Sunday, July 31, 2016

ux field - What's the difference between UX and layout design?


This probably falls under the "If you have to ask, then you obviously don't understand" category, but I've always wondered what the difference was between UX and layout. Or even if there is one. I'm guessing that layout is a subset of overall UX design, and that things like, say, AJAX (since I come from web development) wouldn't count towards layout, but would be considered when designing the overall UX.


Am I on the right track? Anything else to know or consider when it comes to the overall idea of what UX is and isn't?



Answer




User experience involves the entire workflow of a system. It includes how the pages are laid out, but it also includes things like how pages interact with each other.


It also includes aspects of the process that aren't inherently screens. For example, if you have an eCommerce system, user experience would also include how and when emails are sent out indicating that:



  • you submitted an order

  • the order was processed

  • the order was shipped

  • etc.


Things like customer service (even how people are treated on the phone if they call you) are also part of user experience. Although, admittedly, "offline" aspects like this are often not addressed by the user experience group on a project.


Basically, any touch point between the user and the system is part of the user experience and should be addressed accordingly. Like you said, the screen layout is just a small part of that.



fiction - Narrating something that happened between chapters as a flashback in a present-tense novel


So say the novel is written in first-person tense. a chapter ends, and the next chapter starts 10 days later. Here I start narrating something that happened 5 days ago in past tense as a flashback.


So instead of day1(present) > day5(present) > day10(present)


I go day1(present) > day10(present) > day5(past. Flashback/backstory)


Do you think this would add variety to the writing? Or just be too distracting of an excuse to break from the present-tense writing?





forms - Do I really need a login button?


We've been having a discussion in the office surrounding a login page we're developing for a new web application. The web application is in intranet-based application, and is mainly used by users who have to use telnet applications as 80% of the daily job.



I created the initial page design in Photoshop, which we discussed and all approved. However, now I've given it over to one of the other developers to start building, he has noticed that there was no login (or other) button on the page - it's simply has two fields; one for username and the other for password. After querying it with me, I stated that it was intentional, as I didn't see the need - most people would just press enter anyway, as that's what they have to do in their telnet application. Then the discussion started...


There were several points made in-so-far as "if there's no button, they won't know what to do" and "they will expect the button and will raise support calls over the page not working". There were even suggestions that the users would just "sit there" not knowing what to do.


Now.. my question is: Do users really need a login button?


I'm genuinely interested to learn what sort of percentage of end-users would be able to cope with a simple login page that required them to press enter after entering their details to continue. It's important to note, there wouldn't be any on-screen prompt to press enter - they would see a tool tip over the password stating what to do, but that's it!


(Exclude mobile users from the fray - simply targeting run-of-the-mill desktops and laptop users :))


An example of the login box:


the screen



Answer



Ultimately it's probably not a good idea to go down this path without serious testing because of user expectation based around existing conventions.


That's an important point, because what I'm taking away from your description is that this is currently untested and you designed this UI under the assumption that your users would understand. This is generally a bad idea: always get feedback from your audience, especially when you're trying something new, and especially in a core area like login.



Your telnet argument is something to take into consideration, but also understand that you're building a web app here and you're likely going to be dealing with user expectation of web apps, not telnet. Your brain shifts between contexts: when you use a web app, you expect to single-click on items to follow them, whereas in desktop apps, you might expect to doubleclick. Recognising the mental model that users have when they're using your web app as opposed to a different space like telnet is an important aspect of designing a user interface.


There are some patterns emerging that are starting to diverge a bit from the standard "log in or sign up" convention, however. Each of these faces the same challenges: what do users expect and how do you build trust, expectation and discoverability around some of these new ideas? For instance, StackExchange employs single sign on, which can be confusing for users who aren't familiar with that pattern. Amazon (successfully) integrates registration and login into one form, although it remains to be seen how effective that pattern would be on other sites.


The point is, when you break convention, you're heading into unfamiliar territory and you need to realise the effect that can have on people. If you're thinking about doing this, I'd recommend grabbing some "run of the mill desktop and laptop users" from your immediate environment (say, the office manager and someone from the office across the road) and asking them to log in. You'll learn a lot. You might learn that your initial assumption was correct. But at least you'll have the data to prove it, instead of just the assumption. :-)




Edit: As you mentioned in a comment in an answer to your question on Programmers, "questioning the validity of the convention" is a good starting point, but you should make sure your answer to that question is founded in data. Anyone can question conventions, but conventions have become conventions for a reason: they're effective solutions to the problem. Moving away from those without good reason (and good reason in the UI world means having data or some form of metrics) will usually do more harm than good.


valuation - Rationale for OIS discounting for collateralized derivatives?


Can someone explain to me the rationale for why the market may be moving towards OIS discounting for fully collateralized derivatives?



Answer




Most counterparty agreements specify some sort of ois rate for the interest paid/received on posted collateral. So the OIS rate is the appropriate one to use for discounting future cash flows.


Prior to 2008 the OIS/Libor spread was small and stable, so you didn't really need to worry about this, but now it's much larger, so people are taking it into account. The reason it's "big news" now is that properly switching pricing systems over to use OIS discounting is a large change, so most places are only now getting this online.


user - The right to remove an account, or change the username




The way web services handle account information, and allow (or disallow) account deletion, and respect their user's privacy is certainly a big part of the User Experience.


As an experiment, I'm attempting to delete several accounts I don't use. Some web services offer a "Delete account" action, but others don't, or make it very difficult. I've had to personally contact some for account deletion, and they refuse, not even allowing a username change.


One response I got is: "We do not delete accounts as data you create on this website is in ownership of website, according to our User Agreement." - You can read the user agreement for this site here: http://pastebin.com/EuWV69ik, and the Privacy Policy here: http://pastebin.com/K7VSKEAn, if you like.


If you read through the Agreements, you'll notice that they state that information is kept private from third parties, however, your profile is easily searchable in Google and other search engines, which are third parties. Moreover, every last one of the clauses is then made null by a "I acknowledge that the Company has exclusive rights to all the information and software located at the Service pages."


Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a very bad malpractice? Shouldn't a User be freely allowed to remove his account and information from a service if he wanted, no matter what kind of complex agreement you've accepted? Shouldn't be this a basic "online human right"?


As a part of my experiment, I'd like to know what is the true accepted and jurisdictional aspect of this matter. Which organizations and laws prevent this kind of behaviour on online services?




How to obtain single-stroke fonts for laser cutting


I’ve been looking for single-stroke fonts for a while. I need these for laser cutting. I have found many “single-stroke” fonts online, however none are really single stroke: once I Create Outlines, there is always the annoying, well, outlines.


enter image description here


If anyone has a list of fonts with real single strokes, or knows a way to convert normal fonts to single stroke, sort of a method to get the inner stroke of letters, if that is even a thing... (I saw other questions on this topic but no clear answer) it would be awesome!




Saturday, July 30, 2016

selection - What is the maximum recommended number of items to put in a drop down list?


I am introducing searchable drop down lists to filter grid data. The number of items in a list could range from anything like ten to a ten thousand.


The larger the number of items, the more awkward the feel of the view (let alone the performance hit).



So, what is the maximum recommended number of items to put in a drop down list (searchable or otherwise)?




creative writing - How do I know, how to limit the details?


While writing a novel, which is a drama, how do I manage the amount of trivial details or trivial information, that I want to give to help the readers visualize the scene but given the details have no relevance to the overall plot?


For e.g. same paragraph in my novel,



I just slept in my room for two days straight, neither did I wanted to go out nor did I bothered myself to do it. I searched online for houses for rent, mostly shared houses to share with other people, I was bit scared to live all by myself, it would have been another ordeal. In those two days I shortlisted some 4-5 different houses listed online, I had to make sure that they are also close to my job location at West Cliff road




which I can also write as,



I just slept in my room no 13 which was on the first floor facing the sea, for two days straight, neither did I wanted to go out nor did I bothered myself to do it. I searched online on different websites like gumtree and housing.com for houses for rent, mostly shared houses to share with other people, students or professionals, I was bit scared to live all by myself, it would have been another ordeal. In those two days I shortlisted some 4-5 different houses listed online, I had to make sure that they are also close to my job location at West Cliff road near ASDA.



