Second-hand UX: The social implications of tangible tech

Added on 28 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

In open ecosystems, the experiences of all humans matter.

“From a philosophical perspective, a lack of care about the psychological and sociological toll our products may take on users could drastically alter the concept of a traditional society altogether. It’s better to recognize and reverse potentially harmful design patterns now before habits and cultural beliefs lose sight of social concerns that were once fundamental. Despite popular belief, money and societal good do not have to be mutually exclusive. Let’s start taking second-hand experience into consideration and make it a core part of the way we practice UX.”

Dash Neimark a.k.a. /uxdash | @ux_Dash ~ Boxes and Arrows ★

Why emerging technologies are the next great frontier for UX

Added on 27 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

UX seems technology-driven, but it’s not. Experiences are as old as humans are, in whatever circumstances.

“Robotics. Genomics. Synthetic biology. Such emerging technologies are today at the cusp of widespread commercial adoption and will have disruptive impact across industries—from agriculture to manufacturing and health to energy. These technologies are the next great frontier for User Experience. Science, engineering, and design are percolating on solutions to many technological challenges. UX designers are bringing the expertise they’ve gained in creating digital and physical products to bear on new robotic and even biological products. For instance, at the Wyss Institute, cross-disciplinary teams comprising scientists, engineers, designers, business people, and other innovators are creating and commercializing bio-inspired products. Last year, the Bio/Nano Programmable Matter group at Autodesk created a synthetic bacteriophage and 3D printed the virus. The company, which is best known for its design and engineering software, is now working on a next-gen software platform for synthetic-biology design.”

Jonathan Follett a.k.a. /jonfollett | @jonfollett ~ UXmatters ★

Customer experience versus user experience: Why the difference matters

Added on 23 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

The delta creates the concepts.

“User experience is not the same as customer experience. While most designers directly influence the UX, they also need to understand the larger context of the CX. The customer experience represents every step of the journey from when users are running price comparisons, to when users try the product, to when users may resort to customer service if their needs aren’t met.”

Jerry Cao a.k.a. /thinkjerrycao | @jerrycao_uxpin ~ The Next Web ★ courtesy of @nicooooooon

Manufacturing Magic and Computational Creativity

Added on 20 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

Magic from the Machine.

“This paper describes techniques in computational creativity, blending mathematical modeling and psychological insight, to generate new magic tricks. The details of an explicit computational framework capable of creating new magic tricks are summarized, and evaluated against a range of contemporary theories about what constitutes a creative system. To allow further development of the proposed system we situate this approach to the generation of magic in the wider context of other areas of application in computational creativity in performance arts. We show how approaches in these domains could be incorporated to enhance future magic generation systems, and critically review possible future applications of such magic generating computers.”

Howard Williams and Peter W. McOwan ~ Frontiers in Psychology ★

Algorithms as the new material of Design

Added on 15 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

From code to language: algorithms.

“As experience designers, we rely more on algorithms with every iteration of a Web site or application. As design becomes less about screens and more about augmenting humans with extended capabilities, new ideas, and even, potentially, more emotional awareness, we need algorithms. If we think of experience designers as the creators of the interface between people and technology, it makes sense that we should become more savvy about algorithms.”

Pamela Pavliscak a.k.a. /pamelapavliscak | @paminthelab ~ UXmatters ★

Preface: A decade of Web 2.0: Reflections, critical perspectives, and beyond

Added on 13 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

Next versions of HTTP, URI and HTML will be even more important.

“Just as many of the practices and ideas subsumed under the ‘Web 2.0’ label in fact preceded the term in important ways, so too have they outlasted it. Though use of the term itself has waxed and waned, its fundamental (if sometimes conflicting) ideals have spread outwards — winding their way through cultural and social shifts as well as subtle technological and economic reconfigurations — and continue to inform contemporary discussions of new platforms and practices.”

Michael Zimmer and Anna Lauren Hoffmann ~ First Monday 21.6 ★

Why is sketching (still) important (to design)?

