[IxDA Discuss] JOB: User Interface Designer opportunity at Foodbuzz San Francisco Full-time
I recently joined a great, San Francisco-based, well-funded company called Foodbuzz and we are looking for a creative and hard-working User Interface Designer. Who are we? We are the third largest online property, growing at an insane rate of 200%! We work with more than 2,500 food bloggers! We reach 7 Million Unique Users! And...we love food! Foodbuzz: the first-ever community site devoted exclusively to food and dining contentan unparalleled resource for searching, surfing and sharing with fellow foodies everywhere. Check us out and join our rapidly growing community. Responsibilities: Design and develop a world class user experience. Create and improve existing user interactions on Foodbuzz. Define and understand our users, partners and customer needs. Be the voice of the user; be the usability expert. Create detailed specifications, information architecture, wireframes and visual mockups. Create graphics, logos and icons to support the sites. Requirements: At least three years experience in a UI/UE role, designing consumer focused Web based applications. Web standards and cross platform browser compatibility. Understanding of accessibility requirements. Active participation in social networks, user generated content systems and/or Web 2.0 sites. Bonus! Corporate identity/brand management experience. Fluency in XHTML and CSS. Benefits: Salary DOE Stock Options Medical and Dental Insurance 401(k) Great people and delicious food! If you know of anyone who might be a fit for this job, please contact me at su...@foodbuzz.com. Thank you! Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Shop or Buy?
You're making an excellent point Alina, it is clear to me where to click when I want to buy. I guess that should answer the question, but you should find the right copy to convey the message, have it reviewed with a copywriter and an interaction designer, then test it on your users. Maybe with A-B split-tests. Alina, if you have such tests available, I would be much interested in a peak in the results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45927 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] JOB: UX Designer, New York, NY, Lime Wire, Full Time
User Experience Designer Permanent position, Lime Wire LLC, NYC Lime Wire LLC, maker of the famous P2P file-sharing program, seeks a USER EXPERIENCE DESIGNER for its flagship product, LimeWire. The role of a user experience designer is to follow a user-centered design process, understanding real users - their goals, aptitudes, experiences, needs, and motivations. You will approach design from a user-perspective and balance users' needs alongside business goals and technical capabilities. The ideal candidate will have experience conducting user research, extracting requirements, designing an interaction framework, iterating on your framework, and presenting your ideas to development and management. You will be working closely with product managers, software developers and web designers to determine necessary features and drive the design of products. Responsibilities: . Working across product, development, and design teams . Designing the layout and sequencing for a clear narrative . Developing functional specifications . Advocating for user needs . Observing and measuring user behavior . Developing creative interaction design idioms that are easy to learn Requirements: . Experience developing innovative visual and temporal vocabularies of action . Experience designing online systems using user/task/goal/functional analyses, story boards, paper prototyping, user testing, and an iterative design model . Practical knowledge of user research methods, including lab-based usability studies, field studies, and usability inspections (heuristic evaluations or cognitive walkthroughs) . Excellent analytical ability, especially with regard to observation of user behavior . Self-motivated, critical thinker with strong technical background . Curiosity, imagination, intuition . Excellent communication and teamwork skills . Bachelor's, Master's or Doctorate in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Human Factors, Computer Science, or related field, or 3 years experience directly in UxD To apply: Please submit your resume and any work samples to: ux_designer_cli...@limewire.com. About Lime Wire Lime Wire LLC is the maker of the most popular file-sharing software in the world. Lime Wire prides itself on its great products, one of the most engaged user bases in the world, and an incredible team of talent. Since launching the LimeWire application in 2000, we have continuously sought ways to empower our users. Recently, we have been busy with the launch of the LimeWire Store and creating more ways for Lime Wire's peer-to-peer community to connect. Still, we are determined to do much more and seek gifted and inspired people to join our team. We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and great perks including 5 weeks of vacation per year, free lunches, snacks and drinks, tickets to cultural and athletic events, company-sponsored outings, fabulous rooftop parties, and coworkers who are also great friends. Located in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, we foster a happy, healthy work environment where a free exchange of ideas is encouraged. Ideal candidates thrive in our do-it-yourself, entrepreneurial atmosphere. Interested in Lime Wire? We look forward to hearing from you. Thanks, Kelsey Aahl HR Recruiting Coordinator Lime Wire LLC mailto:lu...@limewire.com kel...@limewire.com P: 212.775.3007 F: 917.237.7088 *Please note that my phone number has changed and Lime Wire has moved office locations. We're now located at 45 Howard Street, New York, NY 10013-2515. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Color palette / scheme for use at night ?