How should one determine at what point the information will be taken as boring and till what point will it help to give the picture of the scene?



Answer



The lesson I took away from learning a list of common bad writing practices, and the reasons why they disengage readers, is that writing right saves you time on your first draft if you can bake the rules into your writing style. Every sentence I write and every scene I put together is with a mind towards not having to delete parts of it later (though of course sometimes I fail). Part of this is that, because I always know what is coming soon and I want to get there fast, I don't ramble and I don't waste the reader's time.


That's why I'm glad you gave a short vs verbose example, because I feel you can and should go even further. I would have written something more like this:




For two days all I could bring myself to do was research rentables from my bed. Everything near enough to my job meant sharing. Good, less scary.



See how everything you really wanted us to know comes out of that?


This example illustrates how certain pieces of standard writing advice complement each other. How do you avoid excess details? Let the reader infer them; in other words, you show instead of telling. Readers like to unpack what you've written and visualise the world however their mind sees fit, and (as I've explained before) they like to get inside people's heads as practice for the real world. (I've also discussed some advantages of showing here.)


So how do you limit details? Very simply, ask yourself whether a detail is worth your time as a writer to include, given what you're achieving already with your economic words and what you want people to take away from the sentence, the paragraph, the scene, the chapter. You'll often find yourself adding details later, when they're relevant. (For example, in my WIP I've revealed several details of a poor family's shoddy home, not by describing the whole thing the first time we see it, but seeing what they bring up in heated arguments, warnings to visitors, their insecurities etc.) So don't worry that you're not writing enough or would have to manually expand sentences when you're redrafting; neither of those will be a problem.


Friday, July 29, 2016

typography - Optimum line height in relation to font size


Is there an agreement on what the optimum mathematical proportion of line height and the size of a text is? And if there is, is it the same for print and web?




Answer



Short answer: "No."


Long answer: There are four factors involved in deciding the leading (nowadays meaning the distance from one baseline to the next, also called line height): the x-height of the characters, the measure (length of the line), the weight of the strokes of the characters themselves and the size of the type. In this answer, for simplicity, I'm going to use "leading" and "line height" interchangeably.


Of these, the one that dominates is the measure, followed by x-height and point size.


The wider the measure, in general, the more open the line height must be to maintain readability. If your measure is longer than about 70 characters of your chosen typeface and point size, you'll need to increase the line height so the reader doesn't skip or accidentally repeat a line while reading.


The size of the characters is never the same as the point size, which in the days of metal type was taken to be the total measurement from the bottom of the lowest descender (e.g., the tail of the lowercase "y") to the top of the highest ascender (such as the vertical stroke of the lowercase "h"). The height of the lowercase "x," from which "x-height" derives, might be tall (Arial) or very short (Bernhard Modern) in relation to the point size. Type set so that the line height is the same as the point size is "set solid" -- no extra lead between the lines. Arial or Helvetica look horrible set solid. Bernhard Modern doesn't.


To maintain readability, typefaces with a large x-height in relation to the cap and ascender height (e.g., Century Schoolbook or Helvetica) need more line height, relative to point size, than Garamond or Futura, which have smaller x-heights.


Sans serifs tend to have much thicker strokes, relative to their size, than serif typefaces. Setting them too tightly (small line height) makes paragraphs and pages look very heavy and dark, and can make them very hard to read. Opening up the leading, and sometimes the character spacing, improves the look of the text considerably. An serif face with a relatively small x-height, like Garamond, can be set with much less line height.


All of these considerations are modified by how the designer wants the page to look. Some subjects are enhanced by a more airy look to the page (e.g., romantic poetry, unicorn stories), calling for a delicate typeface and open leading. Others need more authority (textbooks, say) and benefit from a darker "type color."


Now let me dispense with the Golden Ratio (phi) idea. It would be wrong in almost all cases. Mathematics has nothing to do with it. Appearance does.



Contrary to what you might think, large text such as headlines requires tighter leading than paragraph text. Headlines are often set with "negative leading" -- the line height is less than the point size. This is especially true for headlines in all caps, which always require reduced leading. (Because of ascenders and descenders, it is common for multi-line headlines to have different leading on each line in order to make the line spacing look even.) Conversely, small sizes, such as for captions or footnotes, need more leading or they become hard to read. Type looks "looser" as it gets larger and "tighter" as it gets smaller, which requires adjustments to letterspacing below 8 pt and above about 24 pt for most typefaces.


You would go seriously astray if you tried to use phi (or any fixed ratio) to calculate line height, because you would be right only by accident.


For the web, use typefaces designed for low-resolution devices for at least the next few years, until moderate-resolution screens (250 - 400 ppi) become commonplace. Not all "web fonts" from providers such as Google, Extensis or Typekit are usable at text sizes on most displays. Web text tends to read better when spaced a little more openly than on a printed page, because of the coarse dot grid and OS manipulations that blur strokes and distort character shapes.


resize - GIMP: find midpoint / arbitrary division between two points



How do I find the middle, or n/th division or percentage of distance between two arbitrary points in GIMP?


Like, I have an object / a line of arbitrary length / two guides, placed in arbitrary place of the image. I want to place an object/marker/guide/whatever right in the middle of it, or precisely at 1/3 of it, and I want to do it with a bit of precision, not "by eye".


Is there any easier way than finding the pixel locations of the ends of the line and calculating proportions in a calculator on the side, or using Thales Theorem to "construct" the point?


(the one I found: draw a line the full distance on a separate layer, then use the "scale" tool to scale it by given percentage... but it feels extremely clunky)




alignment - Should read-only Boolean grid columns be aligned to center?


My understand is text should be left-aligned; dates, times, and numbers should be right-aligned; images should be centered.


What about Boolean strings "Yes"/"No"? My hunch says to center them.




Thursday, July 28, 2016

website design - Ideal column width for paragraphs online


There is nothing worse than coming across a website with paragraphs that span the width of your screen resolution. They are usually so hard to read, I don't even bother.


A lot of web designers use generic grid and column systems, but I don't feel these have been optimised for readability, they are more of design guide on general aesthetics.


I guess it comes down to words per line. Are the rules that apply to print media the same for screen media?


Are there any type of guidelines to help me size the width of paragraphs on the screen?


I want to take into consideration:



  • Major web font faces (i.e. Arial, Verdana, Georgia, Times)

  • A range font sizes (i.e. 8px-24px)

  • Space between columns




Answer



Ideal line length is reasonably short or reasonably long; what's generally esthetically pleasing to read is generally a good indication.


Columns in a web context make sense only if you were focusing on very compact content; which defeats the purpose of using columns beyond beautification. The reason they don't make sense otherwise is not because they are poorly supported, but because of scrolling; unless you are making a horizontal layout having columns may result in your users scrolling up and down. I can also see anything beyond two columns as confusing as it strains the users memory when they take a small pause from reading—consider how columns add a second axis.




Some quick reference reading and numbers,


Too long – if a line of text is too long the visitor’s eye will have a hard time focusing on the text. This is because the length makes it difficult to get an idea of where the line starts and ends. Furthermore it can be difficult to continue from the correct line in large blocks of text. — Christian Holst


Too short – if a line is too short the eye will have to travel back too often, breaking the reader’s rhythm. Too short lines also tend to stress people, making them begin on the next line before finishing the current one (hence skipping potentially important words). — Christian Holst




Additionally, you may want to be very conscious of your content size. For longer content prefer longer lines; with short content prefer shorter lines. Typically take the size of paragraphs and sections in your content as variable to how long the line should be—you don't want 1-line paragraphs, but equally you don't want 30-line paragraphs. Choose a happy average that makes the content easy to visualize.


General Rules of Thumb


Take these with a grain of salt, they are just guidelines; feel free to break them. I repeat, they are not "one-rule for all" you need to adopt; just a push/clue in the right direction.