Added on 6 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

First visual contours of the design, a sketch.

“(…) if we think of design as a sequence of iterative phases that progress towards final production, we are then able to identify an open or fuzzy phase of design. In this we contrast a divergent conceptual design ideation with a more convergent, specific and detailed design phase. We do this as much to contrast the different aims of design at these different phases of the process, as to highlight the kinds of design work involved or tools used at any given stage.”

James Self ~ Core77 ★

A Comparison in Pursuit of “The Masterworks of Information Architecture”

Added on 5 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

Finally some time for real in-depth research on the IA roots.

“In a search for classic works on information architecture, Joyce’s Ulysses and Richard Saul Wurman’s The City, Form and Intent are each compared internally across different versions and considered in terms of content, context and user. Each author modified readers’ experiences through changes in the content and physical form of their works. Wurman’s 1963 work, a loose-leaf collection reflecting architecture through clay models of cities, was redone in 1974 with the same content but different physical presentation. Joyce’s Ulysses was marked by variations across versions, with omissions, additions and typographic errors carried inconsistently through editions, leaving the author’s intended meaning ambiguous. The context of Wurman’s work was the very early stage in the author’s career. The context of production of Ulysses involved composition, editing, publishing, correction and republishing across multiple channels, making consideration of the totality of the editions key to understanding the information architecture of the work. Users of Wurman’s original print work exalted it, while users of a 2014 spin-off web project see it from a different perspective. Similarly, the user experience for Ulysses varies widely, depending largely on which edition is read. The analysis and internal comparison of the two works highlight the importance of both content knowledge and technical skill throughout any information architecture project. Whether they will serve as masterworks for the field remains an open question.”

Dan Klyn a.k.a. /danklyn | @danklyn ~ ASIS&T Bulletin June/July 2016 ★

Building a visual language: Behind the scenes of the new Airbnb design system

Added on 1 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

Personas, wireframes and customer journey maps. Now, design systems for visual designers. Each UX discipline has its own deliverable.

“Working in software development and design, we are often required to ship one-off solutions. Sometimes we’re working within time constraints and sometimes we just haven’t yet agreed upon a path forward. These one-off solutions aren’t inherently bad, but if they aren’t built upon a solid foundation, we eventually find ourselves having to pay back accrued technical and design debts. Visual language is like any other language. Misunderstandings arise if the language is not shared and understood by everyone using it. As a product or team grows, the challenges within these modalities compound.”

Karri Saarinen a.k.a. /karrisaarinen | @karrisaarinen ~ Airbnb Design ★

Traditional User Experience is at a crossroads (part 1)

Added on 1 June 2016 Peter Bogaards

Pick your wars as a UX leader.

“Great UX leaders understand what it takes to transform a company into a design-led organization. They know how to set up an organizational structure and inspire a culture that can attract the best talent—a culture that lets designers do what they do best and incorporates strategic design thinking into the organization. Such leaders also understand the language of business and can communicate within a business framework.”

Jim Nieters a.k.a. /jimnieters | @Jimnieters ~ UXmatters ★

The war on information: A time to muster our UX practitioners

Added on 31 May 2016 Peter Bogaards

Many synonyms for the tsunami, deluge or overload of information.

“The world as we know it today is rich in information. At whim, we can usually find (without much delay) an information source that answers a question, suggests nearby restaurants, tells us how to travel, or provides us with data for the paper we are writing. The internet, as well as the technological innovations that allow us to easily and enjoyably access it, has given rise to a new era where knowledge is plentiful and interpretation is vital.”

Dash Neimark a.k.a. /uxdash | @ux_Dash ~ Boxes and Arrows ★

What’s in a genre? Metadata, controlled vocabularies, and the Folger’s digital anthology

Added on 28 May 2016 Peter Bogaards

Digital humanities is picking up information architecture concepts.