How about the colour schemes used in tom-tom interfaces there is an example here http://www.tomtomforums.com/tomtom-color-schemes/5943-new-matching-day-night-color-schemes.html B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45911 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] EVENT: InfoCamp Seattle 2009 -- Oct 10 11
Join us on October 10 11 for InfoCamp Seattle 2009! At InfoCamp Seattle, the third annual unconference for people interested in user experience and information design, anyone who participates can propose a session. But we also invite special guests from academia and industry to kick things off each morning. We are excited to announce the invited speakers for InfoCamp Seattle 2009: - Axel Roesler, Assistant Professor for Interaction Design at the University of Washington School of Art - Vanessa Fox, search engine optimization expert, writer and consultant Learn more about Axel and Vanessa on the InfoCamp blog: http://www.infocamp.info/blog/?p=123 Some of the participant-led sessions already being suggested on the InfoCamp wiki (http://infocampseattle.pbworks.com) include: - Top-down user experience strategy - Persona Construction - Google Books settlement Register: http://infocamp2009.eventbrite.com More info: http://infocamp.info Your InfoCamp 2009 planners, Aaron, Andy, Joshua, Kathryn, Kris, Kristen, and Rachel Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
On Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 1:20 AM, Dave Malouf dave@gmail.com wrote: Let's not confuse things here. There are many axis to UCD and the result and the way we get there 2 of those axis. So when I say core principle and you say core principle we are not discussing the same axis UCD. But then again, maybe we are and maybe we are both right, which goes back to my original point that UCD is meaningless. Put away the name ( i;m not pro/against UCD for this case). The two stuff looks not at two different axis, but two levels ( first decide the decision making style, then may decide who's the user or not) 1. Firstly, the designer ( team ) hold a philosophy what serve as the final decision justice ( business interest, tech interest or people's interests, etc) 2. For the design decision, whose final justice is human, there comes the problem, who's the user ( self, or others ) Like, for the apple/iPhone case, first decide serves the final justice(implicit or explicit), then other problem? But going back to my point ... if UCD is literal ... user consideration over all other considerations ... truly user-centered, then looking at the Apple story (this version of it), then you are right. But we know there is much more to iTunes and iPod than just this story. But to me UCD is not just about that part of being literal, but is meant to be a category title for a philosophy and specific set of methods and tools (every expanding, but still limited) and one of those core factors is you are not the user. So from this perspective I'm right and you're wrong. @Jared Dave ( very agree on not sticking to UCD or not problem) Are there proper name sets for the difference on design decision style according to the elements ( business, technology, people, and balancing all the elements, etc)? (they exists there regardless if designer think which is better or not, aren't they?) But moving along ... Apple makes great shit, b/c Apple is Apple ... I agree w/ Ambrose that we need to be cautious to look too closely and make too many assertions that Apple does X or Y or Z and so should we or this means. @Ambrose Dave, thanks for the very kindly notification ( at least for me ) From my own education/practice, design discussion seems more effective by case ( Reasoning by case, or Projects), or it may more likely goes to the wild. For this case, I propose there comes more case/real world projects ( instead of going to opinion vs opinion style? ThanksRegards -- Jarod -- dave On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 1:02 PM, Jarod Tang jarod.t...@gmail.com wrote: Firstly, I love the self design concept very much (thanks Jared again, before i knew it, i call/practice it Immerse Design for myself). On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 5:21 PM, dave malouf dave@gmail.com wrote: Jarod equating self-design with UCD is a slippery slope and in my mind ignores the most core principle of UCD, at least the way it has been taught to me and the ways I see the best/famous methodologies taught to others ... That is ... YOU are not the user! Is UCD's core principle not themake design decision according to user's interests first ( than technology, business, stakeholders etc ) ? And back to the quote the first few hundred customers were us, what matters more to the design results? (a/ we are the users, so we can tell what matters more easily; b/ we have the experience?) This refrain is a core fundamental element of the philosphy around almost every method of UCD and to remove it by saying that I am a human being and thus designing for me means I'm doing UCD breaks the boundaries of UCD so far that UCD then becomes nothing except to mean the consideration of any human being within any context of the use of a product or service. Oh! what everyone does regardless of methods or philosophy. I.e. if i'm an engineer and I build an engineering-centric design, well the engineer is human and I'm sure there will be at least 1 person who is engineering-minded who uses the tool, so ergo it must be UCD-driven. Is UCD exists, as you mentioned, because designer and user's separation? Or UCD stands because other non-UCD styles of design's existence (i'm not mean which is better or not here)? like 1. Business Interests Centered Design 2. Technology driven/centered design (one of the reason that stimulated UCD comes into life) 3. Balance design ( no center elements, designers balance the elements situatedly ) 4. Stakeholder Design ( design decision comes from different stakeholders ) 5. or Genius Design??? ( i'm not very sure if it go with or without the apple case here) 6. etc For the case Apple, what makes more sense? Regards, -- Jarod In my mind it is more accurate to say that self-design is a subcategory of genius design in so far as both rely heavily on past experience with human beings in the contexts that they are
[IxDA Discuss] The point of personas
I was at the Accessibility 2.0 conference in London yesterday and came across some confusion over personas and accessibility. I've written a short blog on the topic at http://www.syntagm.co.uk/design/blog/?p=89 Regards, William Hudson Syntagm Ltd Design for Usability UK 01235-522859 World +44-1235-522859 US Toll Free 1-866-SYNTAGM mailto:william.hud...@syntagm.co.uk mailto:william.hud...@syntagm.co.uk http://www.syntagm.co.uk http://www.syntagm.co.uk/ skype:williamhudsonskype Syntagm is a limited company registered in England and Wales (1985). Registered number: 1895345. Registered office: 10 Oxford Road, Abingdon OX14 2DS. Courses in card sorting and Ajax interaction design - Las Vegas and Berlin: http://www.nngroup.com/events/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] JOB Lead User Experience Designer at Hotels.com.uk (Expedia.com.uk)
