Re: [IxDA Discuss] The state of UI/UX employment.

[mark schraad]

I hope this is not too much of a tangent...

Over the last month I have probably looked at close to a hundred resumes.
This is only partially specific to the Chicago area, but there is a ton of
talent out there. There are a lot of folks with excellent educational
background, wonderful experience and great portfolios to show. What I find
myself more and more concerned with is the ability to partner with product
and technology folks to move great design forward and into the market.
Frankly, it really does not matter if you are the worlds greatest uber
designer...
if you can't sell it, work collaboratively and push your passion through the
labyrinth of compromise. Not everyone needs to have these skills, but in my
world it will surely get you hired quicker and make you a more complete
professional.

This has been my call to the world of education (both under grad and grad)
for the last year or so. You have to do more than supply studio skills. You
have to teach students to think, to adapt, to explore and to work in their
future environment.

Mark

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] The state of UI/UX employment.

[mark schraad]

I think this discussion board has become the default and go to posting
venue.

On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 2:28 PM, Vicky Teinaki wrote:

> Still, it's a good sign for recent grads - up until recently there's been
> the experience catch-22 with jobs (most of those advertised up until now
> have been for at least 3 years experience), so at least it gives those
> recently out of school a chance to chalk up time, even if they have to do
> hard slog with those 'massive skillz'
>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 9:15 AM, Anne Hjortshoj  wrote:
>
> > ... and I mean "good luck" to the recruiters listing these roles, not to
> > Susan.
> >
> > -A
> >
> > On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 2:59 PM, Anne Hjortshoj  wrote:
> > > So in other words, people want to pay for 1-3 years of experience, but
> > > they want to get a laundry list of massive skillz.
> > >
> > > Good luck with that.
> > >
> > > -Anne
> > >
> > > On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 2:42 PM, Susan Doran 
> > wrote:
> > >> I've noticed more positions that require 1-3 yrs experience.
> Also...sort
> > of
> > >> "kitchen sink" loading on a mish-mash of skillsets.
> > >>
> > >> On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 1:38 AM, Erin Stewart 
> > wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> I noticed this as well. Originally I was planning to look for my next
> > >>> job in the fall, but with the amount of positions open now and with
> > >>> the fear that this is temporary (though I would hope that it will be
> > >>> a continued term), I decided to start applying now with the hope to
> > >>> start in May. I submitted a few applications for positions in the DC
> > >>> area on Monday/Tuesday this week and had received two calls for phone
> > >>> interviews by the end of the week. Both places made it clear they had
> > >>> an urgent need to hire someone. The positions (UI design/development)
> > >>> are for someone with 1-3 yrs experience and I have 1.5 years
> > >>> experience doing front-end web development and UX/IA tasks for a
> > >>> college, some graduate-level coursework in a related field, and some
> > >>> digital PR internship experience.
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> > >>> Posted from the new ixda.org
> > >>> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=49535
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> 
> > >>> 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
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> > >>>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >>
> > >> ~~~
> > >> Susan Doran
> > >> 55 Morning Street
> > >> Portland ME 04101
> > >> 207-774-4963 (land)
> > >> 202-296-4849 (cell)
> > >>
> > >> /susandoran  (facebook)
> > >> @susandoran (twitter)
> > >> ~~~
> > >> 
> > >> 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
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Anne Hjortshoj | a...@annehj.com | www.annehj.com | Skype: anne-hj |
> > > Hjortshoj is pronounced "YORT-soy."
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Anne Hjortshoj | a...@annehj.com | www.annehj.com | Skype: anne-hj |
> > Hjortshoj is pronounced "YORT-soy."
> > 
> > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
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> >
>
>
>
> --
> Vicky Teinaki
> Email: vicky.tein...@gmail.com  | Mobile: +64 021 027 01410  | Skype:
> vicky.teinaki | Twitter: @vickytnz | LinkedIn :
> http://nz.linkedin.com/in/vickyteinaki
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] How to Get People to Answer Honestly

[mark schraad]

no problem on the vagueness...

I might suggest have some casual conversations with both docs and nurses
about how they talk with clients. This is not for process or method, but to
set realistic expectations. I think you will find that people aren't wholy
forthright even when their health is at stake... so in a survey or fact
finding situation you will have to work even harder to get honest answers.
Some much sense of self goes into revealing patterns and habits of behavior.
And I'm not trying to tell you to trick them by any stretch, but make it
easy for them to detach or distance themselves from what they are revealing.
Not an easy task.

Mark



On Fri, Feb 19, 2010 at 7:13 AM, Don Habas  wrote:

> A lot of questions about their relating to health and risk (certain
> activities, tobacco use, etc).  Many people would probably expect
> that price they pay would be impacted by their answers. Sorry I'm
> being vague, but I can't really discuss too much detail here.
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> Posted from the new ixda.org
> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=49514
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] How to Get People to Answer Honestly

[mark schraad]

Not having any idea the context or what you are asking (so your mileage may
vary)...

I have had great luck with setting the stage in interviews for folks to tell
a story. Especially when we can get that person's story to reveal the
answers to those questions. I think often times the worse thing you can do
is to ask them the questions directly.

Mark




On Fri, Feb 19, 2010 at 2:57 PM, Don Habas  wrote:

> I'm designing a long application for a financial product.  We need people
> to answer some personal questions honestly (underwriting seems to find this
> important).   Before people start the application, does anyone have any tips
> on how to pre-condition users so they are in more of an "honest
> state-of-mind")?  I have a few books that discuss this, but not on-hand.
>  Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Personas: how many is too many?

[mark schraad]

Let me add some clarification...

I agree that 15 is probably too many. I also disagree that 5 is the right
number... the answer will be "it depends". Rather than give you a recipe...
I was trying to suggest a process. I assumed you had talked to the client
and that telling them, "15 is too many" had not been effective.

The next step for me would be to put together a scope of effort for the
personas, ask them to prioritize the groups (you should be asking for this
anyway) and then come to conclusions as a team. Some clients will accept
your recommendation and some will not. Those (not) often need to come to
those conclusions on their own. It's better if they have that realization
while working with you.

Mark



On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 8:39 AM, mark Schraad  wrote:

> One way to aproach this is to have them prioritize them... Look at cost for
> all... And for a few, and make the decision together. If it's worth it to
> them... And they will pay for them... Then let the process reveal what works
> best.
>
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
> On Feb 17, 2010, at 6:17 AM, charles Sue-Wah-Sing 
> wrote:
>
>  There is this project I'm working on that is for pet owners, breeders
>> and vets. They have identified 15 consumer types between the three
>> main segments I've mentioned. The client is requesting we create
>> personas for all 15. In my experience I've rarely have had to create
>> more than 4 on any given project. For this project I believe I can get
>> away with 3.
>>
>> Does anyone have any thoughts as too what is too many or too few
>> personas? Have you come across a similar client request? And how did
>> you deal with it?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Charles Sue-Wah-Sing
>> www.suewahsing.com
>> 
>> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
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>>
>

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Personas: how many is too many?

[mark Schraad]

One way to aproach this is to have them prioritize them... Look at  
cost for all... And for a few, and make the decision together. If it's  
worth it to them... And they will pay for them... Then let the process  
reveal what works best.





Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 17, 2010, at 6:17 AM, charles Sue-Wah-Sing  
 wrote:



There is this project I'm working on that is for pet owners, breeders
and vets. They have identified 15 consumer types between the three
main segments I've mentioned. The client is requesting we create
personas for all 15. In my experience I've rarely have had to create
more than 4 on any given project. For this project I believe I can get
away with 3.

Does anyone have any thoughts as too what is too many or too few
personas? Have you come across a similar client request? And how did
you deal with it?

Thanks,
Charles Sue-Wah-Sing
www.suewahsing.com

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] the UX Canon

[mark schraad]

'Writing for Social Scientists' is probably the best book I've found  
on that topic (and I need plenty of help) - comes with a boatload of  
common sense. Not just ancient rules and protocals based upon  
tradition (Howard S Becker).


