Modernizr is a JavaScript library that essentially allows you to use conditionals (if-statements) in your CSS for the availability of CSS3 and HTML5, while still maintaining a fine level of control over older browsers that may not yet support these new technologies.

Marti Hearst and Cambridge University Press have made the Search User Interfaces book available for free online. About the book:

This book focuses on the human users of search engines and the tool they use to interact with them: the search user interface. The truly worldwide reach of the Web has brought with it a new realization among computer scientists and laypeople of the enormous importance of usability and user interface design. In the last ten years, much has become understood about what works in search interfaces from a usability perspective, and what does not. Researchers and practitioners have developed a wide range of innovative interface ideas, but only the most broadly acceptable make their way into major web search engines. This book summarizes these developments, presenting the state of the art of search interface design, both in academic research and in deployment in commercial systems. Many books describe the algorithms behind search engines and information retrieval systems, but the unique focus of this book is specifically on the user interface. It will be welcomed by industry professionals who design systems that use search interfaces as well as graduate students and academic researchers who investigate information systems.

You can read the book online now or pre-order it from Amazon (Available Sept. 09).

How can @font-face be used with currently implemented CSS selectors to create engaging, nuanced and more mature typography? Ian Lynam & Craig Mod discuss the potential of using @font-face now that Firefox 3.5 is out.

This is a new dashboard that tracks the U.S. Government's reported spending on technology.

Awesome motion graphics by Universal Everything for MTV. Creative Review reviews the new work on MTV's new look, which is a forward-looking transformation that reminds me feel that reminds me of Cartoon Network's recent rebranding in the Tristan Eaton designed character videos.

Whitney Hess has put together the first part of a series of articles for those looking to get into user experience design. The first part is a collection of resources to get immersed in the topics of the field. Whitney writes:

The best way to learn a new language is to go to a country where it’s spoken and immerse yourself in the confusion. Soon the unfamiliar will become familiar, and before you know it you’ll be fluent.

If you’re interested in getting to know more about user experience, I recommend doing the same. You may choose to simply understand the terminology, or become conversant. You might later decide to tackle some of the more complex concepts.

Read Part 1 on Whitney's blog, Pleasure and Pain.

Jeff Sexton got Patrick Sullivan, Jr. to list the top things not to do when conducting a usability test. The top 6 list should serve as a good reminder for the UX Designer who does the occasional user test.

1) Never ask, “What do you think about this?”
2) Don’t feed the tester with your question.
3) Don’t let users be the designers.
4) Don’t let the statistics fool you.
5) Don’t get discouraged.
6) Don’t try to test too much at once.

I tend to actually ask #1, but using the first impression test, i.e. showing a page on the screen for 5 seconds, taking the screen away, and then asking something along the lines of tell me what you think the site is about, what do you think you could do on that site? I also liked the suggestion in the comments of giving the user an easy dummy task to start in order to warm them up. Head over to the article to see what the list of 6 "don'ts" refers to.

Mozilla Labs together with IxDA and Johnny Holland presented the Summer 09 Design Challenge as part of their Concept Series. The challenge theme is "Reinventing Tabs in the Browser - How can we create, navigate and manage multiple web sites within the same browser instance?" Voting on concept submissions ends on July 5. Will take a while to make it through the over 120 concepts!

The Konigi DIY Wireframe Magnet Kit is based on the wireframe stencils and includes 3 sheets of elements that might be useful in whiteboard prototyping. Simply download and print the PDFs onto magnet sheets. They were designed and tested for use with Avery 3270 Printable Magnet Sheets for Inkjet Printers. Lamination is also recommended so they're usable with dry-erase markers. Enjoy!

I'm experimenting with making magnets of some of the elements of the Wireframe Stencil to use for prototyping. Was an interesting experiment printing and cutting these. Next time I think I'll have to laminate the sheet first, and then cut. The lamination might make it possible to write on them with dry erase marker. If you write directly on the magnet sheets the ink will stay permanently I'd think. The surface seems kind of porous and a little textured.

When I get a version that seems to work, I'll post PDFs to the Tools section that you can download for free, or as donationware. You can then print on Avery 3270 Magnet Sheets.