Purpose of the Role Hotels.com EMEA is looking to hire a Lead User Experience Designer to join our team on a full time basis. The role will work within the Hotels.com User Experience team to lead a team of User Experience Designers in distilling user research and business objectives into functional and interface specifications/prototypes. The Lead IxD / IA will work with a cross-functional team of Product Managers, Program Managers, Creative Designers, Design Technologists and Java Developers to produce compelling and fun experiences for our customers. This role will report to the Head of User Experience Design. All candidates must provide examples of work with CVs demonstrating an ability to focus knowledge, generate ideas, problem solve and arrive at a solution effectively. You will have seen projects from start to end (no design and run, please) and be able to defend your designs with business metrics or user-derived quantitative / qualitative data. Key Areas of Responsibility Collaborate with team to design great user experiences/interfaces for the global Hotels.com websites and related products. o Lead brainstorming activities as needed. o Define, categorize, and organize content o Create multiple solutions to a single design problem and iterate to a final design o Create specification as needed #61607;Currently includes: site maps, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, wireframes, and interactive prototypes Manage Design Research (until a UX Research resource is hired) o Coordinate or execute user research efforts (interviews, usability testing, surveys, etc.) as needed. If you have the skills to conduct design research, great! If not, you need to know how to use it to drive/validate your design process o Manage relationship with third party research vendors Be an ambassador for the User Experience Design team, both internally and externally o Rationalize design decisions to stakeholders and peers o Present to and persuade business stakeholders as it relates to design and the UX team o Evangelize the benefits of User Experience and design thinking throughout the extended Expedia organization Line management of up to 5 User Experience Designers Vigorously police the designs and specifications of the UXD team Mentor and develop the UXD team Improve and document current working practices, products and technologies Contribute to the creation of the product roadmap o Provide insights on where user needs are not being met at the feature level o Provide recommendations on ongoing product strategy based on qualitative and quantitative data Prepare and share project/design presentations to the extended Expedia organization Establish and own information design standards for projects and ongoing enhancements to the Hotels.com EMEA websites Create and share presentations on Design Technology topics with the larger Expedia organization. Skills and Experience Masters Degree-level or equivalent experience, specializing in design, library sciences, human-computer interaction, technology or psychology. 5+ years designing e-commerce websites 3+ years managing UXD resources Understanding of how to develop and innovate a product over time, and the artifacts to support longitudinal work Outstanding conceptual design skills Amazing attention to detail Experience working with agile project management methodologies Understanding of the product lifecycle (Evaluation/Requirements gathering, specification/design, implementation) and its deliverables Execute usability best practices and user interface web standards Embraces creativity, innovation and is open to new ideas Experience working in a distributed team environment Understanding of web accessibility Technical grounding in a range of internet tools and their application o Mandatory to be skilled in the following technologies: #61607;Visio / Illustrator / Omnigraffle / Freehand / Indesign #61607;Prototyping Paper, HTML+CSS+JS, Axure, iRise, Flash, etc. o Optional: #61607;Photoshop #61607;Morae Candidates with agile (SCRUM) experience with be given higher consideration Additional consideration will be given to candidates with competency in other UX disciplines - Design Research, Visual Design, and Interface Engineering Candidates with line management experience will be given higher consideration Qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to apply via the link below: https://careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/client_expedia/external/gateway.do?functionName=viewFromLinkjobPostId=33495localeCode=en-us Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
Re: [IxDA Discuss] The point of personas
Thanks a lot :) I´m very amateur with personas, but I find them very useful! There is a lot of people who is against personas because they feel like that isn´t real, and she/he won´t behave like a real user. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45960 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Color palette / scheme for use at night ?
Wow. Another reason why I love the IxDA list: Such an awesome range of problems worth discussing. Thanks for the links, ideas and suggestions, folks! Keep it up. As you were, Jason R. http://jasonrobb.com http://twitter.com/jasonrobb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45911 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Adobe MAX meetup?
Anyone on the list going to MAX? Will there be an official IxDA meetup somewhere/sometime? Brandon E. B. Ward brandonebw...@gmail.com UI • UX • Ix Design Flex • Flash Development Portfolio: http://www.uxd.me LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonebward VisualCV: http://www.visualcv.com/brandonebward A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert A. Heinlein Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] REMINDER: PhillyCHI | Electronic Ink Happy Hour
PhillyCHI | Electronic Ink Happy Hour - Wednesday, September 30 Join Electronic Ink and PhillyCHI as we talk design and celebrate PhillyCHI’s 5-year anniversary! Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM Location: Electronic Ink One South Broad Street, 19th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 Map: http://tinyurl.com/rynwxo Parking: http://www.philapark.org/ RSVP by Monday, September 28, 2009: philly...@gmail.com Come socialize with design and usability professionals, learn about the design process, and tap into your creativity, all over some tasty food and drinks. Also, have a chance to win a raffle prize! About Electronic Ink About Electronic Ink Electronic Ink is an international design consultancy dedicated to improving the way people interact with technology, environments and one another. To learn more about Electronic Ink’s services, please visit http://www.electronicink.com. About PhillyCHI PhillyCHI is the Philadelphia region’s chapter of the ACM SIGCHI, an interdisciplinary academic and professional group interested in Human- Computer Interaction, User Experience, Usability, and other related disciplines. PhillyCHI holds monthly meetings and socials to network and discuss current topics in HCI. Learn more at http://phillychi.acm.org/ . .. Dave Cooksey Founder Principal saturdave information architecture, taxonomy, user research, usability 713 Pine Street 1R Philadelphia, PA 19106 email: d...@saturdave.com phone: +1.215.219.8960 web: http://saturdave.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] EVENT: PhillyCHI Panel: The User Experience You