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[IxDA Discuss] the UX Canon

[mark schraad]

Will and Dave have done a fantastic job of assembling a really high impact
group of books. By that I meant, they did not throw every book in the lot...
but assembled a manageable list of really high impact readings... certainly
the core of what is needed.

http://blog.semanticfoundry.com/2010/02/11/the-ux-canon-essential-reading-for-the-user-experience-designer/

But I think it is also time to add a another category. Working in a small
shop, on your own, or even in a startup allows a designer room to work in a
very pure structure. But the lions share of design work is in cross
discipline, multi influence structures where the 'designing' is not the
entirety of the job.

Reviewing student work is always a challenge for me. It's usually a bit
idealistic (and appropriately so). Students should reach for the stars and
do unreasonable things... stretching the notion of what is 'possible'. But I
always find myself wanting to tell them that the work they have executed as
'design' is only about a third of the job.

Laying the ground work... and presenting, selling and even politic'ing are
additional critical skills to seeing your design through. If your designs
aren't realized, they can do very little good... and it's a terrible waste
of no only the effort but the potential. Donald Reinertsen posits in
'Managing the design factory' that the unrealized design is probably the
single largest point of waste in any organization. I think I agree.

So... Maybe we need another category that includes those skills and tools.

I would suggest that Bill Buxton's 'Sketching the User Experience', for
instance talks a lot to those skill sets and might be better placed in this
category. I would also submitt that Roger Martin's 'designing the business'
is another... and 'managing the design factory' a third.

Any other suggestions?

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Enterprise IT UI Strategy

[mark Schraad]

A single strategy will likely fail Brandon. Context is so crucial to  
what we do. It over regulary usurps cosistancy. Of course I am being  
somewhat pedantic... But it's worth setting realist expectations for  
that strategy.


Mark



Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 10, 2010, at 8:51 AM, Brandon Adams  wrote:


I've been asked to develop a UI strategy to be implemented across our
IT department for all our custom developed applications as well as
user facing vendor systems such as peoplesoft, microsoft dynamics,
and several others.

I'm a rookie web developer and UI guy that is transitioning into a
IxD/UX role and this is my first large scale project of this nature.
Can anyone provide some advice on how to start, what to consider, and
things to watch out for?


Thanks,
Brandon

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[IxDA Discuss] JOB: full time UXA roles: CHICAGO

[mark schraad]

I have some new positions opening up and wanted to get the word out beyond
interaction10


Mobile team:

I have three full time contract positions opening up in my group. These are
set to be 3 months but could be extended. I plan to hire these with the
intent to convert to full time employee. These are local to Chicago in the
downtown location. UXA's are an expanded role that combines information
architecture and interaction design focusing on the user interaction.
Prototyping and light front end dev skill are a plus but not required. We
are going to be working fast and iterating - looking to improve the mobile
user experience of our aps.

Marketplace team:

I am looking for a senior UXA (full time employee) that has B2B web or
software experience. We are building relatively complex applications that
are implemented on the web. This is not consumer facing.

For any of these email me directly if you have an interest and I can send
you links and detailed descriptions.

- Mark

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Usability: HipHopMuseum.or or NMOH.org

[mark schraad]

seriously, you guys all think this decision should be made with single
opinions? What do the fans and creators of hiphop think? Maybe someone
should ask them?

On Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 10:49 PM, Leon Barnard  wrote:

> Guess they strip out the plus sign (why?). Once more, "plus 1".
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> Posted from the new ixda.org
> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=49134
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] iPad.

[mark schraad]

its also worth noting that while the market may be narrower than say an
iPhone or iPod, the OEM potential is huge.

On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 5:19 PM, Luke Wroblewski  wrote:

> Since no one has brought it up yet... I'll go.
>
> Overall what was expected. The big innovation for me is all this stuff
> integrated in one simple package. Which is kind of being glossed over in the
> press. and the price point -very low.
> -liked the rebuilt apple apps. calendar & contacts are nicely rethought.
> lots of new ui in iwork.
> -the times demo is just the start of the kind of integrated media
> experiences you can build. my thoughts on that:
> http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?951
> -the cover is awesome design it supports swivel, tip, and protects
> -the $9 for numbers vs. $229 for excel is really interesting from a
> business perspective
>
> Notable hardware gaps (concerning cause no software update will fix)
> -camera
> -storage sizes 64GB for videos, photos, and music -does not cut it
> -usb port -it uses "camera" adaptors instead
> -GPS only on 3G model
> -how's it work with an iphone?
>
> Notable software gaps (can/will be addressed with software updates)
> -multiple iphone apps running at once
> -multiple users -how do you share the device at home?
> -doesn't run flash = many holes on web pages
> -no really new interactions -all iphone UI or the most part. but lots of
> the floating controls outlined here:
> http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?983
>
> your thoughts?
>
>
>
> ::
> ::Luke Wroblewski -[ www.lukew.com ]
> ::Principal/Founder, LukeW Ideation & Design
> ::l...@lukew.com  |  408.513.7207
> ::
> ::Blog: http://www.lukew.com/ff/
> ::New Book: http://www.lukew.com/resources/web_form_design.asp
> ::Book: http://www.lukew.com/resources/site_seeing.html
> ::
>
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] iPad.

[mark schraad]

>
>
>
> Basically I think it may be an awesome new form of computing, but have
> serious doubts that it's the ultimate e-book product.
>
> - Loren
>
>
This is at the core of my issue regarding the kindle, and why I don't have
one. I have little use for yet another dedicated device that I have to lug
around, charge and update software on. To the extend that I can purpose more
functionality in an equivalent manor to the device I already have, I am
happier. The dedicated device will typically have a more robust set of
features - and I would not expect the iPad to match with the kindle
one-to-one.

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] iPad.

[Mark Schraad]

everything is widescreen if you adjust the height (and put controls  
there).




Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 28, 2010, at 8:06 AM, James Page  wrote:

I think one issue is that it is not widescreen. If it about  
consuming media

shouldn't the device be wide screen for movies.

Is it a good user experiance watching a movie on a narrow screen?

Also I can not just plug in devices into the USB.

And there is the issue of DRM. Especially with apple controlling  
application
release which can take weeks. You can not role out a bug fix, or a  
improved

feature. Everybody is talking about continuous improvements as the way
forward. Apple place large block on this by thier approval basis.

James
http://blog.feralabs.com

2010/1/28 Will Evans 

How often have you dropped your iPhone? I personally haven't, but  
have many
friends that have gone through 2, 3, even 4 - a drop from 4' is  
deadly.


I won't denigrate the feature set because I am not the intended  
audience.
For business travel, I need all my design apps and I need them  
multimodal,
not sovereign - and multitasking is a must. I also can't not have  
skype for
conference calls on the road - so it's not a replacement for my  
mbp: it
would just be another device that serves no purpose for which I  
already have
tools. For the intended audience, it may or may not be great - I  
have no
idea the personas this is designed and built for - but certainly  
not a

traveling ux practitioner.

Cheers,

~ will

"Where you innovate, how you innovate,
and what you innovate are design problems"


--- 
--- 
--- 
--- 


Will Evans | Director, Experience Design
tel: +1.617.281.1281 | w...@semanticfoundry.com
http://blog.semanticfoundry.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/semanticwill
aim: semanticwill
gtalk: semanticwill
twitter: semanticwill
skype: semanticwill

--- 
--- 
--- 
--- 




On Jan 28, 2010, at 7:59 AM, Jack Moffett wrote:



On Jan 27, 2010, at 7:08 PM, graham.s...@gmail.com wrote:

I assume the durability of it will be better tha the iPhone screen

especially as, like other laptops/netbooks it doesn't have a fold
down screen to protect it.



Graham,

I don't understand. The durability of the iPhone screen is superb.  
I've
been using iPhones (original and 3Gs) since its original release  
without any

kind of case or screen protector, and have not had a single scratch.

Jack


Jack L. Moffett
Senior Interaction Designer
inmedius
412.459.0310 x219
http://www.inmedius.com


You could design a process to catch
everything, but then you're overprocessing.
You kill creativity. You kill productivity.
By definition, a culture like ours that
drives innovation is managed chaos.

   -Alex Lee
President, OXO International




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Re: [IxDA Discuss] iPad.

[mark schraad]

I think its pretty cool. The name is fine... however expected and  
undramatic.


As for the ap and iphone OS and interface working on a pc platform -  
we will have to play and watch as it grows and evolves. I do think we  
are seeing the next successful model of software distribution with the  
platform being the gateway and toll taker. Pretty smart in my  
estimation.


