Design Principles

 Fine Design

While functionality is certainly critical in applications design principles, the art of visualization is EVERYTHING when it comes to the pizzazz and appeal of an application’s interface in utilizing those print area surfaces as best we can.

It’s simple folks, just have a look at your most prized applications, and marvel at those visual and graphical details just bursting out with eye catching appeal.

But why do only that, when you can learn how to use those tried and true principles on your own applications development projects…

...So let’s have a look at best practices and guidelines for doing so, shall we...

What To Consider

When designing an application, there are certainly a few things to take into consideration when looking to wow your end-users with your developer projects.

As such, it’s always best to -

Know the size constraints of the platform you’re designing for. So, a few questions we should answer are-

Is my project design for a Desktop, Tablet or Mobile project?  

What is the viewable surface area for the controls or information we’re going to use?

What placement of color and shape do I want to use to accomplish my aim?

And while this is the bare minimal when it comes to our design goals, they should be carefully crafted so as to ensure the best possible means of project designation.

 

Colors

There’s a whole science surrounding color and it’s keen range of affect, if you didn’t already know...and those complimentary and contrasting effects that enliven, not only the way our designs look, but that also have the canny strength to take our projects from dull to gorgeous, helps creators not only attract and hold the interest of end-users, but can add texture and even depth and dimension to projects, making them stand out amongst all others. 

And if you don’t believe me, we can delve into science a little.

Just have a look at your shadow, (which just so happens to be grey in color...for all those curious as to just what this has to do with color in design principles) when standing in a lighted area.

It provides us a new dimension of axis and depth now doesn’t it?

Color has the profound effect in design to mute or highlight specific areas of text and tools in a project, and can even be used to render those visual styles that, like all other attributes of application design, take your user interactive experience to a new level of creativity. 

So Omnitekk says Be Bold...Be Vivid...and most of all...Unleash Your Inner Picasso.

Ease Of Use

While color and color placement in your UI and UX projects help with visual appeal, your projects should also prove easy for end-users to navigate and understand. 

This helps your user base easily find and interact with your application mappings and those interactive display links and application sections that allow for a cohesive and productive user experience.

Placement Of User Controls

Your project designs should follow a stringent set of principles that enhance your end-user experience... such as -

All user interactive controls should be placed in close proximity to their user entry points. 

For instance, a 'show password' control should be close enough to its designated entry field, so that the user isn't confused as to which field the button or link is referencing.

Sectional Data Display Points 

Should have enough distance between them so as to avoid a cumbersome or cluttered look and feel. 

It's always better to choose simplicity instead of trying to cram way to much data or information onto a single section or page. 

Both your interface data and data controls  should have a fair enough gaping in between them to enhance visual appeal and ease of use.  

Centralized Themes

Relative data groupings are key aspects in designing efficient user-friendly applications and projects.

For instance, all information pertinent to a particular sub-set of user data, such as user adressing information, should all be grouped in such a way that those interacting with your interface know which data points they're interfacing with.

it isn't good design to place addressing information for a mailing address that might also be referencing a credit billing address without some sort of visual or other design que, with aim to inform the user of the entry field purpose, as this information mightn't always be the same, now is it?

As such, all data within an interface should be grouped by those central tenets that lesson confusion with user interactive themes.

And there you have it folks...Interface Design Principles Served!

As you build your design talents, using these principles should certainly help you along the way.

So until our next I.T. adventure my friends, OmniTekk says...Be Well.

 

DIVERSITY IN STEM FIELDS

Its a new day folks!

Long gone are the days of the one size fits all protocol of what today's tech professional looks like, with more and more minority groups venturing into the deep so as to procure the tech talents necessary to become STEM ROCK STARS.

When I started my I.T. journey in the late 90's there was almost no variation in the very vanilla automation problem solving constructs, with likewise, almost no social, racial or gender diversity in the field as well.

So much has changed since then, and today's "Techies" represent the global reality of diversity from which we all know, with  tech professionals, not only bringing their own individual and cultural knowledge and experiences to the field, but also their unique problem solving talents as well, opening up a whole new means of devising viable atuomation solutions that give special meaning to problem solving.

Traditionally, Women, as well as other minority groups, represented a very small percentage of the tech arena, fostering mundane and tunnel modalities of problem solving techniques, that didn't necesarily prove useful in the cultivation of the dynamic or fresh new methods necessary to represent the vast evolution of solutionary possibilities.

However, with the intentional efforts of those Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives that aim to foster a much more realistic show of the working world and those specialized groups in it, the tech industry is just bursting with new ways to solve old automation tasks, ushering forth the new wave of I.T. professionals who bring their unique cultural experiences of ingenuity into the world of automation.

Diversifying the tech workforce stands to

• Give managers the opportunity to expand current competencies by effectively maintaining a diverse intrapersonal skill-set in dealing with people from all cultures and economic backgrounds, especially where international business facets are of the essence.

• Enrich the knowledge of the labor force by diversifying team efforts that provide fresh and unique perspectives to complex problems.

• Allow organizations to represent the dynamic nature of the real world – which effectively promotes a healthier, more reflective culture, allowing employees to better indentify with a organizations corporate ethics, values, and practices.

• Effectively subvert undesirable corporate cultures that are “tunnel” in their views, methods and business strategies. 

• Invite pathways for future leadership development – as explicit representations of minority leadership inspires, encourages and provides a platform for leadership within STEM fields, ushers in our most prominent innovators, problem solvers, and tech professionals.

