Thoughts

Elastic lists: turbo-charged faceted navigation

2012-02-17T11:21:53+00:00

Interaction design patterns are constantly evolving and every now and then a really interesting one crops up. This time, it is a novel approach to faceted navigation, called 'elastic lists', which utilises information visualisation principles.

Are you developing your design career?

2012-02-07T01:08:26+00:00

There is a sudden, surprising upsurge in the number of designers extolling the value of code. That’s not to say that designers are arbitrarily acknowledging the beauty of a well-formed operator overload in C++. No, they’re clamouring for courseware for front-end development. Designers want to be developers.

Analytics won’t help you design for the future

2012-02-03T13:50:15+00:00

Analytics are of enormous value to digital marketers but be careful not to lose sight of what your customers actually want, think and feel. An understanding of your customers on this level is needed to drive innovation and inform future strategy, planning and design decision making. It’s not an 'either /or' choice but rather a question of using the right kind of tools for the job.

The Internet is Magic

2012-01-17T14:29:02+00:00

For many people the internet is as magical as snake charming. It is our job as practitioners to keep this magic alive by enabling great experiences and encouraging people to talk about them.

Where’s the X in UX?

2012-01-16T11:58:40+00:00

There is lots of F: functionality that is. So much so I am wondering if we should rename UX UF, as in User Functionality. Not that there is anything wrong with the F word. It’s great when you have an intuitive online journey. But to my mind that is only half the story. It strikes me that there isn’t enough X in UX.

Get personal with personas

2011-11-30T16:09:17+00:00

Persona development can be contradictory. We use personas to validate and stress-test user journeys, scenarios, navigation models and so on, but we often don’t stress-test the personas themselves to see if they withstand scrutiny.

Complexity…

2011-11-10T21:58:43+00:00

“They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong." Ronald Reagan

Behind the scenes, today’s products and services are very complex. The challenge for design teams grows and companies struggle to create the increasingly important illusion of simplicity.

The baguette experience

2011-11-01T13:30:50+00:00

You are a weary business traveler at an international train station. And you have one pressing problem: you are hungry. Luckily, you spot a baguette chain store and decide to take a closer look. Their baguettes look amazing, especially that one on the right; fresh tomatoes and mozzarella in a crusty French baguette.

The future’s bright, the future’s playful

2011-10-28T13:36:41+00:00

It is perhaps fitting that, as we scrambled to the finish line of Playful 11, the last thing we had to do was stack the chairs in Conway Hall so that the ballroom dancing could start on time. Last time I stacked chairs to make way for dancing was at school, at a time when I thought the future was bright, shiny and full of opportunities.

All hail the detail

2011-10-27T14:05:41+00:00

Small design nuances (flourishes, if you will) help to define your product and set it apart from your competitors.