As soon as they are taking them I will place my order for a couple.  
The wife's macbook is about to die and she basically surfs the web,  
uploads photos and checks email. The ipad connected by wireless to my  
home network (with more storage available there) will work just great.  
I also anticipate her being able to play music on the stereo and a  
hundred other things from the couch.


I am personally not worried about flash at all.

Mark


On Jan 27, 2010, at 5:19 PM, Luke Wroblewski wrote:


Since no one has brought it up yet... I'll go.

Overall what was expected. The big innovation for me is all this  
stuff integrated in one simple package. Which is kind of being  
glossed over in the press. and the price point -very low.
-liked the rebuilt apple apps. calendar & contacts are nicely  
rethought. lots of new ui in iwork.
-the times demo is just the start of the kind of integrated media  
experiences you can build. my thoughts on that: http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?951

-the cover is awesome design it supports swivel, tip, and protects
-the $9 for numbers vs. $229 for excel is really interesting from a  
business perspective


Notable hardware gaps (concerning cause no software update will fix)
-camera
-storage sizes 64GB for videos, photos, and music -does not cut it
-usb port -it uses "camera" adaptors instead
-GPS only on 3G model
-how's it work with an iphone?

Notable software gaps (can/will be addressed with software updates)
-multiple iphone apps running at once
-multiple users -how do you share the device at home?
-doesn't run flash = many holes on web pages
-no really new interactions -all iphone UI or the most part. but  
lots of the floating controls outlined here:

http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?983

your thoughts?



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Age vs Date of Birth in sign up form

[mark schraad]

birthdate and drivers license = all access... through in the social and it
gets even scarier

On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 4:23 AM, Jarrod Lombardo wrote:

> Wow, I'm surprised by the number of people that consider birth date
> private information. Since one's birth date and much of one's
> address history is a matter of public record (in the US at least)
> there's basically ~0 risk in freely giving out your birth date.
>
> A text entry form that shows how to input the date (e.g. MM/DD/
> or -MM-DD) would work best, especially if you think you might
> have future contests where age matters.
>
> --1980-04-16
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> Posted from the new ixda.org
> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48490
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB: User Experience Designer / Product Owner - Spil Games, Hilversum, The Netherlands

[mark schraad]

Kim... FANTASTIC job title!

On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 3:37 AM, kim van Poelgeest  wrote:

> Tasks and Responsibilities:
>
> Whether it is discussing concepts or creating designs, SPIL GAMES
> offers abundant challenges for a strong specialist in the web design
> field, and we are seeking a candidate who is passionate about finding
> and implementing creative solutions. As User Experience Designer, you
> will be highly involved in the specification and design of our gaming
> sites. You will work with the Scrum teams and business owners to help
> create best-in-class gaming sites. Additionally, you will:
>
> •   Be a key member of a Scrum team who’s always available to answer
> questions and solve problems
>
> •   Make sure your Scrum team is constantly focused on the right
> priorities and product and sprint goals
>
> •   Control the Product Backlog: keeping it up to date and prioritized,
> looking at the constantly changing market and the wishes of the
> stakeholders
>
> •   Make sure decisions and prioritization of the Product Backlog are
> always transparent to the stakeholders
>
> •   Be responsible for translating a product into user stories with a
> clear “Definition of Done” story
>
> •   Be able to do incremental product releases, from necessities to
> comfort/luxury features
>
> •   Translate audience, technology, and other key product requirements
> into effective UI design solutions
>
> •   Keep up a working knowledge of UI design best practices, and
> communicate visual-design thinking based on sound user-experience and
> interaction-design principles
>
> •   Maintain superior knowledge of current web-design trends and
> techniques
>
> •   Create end-to-end user flows, interaction models, and feature and
> interface design
>
> •   Work in a team environment as well as independently to get the job
> done with minimal supervision while juggling a few projects at once
>
>
> Your Profile:
>
> •   5+ years’ experience working with software development teams
> •   3+ years’ experience in the Internet business
> •   3 to 5 years’ experience in a graphic- and web-design role
> •   Minimum HBO/bachelor’s education level
> •   Innovative, creative problem-solver with an eye for detail and
> skill for accuracy
> •   In-depth knowledge of UI design principles, human factors,
> user-centered design processes, interaction design guidelines,
> web-industry standards, and prototyping
> •   An eye for creative design, with the ability to also follow preset
> rules, templates, and/or branding
> •   Experience in creating the overall look and all graphic elements
> for commercial-quality websites
> •   Proven experience using design tools (Axure, Adobe) to digitalize
> business ideas/concepts
> •   Knowledge of XHTML, CSS, DHTML, W3C standards
> •   Knowledge of internationalization and accessibility design
> considerations
> •   Proficient in using MS Office applications
> •   Strong problem-solving and time-management skills
> •   Solid oral and written communication skills in English
> •   A friendly, positive attitude and a strong work ethic
>
> SPIL GAMES Offers:
> •   A competitive salary
> •   A good benefits package
> •   A chance to be part of a fast-growing, international company
> •   A motivating bonus system
> •   A fun and dynamic work environment
>
>
> Get in touch
> kim[-at-]kimvanpoelgeest.spilgames.net
>
> 
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>

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] 1 Year Masters Course in Interaction Design

[mark schraad]

Hugh,

I think part of the issue is where you come from. Very few of the IA/ 
Ixd's I have worked with have a background or undergrad in design.  
There are a lot reasons to move into the interactive field, and that  
often occurs after the undrgrad work and in fact after some real world  
eye opening work. That has been a very powerful and successful pattern  
in our field.


The GSSC as you called it is a sometimes slow moving, but very big  
stage to work on. It that floats your boat it is out there. There are  
also plenty of start ups and small shops, agencies and even academia.  
As with any purchase (and grad school should be handled as a very  
large purchase) you should evaluate what you get out of it both  
financially and otherwise. The demand is very hot for well trained and  
smart interaction folks that can land at a desk and be productive in a  
short time.


Like Dave M says in another message on this post... you can get a lot,  
if not all of this stuff working in the rights spot or company, but  
not as intense or as quickly - and without the paper.


Mark




On Jan 19, 2010, at 11:19 AM, Hugh Griffith wrote:

Good grief! That's a lot of IA's. I'd like to work somewhere there's  
even

one. :)

I'm thinking about this like a "realist" I suppose. (And that's  
probably not
even the right term I'm looking for!) That's a lot of time and money  
for
something that really isn't going to get you *that* far ahead. I  
understand
if you had your heart set on working at a GSSC (that's "giant, soul  
sucking,
corporation" for you folks at home), having that might elevate you  
above the
crowd a bit. But, for most I would think working and learning on  
your own
would be better in the short term, *and* still have the long term  
benefits.


Don't get me wrong, school is great. But, school usually means debt  
(for
most of us), and debt can really mess up your life and limit your  
career

options. Especially in this economy!

Anyhoo, best of luck whichever road they travel down.

Hugh Griffith
User Interface Designer


On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 9:51 AM, mark schraad   
wrote:



Hugh,

We have more than 30 IA's (we call them UXA's) in our group and  
close to
75% have graduate degrees in Interaction design, HCI or an MBA. It  
is not a
critical criteria in our hiring process, but it's sure become the  
norm
amongst those able to show ability, experience and knowledge. Does  
that

help?

Mark




On Jan 19, 2010, at 10:31 AM, Hugh Griffith wrote:

Just to play devil's advocate, what's a masters degree in ID going  
to get
you other than a depleted bank account? (FYI, I'm assuming ID  
refers to

web
interaction.)

It seems like such a specialized field that most employers  
wouldn't really

care.

Hugh Griffith
User Interface Designer


On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 5:28 AM, Rob Nero   
wrote:


Malmö, Sweden, has a 2 year Masters in IxD, along with PhD's in  
IxD too.


www.ixdmalmo.se
(though the site is currently being developed more)


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Re: [IxDA Discuss] 1 Year Masters Course in Interaction Design

[mark schraad]

Hugh,

We have more than 30 IA's (we call them UXA's) in our group and close  
to 75% have graduate degrees in Interaction design, HCI or an MBA. It  
is not a critical criteria in our hiring process, but it's sure become  
the norm amongst those able to show ability, experience and knowledge.  
Does that help?


