#ux iota: The Internet. So much bullshit. So little time to kill all of it.
Title: Death to Bullshit Context: One man stands alone in the face of the unrelenting bullshit choking the internet. Best Bit: You must try the “Turn bullshit on?” link in the upper right of the home page. via deathtobullshit.com
The (sound and sensible) method behind the madness of dialing your phone.
Title: Telephone Keypad Design Context: Why we dial the phone the way we do: user research. Synopsis: Did you ever stop to think about why the dialing buttons on your phone are arranged the way they are? Wait! Don’t leave … Continued
When bad UX attacks!
Title: Our world is full of bad UX, and it’s costing us dearly Context: We don’t design things, we design for people and sometimes what we design just happen to be things. Synopsis: Design is not always a life and … Continued
Fact: If your user stories suck, your software is going to suck.
Title: How to produce better designs for complex apps Context: User stories: the cause of — and solution to — all of your software’s problems. Synopsis: Ernest Hemingway famously said about writing stories: “Write drunk, edit sober.” Unfortunately when it … Continued
If your designers ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy (particularly your customers).
Title: UX Is a Canary in a Coal Mine Context: Happy designers = better products. So make sure your designers are happy dammit! Synopsis: Are you happy? Not always an easy question to answer I know. Happiness comes and goes, … Continued
#ux iota: Know thy user…then ignore everything you know and design whatever the hell you want!
Title: The UX Designer Paradox Synopsis: It’s not always easy to know what your user’s needs really are. But this shouldn’t be taken as a rationale to design whatever the hell you want.
“It is better to look good than to function good.” —Fernando Lamas’ UI
Title: Redefining security visualization with Hollywood UI design Context: Don’t judge a product by its UI…pffftt! Just kidding! Totally judge everything by its UI. Synopsis: Bells and whistles. All sizzle and no steak. Freshly painted front porch but nobody home. … Continued
Sure the UI may be ugly, but it’s got a great personality!
Title: Brand voice and UX: A starter guide Context: Usable and boring loses out to usable with personality every single time. Synopsis: As designers of products we sometimes like to consider ourselves above the mundanity of branding. “Our calling is … Continued
If at first you’re not creative, don’t try, don’t try, don’t try again.
Title: Stop Trying To Be Creative Context: Creativity happens when you least expect it. Synopsis: Try as you might, creative inspiration just won’t come. But that’s most likely your problem right there: that little word “try”. You can’t force inspiration. … Continued
“You are a designing machine!” is not a compliment.
Title: Design machines: How to survive the digital apocalypse. Context: The era of digital production has standardized creativity. Synopsis: Man has always feared his own obsolescence. Since the dawn of the industrial age our bogeyman has invariably been the machine. … Continued
Design without data is poetry. Data without design is a travesty.
Title: Should Tech Designers Go With Their Guts — Or the Data? Context: Can design efficacy be quantified by data alone? God, I hope not. Synopsis: Data is a mere tool, yet it is often mistaken for truth. It can … Continued
Design is an art. That’s just science.
Title: Designing with Science Context: Don’t blind people with science when you can empower them with context. Synopsis: The ostensible topic of this article is Facebook ads (yawn), but the subtext of finding the best way to present large and … Continued
“Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?” —Icons
Title: History Of Icons Context: Iconography: 40 years later and we’re right back where we started. Synopsis: Of all the GUI’s contributions to the canon of design, none is so significant, and fraught with passionate debate as the lowly icon. … Continued
That’s the most mind-numbingly boring UI I’ve ever used…it’s perfect.
Title: Well-designed interfaces look boring Context: Shiny new things are sometimes better dull. Synopsis: Ah, the future. It’s going to be great. Touchscreen, holographic, virtual reality user interfaces everywhere we will look, controlling everything we will do, ubiquitous everywhere we … Continued
#ux iota: Fruit is notoriously unusable. Where’s your intelligent designer now?
Title: Usability Testing of Fruit Context: Just because you’ve always used something doesn’t make it usable. Best Bit: At least oranges aren’t grapefruit. via youtube.com