Knight Talks Tech

Author: John

  • Evolution of Adobe Photoshop

    Adobe Photoshop reached version 8 in 2003. Then packaged with other apps in Adobe Creative Suite (CS). CS6 is 13th full release. Some new features added when rebranding from Photoshop to CS include: smart guides lens blur filter match colour command Macrovision copy protection (based on DRM technology) scripting support for JavaScript supporting 2Gb file…

  • Layers

    Can hold separate elements forming a collage or separating elements of single image for manipulation. Layer visibility can be turned on and off. Layer opacity can be changed from 0% (transparent) to 100% (opaque).

  • Modes and Colours

    Can use Photoshop to change mode of image i.e. how each pixel is represented. Predominant mode is RGB. Pixels represented by varying degree of intensity of red, green & blue. Performed via Image -> Mode.

  • Resampling

    Changing physical size of image may require changing size or resolution. Resolution – number of pixels per inch square. If resolution of image does not match resolution of device displaying it, image resolution must change. If image does not fit destination space in current resolution then image needs to be resized. Downsampling – keeping size…

  • Introduction

    Photoshop is the leading app for image editing, not easy to use though. Key tasks include: Removing a colour cast (i.e. the unnatural predominance of a single colour). Removing unwanted background objects. Superimposing text on a picture. Giving a 3-D bevelled appearance to text objects. Creating a collage from a mixture of images. Increasing the…

  • Story Boards

    Good practise to create story board for each page in website. Common though to create single story board for pages with same functionality or in same category. Example of information collected by story board template: Screen Name and Classification used for archiving. Other useful information is recorded. Notes pane can contain draft graphic representation of…

  • Navigation Basics

    Navigation chart – shows way around website. Can be one chart or split for different navigation levels. Four main types of navigation: Linear Non-linear Hierarchical Composite, or Complex Good principles: No more than seven (plus/minus two) nav buttons “3 clicks convention” – user never more than three click from main page Keep it simple Label…

  • User Testing

    Three to five testers using system, explaining their decisions out loud. Observer records observations without offering help. Testers should be representative of target audience. Identify trends in user behaviour during use of system to spot problems. System can be prototype or existing system, either way it needs to be operational.

  • Ten Usability Heuristics

    Web Usability: Usability Inspections Ten Usability Heuristics Ten general principles for user interface design – more rules of thumb than specific usability guidelines, hence “heuristic”. Visibility of system status – the system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time. Match between system and the real world –…

  • Heuristic evaluation

    Web Usability: Usability Inspections Heuristic evaluation A heuristic technique (/hjᵿˈrɪstᵻk/; Ancient Greek: εὑρίσκω, “find” or “discover”), often called simply a heuristic, is any approach to problem solving, learning, or discovery that employs a practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect, but sufficient for the immediate goals. (Wikipedia, 2017) In context of usability, heuristic…