Mark



On Jan 19, 2010, at 10:31 AM, Hugh Griffith wrote:

Just to play devil's advocate, what's a masters degree in ID going  
to get
you other than a depleted bank account? (FYI, I'm assuming ID refers  
to web

interaction.)

It seems like such a specialized field that most employers wouldn't  
really

care.

Hugh Griffith
User Interface Designer


On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 5:28 AM, Rob Nero   
wrote:


Malmö, Sweden, has a 2 year Masters in IxD, along with PhD's in IxD  
too.


www.ixdmalmo.se
(though the site is currently being developed more)


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Re: [IxDA Discuss] [anthrodesign] Norman replies to Nussbaum

[mark schraad]

Analysis of history (such as Norman's essay) tells what approach has  
been used most frequently, but it fails to answer the implied question  
of 'what is the best approach?' Everett Rogers (diffusion of  
innovation) provides significantly more insight into what makes  
products successful. In an earlier writing Don got it right... it is  
form, function and fit. Technology... a business initiative... user  
needs, they all led to potentially successful products. MBA's and  
Engineers have been running businesses for the last 100 years. It is  
no real surprise that their domains have lead these product efforts.


As for disruption... I might suggest looking at Christensen's  
definition. It has more to do with taking advantage of established  
companies tendencies towards arrogance and complacency (my  
interpretation). Rooted in efforts to "maximize" profit in the short  
term... that arrogance typically leads to overestimating the profit a  
company can extract from the next transaction. Smart companies share  
the profit in each transaction with the purchaser in an attempt to  
build a long term relationship. The least costly customer to attain is  
the one you already have... and sustainable longer term revenue is the  
key to building a company. Focusing on the next reporting period  
typically leads to something along the lines of a mugging... which of  
course is not sustainable. Most disruptive efforts (as displayed by  
Christensen et al) undercut established company's pricing by stripping  
away features that are not desired by the consumer.


Mark



On Jan 1, 2010, at 9:54 PM, Ed H.Chi wrote:


Jared and others,

In case it wasn't clear, I believe argumentation about "whether
needs or technology came first" isn't a fruitful way forward.  More
importantly, we should examine what we mean by 'disruption'.

In my comments, I said:
"Ultimately, the measuring stick that we ought to use is the amount
of impact each (tech vs. design) brings to the innovation process.
... It is much easier to think of major disruptions coming from the
technology side. ...  To wit, that's why it we call it a
"disruption"! It disrupts current ways of doing things. There is an
element of surprise in the "disruption", suggesting that the need
might not have been there yet."


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48144



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] are we an early indicator of economic recovery?

[mark schraad]

On Dec 18, 2009, at 7:25 AM, Bill Barranco wrote:


Your industry segment is very, very small, however important you
people think you are,


not sure I am reading this the way it was intended... but not a  
particularly inviting request to apply. > Mark



but very very much on the front edge. I did not
really see any "downturn" in demand for people with your skills, not
compared to the 10%   unemployment nationally.

I am still seeking a creative, Senior Interaction Designer (no WEB
designers please) for working at one of the most stable and
progressive US corporations in the the South Eastern States.

See my web site for details, Job #1 at www.auto-vision.com



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[IxDA Discuss] are we an early indicator of economic recovery?

[mark schraad]

I've been watching the job announcements on this forum and there seems  
to be an uptick in the last couple of months.


My theory is that skill sets in high demand can be an early indicator  
of economic recovery. I am measuring this based upon salary and my  
perception of unemployment in amongst our profession. I honestly don't  
know to many Ixd's that are unemployed. Not very scientific... but  
that is what I am operating with and basing my hunch upon.


Just wondering your thoughts. Is there an increased demand for what we  
do in these recent months? Do you think that is an indicator of a  
better economy coming?


Mark

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] The Ahistoricity of Interaction Design

[mark schraad]

Adam I did not find your blog entry difficult to understand I found it  
cumbersome to get through.


Making information easily and accessible to a wider range of audience  
would seem an obvious approach someone in this business. We have not  
had the opportunity to have a verbal conversation so I wouldn't know  
how your writing reconciles. But I would grade any undergraduate paper  
(or above) with it's ability to communicate as secondary only to core  
content. [ http://tinyurl.com/ydqtcje ]


I'm not a critic and far from an expert in the written word, just a  
focus group of one offering an observation. But I am pretty sure I  
share many attributes of your intended audience.


mark


On Dec 13, 2009, at 1:38 PM, Adam Greenfield wrote:


Would I need an editor, if I intended these words to wind up in
print? Absolutely. But is my writing *inherently* arcane? No, it
isn't. It's about par for the kind of material any undergraduate
can expect to confront at any university worth the name, and if you
have a problem with that, mark schraad, then maybe you should
consider that the problem is yours and not mine.



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] The Ahistoricity of Interaction Design: Tangent to: Where we fail as a profession

[mark schraad]

Dave, I fundamentally disagree with what I read as the underlying  
premiss of this statement.


On Dec 13, 2009, at 9:45 AM, dave malouf wrote:


Just look who is writing our books today (and no
offense to any of them, as I have deep respect): Both Kolko and
Saffer who I feel have made the best attempts to bring a solid
literature to IxD are less than 20yr. veterans at that. The work of
Buxton and Moggridge in the last period are good contributions, but
are purposeful in their sphere.


Where design and more specifically, interaction design, is failing  
right now is not in the actual design work, but in it's acceptance by  
those in place to actualize it. To that end, Moggridge and Buxton are  
addressing the real pain points of our profession. There are better  
designers, with higher profile, in the important areas of work than  
ever before. At both the tactical and strategic level we are not  
lacking for talent. Yet our work is often failing to reach both the  
end results and those waiting to use them.


We fail at getting the attention of those pushing the ideas to the  
largest segments of the market. We fail at garnering the respect and  
credibility of those making the critical design decisions. We fail at  
selling ourselves and our work. We need to listen to Bill Buxton when  
he tells us that we should be spending a third of our time designing  
and a two thirds of our time laying the ground work to sell our ideas  
at the business decision level.


Roger Martin's recent (Designing Business) book is a continuation of  
his efforts to expose the incompatibilities of design and business  
cultures, of reliable vs valid, of innovating vs remaining safe. His  
insights are important, yet few designers have bothered to embrace  
them. Similar to Buxton's points, Tichy and Bennis (Judgement: How  
winning... ) speak to the critical point of 'x or y choices' as being  
a small portion of the work. They posit that laying the foundation for  
that choice, as well as the post decision actions are critical and  
possibly more important to success.


I realize that most of us don't enter design school with the hopes of  
executive encounters and the metric driven VP. But those are our  
hurdles, and if we want out work to make a difference we must accept  
those barriers as valid design constraints. We have to move outside of  
our comfy studio and do the more difficult work as well.


My larger point here is that as a profession we need to move beyond  
teaching and honing tactical and studio skills. At this juncture these  
are mere table stakes. Tactical 'how too' books, prescriptive recipes,  
and case studies are fine, but are very limited in furthering of our  
profession. This is a critical message that design educators, in  
particular,  must hear and act upon. All the creation and problem  
solving skills are worth very little if we can not move that work into  
a place of utility.


Mark

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] The Ahistoricity of Interaction Design

[mark schraad]

well...

Stylistically... I wish I was that impressed with myself and my  
vocabulary. Serious attempts at hair splitting specificity throw  
roadblock in front of the reader. Plain speak please... that is if  
your intended audience is the broader section of designers... and not  
the intellectual elite.


With heavy influence from my mentor I use these four simple rules...

1) Read everything in the domain. Yes, there is a lot of crap and  
drivel written in the interactive space. Emerging and growing  
industries with high salaries will always attract folks using books to  
further their career. Use your passion and your wits to filter out the  
BS.


2) Do most of your reading outside of your domain. A wider selection  
of ideas is better... and most innovation is about slight variances  
and reapplication of existing theories. If you want to really make a  
difference in your domain, bring something fresh and applicable.


3) Have a life. The critical component to what we do is our insight  
into human nature. Machines are relatively predictable. I do not  
believe confining yourself to the studio for 70 - 90 hours a week is a  
recipe for excellence.


4) Find your own voice. Have a passionate point of view. Know what you  
think. You don't have to write about it... frankly, you might be  
better off not writing about it. This has huge implications for number  
1.