“Shakespeare’s plays are organized in the First Folio into three now familiar genre categories: Comedies, Tragedies, and Histories. Later scholars added a fourth, describing certain late plays like The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale that contain elements of both comedy and tragedy, along with fantastical features like magic, as ‘romance plays’. In organizing the 403 plays that make up the Folger’s Digital Anthology of Early Modern English Drama, we needed a few more than those four categories. By grouping our plays by genre, we aim to classify our dramatic material in ways that make it easy for scholars and readers to compare plays that were generally alike—comparing tragedy to tragedy, so to speak, using as few broadly applicable genres as possible.”

Meaghan J. Brown a.k.a. @EpistolaryBrown ~ Folger Shakespeare Library ★

Artificial intelligence is your health advisor

Added on 25 May 2016 Peter Bogaards

After digital disruption we’re now moving into computational disruption.

“Artificial Intelligence promises everything from self-driving cars to self-writing newspapers, but AI may be missing its greatest opportunity in healthcare, where AI-driven ‘conversational interfaces’ hold untapped potential to influence the health and wellbeing of billions of people.”

Thomas Sutton a.k.a. /thomasthinks | @thomas_thinks ~ frog Designmind ★

Service Design Geographies: Proceedings of the ServDes2016 Conference

Added on 24 May 2016 Peter Bogaards

They are popping up everywhere: service design events. In China as well, I’m told.

“After a long maturation period, the discipline of Service Design is evolving in several directions and exploring new territories. The discipline has been founded on the area of affluence of many knowledge streams, from service marketing and management to interaction design and product design. The ground knowledge from those disciplinary areas has been integrated through research and cases studies that have emphasized different and new aspects of service design, including user-participation and co-creation, user experience, systemic and social aspects, technological implications and strategic perspectives. This relatively young area of design research is now exploring a wide landscape, that includes methodological contributions, practice-based research, concrete cases and prototypes, while new stakeholders are expressing interest in this discipline and promoting new cases and experiences. The last few years have also seen an increasing number of public sector initiatives with the support of design agencies, foundations and research groups that are promoting novel approaches to public service innovation. This includes for example modes to capture and amplify signals of social innovation projects or the set up of innovation labs within Government offices. At the same time the private sector is exploring the potential of more collaborative approaches to service innovation that value users contribution and participation in the design process.”

Nicola Morelli et al. ~ Linköping University Electronic Press

What’s the difference between an experience and a customer experience?

Added on 23 May 2016 Peter Bogaards

Broadening the scope of (marketing) definitions.

“So if you think your UX and CX are enough to surprise and delight your audience, you’re not quite right. It’s how you weave those features into the bigger story you’re trying to tell as a brand that really matters. That’s what experience is, and that’s what you should be striving for with your marketing this year.”

Ted Karczewski a.k.a. /tedhartkarczewski | @TeddyHK ~ ContentStandard ★

UX Reality Check: 14 Hard Truths About Users

Added on 17 May 2016 Peter Bogaards

Having to deal with other people is often a pain. Designers included.

“After any amount of time in the design industry, you’ll most certainly hear someone refer to users as “dumb.” People talk about having to “dumb down” interfaces, design for “the lowest common denominator,” and try to make applications “idiot-proof.” Designers say it themselves once in a while. The really terrible designers say it repeatedly. (…) This sort of thinking discounts a key component of good design: human psychology. Understanding some basics of user behavior, then applying them to design, is one of the most important things a company can do. Here are 14 things you should know about the people who use your websites and applications.”

Robert Hoekman Jr. a.k.a. /rhoekmanjr | @rhjr ~ FastCo.design ★

Content-First Prototyping

Added on 11 May 2016 Peter Bogaards

Digital material, language for humans and machines. Human language equals content.

“Content is the core commodity of the digital economy. It is the gold we fashion into luxury experience, the diamond we encase in loyalty programs and upsells. Yet, as designers, we often plug it in after the fact. We prototype our interaction and visual design to exhaustion, but accept that the ‘real words’ can just be dropped in later. There is a better way.”

Andy Fitzgerald a.k.a. /andyfitzgerald | @andybywire ~ Smashing Magazine ★