  • 12 words per line

  • 39 characters regardless of type size (alphabet-and-a-half)

  • multiply the point size by 2 and interpret it as picas (points-times-two)

  • around 50-60 to at most 75 characters (spaces included) — this is usually the guideline borrowed from our friends in typography



"The Elements of Typographic Style" by Robert Bringhurst, mentions the following more specific measurements



  • 45 to 75 characters line length (measure); specifically 66 including spaces; Single Column

  • 40 to 50 characters; multi-column

  • 85 to 90 characters; discontinuous text; generous leading

  • 40 characters (minimum); justified

  • 12 to 15 characters; marginal notes; English


Variables in readability:




  • font-size

    • larger = I've tried it, (some) people find it annoying. Just aim for the happy "medium size"

    • medium/standard = larger width

    • smaller = smaller width



  • line-height

    • large (1.9+) = easier to scan lines, longer lines become more acceptable


    • normal = shorter lines

    • smaller = very short lines



  • content length

    • big blob = long lines + large line-height

    • short message = short lines + reasonable line-height





As long as you keep true to "usability common sense," no setting will be wrong, per se. Unlike most design aspects, you can also test it on yourself, simply put some readable content into the element (not necessarily what's suppose to go there, and preferably fresh!) and see if you can comfortably read it. If you can, great; otherwise tweak it until the setting match your content (test it with a few fonts, not just your main one).


options - Link between Vega and Gamma



"The vega is the integral of the gamma profits ( ie expected gamma rebalancing P/L) over the duration of the option at one volatility minus the same integral at a different volatility...Mathematically, it is:


$$\text{Vega} = \sigma t S^2 \text{Gamma}$$


where $S$ is the asset price, $t$ the time left to expiration and $\sigma$ the volatility.



This is again from Dynamic Hedging by Taleb. I cannot understand the first sentence because it gives no indication of which volatilities to pick nor what the integrand of the integral would be.



Shortly after Taleb states the formula above, again no justification as to where it came from.


Please could someone explain this better.



Answer



Under the Black-Scholes model, \begin{align*} Gamma &= \frac{N'(d_1)}{S \sigma \sqrt{T-t}}\\ Vega &= SN'(d_1) \sqrt{T-t}. \end{align*} Then, it is easy to see that \begin{align*} Vega = S^2 \sigma (T-t) Gamma. \end{align*}


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

fiction - How to manage getting depressed by what my main character goes through?


I'm writing a war (sci-fi) novel. The MC dies in the end. It's not as thoroughly depressing as "All Quiet on the Western Front", but Remarque's work is definitely one source of inspiration.


Now, partway through writing, I find that writing is too painful for me to continue. It's not that I'm writing a particularly depressing passage - on the contrary. At this point my MC is eager and full of hope. What gets to me is the projection of the story: there are many ups, there's love and camaraderie, but the ultimate trend is down, until finally, inevitably, the MC is killed.


I desperately want to write this story, but at the same time, I find myself unable to sit down and continue writing it. It's not a writer's block: I have whole scenes sitting in my head, dialogues, you name it. It's that every scene I write brings my character one step closer to his inevitable death.


How do I manage this/get through this, and continue writing? I want to write this story - not another, and I don't want it lighter and softer - I want it to tear at the reader. (Of course, the reader, unlike me, would not know the end until it happens.)



Answer



I'm not sure that you do get through this. A story is an experience. To write the story, you have to live the experience, emotionally at least. When a story does not ring true, I think that is usually because the writer chickened out of really putting themselves through the emotions, of fully immersing themselves in the experience of the story.


I remember hearing it said of some poet or another than when a visitor asked the poet's daughter where her father was, she replied, "Daddy is upstairs, hurting himself." She meant, writing.


Some writers seem to do it to lay to rest the fears that haunt them. That seems to be the case with Stephen King. Sometimes, in other words, the writer experiences the story and its emotions and all the pain and fear that go with them, and can only escape from them by writing them down.


For others, it would seem, the difficulty is that they would (like most healthy people) turn away from the things they fear and focus on the good things of the moment. Writing then requires that you force yourself to imaginatively visit those things, in detail, and for a long time. If you have a choice about whether to do this or not, that is going to require a lot of courage.



Maybe the question you should be asking, therefore, is how to find the courage to put yourself through the pain of finishing your story.


usability - Should web mega-menus that open OnClick close OnClick or Mouseout?


I have been doing some research on this site regarding whether a mega menu on a web site should activate/deactivate via hover or click.


I found a question with good answers regarding actuating the menu.



What I want to know is whether a menu that was opened via click should close via click, or whether the mouse leaving the mega menu area is more usable (i.e. click to activate, mouseout to de-activate)?



Answer



Mega menu contains a lot of information and user probably is under significant mental load while working with it. So if random mouseouts close the menu the task flow is broken and it's very annoying for user to re-start the work again.


So I think it's reasonable to close mega menus onclick as well as onclick at outside menu area. These actions reflect the user intention in more obvious way then just mouseout.


This question leads me to the rule: the more complex or important interaction is the more protected it should be, considering Murphy's law: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong".


adobe photoshop - How to make a graphic with long shadow?


I want to make a long shadow just like in this image.


I can create this shadow with shapes and by deleting the unwanted shadows after rasterizing the layer. But it's not very reusable. I can't resize the layer after rasterizing it.


Is there any easy way to make a long shadow like in the image below?


example graphic with a long shadow



Answer



Dinesh, I have a solution for you, but it will require Photoshop CS 6 Extended or preferably, Photoshop CC. First, you'll need your vector artwork for the Man Of Steel logo. I grabbed (copy to pasteboard) mine from within Abduzeedo's source files for the following tutorial: http://abduzeedo.com/man-steel-symbol-illustrator-and-photoshop



I created a new document in Photoshop then made a rounded rectangle (vector shape) and then pasted the "S" logo as a shape layer... Logo and Rounded Rectangle


I'd then right-click on the shape layer and at the bottom of the list choose Make 3D Extrusion from Layer. You can also use the 3D panel for the conversion.


Layers panel


Next merge the two 3D layers. 3D Layers Merge Layers


You'll need to position the "S" logo in front of the rounded rectangle after merging as the extrusion of the "S" logo isn't as deep as the rounded rectangle extrusion.


Adjusted Logo 3D panel


Your scene should look something like this (which infinite light selected): Sample rendering


Select and move the Infinite light to give the "S" logo the long shadow. Positioned Light Rendering


I next removed the materials/textures from the extrusions shapes and changed the diffuse to the red and blue. I also added a bevel to the "S" logo, adjusted the lighting and rendered: Rendered Logo


Here's another example just moving the light. Rendered Logo Variation



Remember that this is all CG and no raster data (until the final rendering), so you can change the "S" logo (edit source and edit the path), play with bevels, materials and textures, lighting and light shape/color and whatever else you'd like till you're happy with it. You can also change the image size without loosing detail, you'll just need to render the 3D layer. I hope this helps. Cheers and good luck!


text - Adobe Illustrator: Deboss or Engrave Effect


I'd like to create a realistic debossed (indented), recessed or engraved effect. Often seen on tactile commercial products, particularly for embellishing text and symbols. Here's an example of a gear stick that I'd like to illustrate (birdseye view or whatever is fine); with the gear numbers and shifting pattern debossed on the top: enter image description here


Another prevalent example is hand-tools, like this open-ended spanner, featuring a combination of both debossed and embossed styling: enter image description here



It has a bit of a 3D look and feel to it, but can be represented in 2D.




In GIMP how to scale up image without scaling layers?


I am trying to scale images without scaling layers. I tackled the problem of scaling down the images by selecting the largest visible layer and the cropping the image to that layer. This way none of the layers are scaled down, just the image is scaled.


I am unable to scale up the image independently of the layers. The standard option Image>>Scale Image, as you must have guessed, scales the layers too.




Answer



What you want to do is scale the canvas size.




  1. Choose Image > Canvas Size and enter the new size of the canvas, making it larger than the current size.




  2. Press the Center button if you want the layers centred in the new image, otherwise they'll be at the top left.





More information about the Canvas Size dialog.


(Note: this feature is exactly the same in Photoshop: Image > Canvas Size.)


Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Illustrator: Clipping Mask Struggles


Illustrator noob here (pls bear with me).


I'm trying to make a face, and I want to add some shading on the left cheek, so this is my process: first make the shading, and then clip it to the original face shape underneath.


enter image description here


The shape of the shadow is right, but the actual face-shape disappears. What I've been doing to avoid this problem is to just copy/paste the original face shape, and clip the shading-shape to the copied-face-shape.


