On May 20, 2008, Todd posted this entry in User Experience, Information Architecture, Usability, Interaction, Interface.
I just came across this on www.dusteddesign.com. In their tag navigation, the length of the link tag is proportional to the number of articles it contains. I can’t say this works, or that I’d employ it, but it’s interesting and I applaud their thinking.
On March 21, 2008, Todd posted this entry in Interaction, Development, methods, lazy web.
Something just struck me–something that I’d really like to have. Can someone create an RIA that allows me to quickly create a low-fidelity sketch of a site, along with a service that allows these to be published, annotated, and shared online? Off the cuff, my base requirements for this would be:
Some really nice-to-have’s include:
Maybe there’s something already out there that does the task? Adobe Version Cue has some collaboration tools that I haven’t yet explored. Gliffy does some of this too. Denim is close, but lacks a service to map up to.
Some of the tools that I think do a great job, and would serve as inspiration for this tool include:
Finally, while I’m at it (and since there’s still lots of time before Christmas), I want a image thumbnail web service. Basically, I send it an image and tell it what size and type of thumbnails I want. Perhaps I even supply it with the crop coordinates. It sends me back a gzipped file with my images. Oh I can wish.
On March 9, 2008, Todd posted this entry in User Experience, Usability, Interaction.
When people asked me what a “user experience” designer was, I usually gave them the following answer: “I try to make software easier to use.” Simple and approachable, and without the arm-waving, chest-puffing that we UXDs use to justify what we do.
After reevaluating that canned response, I realize I was wrong.
As a UX designer, what I’m really after is trying to make software more pleasurable, which is not the same as easier. Pleasure is larger than that, and includes wonder, exploration and serendipity. Sometimes, easier isn’t always better.
Case in point, I like espresso. Scratch that–I have a real problem with it, in the way that addictions can creep into and start to change a person’s life. I’ve invested in $200+ coffee grinders. I go out of my way to buy beans in small batches from people who roast it that day. I adapt my grind for humidity and time my doppios to hit the 25-27 second mark. I’ve measured my tamp pressure to 30lbs using a bathroom scale. I’ll probably start roasting at home unless someone stops this sordid affair.
For god’s sake, I’ve watched YouTube videos showing shots pulled through naked, bottomless portafilters.
Making espresso is not for the impatient or half-assed. If you want to make it yourself, you’ve got to fully commit. No espresso-head, I argue, would consider pulling a good shot an easy task. All the elements have to be in place. Anything awry–old beans, bad water, weak tamping, too fine or too coarse grind–can lead to swill. I know because I’ve choked it down, and still do so frequently.
But I’m learning.
I love the process simply because it is not easy. Actually, it’s the opposite. It’s a wonderful challenge, with a delicious reward. The learning curve is part of the fun, in a way that mastery of an art should be. If easy was what I was after, I’d head down to the local indie coffeehouse and plunk down my 2 bucks.1 If I was conducting a usability test on the process, I’d have to conclude that it completely fails. But that disregards the other intangibles, such as the thrill of mastery.
So, to say that “user experience” is always about making things easier isn’t the whole story. User efficiency is definitely a factor, but not singularly so. Delight and engagement–often the byproducts of ease of use–are higher objectives to work toward. It all depends upon the context; ease of use is simply one factor to consider.
1 This is hypothetical. I haven’t found a place nearby that does a decent job of espresso. I won’t name names, but let’s just say that I’m underwhelmed with what I’ve received at the ITB Raleigh coffeehouses.
On March 9, 2008, Todd posted this entry in Interaction, Interface.
This is undeniably cool. Via NYTimes.com, I learned about a new plugin for firefox called PicLens. It allows you to browse images as a 3D wall. Words really can’t describe how it works. Watch the video below for a demo.
On March 7, 2008, Todd posted this entry in Design, User Experience, Usability, Interaction, Interface, Development, methods.
A few days ago, I wrote a post on the Capstrat blog about this idea I’ve been working out. It’s called Pidgin, which is a diagramming tool to accomplish two goals in tandem. One, Pidgin is aimed at providing definition to what a UI needs to encompass. Second–but in unison–it needs to be less prescriptive of the visual design. So basically, it’s trying to situate itself in the pre-design phase, when requirements are solid but the design is still fluffy and unbounded. Check it out here. Manners dictate that I don’t cross post.
On March 1, 2008, Todd posted this entry in Design, User Experience, Interaction, Interface, Development, methods.
At work, we’re always looking for ways to better bring personas to the creatives and the developers. One idea that we’ve been tossing around is a physical moodboard for personas. I’m calling this the Stage.
The stage is a lo-fi, physical space where personas are built and refined. It is designed to evolve and to be a work in progress. Implemented, it resembles a mood board for personas.
Carrying a deep respect for the user throughout a project’s development is critical to user experience design. Knowing who we are designing for is the responsibility of all project members. Much of the information known about the users is contained within the minds of the UX designers. The product– formal persona documents– often do not communicate the research and insights that underpin them. Often, they lack the vivacity needed for others to empathize with the users they represent. Further, they don’t easily engage other parties in the research and design process.
Much of the information that describes the user is secondary to the persona. Quotes, thoughts, misgivings, apprehensions help develop the persona but can be overly summarized to make a tight, succinct document.
