richard’s book Information Anxiety 2 or read a select chapter from the book for his thoughts on how information architects can open themselves to being able to explain information to others.
“Good writing for the web is about creating communications in which people can find what they need, understand what they find, and act appropriately on that understanding in the time and effort that they think it is worth. Plain language is part of user-centered design.” – Ginny Redish
Read more about Ginny and the importance of plain language on the web in Whitney Quesenbery’s article “Usability doesn’t stop when you write the content.”
“The ultimate aim of all creative activity is to bring happiness to people’s lives… The success of an experience is measured by the amount of happiness it brings to life and the amount of people willing to live the experience, not by its individual qualities.” – Andrë Braz
Read Andrë’s “Experience Design Manifesto” here.
“We all like to think of ourselves as user centric designers, but exactly how much effort do you put into knowing your users before beginning the design process? Take the time to really understand them the best you can… Understanding your users not only improves the quality of your work, but also helps move the discussion away from the personal preferences of the client, to the people who’s opinion really matters.” – Paul Boag
Read Paul’s article “10 Ways To Get Design Approval” for his thoughts on how you can help to ensure that the design you produce is the one that gets built.
“Innovation lies at the heart of both better design and better business. It magnifies drive inside the organization. It slashes the costs of inefficiency, duplication, and corporate ennui. It confers the ability to produce uncommon, yet practical, responses to real problems.” – The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier
Check out Marty’s book The Brand Gap for his thoughts on how to bridge the distance between business strategy and design.
![“The experienced web designer[’s]... job is not to whine about emerging commonalities but to use them to create pages that are distinctive, natural, brand- appropriate, subtly memorable, and quietly but unmistakably engaging. If she achieves all that and sweats the details, her work will be beautiful. If not everyone appreciates this beauty—if not everyone understands web design—then let us not cry for web design, but for those who cannot see.” - Jeffrey Zeldman](http://www.inspireux.com/wp-content/uploads/110.gif "“The experienced web designer[’s]... job is not to whine about emerging commonalities but to use them to create pages that are distinctive, natural, brand- appropriate, subtly memorable, and quietly but unmistakably engaging. If she achieves all that and sweats the details, her work will be beautiful. If not everyone appreciates this beauty—if not everyone understands web design—then let us not cry for web design, but for those who cannot see.” - Jeffrey Zeldman")
“The experienced web designer['s]… job is not to whine about emerging commonalities but to use them to create pages that are distinctive, natural, brand-appropriate, subtly memorable, and quietly but unmistakably engaging. If she achieves all that and sweats the details, her work will be beautiful. If not everyone appreciates this beauty—if not everyone understands web design—then let us not cry for web design, but for those who cannot see.” – Jeffrey Zeldman
Read Jeffrey’s article “Understanding Web Design” from A List Apart or read another quote from this article here.