There are a tremendous number of bright folks in our industry. When I  
talk to those doing the work I find that the people with the most  
insight apparently don't feel the need to express it in a blog or a  
book. I love working with smart passionate people.


Mark

ps... I did not miss the article's point, just picked the portion that  
was of interest to me.


"Trust me, I’m not trying to pat myself on the back for some notional  
superior acuity."




On Dec 13, 2009, at 10:51 AM, Dan Saffer wrote:


What do we think about Adam Greenfield's challenge to us?

"The ahistoricity of interaction design – the notion, implicitly  
held or otherwise, that rich interactivity is an entirely new topic  
in design for human experience, perhaps with the Doug Engelbart demo  
as Year Zero – has always driven me nuts. When even an old-school  
HCI stalwart like Don Norman fails to deliver useful insight,  
perhaps it’s time to start looking further afield for inspiration.


Let’s face it: brighter and more sensitive people than us have been  
thinking about issues like public versus private realms, or which  
elements of a system are hard to reconfigure and which more open to  
user specification, for many hundreds of years. Medieval Islamic  
urbanism, for example, had some notions about how to demarcate  
transitional spaces between public and fully private that might  
still usefully inform the design of digital applications and  
services. By contrast, the level of sophistication with which those  
of us engaged in such design generally handle these issues is  
risible (and here I’m pointing a finger at just about the entire UX  
“community” and the technology industry that supports it).


A bookshelf that runs no deeper than John Maeda, in other words,  
isn’t going to get you very far, or help you in the true crunch, and  
nothing makes me sadder than coming across someone engaged in the  
design of user experiences whose blogroll or Twitter follow list  
extends no further than the usual UX names...my feeling is that  
there are better and deeper sources of insight available if you dig  
a little in the history of adjacent design disciplines.


You can learn to do a decent card sort (excuse me: “content affinity  
analysis”) in ten minutes, and work competently with Arduino in a  
good solid month of effort, but if you’re genuinely concerned with  
improving the quality of interactive experience, I believe you owe  
it both to yourself and to the people downstream from you who’ll be  
using the things you make to gain a richer acquaintance with the  
thought of other, older design traditions."



Read the whole article: 





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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Search interface design and usability

[mark schraad]

pick up a copy of peter morville's Ambient Findability  ... it's a quick
read chocked full of great information.

*
http://www.amazon.com/Ambient-Findability-Peter-Morville/dp/0596007655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260223795&sr=8-1
*
On Mon, Dec 7, 2009 at 11:48 PM, Sam McLeod  wrote:

> I have to do a presentation (at very short notice for a job interview)
> on improvements to a search interface for clinical data. Does anybody
> know of any useful resources that focus on the design and usability
> of search interfaces. Thanks
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dustin Curtis, UX Design, and American Airlines

[mark schraad]

One of the most painful adjustments I see in designers (and myself as well)
is that when you move to a giant company and giant projects... change is
often slow and the impact of your work is smaller. When you get 25 people on
a design decision committee... the outcomes are often aggregate. While this
can be disappointing, it is a mechanism that provides stability (read slow
change).

As important as a decision to work in design or ux as opposed to product  or
some other area is, the decision to work in a large corporation vs a start
up or an agency is critical and should be thought out carefully.

Mark



On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 10:56 AM, Christian Crumlish  wrote:

>
>
> On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 8:23 AM, mark schraad  wrote:
>
>> I think there is a constructive string worth pursuing here. Many many many
>> designers (ux, ixd, ai, whatever) operate within large organizations, and
>> many do it with a chip on their shoulder.
>
>
> True. You see this with editorial a lot too. You also see it with
> paralegals. In fact, I think in any context in which one's job isn't the
> core profession for a business you probably see this. Staff at universities,
> etc.
>
> -x-
>
> --
> Christian Crumlish
>
> MY NEW BOOK: Designing Social Interfaces.
> http://designingsocialinterfaces.com
> Get It. Read It. Love It. Review it. on Amazon:
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0596154925/
>

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dustin Curtis, UX Design, and American Airlines

[mark schraad]

I think there is a constructive string worth pursuing here. Many many many
designers (ux, ixd, ai, whatever) operate within large organizations, and
many do it with a chip on their shoulder. And while counter productive, to
some extent, when no one in that organization is listening, who can blame
them. Design is across the board deserving of respect beyond tactical
execution. Design as a strategy, and design as a profession are under
utilized in large organizations.

For the responder, he merely picked the wrong venue for his venting and
exposition. A public blog has enormous SEO potential that is bound to
attract the attention of corporate PR watchdogs. Unfortunately this venue
has much the same visibility. I have been (personally) criticized for
exposing too much in a relatively frank discussion of conditions very
similar to this one. I would like to think there this could be a place share
those frustrations and a resource for finding ways to deal with these
problems. But this is the interweb... and everyone can come in the door.

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Should an e-commerce design agency test the usability of its own designs?

[mark schraad]

I think there is great benefit to having an independent (person or  
group) do the testing of a design. I also think  there is benefit to  
having product managers generate the use cases designers work to  
solve for. Additionally, having the back end development team do the  
QA is troublesome.


Some level of self fulfilling prophesy is likely to find its way in.  
Isn't that why we go to someone else for things as simple as prof  
reading? What I don't think, is that it is necessarily cause for  
inditement. They may very well have had separate staff do the  
testing. If you understand how agencies work, then you know that it  
is very much about billables... and with that you must have  
deliverables. It is very rare for an agency to recommend another  
group in that situation.


Mark


On Nov 9, 2009, at 11:35 AM, Paul Bryan wrote:


Recently I was on an e-commerce strategy project. I received a
usability test report that the previous agency had produced after
testing their own design work. I went back to the source tapes and
there seemed to be a dramatic difference between the level of
problems users were having in the sessions, and the resulting report.


I know it's convenient for e-commerce site owners to get an
integrated package, esp. when large MSA's are in place. And trying
to keep ahead of Agile cycles puts strain on the schedule and number
of partners. But I'm just wondering if readers of this list feel
like there is an inherent conflict of interest, or if testing is
viewed as a normal component of a design partner relationship.

Paul Bryan
Usography (http://www.usography.com)
Blog: Virtual Floorspace (http://www.virtualfloorspace.com)
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts




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[IxDA Discuss] office interface presentation

[mark schraad]

A while back there was a link posted for a presentation. The director of UX
for microsoft office was showing the various iterations that the UI went
through and it was captured on video. I've lost the bookmark and wondered if
anyone else had it, or remembered where the video is posted.

Much thanks!

Mark

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] new book alert

[mark schraad]

I guess the title would help... the Design of Business

here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Design-Business-Thinking-Competitive-Advantage/dp/1422177807/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256837556&sr=8-1



On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 5:09 AM, mark schraad  wrote:

> I picked up Roger Martin's new book just as it was released last
> week. I am only 65 pages in (about a third) but it is already one of
> the most insightful books I have read in recent years.
>
> It speaks to understanding why designers scare the hell out of
> business folks. Yes.. it is sort of a business book, but most
> designers need more of this and will benefit in a big way. Yes, at
> its core is the design thinking thing... but I'm pretty convinced
> that most folks up in arms about "design thinking" don't really
> understand what it is.
>
> If you work in a corporation or do work for a corporation that
> involves product development and product managers this will be a
> helpful and thought provoking read.
>
> I am finding myself reading it in chinks of 5 pages... and reading it
> multiple times. It is very conceptually information dense.
>
> Would love to know what others here think.
> 
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[IxDA Discuss] new book alert

[mark schraad]

I picked up Roger Martin's new book just as it was released last
week. I am only 65 pages in (about a third) but it is already one of
the most insightful books I have read in recent years.

It speaks to understanding why designers scare the hell out of
business folks. Yes.. it is sort of a business book, but most
designers need more of this and will benefit in a big way. Yes, at
its core is the design thinking thing... but I'm pretty convinced
that most folks up in arms about "design thinking" don't really
understand what it is.

If you work in a corporation or do work for a corporation that
involves product development and product managers this will be a
helpful and thought provoking read.

I am finding myself reading it in chinks of 5 pages... and reading it
multiple times. It is very conceptually information dense.

Would love to know what others here think.