But if I modify the original face shape, the shape of the shadow doesn't modify along with it: enter image description here


Is there a smarter/better way to clip the shadow to the face so that, if the original face shape is changed, the shadow also changes accordingly?




Monday, July 25, 2016

creative writing - How do I convey that a relationship is platonic?



I've been toying around with the idea of writing a novel. The story revolves around two characters, one male and one female, and the perspective will shift between them.


One of the central ideas of the story is that the two characters couldn't be any more different. They have different sets of talents, different world views, different ways of handling crises. Yet despite all that sets them apart, they're the best of friends. Nobody, including the two of them, can quite put into words why their friendship works as well as it does, but they're nonetheless inseparable.


Here's the catch: This is not a love story. Both consider the other a close friend, but nothing more. It's not something they've ever considered, and their relationship won't ever become anything more than what it is. Unfortunately, every introduction for the two of them that I've come up with invariably feels like a cliched setup for a cheesy romance.


I could directly call out the fact that they don't view each other in a romantic light, but that feels sloppy, and doesn't resonate very well. I'd rather show that they're just friends, rather than resort to directly summarizing how they feel about each other. I also don't want to introduce a different love interest for either one of them. In their eyes, they have each other, and that's about it.


What's the best way for me to introduce their relationship, and not overtly hint at a future romance?



Answer



I agree that establishing the platonic nature of the relationship is important. There are a number of ways to approach it, as in David Doyle's answer.


But additionally, I wanted to point out a couple key things to consider:


Be aware that even if you gently indicate that the relationship is platonic, many readers will still be watching for signs that there's a potential relationship waiting to blossom. That is the nature of literature - many of humanity's stories revolve around a romance story or contain one, thus readers will have a strong tendency to suspect romance. They may even start to hold out hope.


Therefore, if you don't want that tension to develop and the reader's hopes end up unfulfilled, it's probably best to establish a clear reason why it isn't romantic and never will become one. There are numerous non-cheesy ways to say that someone loves someone like a sibling.



Secondly, in your question you state "not something they've ever considered," when perhaps that is part of the problem you're running into. The "romantic feelings haven't ever been considered" scenario is actually at the root of numerous love stories: "when X pauses to truly consider his feelings for Y for the first time, he finally realizes his love for her." It's almost a trope.


But if instead they have considered it, and then come to a clear conclusion that they have no romantic interests for a good reason, it is going to be more plausible that a romance isn't likely to develop. Then readers will be less tempted to draw romantic tension into it.


word choice - Thesis writing: how to address "self"


This came up when I was writing my thesis:


Usually it is recommended that when writing a thesis, one sticks to passive voice and use sentences that read like "The study showed the effect that blah blah has on the blah of blah" and so on.


In certain situations, one needs to mention something analogous to "Through this study we showed blah blah". In such a situation, how does one go about writing it? The thesis is supposed to be an individual's attempt and so the usage of "we" seems inappropriate. In the same way, use of "I" is frowned upon. How does one write sentences like these?


Using alternates like


"Through this study the author showed"


"This study showed"



seem a little redundant because of over usage of "the author" or "the study". Are there other alternatives?


Further, in a paper one can write sentences like "We believe that the effect of X on Y is because of the presence of Z" but how does one write similar sentences in a thesis?



Answer



I often run into this problem too. I think in the end it usually sounds redundant anyways but I use phrases like "the data suggest" or "the results suggest" in the discussion and in the introduction I usually just state the claim without attributing it to myself since it's assumed it is "this study" (unless it's cited information). You don't technically have to attribute the statements unless there things you citing from your previous work or others works. Other times it's useful to just write the sentence and then edit it like this:


"Through this study we showed the influence of three iron oxides concentration on soil color" becomes "The concentration of these three iron oxides influences soil color by blah" or "The influence of these three iron oxides concentration on soil color is blah." Which makes the sentence more concise and direct while removing any need of attribution.


When referring to other authors work I generally just rely on the in-text citation but sometimes I'll say something like "has been described by (Authors)" or "hypotheses developed by (Authors) suggest" or "a (year) study by (Authors) concluded that."


As for the last sentence I would probably write something like "The effect of X on Y appears to be influenced by the presence of Z which is supported by the data (chart or table or statistical output)" or "Z influences interactions between X and Y by blah."


As a side note, avoid making statements that affirm definite causation like "is because of" or "prove" and instead use some form of suggests or supports/is supported by. And this may be just a stylistic choice but I try not to use show/shows/showed.


dialog - Best way to choose color combination from palette?


I have the following scenario:


This is a color picker for a software we're developing. Basically we have different Groups for Items and Items are displayed as boxes in a grid with a given color scheme that can be customized through the following interface.


mockup



download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups


Before today we didn't have many groups or categories to put the items on, but the problem is that the number of groups for a specific instance of this interface has grown, and we just cannot keep adding radio boxes or tabs to filter the items.


I thought about having a collapsible list with the table inside, or even an accordion to hide inactive categories, but the problem with the accordion is that with a lot of groups it's just useless.


I also suggested, having a default color scheme, and then only aggregating changes, but the problem with this approach is that you might have adjacent item boxes together that might look similar if you're not able to compare them from the list.


Someone else suggested having the groups in a dropbox... but you're the experts... so I rather hear it from you guys! :)


What would be the best way to present this color picker.



Answer



I ended up with this after all your comments.


Colour Picker Window


To help reduce some of the User Experience strains that we currently have, I added some more features the Colour Picker as described below:




  1. Instead of having two different columns for text and background colour, we have only one that displays coloured dummy text with its background colour to ensure that the user is happy with the selection.

  2. The user is not prompted anymore to a secondary screen to change the colours (As suggested by @mervinj answer). Instead, after picking a row, the user will be able to select a colour from the colour palette below. This colour palette is only enabled when a valid row has been clicked before.

  3. A (restore) icon next to the row indicates whether that colour has been changed from the default colour palette. By clicking it, it will restore the original value.

  4. Hovering the (restore) icon will temporarily display the original colour scheme.

  5. Clicking the (restore) icon will make it disappear.

  6. The Text colour palette is dependant from the Background colour palette. This is due to the fact that some text colours are difficult to read when combined with different background colours as shown in the right side of the image of this answer.

  7. Hovering over the colour palette while a row is selected with live-preview that colour. A tab that lists only those colours that have been changed is also added to the interface.

  8. The interface is exactly the same but will only list categories/groups if they have items that have changed.

  9. The ability to restore the whole colour palette to the default is added at the bottom right side of the screen.


  10. Categories/Groups appear as collapsible panels that display an Item Label, a Dummy Coloured Cell and a Single Restore Button.

  11. Clicking on the Category/Group wont select it, but rather expand it or collapse it.

  12. The categories/groups appear collapsed at the beginning so that it's easy for the user to expand the one needed. It's state is saved through the user session in case the same user wants to keep changing colours from that group/category later on.


Benefits





  • Making the Text Colour Palette dependable of the Background Colour Palette and vice versa increases the chances for the user to succeed picking a good colour combination (ensuring good quality contrast happens).

  • Having the All/Customized Tabs at the top enable the user to find modified colours easily.

  • The interface provides the means to inform which colours have been changed, what's the default value and the ability to restore them.


  • Making the List Collapsible allows the user to easily find what is been sought for and to display any number of Categories/Groups.


usability - Which one you think is better approach for viewing notification - facebook or quora/forrst?


Which one you think is better approach for viewing notification - facebook or quora/forrst (where you need to hitting the clear notification button) and why?


For reading notification in fb, you just hover on the notification icon and check all new (unread) notifications (with grey background) and once you move away from notification panel to the news feed area (during the same session) the new notifications are treated as read (with white background).


While Quora/Forrst forces users to click on the clear notification button or actually visiting all the new notification links -- which in most times is just new people following (Quora) or likes on your designs(Forrst)


Which of these 2 methods you feel is better - Forcing user to either view all notifications or clicking the call to action button vs unforced view of notification.




gui design - What's the recommended max width for the main container and for the main column, for large screens?