PhillyCHI Panel: The User Experience You - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Please join us as PhillyCHI discusses what is user experience as a practice and a profession with West Chester undergraduate students. This event is free and open to the public, so spread the word. Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Time: 7:30PM - 9:30PM Location: Philips Hall Autograph Library West Chester University Map: http://tinyurl.com/2sbuyf RSVP: Not required. Location Details: Philips Hall Autograph Library is at the corner of University Avenue and High Street. Note: The Autograph library is in the administrative offices section of the building, not the other section where there is an auditorium. There is tunnel dividing two sides of the building, and the Autograph Library is on the east side of the building, the side closest to High Street. * Parking is available in a garage one block north and one block west of that location, at the corner of Sharpless St. and Church St. for $1 per hour. * About the Panel The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that in today’s world of work, students can anticipate having 6-8 career changes following graduation. Of those, two will probably be in areas that have not been identified or defined currently. User Experience might be the field you didn’t know you were looking for. So what is User Experience? To answer that question, PhillyCHI has put together a small panel of professionals to offer an introduction to this growing and dynamic field. They will discuss their backgrounds, both educational and professional, and describe how they came to work as user experience professionals. And they will demonstrate the work they to by discussing case studies and leading hands-on exercises, including a personas exercise and an eyetracking study. About the Panelists Dave Cooksey, Founder Principal saturdave UX Consulting Casey Malcolm, Director, IA Usability Comcast Interactive Media Michael Summers, Vice President, Usability gsi interactive About PhillyCHI PhillyCHI is the Philadelphia region’s chapter of the ACM SIGCHI, an interdisciplinary academic and professional group interested in Human- Computer Interaction, User Experience, Usability, and other related disciplines. PhillyCHI holds monthly meetings and socials to network and discuss current topics in HCI. Learn more at http://phillychi.acm.org . .. Dave Cooksey Founder Principal saturdave information architecture, taxonomy, user research, usability 713 Pine Street 1R Philadelphia, PA 19106 email: d...@saturdave.com phone: +1.215.219.8960 web: http://saturdave.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
I'm not normally given to Gadget Lust but I want this one. On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 7:07 PM, Grady Kelly gr...@simpledesign.org wrote: Any of you see this yet? http://gizmodo.com/5365299/courier-first-details-of-microsofts-secret-tablet I like the organic feel of the video. Typically they do product visions like this that at the end, you would think were production ready. Grady Kelly gr...@gradykelly.com http://www.gradykelly.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Michael Micheletti michael.michele...@gmail.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] The point of personas
In my opinion, each persona should represent an audience group for the website distinguishable by different sets of needs from your site. So, for example, someone interested in volunteering has different needs that someone looking for a news update. That being said, someone with a disability isn't likely to have different needs than anyone else. The way they access the information may be different, but their ultimate needs should integrate with the other personas. Accessibility should just be inherent in the design process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45960 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
The concept video shows the user writing some very small text onto the tablet, as if it is a fine-tipped pen on good quality paper. http://gizmodo.com/5365299/courier-first-details-of-microsofts-secret-tablet Even assuming the technology will be available to provide that kind of accuracy, I can't help wondering whether a hard, slick glass surface and plastic stylus would allow you to write in that kind of detail. Is some degree of friction and give necessary to allow you to write that small? Any TabletPC users care to comment? Harry Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
Harry: Even assuming the technology will be available to provide that kind of accuracy Nevermind accuracy... no technology exists today that I know of which combines both capacitive (finger, multitouch) with resistive (pixel accurate stylus input). I could be wrong... anyone used finger stylus on the same screen?? So then they grow some design balls to avoid cramming too many features in to a platform that cant handle it, and they dont make a hash out of the currently non-existent navigation... Whats left... a 5lb web enabled filo fax that you cant do any real work on for.. ~2K maybe?? Dont get me started on battery time (o; This is another 'cool' product concept ala Surface table that fails a correct triangulation between market-technology-cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45951 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
Nevermind, found this in the comments at gizmodo Capacitive multitouch layer ABOVE the screen, Wacom Active Digitizer BELOW the screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45951 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
Dang! I was going to slam you down with a reference to the Panasonic Toughbook. ;-) Best, Jack On Sep 23, 2009, at 6:13 AM, pauric wrote: Nevermind, found this in the comments at gizmodo Capacitive multitouch layer ABOVE the screen, Wacom Active Digitizer BELOW the screen. Jack L. Moffett Senior Interaction Designer inmedius 412.459.0310 x219 http://www.inmedius.com I am in search of the simple elegant seductive maybe even obvious IDEA. With this in my pocket I cannot fail. - Tibor Kalman Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
Jack: Dang! I was going to slam you down with a reference to the Panasonic Toughbook. ;-) Best, Jack Just goes to show how out of touch I am, pun intended (o; As a general aside, I do want to get out my broken record and talk about battery. Its such a boring topic I feel a few of us would prefer to overlook its importance in the overall experience of these types of products. Back when the iPhone came out I was eventually told to stick a AA in it when I mentioned power usage one too many times. Now that people have been using these next gen smart devices for a while, guess what the biggest pain point is http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/08/14/iphone-vs-pre-satisfaction-bakeoff/ You can have the coolest UI ID but if the device doesnt meet the everyday day after day usage needs a significant part of the UX is failing. Thats not to say we shouldnt build these things, just bear in mind that each swipe, each animation, every little cool widget uses electrons. As an electronics engineer by training I look at the Courier demo and cringe at the juice needed to drive all that coolness. I also feel that once someone creates the next-gen battery we will have a k-t event in industrial and OS/UI design (through cpu horsepower). That, to me, is when the cool shit will really start happening. regards /pauric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45951 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] E-commerce websites for mobile
On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 5:52 AM, Sachin Ghodke sachyn.gho...@gmail.com wrote: What rules should one follow while designing e-commerce websites for the mobile? I understand that usability on mobile is extremely primitive and very difficult. In such a case what are the usability rules and GUI guidelines one needs to adhere to? You first have to decide which of four approaches you are taking: 1) Just let the desktop site do its thing. 2) Least common denominator (or at least XHTML-MP with no Javascript and few images) 3) High end devices only (iPhone, Android, Opera Mobile, Palm Pre, maybe Opera Mini) 4) Targeted. I've seen approaches 2, 3, and 4 work in practice, but it depends on your brand and your customers. We almost always do #4; many designers advise only #3. #4 involves device detection at a minimum ... I can talk about approaches for #4 for quite some time. In the meantime, there are lots of resources over at http://design4mobile.mobi ~ Barbara Ballard Skype: barbara_ballard Twitter, Delicious: barbaraballard email: barb...@littlespringsdesign.com 1.785.838.3003 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] IDSA 09 Miami - IxDA Meetup?
