It is difficult to find a phrase that exactly describes my work and the way I approach it. I’ve started to talk about human-centred approaches. This post explains what I mean by that. Read full article
1 commentArchive — User interface design
UX design’s UX design problem
How a chat at a conference underlined that user experience itself has a user experience problem — and what we can do about it. Read full article
2 commentsService design and the Mario complex
At Service Design in Government, I discovered that service designers see themselves as Mario. But that is an unrealistic model for what service design should be. Read full article
11 commentsUI vs UX — Xkcd
Xkcd’s take on this perennial debate. I guess it had to happen sometime. 🙈
Nine years ago, soon after I started working on a university website, Xkcd published the classic comic called University Website.
URLs aren’t good enough
I am a web enthusiast, but I think we need to find a better way to navigate the web than URLs. Read full article
1 commentDesigning the UI of Google Translate
Designing the UI of Google Translate
I’m not too keen on user interface design showcases, because they usually boil down to: “look me make shiny thing”. But I really enjoyed this case study of how Google Translate redesigned their interface to make people more aware of some of the app’s most useful features.
What is this thing called design?
What is this thing called design?
I got out of bed and, in roughly an hour, hammered out a kind of primer on UX/UI design, which I’m publishing below. It’s a very unformed, rambly screed that I won’t pretend is at all definitive or even fully accurate. In fact it’s still basically a first draft; I literally typed it out in bullet point form, as shown below, a trick I used in order to absolve myself of the responsibility of writing a fully articulated essay.
Despite Khoi Vinh’s self-deprecation here, I think this is an excellent attempt at explaining what design is. For those who are frustrated about having to explain that design isn’t (just) about making things pretty, this blog post provides an excellent introduction to why — as well as helpfully explaining why this perception exists in the first place. Not bad for an hour’s work.
The societal benefits of smart speakers
The societal benefits of smart speakers
There is a tendency to focus on the negative aspects of new technologies, and smart speakers are no different. This article focuses on the benefits that smart speakers are bringing to society.
We don’t always think of these type of use cases when we’re designing. Creators of a home assistant robot were surprised when their first real user, a quadriplegic man, immediately asked the robot to fetch a towel to wipe his mouth. It was certainly not the top capability the creators of the helper robot had designed it for, but sometimes these automated devices give us something we don’t always think enough about: our dignity.
Twitter gets message order wrong
Twitter gets message order wrong
Philip Hunt on how bad Twitter’s user interface has become.
When Twitter started out, it was such a simple concept. Just straightforward status updates; no real interaction. (When I joined Twitter, @ replies didn’t even exist yet.)
Over time it has added more and more features — replies, retweets, quote retweets, threads. Seemingly it has not been thought through properly.
If you spend a lot of time on Twitter, you catch onto these user interface quirks pretty quickly. But new users must find it so intimidating. So it is little wonder Twitter struggles to attract and retain new users.
A brief rant on the future of interaction design
A brief rant on the future of interaction design
A fascinating perspective on why futuristic interfaces need to think beyond the touch screen — “Pictures Under Glass”.
The Google accessibility tool that will improve mobile devices for everyone
Google wanted to fix mobile interfaces for people with motor impairments. But this new technology will benefit us all. Read full article
CommentThis is why the future of our digital interactions could be in audio
We have an innate desire to pursue mobility. This is why that makes audio interfaces the logical next step in digital design. Read full article
1 commentExciting developments in mobile user interfaces
This edition of the digital design digest highlights some incredible looking technology from Microsoft that could transform mobile interfaces. Read full article
CommentWhy hamburger menus can be good for you as part of a healthy balanced diet
There is an interesting debate in the design community right now about the hamburger menu. Given two extremes of opinion, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Read full article
CommentThe power of the web has not yet been unlocked
I think about the web all the time. I like to believe that I get it. But I am still surprised by the advances in technology and the promise the future holds. Read full article
CommentNexus 10: my first tablet
Up until now, the tablet revolution has passed me by. But now I have decided to get the Nexus 10. It is a highly impressive piece of kit, but there are frustrations too. Read full article
1 comment