Based on this question, "Why do many sites leave half of each webpage empty?" and its comments and answers, I did some research, but I didn't find a complete answer.


For me it is obvious that it is a good decision to limit the width of the main container, but what is the recommended max-width for the main container for large screens, in 2017, when the screens become larger and larger? What variables should be considered in this decision?


Also, let's say a website has multiple columns in the main container, what is the max-width for the main column?


Update: I have now a related question. I recommended to one client to reduce the width of the main container on the homepage, but I can't convince him. It is a website with photos, like pexels.com. It is in this case important to limit the width if the elements are not one more important than other?




gui design - Should previously opened submenu collapse automatically upon opening a new sibling?


I have a web application with a left menu where each item can have sub-menus within it,similar to this example :


enter image description here


Now,if I am under a particular menu and then I navigate to another menu item what happens to the previous selected menu/sub-menu options?



  • Should they get collapsed automatically?

  • How is this scenario handled from a UX perspective?



Answer




The problem with patterns is that it’s hard to stand out when you’re doing the same thing everyone else is doing. But you don’t want to deviate too far from functionality with something as important as navigation. You need to find that sweet spot right between familiarity and creativity.


While thinking outside the box is usually a good idea, but there are some rules that you just can’t break. These are the navigation principles.



  • Simple

  • Clear: Alignment and Placements of Parent and Child Links

  • Consistent

  • Smart Reflex: Smart On-Click and On-Hover reflexes.


Your scenario:


1) Should they get Collapsed Automatically?




Yes



Explanation: Try less to confuse or making hard for users to navigate through your application. Collapsing the previous helps users to know where application needs users attention.


Showing unnecessary items could mislead or misinform them.




2) How is this scenario handled from a UX perspective?



Yes they should collapse




Explanation: Having a look from perspective of UX, again it is best practice to collapse them due to two reasons:




  1. Unnecessarily possible of scroll bar to appear


    It may be possible that due to allowing all parent menus to remain open, which brings in the vertical scroll-bar(According to your case). Scroll bar is not god to appear here as it's not helping user or look and feel in anyway, its just useless in here(depends case to case). Instead it makes users to do more than just what is required that is scrolling and finding link.




  2. Small screen widths


    Also when it comes to responsive, in mobile/tablet devices it may possible user might click where they didn't intend to, due to small screen widths.








"It doesn’t matter how good your website is if users can’t find their way around it."
- By jerrycao



Sunday, July 24, 2016

web app - Toggle button for actions


In our web application, we have a list of items for which multiple actions can be scheduled. If an action is available but not selected, it is displayed as a gray button. When the user clicks on it, the button changes to a color, indicating that the action is scheduled. When the user clicks on it again, the action is cancelled and the button reverts to its previous state. One such button is displayed for each action, for each item.


An example:


enter image description here


My team has raised a couple of concerns:




  • The gray color may make the user think that the button is disabled





  • It may not be clear to the user that he can cancel the action by clicking on it again




I don't think this is a problem, especially if we use tooltips (The "vote" and "accept answer" features of StackExchange are implemented the same way), but are there ways to improve the usability of these action buttons?



Answer



Over the years I've learned that toggle buttons are not for displaying states in lists. This being said, a toggle button works well when it is on its own. Like a play/pause button.


A checkbox, however, serves as a great indicator of state in a list of items. It is visually clear and does not use much real estate. The label for a checkbox does not have to repeat on every row in a list. Simply place it in a column header.


Also, if you are concerned about users being able to scan the list easily you could add some visual clues when a checkbox is selected, like bold or background color.


How does the "risk-neutral pricing framework" work?


I've struggled for a long time to understand this - What is this? And how does it affect you?


Yes I mean risk neutral pricing - Wilmott Forums was not clear about that.





filtering - Faceted search - Remove or disable filters that would not return any result?


I'm working on the search page of a site. Filter options are available on the left-hand panel.


Filter options


When the user ticks a box, the filter options are updated. I'm wondering what is the best way to handle filters that would not return any result:




  1. Remove those filters as they aren't relevant anymore.





  2. Disable and grey out those filters to keep consistency (see below an example).




Yelp - Disabled filter



Answer



There are several reasons that if your facetted search is very open, more like a network of combined selections, that you should leave empty filters visible.


Consistency


You are better off disabling the filters so the interface retains consistency throughout the interaction. If there are always the same set of filters then the user can learn the interface more quickly and navigate it faster. If the option set is constantly changing as things are added and removed then there will never be a consitent set of filters. Repeat customers will appreciate this sort of consistency.



Empty filters still impart information


Just because there are no results right now for a particular filter doesn't mean the user gets no information from that filter being visible. They may notice it is off an realise that actually they need it on so unclick something they already clicked in order to reactivate it.


For example, I like Brand X, so I click the Brand X filter, but then Brand X don't have any golden widgets right now, so I decide I'll just look at golden widgets. If the golden widgets filter is not there, clearly displaying its lack of results, it's harder for me to deduce that that is the case.


Hiding a clicked option


You also need to consider what to do if a user creates a set of conditions that result in a clicked option being hidden. Say I like Brands X and Y, so I click them. I see golden widgets, so I click that too, resulting in one of the brands returning no results. I still need the interface to communicate to me that that brand is still clicked and that there are no results. Removing it entirely as a result of a click elsewhere on the screen is not a good interaction path.


The current pattern used in many big sites is to leave the filters in place, grey them out if they return no results and sometimes using scroll boxes (ASOS) or popups (ebay) to allow the whole list of options to appear (I suspect that is a problem you are encountering for which the solution may have appeared to have been removing filter options entirely).


Another thing to consider is to provide a count for results, letting the user know how rich a result set is before clicking on the button and triggering a possibly quite heavy query.


Some further reading ... http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/09/best-practices-for-designing-faceted-search-filters.php


Saturday, July 23, 2016

color - Why is the close button in the title bar red in Windows 7?


Perhaps to prevent users from closing the window or application inadvertently?


But is it also a distraction because the color of red stands out? Any insights?



Answer



Red might be distracting but it also has a definite cultural association with "stop" or end, and that makes it intuitive right away.


Often intuition is more important than power, or even ease of use. This is why we still see anachronistic icons like diskette to indicate save - of course the argument can be made that such a button is not intuitive to the newest users.



It is worth noting that the button is only red for active windows, so it can also become a very visible indication of which window is in use when a large desktop is used, multiple monitors or any other situation where the screen is not populated by one maximized window.




Opinion wise I think any time intuition encroaches on long-term usability there should be a way to disable that feature, even if it is only accessible to more savvy users (as by then, those users have less need for the intuition as they are more familiar with the functionality).


Illustrator document to Photoshop - Preserve Layers?



Is it possible to import a Illustrator document into Photoshop and keep the layers - we need to supply a multi layered document to a client in this way asap...


We have tried exporting the doc as a PSD from Illustrator - but the 'write layers' option is disabled for some reason!


Any advice?


Thanks




Friday, July 22, 2016

Using funny error messages in Finance



Currently I'm working on a branch banking application which is going to be used for all banking transactions such as Money deposit, EFT but also Campaign Management etc. (Some user roles are directly customer centered and some are employee centered)


We are thinking of using a funny language while giving user messages (error, success & info) in CRM related transactions (Not customer centered). By CRM related I mean, there are some transactions which are related with the user's own. Creating a task, Updating a campaign and viewing a customer etc.


But I'm not sure if its a good idea. Even though they're not customer related, they are still in the same application and this could decrease the consistency of our product.


What would you advise?



Answer



When we’re dealing with Banking and money transfer, it is an exceptionally bad idea. Finance isn’t supposed to be funny, since it’s a very serious business. Instead, error messages should be clear and to the point what is actually wrong, and not some random fun message.


When a user receives an error message, she/he is already under pressure, since users don’t want to be wrong. Making fun of them or anything else won’t help the current stress the user is in. If you want to ease the stress for the user, a fun message could be wrongly interpreted.


What you can do is to make the error message have a nice friendly tone. Instead of “Integer expected” you could type, “This field needs a number”. That way you help the user explaining what is wrong and you lower the stress of the user, which is a good thing. However, please, stay away from funny error messages.