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Outsourced sketch > wireframe service?

[mark schraad]

I have seriously thought about hiring a staff of pure wire framers.  
Sort of how I envision drafters or the folks that run autocad at  
large architecture firms. Except that we often have so many  
conditions, I need the designer that thought through and designed  
them to detail them as well. I also think part of the magic or art is  
knowing how best to communicate the interactions to the FED's and  
back end folks.


Mark



On Oct 7, 2009, at 1:02 PM, Adrian Severynen wrote:


Anyone know of any outsourced sketch to wireframe services? I'd love
to be able to send my rough sketches somewhere and have a nice
InDesign wireframe come back.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Defining a UX vision

[mark schraad]

The Harvard Business Review has a couple of excellent papers on building
elevator pitches.
Or you could use this if you are in a hurry:
http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/careers/pitch/

Mark




On Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 10:26 AM, Peter Merholz  wrote:

> Henning Fischer, design strategist at Adaptive Path, was interviewed about
> "developing a mission statement" and discusses a tool we use frequently at
> Adaptive Path, the mad-lib like elevator pitch. It's a place I begin when
> crafting a vision statement.
>
> http://www.redesign.creativecomponent.com/podcast-interview-with-henning-fischer-developing-a-mission-statement/
>
> I'm also partial to experience principles as a way of articulating a UX
> vision. We posted a detailed explanation of our work with http://smart.fm/,
> including experience design principles we developed for them:
> http://www.adaptivepath.com/blog/2009/07/22/smartfm-goals/
>
> When defining a UX vision, take to heart the suggestions in the book MADE
> TO STICK, about how ideas are made sticky. Too often UX visions are abstract
> and formless.
>
> As part of making the vision concrete, it's important to get away from
> words and towards pictures and other more concrete means of expression. We
> typically create a "vision prototype" to embody the vision and principles,
> to make tangible the strategy.
>
> --peter
>
>
> On Oct 3, 2009, at 3:40 PM, Jim Leftwich wrote:
>
>  Here's a link to a .pdf of "Design Vision: A Conversation About The
>> Role Of Design Leadership," which is the dialog between Luke
>> Wroblewski (http://www.lukew.com), Bob Baxely
>> (http://www.baxleydesign.com/), Dirk Knemeyer (http://knemeyer.com/),
>> and myself (http://www.orbitnet.com), all veteran Interaction
>> Designers with experience spanning a wide variety of software,
>> products, and systems.  We discuss many aspects of how vision and
>> design leadership have played out in our careers, some of which have
>> been more than 25 years long.
>>
>> http://www.lukew.com/resources/articles/DesignVision.pdf
>>
>> Our dialog is practiioner informed and aimed.  It reflects the many
>> issues we've encountered, llessons we've earned, and insights
>> we've come to understand over our lengthy and varied practitioner,
>> management, and business careers in the field of Interaction Design.
>>
>> The dialog doesn't particularly boil the complexity of Design,
>> Design Vision, and Design Leadership down to simple statements, but
>> provides a comprehensive overview from our experiences and
>> perspectives.
>>
>>
>> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>> Posted from the new ixda.org
>> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46323
>>
>>
>> 
>> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
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>>
>
> 
> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
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>

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Book: Thoughts on Interaction Design

[mark schraad]

I totally agree. Jon routinely takes on difficult and thoughtful  
topics that most all other design authors sidestep or avoid. Very  
good stuff and worth the time to read it.


Mark


On Oct 4, 2009, at 1:09 PM, Charles B. Kreitzberg wrote:


Hi:

I picked up a copy of this book at the first IxDA conference  
bookstore and
found it a really useful introduction to the field. If you are  
looking for a
comprehensive introduction or a way to explain IxD to someone  
outside the
field, I would recommend Jon's book. It's short, focused and  
thoughtful.


Best,

Charlie


Charles B. Kreitzberg, Ph.D.
CEO, Cognetics Corporation


-Original Message-
From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com
[mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf  
Of Jon

Kolko
Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2009 5:33 PM
To: disc...@ixda.org
Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Book: Thoughts on Interaction Design

Hi,

Just wanted to let ya'all know that my book, Thoughts on Interaction
Design, has been re-released through Morgan Kaufmann and is available
on Amazon.com at
http://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-Interaction-Design-Jon-Kolko/dp/ 
012378624X/re

f=ed_oe_p
- I hope you find it useful and relevant!

The table of contents includes:

==

In Chapter One (Multiple Roots, and an Uncertain Future), the
historic roots of this field are described, and the relationship
between engineering and business is explored. Additionally, the
future is painted as an unknown field of potential for this field, as
the study of human behavior has become of a primary interest to the
worlds of business and marketing in recent years.

Chapter Two (Computing and Human Computer Interaction) describes how
Human Computer Interaction arose as a field advocating for usability
and efficiency. This is paralleled by a similar growth in the field
of Industrial Design, with emphasis placed on human factors and
anthropometrics. Both fields have evolved as user-centered
professions, laying the groundwork for the field of Interaction
Design (which, as practiced presently, seems to combine both physical
and digital design into artifacts, services or systems).

Section One is concluded with a contributed article by Chris Connors,
entitled Interaction Design in an Engineering Centric World.

Chapter Three (A Process for Thinking About People) discusses the
procedural focus of Interaction Design as it pertains to designing
what people want and need. The role of intuition is examined as
compared to the necessity for ethnographic user research.

Chapter Four (Managing Complexity) examines the role technology plays
in the development of Interaction Design solutions, with attention
placed on the relatively new subfield of Information Architecture as
applied to the design of technology-driven products.

Chapter Five (Shaping Aesthetics to Inform Experience) investigates
the role aesthetics play in the development of Interaction Design
solutions, specifically with regard to brand and identity.

Section Two is concluded with a contributed article by Justin Petro,
entitled Interaction Design as Business Lubricant.

In Chapter Six (Language and Interaction), the role of language is
examined as it relates to the design of objects, services and
systems. Traditional views of design as dialogue are extended to
investigate the role of a poetic interaction - and how designers can
begin to view their creations in terms of dialogue, words and
argument.

Section Three ends with a contributed article by Uday Gajendar,
entitled On the Nature of Interaction as Language.

In Chapter Seven (The Political Dynamics of Product Development),
discusses the nature of working in integrated and interdisciplinary
product teams, especially given the ambiguous nature of the word
Design.

Section Four ends with a contributed article by Ellen Beldner,
entitled Getting Design Done.

==

Jon Kolko

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants

[mark schraad]

I am dumbfounded... wow.


On Oct 2, 2009, at 12:42 PM, Thomas Petersen wrote:


I really don't in general see the usage of testing during the design
process.



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] [JOB] Principal UxA %u2013 Chicago, FTE only.

[mark schraad]

correction: was typing on the train... 

mark (dot) schraad (at) searshc (dot) com


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46261



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[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] Principal UxA – Chica go, FTE only.

[mark schraad]

I am looking for a seasoned Use Experience Architect that has worked in
ecommerce for at least five years. This role requires extensive knowledge of
cart and checkout and experience with POS and back end payment technologies.
Specifically, understanding both the non-technical (cultural) as well as the
technical constraints of cross-domain and cross brand cart and check out is
critical. If you have been a lead or senior, and are looking for a place
demonstrate leadership and push the boundaries, this may be your next
opportunity.

Thanks >Mark



Resume, examples, publications and cover letter to: mark (dot) Schraad (at)
searshs (dot) com



Full description of the principle role below:



*Sears Holdings Corporation*

*Principal User Experience Architect*



You’re a pro who checks your ego at the door and designs world-class,
consumer-driven user experiences. In fact, everything you do is completely
focused on making the user experience easier, more relevant and rich. Some
may call that obsessive, but you don’t know any other way to work, think or
act.



As a principal on the team, you will lead by example, mentor colleagues, and
draw upon your proven leadership, collaboration and facilitation skills to
lead design solution development. To do so, you will stay on top of industry
best practices and not only absorb knowledge, but be a thought leader in
your own right. You share your research, findings, analysis, and facilitate
communication/collaboration sessions with all sorts of partners and
stakeholders – notably Merchants, Project Management, IT, and Product
Management. Most importantly, you will establish the Sears Holdings
portfolio of online properties as the preferred destination for our
customers. These include: sears.com, kmart.com, mysears.com, mykmart.com,
managemyhome.com, and sears2go & kmart2go mobile apps.



