In 2017 I wrote that soon we will see better designed products because companies which make design tools were getting big rounds of venture capital. While this has been true, I am now seeing some very well designed products. But not because someone used better tool to make them, but because they were made more …
Tag: UX
Looking at Users
(Note: If you are reading this in email, I recommend reading it on the site, as this post has informative images) People look at people differently. Thus they come to radically different conclusions, and get different ideas about them. Users as numbers and dots Some (like marketers) see users/people/humans as pure abstractions. Dots, or numbers. …
A matter of context
We all know that context matters in making products, but sometimes the effects of context can be subtle. Dropbox is a ~10 billion dollar company. For a long time I did not understand what made them tick. This product just helps me store files in the cloud, what's the big deal? I forgot about it …
Talking about design
In a few days I have to talk, to give a talk, about design and user experience to some of my colleagues. This makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I enjoy doing design and discussing specific problems, but I dislike talking about the general parts of it. Like many things user experience (UX) has become a buzzword …
Worried about users or worried about UX?
This is a gentle reminder to myself (and readers) to worry about the users and not about the UX. UX has become a thing, with it's terms, buzzwords, patterns, methods and processes. While these help, they pose the danger of thinking in terms of these labels, rather than simply thinking about the user. (Since UX …
Word Power
Words are a critical part of User Experience. I have been watching a bit of The Crown, a Netflix series based on the life of Queen Elizabeth the 2nd. It shows notable personalities like Winston Churchill and Lord Mountbatten, in their day to day life, and I recommend it for the detail. In a few scenes …
Little things matter
I love designs which make people feel competent, in control. This is a DE coffee machine: And it has little half-moon shaped guides for keeping a cup. This gives a solid, physical indication to the user about where she should keep the cup. Many machines have round markers, but nothing physical. And it has happened …
Another Example of Direct Manipulation
I have noted the power of direct manipulation here. So, another example caught my mind when traveling in Dutch buses. These buses have a button near every seat which can be pressed, and that highlights the stop button on a screen far away, so that everyone can see it is on. But while this is …
Most digital products suck because you can’t get your hands on them (literally)
The problem with most digital products is that you can't touch them. Let me go out on a limb here and say that touching is one of the most basic human.. wants (can the word 'want' be noun-ed? I don't know, but you know what I mean). Think about a red bench with a sign …
Continue reading Most digital products suck because you can’t get your hands on them (literally)
Multi-touch large screen museum painting mind-bending awesome stuff
https://youtu.be/N3TDeFEr-c8 This is something we found at the Escher Museum in the Hague, Netherlands. I love the experience of Multi-touch on a very large screen. The final image is shown below, taken from here. Of course, I strongly recommend checking out the mind-bending work of this guy. Mr. Jobs himself marketed multi-touch as awesome. I …
Continue reading Multi-touch large screen museum painting mind-bending awesome stuff