Thursday, July 21, 2016

Layers with different directional drop shadows in Photoshop


I am wondering how to have 2 different directional drop shadows in the one file with Photoshop. e.g. 2 different type layers — one has a drop shadow at 90 degrees, the other at -45 degrees.


Currently it seems Photoshop only lets me have 1 universal direction for the whole file, which I find really pointless.



I know how to apply different drop shadows and merge down layers to achieve the same thing, but its tedious and not exactly streamlined for making future changes to that layer.


How is this achieved?



Answer



When you are setting the drop shadow effect on an layer, uncheck the "Use Global Light" checkbox.


enter image description here


website design - If nobody reads Privacy Policies or Terms and Conditions, why not change them?


Once I read that if you were to read all the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and similar documents that you ideally need to read before using software or online services in a given year, you'd spend a good month of your life doing it without going to work.


Let's face it, most people know about Facebook's privacy policy through news scandals but the vast majority of people, wouldn't bother.


Would there be a better way to present users with simpler terms and conditions that they would actually read? Or are beyond the point where we can re-teach users about enjoyable documents crafted to improve their knowledge and experience about the service or software.


Basically what I'm asking is, what would be the best way of making Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies user friendly, and if it worthy at all.




Answer



I'd say the best two options are:


1) Display terms and conditions as long plain legalese text as usual, in a left hand column, but then summarise it in much shorter, friendlier, simpler text on the right. 500px.com does this really well:


500px terms


2) Format the text in a legible manner. Separate it into linked sections with proper headings, good typography and images. Facebook has had a lot of criticism for their privacy policy in the past, but their privacy policy today is well formatted, well sectioned and written in an easy-to-read format.


enter image description here


time series - Estimating correlation using EWMA


I am using an EWMA model to evaluate the correlation between yearly time series.


I know Riskmetrics uses $\lambda=0.94$ for daily data and $\lambda=0.97$ for monthly data.


Is there a value suggested for yearly data? If not, how can it be estimated?



Answer



The $\lambda$ value used in the original paper is arbitrary, but you can estimate that by assuming (in the simplest case) 2 assets and running the following model:



$\sigma^2_{12,t+1}$ $=$ $\lambda$$*$$\sigma^2_{12,t-1}$$+$$(1-\lambda)$$r_{1,t}$$*$$r_{2,t}$;


given $r_{1,t}$ and $r_{2,t}$ respectively as the returns for the asset 1 and 2 and $\sigma^2_{12,t}$ the volatility at time t.


Solving by $\lambda$ as unique unknown variable, you can find the $\lambda$ estimation.


To compute the correlation forecast, replace $\sigma^2_{12,t+1}$ in:


$\rho_{t+1}$ $=$ $\frac{\sigma^2_{12,t+1}}{\sigma_{1,t+1}* \sigma_{2,t+1}}$;


where $\rho_{t+1}$ is the forecast of the correlation 1 period ahead.


Here the reference of the original paper by JP Morgan; I suggest you to read the paper an estimate $\lambda$ again, since its value depends on the volatility of returns and it changes over time.


The authors used a 20-day returns period to estimate asset volatility and returns and the choice of such time period, again, was arbitrary.


Hope this helps.


branding - How to ensure international logo can be ethnically neutral enough so it won’t be offensive?


We are launching an initiative in the field of informatics for which I asked for a logo. Our graphic designer took care of it and indeed showed me a very nice logo, where a man with a hammer in one hand is standing on a background of the Earth where many links are connecting people.


The man is clearly “resolute” and “hard-working for all of us”. I like it. But that man is very clearly a white man, and may be from the North of Europe or the North America, that's impossible to doubt even if it is simply painted.


I like the logo very much, but I have doubts about the man. I'm afraid that such a representation may seem offending or whatever to some people if we choose a white male as the symbol for a worldwide operating service.


Moreover, we do not have the possibility to personalize the logo on a regional basis: the same logo is for all the world.


How can I avoid the logo being perceived as unfair or racist or whatever?


Here it is the draft logo:



draft logo
Click for full size



Answer





  1. Make the character more obscure, since you're trying to represent humans in general. Unless it's a mascot – then using race is OK.




  2. It needs to be much simpler. It's not memorable to me, other than it stands out looking like a propaganda piece for some sci-fi dystopia communist movement. No disrespect to the designer.





You need to ask the designer to provide you with variations in style, so you can choose the direction you want to go. Have the designer do a few styles from the list below:



  • emblem logo (seals or crests, e.g. Harley Davidson)

  • text logo (Adobe, Android, Visa)

  • monogram (typically initials. GE, DC)

  • illustrative logo (Starbucks, Shell, KFC)

  • abstract logo (Nike, Pepsi, Chase)

  • mascots

  • or any of the combinations above



Forgot to add one thing. Sometimes evoking emotional responses is more valuable than telling a story. We always think we need to do that, and they can become too cliche. Let the mark captivate people, and then tell your story with different media.


Wednesday, July 20, 2016

How big a deal is blocking copy-pasting on a website?


I'm working on a website on which the client wants to disable copy-paste.


It's not to do with security or passwords, but that the data on display is valuable if taken en masse (and almost no value if taken singly), though the user can only access the data one at a time. (There is no page a user can access with multiple items.)


I have advised that this is probably bad UX, and that it won't block screenscrapers or similar, but at the end of the day it's his decision.


How much of an impact does blocking this functionality have on a website? Is it likely to turn off users from engaging, or is it a non-entity and I am putting too much value in this?


If it's a big deal, do you have any recommendations on how to advise the client?


The client knows it won't stop even semi-skilled or determined individuals but wants to stop any casual attempts to retrieve data. I'm minded to just show him some of these answers in response.



Answer




Ask your client what he's actually trying to accomplish.


Copy-paste restrictions are about as effective as a toddler gate preventing access to an unmonitored garden in a remote area.


Perhaps you could ask the client where he saw copy-paste restrictions being used. Then, while he's there (or via screen share) show him how you'd defeat it.


When the client says:



"Yeah, but you're a professional hacker/coder/computer/nerd"



Then search the internet for:



"Why can't I copy text on a website"




If the goal is to inconvenience people, or if the information isn't extremely valuable... blocking copy-paste may be useful.


You may think that there's no legitimate reason to copy a piece of content, but then you forget use-cases like people using translators. They will copy a word or a phrase and pop it into their translator program... and no, not always Google translate.


I wouldn't rule out copy-blocking, but point out that it a copy-hurdle, not a copy-block and if someone wants the information, it's relatively easy to get access to it.


vector - Filling half a shape in Illustrator


I am still pretty new to illustrator, so I am still learning. I have a shape (pill shape) that is all white. I am trying to "fill" half of the shape with a yellow color (keeping the black stroke intact. Does anyone know how to go about this?



Answer



This one is a bit hackish but it does the trick as well. Make a gradient where you have each color on either end, then click each little colored box under the gradient preview in the palette and set its location to 50. This way you've solved the problem but it's all in one object.


enter image description here


word choice - think, I think, I don't think


I use "think", "I think" and "I don't think" in my writing a lot. Can you suggest a few ways to reduce it and few alternative ways of saying the same thing?


Look at the below sentences I have written. These are just few examples, I use them a lot. Average two or three "think" in one page.





  1. Why do you think about that?

  2. I think you can do it.

  3. But I think you got to take some rest.

  4. Do you think you can break that?

  5. I don't think so.





color theory - What are the shades of green?



I am working on a software project where I need to display only the shades of the primary colors. Using RGB, how would the shades of any color be defined? For example, with higher values of green (255), red and blue has to have values with difference of more than 100(r,b can't be bigger than 155)? (If that made sense).


What is the boundary where the lightest green changes to something else?




Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Why is GARCH(1,1) so popular, especially in academia?


What makes GARCH(1,1) so prevalent in modeling volatility, especially in academia?

What does this model offer that makes it significantly better than the others?



Answer



First, Garch models stochastic volatility. Thus its use should be limited to estimating the volatility component. The difference in some of the volatility models is the assumption made of the random variance process components.


