All posts from
February 2013

Storyboarding in the software design process

Great proof that software design is the cinematography of the 21st century

“Using storyboards in software design can be difficult because of some common challenges and drawbacks to the tools we have. The good news is that there’s a new, free tool that tries to address many of these issues. But before I get into that, let’s revisit the value of using storyboards (and stories in general) in software design.”

(Ambrose Little a.k.a. @ambroselittle ~ UX Magazine)

Prototyping for mobile designs

Always wondered why mobile design would be different than plain software design. Is being able to move around the differentiator?

“Building a prototype is a great way to test your design early on with users. Whether you choose to go for a high-fidelity representation, or go lo-fi with paper, you can learn a lot about the usability of your site. Often, teams are concerned with which technique or tool to use because of the litany that are available.”

(Kelly Goto a.k.a. @go2girl ~ User Interface Engineering)

What to expect from a content strategy process

Testimonial for content strategy, the Canadian way.

“Content strategy is the most important part of your project. It is where you plan what to put into the website, trade publication, brochure, catalog, fifty foot outdoor advertisement, or whatever. Some companies do content strategy intuitively, but most need a lot of help. Enter the content strategist.”

(Darcy Hastings a.k.a. @bioagency ~ BIO digital)

The past 100 years of the future: Human-computer interaction in science-fiction movies and television (.pdf)

HCI in films, TV shows and SciFi is really getting a genre.

“During the past hundred years, science-fiction (sci-fi) films and, later, videos, have, of necessity, had to depict detailed views of human-computer interaction (HCI) of the future, or alternate pasts/presents, in order to convey a compelling scene and, sometimes, in order move forward the plot. This publication explores some of the themes that emerge from examining this body of work. The basic premise is simple: HCI professionals can learn something from sci-fi media, and sci-fi media-producers can learn more from HCI professionals in order to show smarter views of the future.”

(Aaron Marcus a.k.a. @amandaberkeley ~ Amanda)

“All of the work we do is change management”

Karens star is rising and rising.

Interview with Karen McGrane. ~ “For us this is a generational issue, and it’s our life’s work to help contribute to organizations’ learning how digital design (and information architecture) should fit into their organization. If we are going to be successful, we may not fix it for ourselves, but for the next generation of digital designers, I want to leave those organizations better off. There will also be some social darwinism, where the organizations that successfully navigate this transition are the ones that are going to survive.”

(IA Summit 2013)

User experience in startups: Challenges and realities

Besides business, startups are the new hunting grounds for UX design.

“To understand how User Experience fits into a startup, it is critical that you understand the startup maturation cycle. While each startup has its own story, they all typically progress through the same stages. It is essential that you understand the personnel dynamics, the startup’s need for UX design, and its immediate business objectives and constraints at each stage.”

(Sasha Giacoppo a.k.a. @asgiacoppo ~ UXmatters)

Design dissonance: When form and function collide

Very happy Eric (finally) contributed to UXm.

“Dissonance is a musical term. It means things are not in harmony. Design dissonance occurs when a product or service sends out cognitive signals that run counter to the desired effect. In the strictest sense of the term, design dissonance often relates to usability – when a design somehow pushes a user in the wrong direction, in terms of both understanding and action. But in a broader sense, design dissonance can create disappointment, particularly when it occurs in relation to a service.”

(Eric Reiss a.k.a. @elreiss ~ UXmatters)

Typography and information design: Reflections and critiques (.pdf)

Typography as the essential ingredient of design for search, find, and use information.

“A stroke, a letter, a word, a sentence, a paragraph, a page, and a book: all essentially linear constructs of the typographic mind put into action. There is a typographic order of ‘things’, a logical sequence from the most simple, to the most complex. A line, a space, a rectangle, a margin—an aesthetic device for visuality. As an infinite list of signifiers, the above lists signify the qualitative/quantitative display of the visual properties of typography: the micro and the macro, the color and the density, the positives and the negatives, the visible and the invisibles; these are some of the typographic paradigms that yield communicative visualization.”

(Chun-wo Pat ~ Parsons Journal of Information Mapping)