Anyone getting this who is at IDSA the next few days in Miami want to do an IxDA meetup. I'm marveling how there is only ONE IxD related presentation and one UCD related presentation for the entire conference. I think we need to get together and show #'s or something like that. @ me on Twitter or email me if you are around and interested. Please feel free to raise your hand if you are a local here in Miami! -- dave -- Dave Malouf http://davemalouf.com/ http://twitter.com/daveixd http://scad.edu/industrialdesign http://ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
Jack: I realize this is just an example and not the point of this thread, but I'm curious as to why you think Apple TV has fallen flat on its face. I would beg to differ. In a word, sales. Reading through Dan's great list of considerations its easy to see how Apples approach can cost them dearly. Take, for example, the recent 3 fold increase in sales of Apple TV units. There was no change on Apple's part, however the release of 3rd party software Boxee is universally attributed to the increase in market share. Apple's form over function being corrected by user's improving the _overall_ design (o; Boxee: http://www.boxee.tv/homepage/ http://www.appletvhacks.net/2009/02/05/apple-tv-sales-triple-why/ /pauric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45895 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
I think this view is rooted in a misunderstanding of what personas are and what they are meant to be used for. Among other things, personas are a way to represent research about the commonalities among your user's goals and behavior patterns in a manageable way. I find it hard to believe that there is research that bears out that you have 50 completely distinct sets of high-level goals and behavior patterns among your users (or that if you do, that these people can all be successfully served by one product). I know that personas aren't the only way to approach these questions and they are not the only tool you need to create a successful product, but they can definitely work for mass consumer products. -Adam On Sep 22, 2009, at 11:10 AM, mark schraad wrote: On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 11:57 AM, Jack Moffett jackmoff...@mac.com wrote: There is a big difference between designing for the general populace (consumer products and the majority of web services) and designing for a specific domain. I think that missing this distinction is in part what drives those debates over the usefulness of UCD. It is also one a principal renders personae of little use to some of us. When you have 30 million uniques a day... its a little hard to capture useful specificity. What am I going to do with 50 personas? And five won't work either. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
That reminds me -- I have to plug in my iPod. Thanks! ;) On Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 6:42 AM, pauric radioren...@gmail.com wrote: Jack: Dang! I was going to slam you down with a reference to the Panasonic Toughbook. ;-) Best, Jack Just goes to show how out of touch I am, pun intended (o; As a general aside, I do want to get out my broken record and talk about battery. Its such a boring topic I feel a few of us would prefer to overlook its importance in the overall experience of these types of products. Back when the iPhone came out I was eventually told to stick a AA in it when I mentioned power usage one too many times. Now that people have been using these next gen smart devices for a while, guess what the biggest pain point is http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/08/14/iphone-vs-pre-satisfaction-bakeoff/ You can have the coolest UI ID but if the device doesnt meet the everyday day after day usage needs a significant part of the UX is failing. Thats not to say we shouldnt build these things, just bear in mind that each swipe, each animation, every little cool widget uses electrons. As an electronics engineer by training I look at the Courier demo and cringe at the juice needed to drive all that coolness. I also feel that once someone creates the next-gen battery we will have a k-t event in industrial and OS/UI design (through cpu horsepower). That, to me, is when the cool shit will really start happening. regards /pauric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45951 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Reading Ahead - Design Competition @ Core77
We're psyched to be working with Core77 on a design competition that is about taking our Reading Ahead project (user research findings about the reading experience and associated opportunities - http://www.portigal.com/series/reading-ahead ) into developing concepts for possible future products, services, and more. I think it's really important for our fields to have artifacts, examples, experiences, etc. that can illustrate the connection between research and design. Read more about the competition at http://www.core77.com/blog/featured_items/new_1_hour_design_challenge_launches_today_the_future_of_digital_reading_14577.asp I'd really love to see entries from folks here! Steve Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Subject: Re: What are your principles for making digital products/services
On Sep 21, 2009, at 3:45 AM, Eric Reiss wrote: There's a definition of kitsch that states that anything that purports to be one thing, but actually does something else is kitsch. A pepper mill in the shape of the Eiffel Tower, for example. I think Starck's lemon squeezer falls into that category - sculpture pretending to be a useful tool. So, I've recently had the opportunity to watch a couple dozen people buy personal checks for their bank accounts. Personal checks are a functional item. You use them as a transaction instrument. An individual, writing a check, spends only a few moments with them. When used to pay bills, most of the recipients don't know the check owner (and in many cases are automated processors), so really don't pay attention to the check's design. Yet, most of the people buying the checks in our study spent considerable time choosing the right check for themselves. They were very particular about the designs they looked at. They showed definite preferences. One study participant, was a 45-year-old male lube-and-oil mechanic who works for a major speedy-oil-change chain. He took considerable time studying the designs, gravitating to designs that were particularly, shall I say, girlie. Flowers, bright colors, kittens. Each time he found one of these he liked, he said, My girls would like this. Interviewing him revealed that he's divorced and his two girls, ages 6 and 8, don't live with him. He was picking out checks that he thought they'd like. The design of these checks were important to him. It's unlikely they'd see the checks -- at most only when he sent them a money gift, maybe in a card. The designs were less about what the girls would actually like and more about what he wanted -- a connection to his daughters. We saw this frequently in the study. People were using the check's design as an emotional connection. Some were using it as a way to introduce something pleasant into an inherently unpleasant activity -- paying bills. Others were using it as an extension of themselves (When I hand a check to someone, it needs to say something about who I am.) or a tie to their context (I want Texas scenes on my checks because I love Texas.). Independent of the design, the utility of the checks were identical. There was no reason to pick one check over the other except for its emotional appeal. The cheapest check is the Blue Safety Check -- a simple blue-lined pattern which everyone referred to as boring, even those who bought them. I was surprised, in the study, at how many people spent the time and money on buying the fancier checks and their rationale for choosing them. The checks with designs would fit under your definition of Kitsch. They purport to be a financial instrument, but, in fact, they are something quite more. I think that's what the emotional design thing is all about. Jared p.s. Congrats at getting The Norman pissed off at you. Now, I sat through the same UX London presentation that you did and I came away with the same impression: Don did say that he loved his Phillipe Starck juicer even though it didn't work. However, I do think the book takes a more complete survey of what the emotional design discussion is about. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
I think drawing too many general design principle inferences from Apple is dangerous for many of the reasons given. The main one for me is context and purpose. Their approach works for them because of who they are and what they are trying to make. Their approach works for anyone who cares about making great products/services. You can't process your way to a great product. You can use the process to cover ground but there is no inherent quality transcendence in the UCD process or any other for that matter that You have to care about the actual product and not the process. That requires intuition about how to transcend the task at hand into something desirable. Apple has that but that does not mean you shouldn't have it just because you are not Apple. I know quite a few people who work(ed) at Apple and they are all great designers with great intuition but they can't walk on water. They have however a great leader who cares about great products. Why on earth shouldn't an insurance company, a bank, a consultancy, an online shop, an appliances company or what have you care for making the best damn service available to mankind? There is no reason not to. @Jared Have you done any research about online banks? There is a whole blue ocean waiting with online banking going from cost reduction argument to service improvement because of the possibilities of RIA's. Yet almost everyone I talk to think that their online banking experience is great, which is no wonder since most of them suck so they don't have anything to compare with. And along came Mint.com and have turned the banking experience on it's head providing real value for it's customers. (I am aware Mint.com is not a bank but it could might as well had been) It seems to me that UCD will always itself be caught in what Clayton Christensen famously called The Innovators Dilemma The new ideas that it get's is within the paradigme of the ideas existing. I have yet to hear about any game changer derived from UCD. Noboy ever built at statue of a comity ;-) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45895 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
I think drawing too many general design principle inferences from Apple is dangerous for many of the reasons given. The main one for me is context and purpose. Their approach works for them because of who they are and what they are trying to make. Their approach works for anyone who cares about making great products/services. You can't process your way to a great product. You can use the process to cover ground but there is no inherent quality transcendence in the UCD process or any other for that matter that You have to care about the actual product and not the process. That requires intuition about how to transcend the task at hand into something desirable. Apple has that but that does not mean you shouldn't have it just because you are not Apple. I know quite a few people who work(ed) at Apple and they are all great designers with great intuition but they can't walk on water. They have however a great leader who cares about great products. Why on earth shouldn't an insurance company, a bank, a consultancy, an online shop, an appliances company or what have you care for making the best damn service available to mankind? There is no reason not to. @Jared Have you done any research about online banks? There is a whole blue ocean waiting with online banking going from cost reduction argument to service improvement because of the possibilities of RIA's. Yet almost everyone I talk to think that their online banking experience is great, which is no wonder since most of them suck so they don't have anything to compare with. And along came Mint.com and have turned the banking experience on it's head providing real value for it's customers. (I am aware Mint.com is not a bank but it could might as well had been) It seems to me that UCD will always itself be caught in what Clayton Christensen famously called The Innovators Dilemma The new ideas that it get's is within the paradigme of the ideas existing. I have yet to hear about any game changer derived from UCD. Noboy ever built at statue of a comity ;-) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45895 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Toward a search dominant wayfinding paradigm (worth it?)