I believe it has been popular because it is an extension of the ARCH family of models and it is relatively easy to setup and calibrate because it relies on past observations. Think of it this way: If you are to pinpoint your PhD dissertation topic would you take the risk to delve into deriving a new model, taking the risk you utterly fail and get nowhere over your x years of research or are you more likely to work on extensions or improvements of what currently exists? The same applies here GARCH is an extension of ARCH and there are numerous extensions of GARCH as well, such as GARCH-M, IGARCH, NGARCH...


I disagree with cdcaveman that it is the best model out there because it suffers from major deficiencies. Every model makes assumptions but there are better models out there for sure which is why I do not know of too many volatility traders that rely primarily on GARCH models in their quest to forecast volatility.


Deficiencies:



  • It depends heavily on past variances

  • The definition of "long-term variance" is at best arbitrary

  • making the assumption of the randomness originating from a normal distribution


  • The weights are just a result of optimization (MLE or other optimizers) of past data and make up the bulk of the calibration process. Volatility dynamics are changing in the same way as most other inputs to asset prices are dynamic thus making the assumption that an optimization of past variances, which results in the weights that make up the bulk of the current variance estimate, will yield anything that produces excess returns is a horrible assumption, imho.

  • Though most multivariate models can get quickly complex, multivariate GARCH can be tricky in regards to specifying the covariances (VECH or BEKK come to mind). (credit to Bob Jansen for pointing out this aspect of GARCH).


Volatility models that are originating from trading desks and that are rarely to be found in academic paper or the public domain often



  • do not make a normal distribution assumption of the variance dynamics

  • heavily incorporate regime shifts

  • rarely rely on functions of linear nature

  • incorporate correlation structures with other asset classes and even non-price return related inputs.



In summary, its a neat model to output something to show off within minutes. Whether the results are usable is an entirely different question and again I do not know of too many pure index vol traders who embrace GARCH.


Edit:


A look at the SABR model (or dynamic SABR) might be beneficial when searching for better models, though the "backbone" dynamics of the SABR model are more applicable for some derivatives than others.


typography - What is the difference between a font and a typeface?


Originally, the typeface is a particular design of type, while a font is a type in a particular size and weight. In short, a typeface usually gathers many fonts.


Nowadays, with the digital design of documents, you often see those two words used rather interchangeably. It doesn't make much sense to say that “Helvetica 12” and “Helvetica 14” are different fonts (they used to be different drawers with different blocks of lead, now they're all a single OTF file!).


So, my question is: Does the difference between a 'font' and a 'typeface' subside in the language? Or are font and typeface now used interchangeably even by pros?



Answer



They’re almost interchangeable – but there’s a difference of emphasis that can be useful.


If you talk about the typeface, your focus is on the end result, some type’s appearance and aesthetics in use. It might have come from a font, or it might not: hand-painted signs, graffiti art, comic lettering, calligraphy, logos etc can all have distinctive typefaces without fonts.


If you talk about the font, your focus is more on the product, the item or package that can be bought, downloaded or stored in a box, etc. That font is usually a package for a typeface, but not always: Wingdings, Chartwell and icon fonts like Font Awesome are fonts without typefaces.



Here’s an analogy I adapted from this Fontfeed article, "Font or Typeface?":



Use "typeface" when you’d use "song" (e.g. "I love that song/typeface …"), and "font" when you’d use "track" ("… so I’m going to buy the track/font for it").



Most of the time, people use "font" and "typeface" interchangeably, but occasionally you need to focus on one or the other, like how sometimes musicians write great songs, but release bad recordings of those songs or never record them.


Lots of type foundries produce amazing typefaces that make for frustrating fonts because they lack important glyphs e.g. for international use or their hinting is flakey at certain sizes or their default kerning tables are inconsistent, etc etc.


People might say that Arial is a poor typeface (derivative and uninspiring), but a valuable font (huge range of glyphs, great international support, reliable at all sizes and on all devices, etc etc).


It’s a subtle difference, but often a useful one.


layout - When displaying statistics to a user, is it better to bold the data or the label?


The following picture shows some statistics. Here they bold the data, not the label.


Example of bolded data


Which is better? Does it depend on the information being shown?


What if you have a header on a report with some attributes? Like this:



Project: Project 123
Phase: Phase ABC
Department: Department XYZ


Should you bold the labels or the information in this case?



Answer



It depends. It depends mainly on how users will be locating the data they are interested in.




Numerical Stats in a Row


If the page is repeating the same stats groupings in the same order, then positional memory will be used, and the numbers themselves also cue the reader in to positioning - Best bowling 5/45 has a different form to Economy Rate 1.51 and people will use that cue. When positional memory is being used bold numbers and quiet labels are good. The user is, for example, comparing bowling stats of multiple players.





Header to a Report:


In a written report, and by extension the same in web format, it is usually better to bold the labels in a header:


Project: Project 123
Phase: Phase ABC
Department: Department XYZ


Positional memory within the group is less relied on. The typical activity is not scanning multiple reports to find what phase each one relates to or compare project titles, rather it's having read one report, checking what phase that one report relates to or exactly what the project title was. The scanning is interspersed with a different activity of long duration. Finding the header information at all is the main scanning.


Also a factor for bold labels - Longer lists defeat positional cuing more, and bias towards embolding the labels. So a rule of thumb:


Long lists (>5 items) seen rarely (<10 a month): Bold the label.
Short lists (<5 items) seen frequently (>10 a month): Bold the information


web app - Which is a good method for delete without confirmation?


I have read around a few places that confirmation messages are not the best way to go about warning users, it's best to let them do whatever they want but give them the option to go back. I thought this probably applies to deleting things a bit, since if you click the button you've decided you want the thing deleted and having to click to confirm is just an extra step (what percentage of users click 'no' on that confirmation screen I wonder...)


I'm working on a web app where the user is managing items in a list. Instead of having a confirmation when the when the user clicks delete, I'm contemplating a couple of different approaches:





  1. I was thinking the item goes grey and says [deleted] but there is an Undo button. Then after several seconds (maybe 6?) the list item fades out and the items below it move up. (I think it would be irritating to have them hang around still, because often people want to get rid of those deleted things and not have to have them hanging around.)




  2. The other approach I thought of having is a 'Recently deleted' section at the bottom from which things can be restored, and clear items out after a few days. And in that case have the items just remove from the list instantly. I'm worried in that case though that the link between the disappeared list item and the link at the bottom will not be obvious enough to be intuitive.




The list will likely have its own scrollbar, but it could get quite long.


Do either of these approaches sound reasonable? Is there a better way to avoid having a confirmation message? Or just I just keep the confirmation message?




Answer



If you're going to have an undo button, don't make it something that disappears after a few seconds. Put it there until the user takes some other action. The ideas of making the item grey and having a temporary list is good thinking, but rather than do that, why not just have a permanent "deleted items" list on a separate screen? That way I can always go there to see and undo things I've deleted. What's stopping you?


The thing about confirmation messages is that they were built because it was technically complicated to create undo for destructive actions like delete. So instead you were forced to warn users about things up front to prevent them from losing data. Today (and with the Web), things aren't as complicated, and you should be able to implement undo functionality relatively easily.


If you want an example, Gmail has been doing this since it launched. Delete a message and it vanishes from your inbox - but a message immediately pops up (as with any action) asking if you want to undo. If you take another action, that message vanishes, but you can still go to your Trash and see deleted messages for the past 30 days. I'd recommend following their example.


How to change default text settings in Adobe InDesign?


This problem appeared immediately after installation: InDesign interface is in English, but text settings (RTL, right alignment of new frames, default language of text frame, and therefore arabic numbers etc.) are for Arabic and reset to it after each new document initialization?



Is there any way I change this?


I tried to change all the apparent language settings in Preferences and it did nothing.




adobe photoshop - Unpixelated Screenshot images


I have some work to showcase: images which are screenshots of work which are online. However when arranging these screenshot images in Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, they all appear to be pixelated. I do not have the raw images because it is work which is made online. Is there anyway I can use these screenshots to not be pixelated?




photoshop scripting - When saving as a PSD, have a PNG also saved automatically


On Photoshop CS5, I had it set up so that whenever I saved a .psd, whether it were through cmd-s or the file menu, it would also save a file as a .png with the same name.


I upgraded to CS6 and now I have no idea how to recreate this. Sadly, or stupidly, I uninstalled CS5 so I can't attempt to troubleshoot that way.