Additionally, personas don’t easily invite serendipity and evolution. Research doesn’t stop once a persona document is delivered. As time progresses, inevitably designers better understand users’ behaviors and desires. The Stage invites these small bits of information in an unstructured way. It encourages discussion, change and evolution. Viewers are able to respond to these artifacts and discuss the inferences and conclusions that are drawn.
As a physical space, the Stage asserts itself and demands attention. Permanence and visibility are key to its success. It needs to occupy a space that receives constant foot traffic and where close inspection is encouraged. As a dedicated space, it invites asynchronous interaction where people can respond to it on their own time.
The Stage requires simple ingredients. Foremost is a space to place the material. It should be waist to chest high and (for us) at least 4’ x 4’. The surface should be a surface that can be written on: butcher paper, a whiteboard or similar. Nearby should be a steady supply of post it notes, markers and tape. Materials added to the Stage include screenshots, pictures, quotes, brief bios, research findings and diagrams.
A visitor should be able to glance at it and assemble an idea of the persona without reading a lengthy document. People may feel free to add and remove items from a persona as they see fit. Questions may be added to the board for other designers to react to. Generally, the Stage should resemble a work in progress; it should not appear overly structured or precious. Staying orderly and presentable can discourage others from adding their own input.
The Stage is not a replacement for personas. It exists as a shared sketchbook, the results of which are formalized into the persona documents. During the development cycle, it is a continual reference point for all members of the project team. For people outside the project—clients, visitors, for example—the Stage is a demonstration of user-centered design. It indicates how we involve the user in our approach and serves as a discussion point to further evangelize the need for understanding the user. Succinctly, the Stage helps make the research process more transparent.
The name “stage” was borne of two ideas that are relevant to the concept. From theater, the stage connotes a place where characters are presented to an audience. The Stage can also be defined as an intermediate place where concepts are still being explored and refined. Both invoke the spirit and goals of the Stage.
On September 7, 2007, Todd posted this entry in User Experience, Information Architecture, Usability, Interaction, Interface.
Just wanted to post an update on some of the recent events that have occurred in the Phoenix usability community.
Christopher Brya has been hard at work assembling interested members and putting together the paperwork to create a UPA chapter in Arizona. In case you’re not aware, UPA
…supports usability specialists, people from all aspects of human-centered design, and the broad family of disciplines that create the user experience in promoting the design and development of usable products.
He’s even started a blog at arizonaupa.blogspot.com. Head over there and sign up for the mailing list. If you’re interested, leave a comment on the blog about what you’d like to see the group tackle.
Theo Mandel has started putting together the framework for our local World Usability Day Event. In his words,
I would like to announce the Phoenix event for World Usability Day 2007 on November 8, 2007. The Applied Psychology Program and Cognitive Engineering Research Institute at ASU’s Polytechnic Campus have graciously agreed to host the event on their campus in Mesa. The event will take place from 6-9 p.m. on the evening of Thursday, November 8, 2007. There will be no cost to participants to attend the event.
For more information, check out the full message at the PHX UEX Google group. If you’re interested in presenting (or sponsoring of course!) definitely throw your hat into the ring.
On April 27, 2007, Todd posted this entry in Information Architecture, Interaction.
I came across this wonderful design pattern that is employed by eBay in its search results. What’s so hot about this?
Performing a search is a difficult process, not so much by what is returned but understanding what isn’t. As a result, it can be difficult to anticipate the effect of changing search parameters since it’s often unpredictable whether you’ll receive a larger or smaller result set–or more signal and less noise.
This pattern, however, identifies that concern and provides a comparative display of what else is out there if you were to loosen or constrict your parameters a bit. For me, I was looking for a mid-century modern sofa near Phoenix. I’m open to other possibilities though, and with this pattern I can start to juggle my priorities intelligently. Do I really care if it’s local–or am I more concerned that it adheres to a certain style?
Years ago, right when the Google API first came out, I wrote a prototype that performed a synonym search using Princeton’s Wordnet service. The goal there was to provide a better search experience for a user who might not know the best terms to use when articulating a query. So, a user could identify a terms that they were unsure of by prefixing it with a character–I used a tilde.
A standard search would be performed but additional information would be returned that showed alternative terms and the number of results. That way, a user could re-assess their keywords in case the results didn’t meet their expectations. Thankfully, Google ended up doing this on its own. And it used the tilde too. But I digress.
On March 31, 2007, Todd posted this entry in User Experience, Interaction.
I was using TinyURL the other day and decided on a whim to see what was located at MiniURL.org. As expected, there was a similar service to TinyURL’s: enter an URL and whammo, a shortened link.
What was pretty thoughtful was that MiniURL automatically copies the url to your clipboard. That’s a nice touch, since I’d expect the next task for most users would be to paste the url into an email or a blog post. Of course, there’s the problem that it overwrites whatever is currently in your clipboard. So, there might be a collision of expectations for some users.
I appreciate the concern anyway, even if it doesn’t work with Safari.
On March 4, 2007, Todd posted this entry in User Experience, Interaction.
While I was reading an article at The New York Times, I came across a surprising little widget–one that I hadn’t seen or heard of before.
When I read for any extended session online, I have a nervous habit of highlighting the text as I go along. In this case, I began highlighting a word, lost touch of the trackpad, and tried to recover. As I did, however, I must have double-clicked the word and up popped a new window. Before I could dismiss it, I noticed that it gave me the definition for the word I had selected. Nice.
Oomblog is a stream of thoughts, ostensibly focused on user experience.