You will also help define design patterns and components and ensure
compliance and consistent application across projects. And you’ll continue
to publish and present material related to design thinking, UX best
practices, methods and processes.

* *

*Requirements:*

•10 years of experience in interface design, usability training; minimum 3
years in E-Commerce

•Must be market and customer insight driven

•Follow retail industry trends and provide analysis to team

Rich Media

Community

Social Commerce

Cross-Channel Experiences

•Understand and leverage

Business drivers

Cognitive processes

Experimental design

Rapid prototyping

Quantitative methods

Task analysis methods

Observational techniques

Usability testing

User interfaces

HCI standards & guidelines



*Skills:*

•Build, cultivate, and maintain long-term relationships. Manage client
expectations.

•Translate business and technical requirements into rich engaging customer
experiences.

• Focus on developing tactical solutions and design systems.

•Strong technical background.

•Advanced knowledge of design & research tools, including Visio.

•Familiar with creative/FED (front-end development) tools & constraints
regarding presentation layers.

•Strong communication skills (both verbal and written).

• Meet or exceed client expectations consistent with business priorities.

•Establish a course of action for self & others to accomplish specific
goals.

•Collaborate with others to accomplish goals/objectives.

•Build/maintain constructive partnerships with UX, Business and IT.

•Identify problems and pro-actively develop effective solutions.

•Gladly take on multiple projects, and multi-component programs.

•Expresses ideas precisely, persuasively and effectively; listen to and
engages productively with team.

•Able to negotiate design trade-offs and support design rationale.

•Must be able to produce, and take the lead, when it comes to dynamic,
effective presentations.



Expect to thoughtfully present your portfolio of work and evidence of deep
knowledge in interactive projects focusing on developing tactical solutions
and larger design systems.

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Toward a search dominant wayfinding paradigm (worth it?)

[mark schraad]

On Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 1:59 PM, Andrew Hinton  wrote:

>
> In fact, Search, done well, is essentially dynamic, custom browsing.
>


That in it's self is rendering 'sense of place' as a less than effective a
metaphor.

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Plurality of Voice

[mark schraad]

I want all of it. The good, the bad, the lame, the arrogant, simple minded,
the pedantic, the long winded and the short snarkiness. This forum is about
throwing your views out there. There are some week, some months even that I
don't have time to respond to anything... other days I have a (seemingly
valuable in my own mind anyway) take on every topic. It's a forum for
discussion for God's sake... speak and be heard. Even if your idea or your
take gets ripped to shreds... you'll have shared your thoughts and likely
learned something. Odds are someone else has as well. Approach this list
like a video game addict - where in every single game you get defeated...
but come back for another game. I have the option to read or not - to reply
or not. I can choose full messages or dailies or nothing. Bring it and bring
it all.
Mark



On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 3:08 AM, Bobert Bobowsky
wrote:

> A lot students pass the duty to professional writers because they
> don't have the talent to write a respectable paper about plurality
> of voice in order that the reason why customers need to use
> plagiarism checking, but such people like creator don't do that.
> Thank you very much for the information
>
>
>
>
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> Posted from the new ixda.org
> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45693
>
>
> 
> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
> To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org
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>

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Unusable things

[mark schraad]

my bad... this posted to the wrong conversation.

On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 1:50 PM, mark schraad  wrote:

> I want all of it. The good, the bad, the lame, the arrogant, simple minded,
> the pedantic, the long winded and the short snarkiness. This forum is about
> throwing your views out there. There are some week, some months even that I
> don't have time to respond to anything... other days I have a (seemingly
> valuable in my own mind anyway) take on every topic. It's a forum for
> discussion for God's sake... speak and be heard. Even if your idea or your
> take gets ripped to shreds... you'll have shared your thoughts and likely
> learned something. Odds are someone else has as well. Approach this list
> like a video game addict - where in every single game you get defeated...
> but come back for another game. I have the option to read or not - to reply
> or not. I can choose full messages or dailies or nothing. Bring it and bring
> it all.
> Mark
>
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 5:27 AM, John Gibbard <
> j...@smorgasbord-design.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> I used to use pictures of 'real life interaction design' in my
>> presentations to clients and colleagues to explain what it is I do.
>> I've always used analogies to explain things and showing something
>> broken/unusable is great. But, in order to put a positive spin on
>> things when problems have been solved by design in the real world
>> I've been tracking some of the 'IA around us' (
>> http://thisisia.tumblr.com/ ) feel free to contribute.
>>
>>
>> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>> Posted from the new ixda.org
>> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46113
>>
>>
>> 
>> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
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>>
>
>

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Unusable things

[mark schraad]

I want all of it. The good, the bad, the lame, the arrogant, simple minded,
the pedantic, the long winded and the short snarkiness. This forum is about
throwing your views out there. There are some week, some months even that I
don't have time to respond to anything... other days I have a (seemingly
valuable in my own mind anyway) take on every topic. It's a forum for
discussion for God's sake... speak and be heard. Even if your idea or your
take gets ripped to shreds... you'll have shared your thoughts and likely
learned something. Odds are someone else has as well. Approach this list
like a video game addict - where in every single game you get defeated...
but come back for another game. I have the option to read or not - to reply
or not. I can choose full messages or dailies or nothing. Bring it and bring
it all.
Mark



On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 5:27 AM, John Gibbard  wrote:

> I used to use pictures of 'real life interaction design' in my
> presentations to clients and colleagues to explain what it is I do.
> I've always used analogies to explain things and showing something
> broken/unusable is great. But, in order to put a positive spin on
> things when problems have been solved by design in the real world
> I've been tracking some of the 'IA around us' (
> http://thisisia.tumblr.com/ ) feel free to contribute.
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> Posted from the new ixda.org
> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46113
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Toward a search dominant wayfinding paradigm (worthit?)

[mark schraad]

As a somewhat interesting tangent... when I was working in portal world we
introduced vertical or channel specific search. As almost an after thought
we included sponsored links. The revenue stream turn out to be wildly beyond
our expectations. Were we new to the indexing process... and as we got
better at it (better search results for the user) our gsl revenue declined.
It made for interesting conversations between the revenue folks and the UX
folks.
Mark



On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 7:14 AM, Bryan Minihan  wrote:

> This may just be my bias after designing both search and taxonomy
> systems for a few really big companies, but I doubt that searching is
> actually replacing browsing.  Rather, it seems that search technology
> has improved such that searching is finding its proper niche in the
> user experience.
>
> While researching critical usability issues for a large corporate
> search engine, the pareto showed "MAKE IT FIND THINGS!" went off
> the charts, in comparison to every other issue or feature we could
> address or add.
>
> While building the corporate business unit taxonomy for the same
> company, we learned very quickly that no one would bother going
> further than 3 levels deep into the tree, without searching, which
> encompassed a whopping 10% of the total company hierarchy.  We
> designed and built that, left the rest to searching, and achieved the
> best of both worlds, IMHO.
>
> With a decent search engine, it's nice not to have to cram every
> single site destination in one global nav system.  Conversely, with a
> simple taxonomy that covers the "hard to finds", you don't need to
> completely re-engineer your search engine to bring up the founder's
> biography every time you search for "about us".
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> Posted from the new ixda.org
> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45983
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Shop or Buy?

[mark schraad]

Shop and buy are two different, but connected activities. (I realize that
does not answer your questions, but it is important as you move towards your
decision).
Mark

On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 7:18 AM, Sachin Ghodke wrote:

> What is the appropriate button to use on the product detail page when
> the website navigation asks the user to either Shop or Buy?
>
> Of course, can we get a little more interesting and personal? For
> example: instead of Shop or Buy can we use buttons that say - 'Go
> and Pamper' (for a gifts e-commerce website) or 'Educate Yourself'
> (while buying education books) or 'Push Limits' (while e-shopping
> for BASE jumping equipment). Maybe there are smaller phrases or terms
> we can use but you get the drift of what I am asking.
>
> What I am trying to say here is that why can't we portray these user
> actions on a more personal level? Making web personal?
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer

[mark schraad]

On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 11:57 AM, Jack Moffett  wrote:

>
> Exactly! I've spent my entire career (so far) working on such problems.
> 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. This is, in fact, the
> context for my submission to Interaction 10 (comments welcome:
> http://bit.ly/17rUlf ).
>

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.