Does anyone know how to do this? I don't want to have to run an action every time I want to save a psd as a png, I want it to happen automatically, every time I save.


I appreciate all and any help here.



Thank you, Jacob



Answer



You can create your own script if you want, here's a simple one:


main(); 
function main(){
var Name = app.activeDocument.name.replace(/\.[^\.]+$/, '');
var Ext = decodeURI(app.activeDocument.name).replace(/^.*\./,'');
if(Ext.toLowerCase() != 'psd') return;
var Path = app.activeDocument.path;
var saveFile = File(Path + "/" + Name +".png");

if(saveFile.exists) saveFile.remove();
SavePNG(saveFile);
}

function SavePNG(saveFile){
pngSaveOptions = new PNGSaveOptions();
activeDocument.saveAs(saveFile, pngSaveOptions, true, Extension.LOWERCASE);
}



  • To use this go to File > Scripts > Scripts Event Manager

  • Tick "Enable Events to Run Scripts/Actions"

  • Select "Save Document" from the Photoshop Event dropdown

  • In the next dropdown box select your new script and click add.


Now every time you do a save, the script will check if you are saving it as a PSD, if it is, it will save a PNG with the same name to the same location.


Note: this will overwrite an existing PNG if there is already one in the save location.


ajax checkboxes vs submit button


At the office we are talking about an interface on our web application, which has ajaxified checkboxes: you click it, and the change is live. No "action" is performed other than changing data on the server. One group doesn't like this and prefers a submit button, and others of us prefer the ajax version.


This got me to thinking about when to use both, and my intuition says that the ajax version is better for one-off operations, whereas a submit button is better for batch operations where the user will change a number of the check boxes at once, and then hit 'go'. I'm not much of a designer though. Any thoughts on this issue?



Answer



As with all these things it depends. Both approaches are equally valid but you have to consider some other factors:





  • Batch operations - you've already covered this, but it usually better to have a "submit" button if there are several settings the user can update in one go.




  • Visibility - is the result of the change immediately visible - i.e. can the user see straight away that they've made the change, either directly in the application or via some feedback from the server? Usually if you are changing a value on a server that feedback is missing so having an immediate change might not be appropriate. This leads on to:




  • Permanence - can the user immediately undo the action without problems? So if they click the check box and then realise they shouldn't have, can they undo the action by simply clicking the check box again? If so then an immediate update should be OK, but if not (e.g. they have to restore data etc.) then there really should be an extra step asking for confirmation and that's usually on a "submit" button.





planning - How can I create an inter-connected plot across a series?



I am an aspiring author, and I have recently just begun developing my first novel. It is a series, but I have engineered the first novel to be a standalone in case the series falls through.


When I look at other successful series, I continue to see inter-connected plots across all the books. Scenes that we thought didn't have much meaning turn out to spawn chapters later on. The day is saved by a seemingly insignificant moment back in book one. And it's not just little things: the climax of book two may start the quest of book three, which launches the drive of book four and forms the antagonist of book five.


How can I create plots that are woven together so expertly, and inter-connect with each other in so many ways? Is there some special formula I've missed? Or is it purely writer genius?


Examples:


In the Fablehaven series, the climax of book two turns out to spawn the entire side story of book three (the shadow plague). In addition, it transforms the secondary protagonist, giving him abilities that are crucial to the plot of all later books. In a separate case, in book one the main protagonist receives a transformation, giving her abilities that at the time seem random. Every single one of her abilities is used multiple times in future novels, and the very fact of her transformation is a key plot element all the way to the end.


In the Harry Potter series, the protagonist does a seemingly random-though-spectacular action (catching his first snitch). The action never comes up again until the final book, where it turns out to have significant bearing on the climax of the entire series (sort of).


I'm sure there are many other examples. These are just a few off the top of my head.




Monday, July 18, 2016

finance - Separate market and limit orders from market depth/tick data


From the website https://www.algoseek.com/equities/, we can get a sample of the full depth market/tick data. From the paper https://arxiv.org/pdf/1710.03870.pdf page 8, I would like to extract the market orders and limit orders separately with timestamp of 1 second . Is it possible to do such a thing? If so, how?



Answer






  1. download the data




  2. open Jupyter Notebook





import pandas as pd


data = pd.read_csv('IBM.FullDepth.20140128.csv', parse_dates=[['Date', 'Timestamp']])

data['EventType'].unique()


array(['ADD BID', 'ADD ASK', 'DELETE ASK', 'DELETE BID', 'TRADE ASK', 'EXECUTE BID', 'FILL BID', 'TRADE BID', 'FILL ASK', 'EXECUTE ASK', 'CROSS', 'CANCEL ASK', 'CANCEL BID'], dtype=object)




grouped = data.groupby(pd.Grouper(key='Date_Timestamp', freq='1s'))
groups = grouped.groups

keys = list(groups.keys())

df=grouped.get_group(keys[0])
df[df.EventType=='ADD BID']

enter image description here


localization - What is the best practice for enter key form submission on sites that use IMEs (i.e. Japanese)


I've got an enterprise app with various forms, some single input forms like global search boxes and other longer data entry style forms. For the West it is clear that pressing enter is a preferred method to submit a form, in addition to providing a submit button.


However, we've encountered an issue with our Japanese users where Kanji selection using an IME (which requires the enter key) is interfering with form submission. When users select a Kanji by pressing enter it prematurely submits the form.



My main question is this: Do heavy users of IMEs expect the same "enter should submit my form" behavior or does the use of an IME create a completely different experience where the expectation is that pressing enter should not submit forms? I would like to design the proper experience for IME users when we have no control over the use of the enter key during IME input.



Answer



Answering my own question based on feedback from a Japanese field engineer in the company.


Full disclosure: No detailed user testing was conducted on my part.


I first observed him executing Google searches where he used the enter key to execute the searches. After this observation I asked about the culture of using the enter key to submit forms and searches in Japan. He said in Japan a "double enter" is normal behavior.


According to him everyone uses the enter key to select Kanji and also to submit forms. As part of Kanji input users will often need to select a handful prior to form submission. In those cases it is common for the user to hit the enter key 5-6 times before the final form submitting enter key.


EDIT: This engineer lives in Japan.


How to structure Android app navigation with many levels?


The app I'm working on is a little like a set of sub-apps within one app, so the structure is basically as follows. Note that the subsections are a mix of tools and content (i.e. this isn't an app full of content like Google Play that is categorised) - it's functionality too.


Home
Section 1

Subsection A
Subsection B
Subsection C
Section 2
Subsection D
Subsection E
Subsection F
Section 3
Subsection G
Subsection H

Section 4
Subsection I
Subsection J
Subsection K
Subsection L

The subsections are not suitable for side-swiping as some include pinch-zoom on content.


My plan was to do this:


A. Home uses the Dashboard pattern, a grid of icons for each of Section 1, 2, 3 etc. I know the suggestion now is to show content on entry, but there is no suitable content in this app to surface so a grid of section icons seems appropriate.


enter image description here



B. Use ActionBar spinner navigation (like Google Maps or Calendar) to move between sections, once inside the app


ActionBar spinner navigation


C. Use ActionBar Navigation Tabs to move between subsections A, B, C, etc.


ActionBar Navigation Tabs


However unfortunately it seems the ActionBar supports EITHER spinner drop-down navigation OR navigation tabs, but not both and the client needs the full set of Sections to be visible across the app. They're asking me to put a row of buttons across the bottom of every screen (a la iPhone) and I'm uncomfortable with that as it's an iOS pattern, and doesn't fit well with Android, but they may have a point that relying on Home/Up for people to find the other sections of the app may be asking a lot.


That suggests I use the dashboard pattern for the user to pick a Section, then actionbar nav tabs for Subsections, but my concern is the user can't see all the Sections once they're in the app, and it relies on them knowing to tap Home/Up to see the list.


Can you see a better way to handle two-level navigation, without resorting to an iOS UI pattern of bottom buttons, and where the Sections are very clear to the user?




technique - How credible is wikipedia?

I understand that this question relates more to wikipedia than it does writing but... If I was going to use wikipedia for a source for a res...