Hi all, For the past several months I have been perseverating on the concept of creating a search-dominant wayfinding system for my web site: Adobe.com. Why, you may ask? My thought (and I know Jared, at minimum will disagree after having just listened to a recent podcast from him on this) is that as web users we are moving more and more in that direction - toward search as being a standard, hard-wired, lizard brain reflex when confronted with moving through the vasty content spaces that are out there. The Googles have had no small impact on our wayfinding approaches. *Meme check: search as last resort?* I wanted to call out and question a particular meme, namely: ³search on sites like adobe.com is a function of last resort for those poor folks who aren¹t finding their trigger words in the page (nav or content). I know there is research on this so please hit me with it as necessary. But I can¹t help thinking that you could phrase a new approch like this: ³People search first because that¹s how they are used to finding info². What do you think? *Why a search dominant wayfinding mode?* Any attempt on our part (UXers) to come up with appropriate linked words or images to use as nav in the hopes of getting users where we think they want to go is only a guess. Sometimes our guesses at nav are great but sometimes they totally fail. What we do know is that in every user's mind is an intent as they move through a web site. If we let that user type their intent into a search box then that is a step closer to (and more feasible than) creating the mind reading UI we all know would be best for users. Of course the next thing is: are the search results useful? But lets assume they were. Why in that case would we not want to create a search dominant wayfinding UI for folks. *What would a search dominant wayfinding UI look like for a site that's not Google?* It would probably have a very prominent search field. One of those giant novelty size web 2.0 style things perhaps. For a site like adobe.com it would probably also have some standard links such as products and support, etc but those would not be the main focus. Perhaps search could even be used to generate the local navigation on subsections. Perhaps the search input field could be integrated into the page such that it could also act as a page title (an example is here http://bit.ly/o81Vp, although admittedly its a results page). An extreme example of a search only UI on the homepage is here: http://www.sequoiacap.com/. Question: what are you thoughts on developing a search dominant wayfinding paradigm for a corporate site. I'd like to hear what you think. Thanks, David Hatch Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Are you a SXSW Interactive veteran? Heading to 2010?
I'm starting to plan for next March's SXSW but have never been. I'd love to see who else is planning to attend and if any of the vets think it's worth going. Thanks for your thoughts in advance! Carrie @fordvisuals Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] VISUAL INTERACTION DESIGNER, MICHIGAN
Yeh IDeology is a boutique recruiting firm specializing in Design and Strategy. Our client, a world-class design and manufacturer of exceptional high quality consumer products is seeking a Visual Interaction Designer to join the Global Design Organization. Our ideal candidate translates consumer satisfaction to visual design and usability of the next generation of user experiences for appliances, foresees emerging trends and proactive seeks insight regarding user experience. Job Description: Create and develop user interaction concepts and visual design solutions for products across regions and brands. Produce a coherent look and feel for suites of products. Create visual patterns, libraries and reusable components. Develop interactive simulations and prototypes to demonstrate user interface concepts. Express the brand through the design process and maintain style standards. Proactively seek and incorporate feedback on visual and interaction designs from key stakeholders. Plan, develop and execute project plans, based on user#8208;centered design principles and accept product development processes. Collaborate with other interaction design, industrial design, and usability engineering design professionals in delivering business results and nurturing a world#8208;class organization. Model Whirlpool core values of respect, integrity, diversity, and teamwork. Requirements · Outstanding portfolio of graphic and interaction design work, with expertise in new media design. · Demonstrated skill in creating and prototyping user interface designs using popular visual interaction design tools. · Experience planning and executing visual design work in accordance with accepted product development processes, for example, phases and gates. · Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and teamwork skills. · Graduate degree in Graphic/Interaction Design or a related discipline. · 4+ years of industry experience new media design, preferably in user interface design of consumer electronics. · Passion for professional discovery, growth, and leadership. HOW TO APPLY: Please submit your resume, cover letter. salary requirements and portfolio to ap...@yehideology.com Applications without portfolios will not be considered. Rupa Mishra Researcher Yeh IDeology 400 East 89th Street, Suite 13H New York, NY 10128 212.348.6511 r...@yehideology.com www.YehIDeology.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] JOB User Experience Designer New York Lexagon Group Full Time
User Experience Designer Permanent position, Lexagon Group, NYC Lexagon Group, seeks a User Experience Designer to support mobile application development The candidate will need to: 1. Work collaboratively with a larger team of marketing and product experts to define user experience requirements for mobile applications and devices. 2. Be responsible for creating interaction designs according to application functional specifications for mobile applications and services. 3. Challenge existing designs in order to improve usability 4. Support user requirements gathering activities to better understand the needs, preferences and abilities of mobile phone users, particularly in relation to new and future applications and services 5. Prepare detailed briefs for usability testing/ market research 6. Prepare usability testing stimuli and create low-fidelity prototypes to support development and testing process 7. Translate usability test findings into application design improvements 8. Work closely with graphical design, product management and technology to ensure a collaborative and creative implementation process Requirements: 1. Experience in mobile UI design 2. Practical knowledge of user research methodologies 3. Excellent analytical ability 4. Self-motivated 5. Excellent communication and teamwork skills 6. Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience (3yrs of UxD) specializing in design, Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors, or related field. To apply: Please submit your resume and any work samples to: gdami...@lexagongroup.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
It looks great for northpaws, i.e., righthanders. Think the pages can switch? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45951 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Toward a search dominant wayfinding paradigm (worth it?)
