User Experience
Get flash to fully experience Pearltrees
Introduction Today, almost everybody in the developed world interacts with personal computers in some form or another. We use them at home and at work, for entertainment, information, and as tools to leverage our knowledge and intelligence. It is pretty much assumed whenever anyone sits down to use a personal computer that it will operate with a graphical user interface. We expect to interact with it primarily using a mouse, launch programs by clicking on icons, and manipulate various windows on the screen using graphical controls. But this was not always the case.
A History of the GUI
CIOs seeking system interfaces that are 'Apple-simple' - training, Toyota, Technology Topics | Development, Technology Topics, simple, it management, interface, CIO role, Apple-simple, Apple
The consumerization of IT pressures CIOs to make office tools as easy to use as personal technology. Some CIOs strive for new systems that are "Apple-simple," meaning the interface is so simple that no formal training is required. Just pinch or tap, swipe and go. (For more on the challenges of simplification, see " CIOs In Search of Simplicity .")
Photo by Ken Yeung I really enjoy talking complex subjects, processes or business problems and boiling them down to their core essence. This is becoming known as the process of "Visual Thinking".
Visual Thinking + Synthesis
New Defining the User Experience
One of the best blogs I know on user experience is Logic+Emotion . This is the personal blog of David Armano who is VP of Experience Design with Critical Mass, a professional services firm that works on creating outstanding experiences. His great strength is in creating fantastic visuals.Better User Experience With Storytelling - Part One
Stories have defined our world. They have been with us since the dawn of communication, from cave walls to the tall tales recounted around fires. They have continued to evolve with their purpose remaining the same; To entertain, to share common experiences, to teach, and to pass on traditions.
Demystifying Usability : Figuring out how to deal with Stupid Users
There's a common belief that the problem with errors users make with Web sites or Web apps has to do with differing intelligence levels .Some users even blame themselves for being dumb. "Sorry about this", I was told by an IT manager at a major financial institution, "It's just that our users are lazy and stupid". If only, we could blame intelligence, IQ or motivation! Waiting for smart users to use your design is like trying to train your users to use your interface- it will end in failure. In this post we'll figure out how to deal with so-called stupid users and design for them with designs that are so intelligent even the most stupid user can use them.
Of Bugs and Humbugs We all have blind spots. Literally and figuratively. Blind spots are areas of reality we are not normally aware of. We have blind spots of vision (physiological), blind spots of perception (experiential and cultural), even of blind spots of themselves (psychological). Not to worry, though; it’s only natural.
Stumbling on Usability - Ideas - User Experience - UX Design
UX Design Defined - User Experience - UX Design
User Experience Design (UXD, UED), Interaction Design (IxD), User Interface (UI) Design and other web/application design professionals use the term User Experience Design to refer to the judicious application of certain user-centered design practices, a highly contextual design mentality, and use of certain methods and techniques that are applied through process management to produce cohesive, predictable, and desirable effects in a specific person, or persona (archetype comprised of target audience habits and characteristics). All so that the affects produced meet the user’s own goals and measures of success and enjoyment, as well as the objectives of the providing organization. This is not the only definition of User Experience Design. The term was coined by Don Norman while he was Vice President of the Advanced Technology Group at Apple.
User experience design can sometimes be a slippery term.
What Is User Experience Design » Articles » Montparnas User Experience Design Blog
The ROI of Usability - UPA's User Experience Winter 2002
ROI - Return on Investment - is one way of looking at the value of usability to a business.
By Ritch Macefield Published: June 18, 2012 “In the field of user experience, people often confuse terms like information architecture, interaction design, visual design, usability engineering, and UX design .” Unfortunately, in the field of user experience, people often confuse terms like information architecture, interaction design, visual design, usability engineering, and UX design . In some cases, people use these terms almost interchangeably.
UX Design Defined
I wrote an article on ubiquitous computing user experience design for ACM's interactions magazine. The final article is only available to subscribers, but here's a preprint version of it: I think 2005 was the year we began living in the world of commonplace ubiquitous computing devices. That year Apple put out the screenless iPod Shuffle, Adidas launched the adidas_1 shoe, and iRobot launched the Discovery—its second-generation vacuum robot. Sadly, even though we live in that world, the user experience design of most everyday ubiquitous computing devices—things you see in gadget blogs—is typically terrible.