The meaning of user experience has changed over time. While it can still be a useful phrase, its limitations are becoming problematic. Read full article
CommentThe limitations of the phrase user experience
Archive — Article
New year in Marstrand, Sweden
Alex and I took a short break over new year to Marstrand in Sweden. Read full article
CommentHard breakfast
The cards are up in the air in the competition to wake up the nation. Seemingly every major station has seen its breakfast line-up change in the past few months. Read full article
CommentFour perspectives on Brexit wrongness
Here are some recent thought-provoking blog posts about Brexit I’ve seen. The first two particularly relate to the damage being caused by Jeremy Corbyn’s approach. The other two are different perspectives from Liberal Democrats. Read full article
CommentA year of blogging daily
Last year I began a routine of publishing shorter posts on an almost-daily basis. Today marks a full year of blogging on a daily basis. It's also the day I'll stop posting each day. Read full article
4 commentsWe would mourn the loss of HMV
There has been some snooty commentary surrounding the potential loss of HMV. But it is sad news that it is once again in trouble. Read full article
1 commentMerry Christmas — reflecting on 2018 and looking forward to 2019
Thinking about it, 2018 hasn't been a particularly notable year. Then again, in 2017 I got a new job, and I got engaged. So that was always going to be a tough act to follow. Read full article
CommentThe last Christmas Eve at Woolworths
There is a stereotype about mildly panicking male shoppers wandering around shops at the last minute on Christmas Eve, not quite knowing what to buy. I learnt that such people were not always male, and some of them were rather old enough to know better than to leave things at the last minute. Read full article
CommentWe don’t need a second referendum
We need to stop Brexit now. Read full article
1 commentWhy a bad algorithm is like a bad magic trick
About 20 years ago I watched a TV programme featuring the magician Paul Zenon. He invited the viewers to think of a card, and he said he could guess the card you were thinking of. Read full article
1 commentBelgian Grand Prix race day — Trip to Belgium part 3
This year's Belgian Grand Prix may have been a damp squib, but we still had a great time on race day. Read full article
3 commentsTrip to Belgium part 2 — Belgian Grand Prix qualifying day, and F1 Vision reviewed
The on-track action ramped up on Saturday, with the the first races of the weekend — and F1 qualifying. But the handheld F1 Vision device could have done with some improvements. Read full article
CommentResources for becoming a better speaker
I already thought I was quite good at presenting, but recently I've had to up my game. These two resources have helped me do that. Read full article
CommentOur first grand prix experience — Trip to Belgium part 1 — Arrival and Friday practice
Even though both Gordon and I have been avid Formula 1 fans since we were kids, we have never made it to a grand prix. That changed when we went with Alex on a road trip to see the Belgian Grand Prix. Read full article
3 commentsWhen individual experience isn’t enough — what shared spaces teach us about the challenge and opportunity for user experience
There is a problem with user experience. But if we're smart, it's also an opportunity to become more relevant, and solve some of society's biggest problems. Read full article
4 commentsLost week
I've been hit with a nasty cold-or-flu-like virus. Read full article
1 commentRe-appraising Drukqs by Aphex Twin
When it came out in 2001, Drukqs divided critics. But for me, it's still the most important Aphex Twin album. Read full article
2 comments“Do you have any questions for us?”
Whether I’m the interviewee or an interviewer, I find this section of a job interview one of the most interesting and telling moments. Read full article
1 commentWhy make the BBC and Channel 4 fix the problem that ITV created?