OmniTekk stands by all those who make a concerted effort to broden, improve upon and most of all, who seek to revolutionize the tech industry, so as to make the world of technology and all those who toil in it, a more cohesive, representative place for us all.

   

  

MATHEMATICS FOR I.T.

They say mathematics is crucial to unlocking the secrets of the world...

...and when it comes to the world of computing and information technology, Omnitekk agrees.

For all our number crunching, analytical, statistical and logical developers and IT enthusiasts out there, who'd just love to take a delve with us down mathematics lane, here we present our picks of the areas of mathematics all those interested in unleashing their inner technophile should know to make better use of your IT tech talents.

Geometry

Calling all my graphics, video game, interface and data visualization designers.

The study of geometry and trigonometry help all in the visual IT designer field make better use of IT design methods as you unleash your inner Picasso, so as to present data in visually appealing ways.

Algebra

Algebra in it's simplist of form deals with sophisticated methods of calculating primitive arithmetical equations.

But why is this necessary to know Omnitekk...

...The study of algebra relative to tech field applications, provides us the nexus within the foundational understanding of those simple calculatory tasks and methods that helps  our IT folks, from developers and statisticians and accountant application developers, to our network guys and system developers alike, craft better ways of devising tech solutions.

Likewise, since our beloved machines only count in 0's and 1's - Boolean algebra and Group Theory, all within the field of Algebra, are especially handy tools to have in your mathematical arsenal for applying to your IT tasks.

Combinatorics

Here's where things get fun...

Combinatorics helps developers and those within IT develop the very necessary talent of algorithmic and sequential thinking constructs, so as to develop efficient ways to devise and apply the best solutions to your most pressing IT projects.

As it's name implies, combinatorics deals primarily with sets and combinations of solutionary aspects of finding all possibilities for solving a given problem or construct, and is particularly useful in the areas of virtualization, IT simulation and game design.

Graph theory

Like the study of combinatorics, Graph Theory provides the means for our IT rock stars to devise connections and relationships, both pictorially, functionally and programatically between data and objects within IT applications and programming tasks, making subject study an affirmative means of improving upon problem solving methods by better understanding how one thing connects to another.

The functional principles of Graph Theory are used in the application of Data Structures and Algorithmic puzzles and design methods, making them most useful to software and firmware programmers and applications developers.

Set theory

The Theory Of Setting The Stage For Crafting Better Solutions...

Set theory is also a particularly useful branch of mathematics within IT fields, as it primarily deals with the application of sequential data sets and methods of conjoining data constructs to manufacture the necessary connections to solve a problem in the most efficient way.

Set Theory is the fundamental framework for devising the logic between ubiquitous correlations between two or more otherwise distinct objects or systems within a range of datum.

It's use is most prevalent in the areas of statistical application, logic formation,  and other such data analytical fields, like Big Data, Database Design and Implementation as well as Finite and Infinite Data Set principles.

Cryptography

IT risks and threats are ever present in the IT world, and must be subverted in the best way possible...

...and here my friends is where the application of Cryptography comes in to play.

Cryptography and Cryptographic methods are most used to provide the very necessary security, obfuscation, and enhanced means of applying security to systems and applications as well as interface and data design and information transport protocols.

So for anyone who has ever written a computer program or designed or manufactured any other type of IT task, chances are there is some form of this branch of mathematics deeply embedded within your design or application.

Topology

In our ever- present search for connectedness and effective ways to depict those connections in meaningful ways, the use of topological methods provides an especially efficient  measure of accomplishing this with ease.

Topology deals with the locality and geological as well as the geometric properties of objects in the IT world, and is best applied where such attributes are statically placed and have the least chances of structural deformity.

We typically see Topological applications in IT fields that deal with geographic design and layout, such as with maps, data dictionaries, and electronic blueprint designations alike, that utilize data structures to represent locality and structural design information.

Probability and statistics
Statistical data helps us determine the likelihood of probability an occurance has the chance of manifesting, helping  those in technical areas, such as staticians, data scientists and analysts, and even the broad range applications developer forecast and determine objective tendencies or leanings toward a specific outcome to develop the automated representation from such information.

Probability and statistics is also a useful discipline in Game Design and Financial Centric Application design, such as those used on stock trading  floors and in online gambling and gaming applications.

Logic

In the world of IT, almost every task those working in STEM fields engage in, is heavily based on some form of Logic and algorithmic design principle.

As such, the study of Logic helps developers, analysts and even network technicians alike, develop the knack for derivative based thinking modes that subsequently allow the crafting of  best practices in both solving and devising solutions for rendering complex problem and data sets.

And there you have it folks...

... OmniTekk's picks of the best branches of Maths those interested in STEM fields should delve into.

Mathematics Served!

We should also suggest the field of Calculus as well, since it is particularly useful to those working in Big Data fields, as well as the Aerospace and Fluid or Electro-Mechanics Industries but our folks here have provided you all with quite a few comprehensive places to begin your journey into the deep of those mathematical disciplines best suited for applying to your STEM tasks.

There are a slew of tutorials and other useful information on YouTube and other such online vestiges, so feel free to explore.

Infact, most Ivy league and exceptional universities, such as MIT, Yale,  and Harvard, provide open courseware in an array of math subjects free of charge.

They can be found at

YALE

https://oyc.yale.edu/courses

HARVARD

https://pll.harvard.edu/catalog

PRINCETON

https://online.princeton.edu/courses

VARIOUS UNIVERSITY OPEN COURSEWARE

https://www.classcentral.com/

MIT

https://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm

You're welcome!

And until our next IT Adventure my friends, OmniTekk says...Be Well.