My main purpose in launching AskTog was to reestablish my links with the outside world. I had been working for the last several years for WebMD. There, I learned the nuts-and-bolts of web design, where the differences and similarities with traditional GUI lay. It's ironic, but working for a big-time Internet startup made it almost impossible for me to develop the lower-level skills necessary to put a whole website together. Not was my time limited, but I was surrounded by world-class experts on every phase of website design and implementation. Not much incentive for me to try to play catch-up when there was so much pure design work to be done. I've always believed, however, that it is important for a designer to have a grounding in every aspect of their technology, just as it is for an orchestral conductor to have a grounding in every instrument.

Now, I'm part of the Niesen Norman Group, consulting with a variety of web and GUI shops arond the world. I've regained the wide perspective I used to have working with Apple's key developers, and AskTog has become an important link for me to communicate the common problems facing designers today.

I've tried to provide rich and useful content here, both guidelines and ideas designers can apply in their work, with a few Lighter Side articles that everyone just might enjoy. Let me know what's right, wrong and missing. In the meantime, please enjoy.

How the Site Pays for Itself

Actually, it doesn't. AskTog is a labor of love. However, you can defray some of my ISP and software expenses by using AskTog as your portal to Amazon.com. Just bookmark our portal page and use it every time you visit amazon. You'll get the exact same great prices and service you have enjoyed by going there directly, and the webzine will pick up a few cents on everything you buy. Your privacy remains assured: Amazon tells associates such as us nothing about what you buy.

About Bruce Tognazzini

I'm a software designer. Have been for 20+ years. I was employee #66 at Apple Computer, a distinguished engineer at Sun Microsystems, then employee #66 at WebMD. Now, I'm a prinicpal with the Nielsen Norman Group. I live an exciting life. You may click my resume for details.

I've been writing a human interface design column off and on for the last ten years or so. In keeping with the nature of the new web frontier, I decided to try self-publishing. Inevitable sloppiness has crept in, but, on the other hand, everything is timely—at least when it first appears—since I tend to write the entire issue in the remaining 45 minutes before deadline.

Acknowledgments

I will always be grateful for the generous support I've received from Craig Oshima who has answered every one of my technical questions, from "what's a tag" to "what's a Java Bean" without so much as an unkind word or a knowing smirk. Thanks also to Jakob Nielsen who has taught me everything I know about web design except his repeated exoneration to not use graphics. And, of course, to my family who, for reasons unfathomable, continues to put up with me.