At first I pushed back a bit; a natural reflex action ;-) But on remembering my last couple of days troubleshooting some issues on my Mac I remember how good the Apple Support site search is now IF you have enough of the right search parameters at your grasp. If you are a newbie then you have far too many choices. This leads me to think that if you have the right terminology at your disposal then search-based navigation is possible. This is growing over time in an average user as using a computer becomes more a part of everyday life, but I still know people who think that they have to put a URL into Google to find that site, even though they have the full URL! This comes back to your level of experience and grasp of the language of a site. If you are hardened Adobe user, then it may work, but new users without your Adobe language may struggle with too broad a search return. Next comes the issue to commercial policy - sorry to hit you at home David, but Adobe has a few of these that hinder finding stuff on the site using the existing navigational keys. Just ask any GoLive user (best prototyping tool for Graphic designers ever!) Search may allow people access to areas that commercially a company want to make it a little more difficult to get to; kind of the web equivalent that the file is in a locked draw in a sub-basement with no lighting. Some financial institutions come to mind here. Disclosure - I've worked for a few that have asked about this. Just a few thoughts and biases pinned to the flagpole. Stephen Holmes Canberra, ACT, Australia When you plant a tree, never plant only one. Plant three -- one for shade, one for fruit, and one for beauty. -African proverb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45983 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Are you a SXSW Interactive veteran? Heading to 2010?
I'd love to see who else is planning to attend and if any of the vets think it's worth going. I wouldn't miss it. I go every year. While it's not necessarily the best event for straight-up educational purposes, it's monstrous for inspiration, and can't be beat when it comes to networking. Be very open to meeting new people, avoid making plans beforehand, and bring lots of business cards. At night, if you don't know where to go next, go to the Ginger Man (bar). It's one of the few places that has no corporate-sponsored parties, so virtually everyone goes there at some point to get away from the insanity and hang out for a bit. And don't worry about the hangovers too much — the first session isn't until 10am. -r- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
You have to care about the actual product and not the process. - Like this from Thomas Petersen and suggest you also have to also care about the users and there are plenty of companies who believe they do, believe they know their user or are simply not in a position to care (due to a whole host of reasons) Follow the user and all else will follow - http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html Perhaps not everyone in Google cares about the UX or great design but having it as a top philosophy in a company that is by all accounts predominantly Engineering driven cannot hurt the cause. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45895 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] User Experience Staffing Firm Featured in Business Journal's All Over the Country
IT staffing firm finds its niche in user-friendly arena San Antonio Business Journal - by Mike W. Thomas In just four years, Harvinder Singh has grown his small IT staffing firm, working mostly in the local market, into a multimillion-dollar company with clients across the nation. In its first year of operation, Bestica Inc. had just $250,000 in revenues. This year, the company expects to gross more than $2 million. There was a need in San Antonio for a small company that could find quality players (for the tech industry), Singh says. Our company grew when we began to specialize in locating hard-to-find people. These hard-to-find people are the ones who are expert in a niche area of technology known as user experience design, or usability. These are the people who specialize in making technology that is user-friendly or easy to use. The more user-friendly the technology is, the more likely it is to be adopted by the general public, Singh says. One of the best examples of user experience design is the iPhone by Apple Inc. A major source of the iPhone's phenomenal success in the marketplace is its ease of use, Singh says. The technology experts who are able to make technology as user-friendly as the iPhone are a valuable resource and are highly sought after by most tech companies, Singh adds. Bestica has carved out a niche for itself by finding those types of high-quality workers and bringing them to clients such as Yahoo!, Cisco Systems and Microsoft. This is the niche that we want to work in, Singh says. Our strongest client base is in New York City and on the West Coast in places like San Francisco and San Jose. Bestica built up its database of UX/IT experts over the years by attending conferences and networking with groups such as the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA). Bestica was soon managing and promoting the job board for the UPA. Social media connection Bestica has also set up a blog where it invites tech companies to post usability problems and then invites its network of UX/IT experts to respond with suggested solutions. Julie Marco, a senior recruiter for Bestica, says the advent of social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook has made a big difference in the company's ability to track down and find the kind of experienced personnel that its client companies are looking for. Social media has helped us to get to these hard-to-find people, Marco says. People who actively use these social media sites are the kind of forward looking people that our clients are looking for, she adds. By moving within these social circles, Marco says, they will start to see the same names come up over and over again when discussing topics on usability. This is usually a key indication that this person has the kind of knowledge and experience that their clients are looking for, she says. We have found Bestica to be a true partner in our search for top quality candidates, says Carolyn H. Labatt, president of Computer Solutions, an IT services company based in San Antonio. The caliber of the candidates they have found for us surpasses that of any other recruiting company that we have used, and they do a good job of the entire process from the time they identify the candidate to the time we bring the new employee on board. Labatt says Bestica is committed to adding value throughout the process and is genuinely concerned with helping us grow our business. We are growing very rapidly and they are helping us keep up with high demand so that we can continue to grow and prosper, she says. Change of direction Harvinder Singh's background is in information technology and he started out working in his uncle's company doing tech-related work. Singh's uncle is G.P. Singh, the founder of San Antonio-based Karta Technologies, which provides engineering, comprehensive training solutions, medical transformation and information technology services to government and commercial clients. I started out working as a technology guy and I hated it, Harvinder Singh says. I was more of a business/social outgoing person. So Singh came to an agreement with his uncle to become a staffing recruiter for the company and that soon led to the launch of his own company. Singh says that even though many of his clients are based in New York and California, he has no intention of moving his company out of San Antonio. For one thing, he says, most of the work can be done online and over the phone, and secondly, moving out of San Antonio, where the cost of living is relatively cheap, would more than double his expenses. Singh says Bestica had its best year ever in 2008, but has seen things stabilize this year as the recession intensified and made companies more cautious about hiring decisions. But he says he expects that things will pick up again soon because it is a growing market. Everyone wants their products to be user friendly, Singh says. The most successful companies today are the ones
