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Many of you have noticed that I've been using it here and have asked about it. Here's your chance to have at it. Check it out, play around with it, and please leave your comments here to let me know what you think. Note that in order to successfully install this on a blog, you'll also need to set up an RSS aggregator such as FeedWordPress.

As another side note, I have not even opened tweetremote.com in IE and know for certain it'll look awful in IE6 (thanks to my wonderful .pngs), and I'm OK with that. It now works in IE6 as well thanks to the genius little script Unit PNG Fix

If you were starting a business, you'd hardly just buy a building and start putting stuff in it now, would you? Nor should you be doing the same with your designs. If you're going to be designing something, first you need to know what and whom you are designing it for.

Oftentimes user profiling involves a lot of time and a lot of money. Surveys, complex analysis, and teams of over-priced professionals are ctertainly one way to go about it. However, most design jobs provide neither the time nor the budget for that kind of stuff. Luckily, for most design jobs you really don't need all that to get a good idea of who your target audience is and what they're about. Really all you need is a moderately-sized brain and a good idea of your product, and I think at least most of us can afford that.

Step 1: Get Something to Write On

If you brainstorm best with a simple text editor, use that. If you're better off scribbling on the back of a used napkin while finishing off an extra large milkshake, by all means. The important thing here is that your medium doesn't get in the way of your goal (the planning).

Step 2: Think About Stuff

The first part of this step is to remember that unless you're designing the new Photoshop website, you're not designing for yourself or even other designers. Really think about your target audience, then think about it again. After you've done that, turn that "it" into a specific person and think about him or her.

When you're designing for the web, chances are that a lot of different types of people are going to be interacting with your work, but you need to narrow it down as much as possible. Create a persona that you can really get to know-in essence, make up a new client to design for. While your real client is still important, chances are they aren't going to be using the site nearly as much as this made-up client will.

Step 3: Speed Dating

Now that you've got this new person sitting in front of you, ask questions and find out as much information as you can.

Here are a few starters just to get the ball rolling:

• ASL (Age/Sex/Location)?
• Any hobbies?
• Favorite TV show?
• Where do you work and what do you make?
• Reading anything?
• How do you spend your free time?
• What's your biggest dream?
• What's on your iPod?
• Subscribe to any magazines?

And just start writing down the answers. Some of them may be more helpful than others, but the goal at this stage isn't to find out what color gradient your background should have. Obviously the answers to questions like these would differ among your real users, but many of the underlying motivations and characteristics should stay the same. The goal here is to stereotype your users into a character that we can really get to know.

Step 4: Relate to Your New Friend

Take all this great information you just learned and apply it to what you're actually working on. Think about how this person would be using your site and what they would hope to gain by using it. If the site is selling a product, think about why they would be looking at this product. The answers to these questions should directly affect how you actually do your designing. Knowing your target audience's motivations will let you more effectively help them by putting the appropriate information in the appropriate places.

Create goals based on the information you can glean from all this and write them down. For example, if your user is a very busy and driven person who just wants to get in and out, you're going to want to make sure your search functionality is prominent on the page.

Step 5: Do Your Thing

Now you can finally open Photoshop and set up your beloved grid. Keep your information open and nearby, and check off your goals as you go along.

Before making a final decision on something, check with your new friend. Is your user a 20-year-old adrenaline junkie who loves expensive steaks? Chances are you're best off with a bold, interactive experience with minimal text and a lot of imagery. On the other hand, if it's a 63-year-old knitting enthusiast, that probably wouldn't work so well.

Sponsor: Hosted by Dreamhost

Sponsor: Hosted by Dreamhost

Sponsor: Postable For people who blog code