Lots of expensive schemes have forced the BBC and Channel 4 to make TV less London-centric. But why has ITV been allowed to continue centralising? Read full article
CommentParallels with Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari career are bad news for Sebastian Vettel
There were four stages of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari career. Sebastian Vettel has so far matched the first three stages. The fourth stage is one he'll want to avoid. Read full article
1 commentShifting focus
When it came to blogging, the tail was wagging the dog. So I have changed my routine. Read full article
1 commentHow to get results in the ultimate agile environment
How lessons from how Formula 1 teams are managed could apply to other businesses. Read full article
CommentOn my podcast playlists right now
I have listened to podcasts on an almost daily basis for well over 10 years now. Here is a selection of my current podcast recommendations. Read full article
2 commentsA weekend at Inver, a Fyne restaurant with rooms
A couple of months ago Alex and I went with our friends Louise and Jamie for a weekend at Inver, a restaurant with rooms on Loch Fyne, on the west coast of Scotland. Read full article
CommentBBC Radio 2’s impossible position is of its own doing
BBC Radio 2 will see its two most important programmes losing its presenters in quick succession. Regulations put it in an impossible position. Yet the BBC still brought this situation on itself. Read full article
1 commentWhy Google’s feed succeeds when Facebook’s fails
With Google adding its Discover feed to its famously minimalist homepage, what will stop them repeating Facebook’s mistakes? Read full article
4 commentsSo it happened — Flickr has got rid of almost-unlimited storage
This week, Flickr announced that free accounts will be limited to only 1,000 photos. It's another warning that we can't rely on externally-run content silos. Read full article
CommentAutumn dip
Over the past few years I have noticed that I always have a distinct dip in the autumn. I feel more tired, I feel less happy, and I think less clearly. Read full article
5 comments13 years too late, the BBC’s classical music back catalogue is being made available
Once in a while, when listening to music on shuffle, a Beethoven symphony plays. The MP3 files came from the BBC. It was an experiment never to be repeated. Read full article
CommentVettel’s fight for five became Seb’s soggy squib
This was meant to be the year. 2018 was supposed to be the time Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari took the fight to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Read full article
3 commentsLiberty Media need to learn that you can’t polish a turd
Two years ago I wrote about how I felt motorsport is in an inevitable decline. F1 may have undergone a change of ownership since then, but the problems are, if anything, greater now. Read full article
2 commentsURLs 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 commentHow Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman has supported my career
Last week I attended the Public Sector Design Community Meet-up. Attendees were invited to share a book, podcast or talk that has influenced or supported their career. Read full article
2 commentsThe danger of relying on natural talent
Believing you are naturally talented at something may in fact be detrimental to your development. Read full article
CommentVisiting V&A Dundee — Dundee dares to dream
I had read some fairly mixed reviews about V&A Dundee — both the building and the exhibitions. So I had prepared myself to keep my excitement in order. In the end, I was largely delighted by both the building and the exhibitions. Read full article
CommentThe problem with trusting experience over expertise (a story about design thinking, astronauts, Formula 1 pundits and Brexit)
The media — and society in general — has gradually drifted away from listening to expert figures, in favour of practitioners. But it is leaving us less enlightened. Read full article
1 commentAre driver development programmes actually hindering young drivers?
Esteban Ocon's links with Mercedes have closed off opportunities for him to develop in the midfield. Read full article
1 commentI smashed my expectations at Pedal for Scotland 2018
Yesterday was Pedal for Scotland, the annual cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh. It's the second time I have taken part, my first being last year. But I was concerned that I wouldn't be prepared enough for the 45 mile cycle. Read full article
1 commentI used a day off work to listen to the new eight hour long Autechre album — NTS Sessions 1–4
Autechre's latest album is so long I had to take a day off work to listen to it. Autechre have ploughed the same sonic furrow in recent years. So was the new album worth the time off? Read full article
1 commentOff to Belgium
Tomorrow I set off on holiday for two weeks. I have scheduled some link posts for the duration of my holiday so that the mirage of my daily publishing is maintained. So if anything seems weirdly incongruous, or if I seem strangely unresponsive to any comments, that's why. Read full article
5 commentsFernando Alonso’s failed F1 career presents him with the chance to become a legend
With Fernando Alonso’s future in F1 limited to the middle of the pack, he has sought other challenges. In doing so, he has taken control of the narrative around his career, despite the embarrassing predicament he faced in motorsport’s top tier. Read full article
2 commentsReview: Jim Tavaré: From Deadpan to Bedpan
Last year Jim Tavaré almost died in a road accident. So he is back at the Fringe to tell the story — and seemingly to help make himself better. Read full article
CommentReview: User Not Found
User Not Found is a play about what happens to your digital identity after you die. It is staged at the Jeelie Piece cafe and community art space at Tollcross. Audience members sit in the cafe and are given headphones and smartphones. Read full article
CommentReview: What Girls Are Made Of
I really enjoyed What Girls Are Made Of, which is on at the Traverse Theatre until 26 August. It tells the true story of Darlingheart, a band from Kirkcaldy who ended up touring with Radiohead and Blur, before their album tanked and the record industry spat them back out. Read full article
CommentLetterboxing in Lundy — how not to get bored on a tiny island
This time last year, Alex and I went on holiday to Lundy. The island was best known to me as one of those mysterious locations of the shipping forecast. Somewhere between the Irish Sea and Fastnet, wherever that is. Read full article
CommentHow I learnt to embrace handwriting, sketching and sticking stuff on walls
Working on walls is an unbeatable way to create ideas as well as communicating them. But I learnt that lesson the hard way. Read full article
1 commentThe web’s bloated middle
Website publishers have been incentivised to do exactly the opposite of what could have made the web so great. Read full article
6 commentsWhat next for Sauchiehall Street?
Like many things that are supposed to be good about Glasgow, I never understood the appeal of Sauchiehall Street. Read full article
2 commentsDay out at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
We really enjoy visiting Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It's a fabulous space, both outdoor and indoor. It's large enough that you can't comfortably see all of it in one visit, meaning every time you go you see something new. Read full article
CommentDoes Fernando Alonso have too much influence at McLaren?
Rather than figuring out their problem and focusing on solving it, McLaren seem to be more interested in keeping one particular employee happy. At all costs. Read full article
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