Re: [IxDA Discuss] E-commerce websites for mobile
Approach #1 might not work for me because I am looking at a mobile solution. #2 Yes LCD yes, but then CSS will also drive the best available effects and navigational functionality that I wish to incorporate. #3 Agree - for me its the high end devices that I am targeting. #4 The industry is Promotional space. This does require me to give almost all the tools to the distributors to order from the mobile. I probably am asking a bit too much for such a cumbersome interface and physical input needs, but I think a simple, easy to use interface might just be the thing for me to work with. And then again - there is this question of security while integrating a shopping cart and payment gateway in this tiny space. Maybe the link which you provided needs more attention from me before I execute and start usability testing. -- ...1) Just let the desktop site do its thing. 2) Least common denominator (or at least XHTML-MP with no Javascript and few images) 3) High end devices only (iPhone, Android, Opera Mobile, Palm Pre, maybe Opera Mini) 4) Targeted... - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45870 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Shop or Buy?
@Jennifer- Agree with you but what are we doing to make web personal? As does Alina says I Want It is making user action poersonal and that is a nice touch. Pardon the phrases I used earlier, they were just to put my point across. Of course, we must find smaller words for user action. Why engage user in intelligent grammar? Let us still consider user as the non-thinking one for a long time. Which raises the question - have we undermined the user's intelligence? But this discussion is for another time, I presume. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45927 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] UI Designer Principal UI Designer Openings at CA, Hyderabad India
Hi All, CA (formerly Computer Associates) is looking for * **UI Designers* (2 Positions ) and a *Principal UI Designer* (1 Position) for the User- Experience Group, Hyderabad, India. Interested candidates may send their CV to gajendra.agra...@ca.com with the subject line “Application for “* **UI Designer*” or “*Application for Principal UI Designer*” * * *UI Designer* *Skills Experience* - 3-4 years of experience in UI Design field - Good understanding and exposure to User Centered Design (UCD) process - Experience in User research techniques e.g customer interview, focus groups, card sorting, cognitive walkthrough, etc - Good working knowledge of Photoshop, Visio, Illustratrator - Knowledge and experience in UI design Prototyping Tools, Flash, Dreamweaver and HTML - Independently produce detailed user interface specifications - Ensure all product designs meet usability objectives and user requirements - Plan and perform usability testing and research. Includes project planning, user recruitment, logistics, conducting evaluations analyzing results, documenting identified issues, and proposing and prioritizing recommendations. - Coordinate with product teams to gather requirements and to ensure standards are understood and followed - Generalize design techniques to apply and contribute to the corporate UI standards and consistency with other products *Educational Requirement* - Masters Degree or global equivalent in Human Computer Interaction, Information Design, Industrial Design, Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology, or related HCI discipline. - Candidates having Arts background ( BFA, MFA ) will be considered for this position if they have relevant experience in Enterprise Software UI Design *Principal UI Designer* *Skills Experience* - This position is responsible for leading and independently planning UCD research, including UI design and usability deliverables for assigned projects that span large products or product families. - 8+ years of experience in Enterprise Software UI Design - Good understanding and exposure to User Centered Design (UCD) process - Experience in User research techniques e.g customer interview, focus groups, card sorting cognitive walkthrough - Good working knowledge of Photoshop, Visio, illustratrator - Knowledge and experience in UI design Prototyping Tools, Flash, Dreamweaver and HTML - Manage and independently plan, perform, and oversee UCD research, including UI design and usability deliverables for assigned projects that span large products or product families - Help plan the creation, coordination and implementation of large-scale corporate UCD programs including standards, compliance testing methodologies and maintaining parity with UI or assistive technologies and governmental and industry regulations - Create innovative, achievable, strategic and tactical UCD programs around assigned product families with measurable results - Educate developers, development managers and executives to explain UCD value and process - Author UI Standards - Produce all UCD deliverables as an individual contributor - Mentor and educate junior UCD members *Educational Requirement* - Masters Degree / PhD or global equivalent in Human Computer Interaction, Information Design, Industrial Design, Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology, or related HCI discipline is preferred. - Typically possesses a portfolio demonstrating 8+ Years or more years of experience designing and testing excellent enterprise software user. Repeatedly demonstrated the ability to successfully lead a small group in the planning, performance, and communication of UCD projects. Recognized status in the HCI industry, by having refereed publications or conference papers, or sits on HCI industry-wide committees or organizations. Thanks Regards Gajendra Agrawal Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Feature prioritization
Hi: Was reading this article on The Good Enough Revolution - http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/magazine/17-09/ff_goodenough and this quote stood out to me: Even so, it's easy to imagine that feature creep will one day seep into the Flip. After all, the company recently released models that record in HD, so why not image stabilization or a bigger LCDor hey, how about a touchscreen! We will always prioritize accessibility over features, Fleming-Wood insists. And thought this worked in well with recent discussions on the list on Apple's product strategy. So my questions are around prioritizing features: * How do you it now? * Who is involved? * What questions do you apply when doing it? * Is it something you can score? * How can user research help? * How do we move away from the features/more is better attitude? * How do you plan to introduce features over time? Over to the community brain ... compute :) rgds, Dan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