Mark

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] How trendy is UCD? Are we critical enough about it?

[Mark Schraad]

user centered does not mean the designer only considers the user to  
the exclusion of all other concerns... and it never has.


consider this... which is the larger struggle for the typical  
designer... not considering the user, or only considering the user. I  
rarely see the later. why fight THAT battle?






Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 13, 2009, at 9:50 AM, Dave Malouf  wrote:


Wait, if you are considering other perspectives in your design,
doesn't that mean that the centeredness part is not there any more?

BTW, I think that if you are not thinking bigger than product touch
points, you are probably not going to be doing a really good job
regardless of scale.

And again, I don't know how many times I have to say this. observing
users to gain insights and empathy is as important as ever!!!

-- dave


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45486



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] How trendy is UCD? Are we critical enough about it?

[mark schraad]

Here is a case study available at the DMI site:

http://www.dmi.org/dmi/html/publications/casestudy/ 
fullabstract_dmicase.jsp?itemID=DMC9994025


I have to admit I have not read it. But I have absolutely no interest  
or use for tightly wound process... even if they are user centered.


Again, for the most part when folks talk about 'user centered', even  
if they do say UCD, they are more often talking more about a  
philosophy that puts the user's need first in product development.  
And, not at the exclusion of the business' needs or the technical  
capabilities and requirements.


If you are a contract design firm, its pretty easy to get distracted  
from the true values and forces that lead to successful innovation  
and focus on your customer's needs. After all you're in business for  
yourself, and few very firms have the chops to arrange fees based  
upon ROI or the long term sustainable success of the product they  
helped to develop.


Mark


On Sep 10, 2009, at 8:02 AM, dave malouf wrote:



It all prompted me to ask on my blog show me a major success
(Apple-like success) that was based on UCD. No answers yet. ;-)

http://davemalouf.com/?p=1694

-- dave



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] profit centered design

[mark schraad]

funniest post of the day... just awesome.

I concur with your division of satisfaction. I be an outlaw as a result.

Mark


On Aug 31, 2009, at 5:46 PM, Scott McDaniel wrote:

On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 6:30 PM, Mark Schraad   
wrote:
maybe they are 'drinking the kool-ade' because they are happy, well  
served customers. How sinister and evil is that?


Mark

Sent from my iPhone

We're onto your game, Mr. Sent from my iPhone!

Seriously, though - there was an article in Wired, of all places  
(which means...not some super secret industry journal, it's  
practically People magazine for nerds), talking about how Apple's  
approach to design was somewhat black mystery box, and it's a  
horribly false binary to insist that because, say, they don't care  
about users in the entirety because some of their approach involves  
whatever disparaging term we use to describe non-UCD these days.   
There are different approaches to everything, including design -  
somewhat in the vein of how the term "Best Practices" doesn't mean  
"Only Practices".


Mmm Kool-aid,
Scott

p.s. My user testing group of me and my cat gives the iPhone 3g a  
consistent 45% satisfaction rating, as I experience outright  
delight and glee at the ability to do what I want, minus points  
mostly that can be lain at the feet of AT&T.  My cat doesn't  
express any interest in the innovative UI because it's not made of  
tuna.





--
"You always have the carny connection." - Clair High



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] profit centered design

[Mark Schraad]

maybe they are 'drinking the kool-ade' because they are happy, well  
served customers. How sinister and evil is that?


Mark

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 31, 2009, at 1:20 PM, Charles Boyung > wrote:



I think you just about hit the nail on the head here.  Apple really
does not care about what users may or may want.  They never really
have.  Apple depends on their following to do everything for them,
and telling outright lies in the marketing that they do do.

Most Apple consumers are so completely out of touch with what they
are buying, they would never think twice about upgrading their iPhone
instead of replacing the battery like you wanted to do.  That's why
they don't offer any sort of battery replacement on the iPhone.  Why
try to make a $10 profit on a battery replacement when they can make a
$100  profit on a new iPhone?  There are probably more people that are
just going to take that second option rather than do what you did and
look for third-party solutions just because they don't know any
better and trust Apple because they think that they are the "good"
guys.

On top of that, just look how many people upgraded to the newest
iPhone at full price when their existing phones were still perfectly
good.  When you've got people drinking the Kool-Aid like Apple does,
you're bound to take advantage of it as long as you canl.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45216



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[IxDA Discuss] the user is blamed by default...

[mark schraad]

Just ran across one of my pet peeves. Putting the user at blame when  
they are not. I was trying to log on to manage some of our benefits.  
I use macs... we both do. Not a windows machine here. I used  
Safari... then tried Firefox (both up to date). I got this error  
message:




Obsolete Browser
In order to access our online system, we require the use of Microsoft  
Internet Explorer (version 4 or better) or Netscape Communicator  
(version 4 or better)
Please use one of the following links to download the latest  
production version of either browser.

Microsoft Internet Explorer
Netscape Navigator



To add insult to injury (or is it the other way around) both links  
are bad!






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Re: [IxDA Discuss] UCD vs Design Again? Really?!? [was: We don't blah blah blah]

[mark schraad]

Todd makes a great point. The inclusion of the user is really an
afterthought in any Agile discussions I've witnessed or been a part
of. I understand that Jeff Patton (amongst others) has been moving in
this direction, but I am unsure just how far and how successfully.

It's important to differentiate from a language point of view. When
they speak of the customer in the Agile world, they don't always
seem to mean the 'user'.

Lastly, when those objecting to UCD launch into a conversation, they
seem to narrow the scope of UCD to a specific process. I would put
forth that most people advocating UCD are no longer talking about a
specific or narrowly defined process. In fact they are not talking
about a process at all. What they are talking about is a general
philosophy where by the user, is the central focus of the design
work. Not the technology, and not the business goals - those come
later or are secondary. It's centered around the user because
filling a need or want in the market place... and matching the
solution to that need is core to the product's success in the
marketplace. 

If you believe that the user or the consumer is not core to
everything being worked on at Apple you are absolutely out of your
mind. 

Yes, there are distribution channels where the person the specs the
solution... the person that makes the purchase... are not the end
user. But this is a sales and marketing consideration, and a
convoluted way to design products and services.

The user... and by that I mean the person that will ultimately be
using the product (- sigh -) is the thing designers need to
understand first. Otherwise its all a crap shoot.

Mark




. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45169



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] UX Presentation to the CEO?

[mark schraad]

Great stuff from Jennifer and David...
I would like to add a couple of things (not specific to Navid's plight, but
applicable to the situation):

First, I hear a lot of designers reliving the story aloud, instead of
telling a story to the specific audience. Our work and deliverables, must be
specific to the audience, just like out products. And, the structure of the
story, is critical... with a beginning, and plot and an ending.

Many CEO's (and lots of other folks) are what we call CAB's. ABC's, like us,
are interested in the problem, foundation, our process, the results and the
conclusions in a logical order. People that are pressed for time, such as
CEO's, are CAB's and often will want you to skip directly to the conclusions
and take aways. It's not always that they don't care about the process and
due diligence, but they don't have the time. This is something you should
find out before presenting... AND, be able to restructure you talk in mid
stream if it becomes obvious. Reading the room is a crucial part of being a
great presenter.

Mark



On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 8:54 AM, Jennifer R Vignone <
jennifer.r.vign...@jpmorgan.com> wrote:

> I have given many presentations to CEO, CIOs, heads of business, and the
> like. The main thing I can share for success is the following:
>
> -- Don't overload.
>
> -- Have your main points in the first five slides of a presentation. Never
> be surprised if a CEO, CIO, or head of business doesn't have the time to go
> past those first 5 to 7 pages.
>
> -- Be able to break everything down into bullet points. CEOs, CIOs, and
> heads of business don't want to wade through anything lengthy. They need to
> see succinct thought, which tells them also that you know what you're doing
> and can sum it up into a tight delivery.
>
> -- Charts and graphs work well.
>
> -- Timelines are important. Higher-ups like to know that you have a sense
> of time, man-hours, and money.
>
> -- Details can follow after you make your core pitch in the first several
> slides.
>
> I have a template that I use that I can try to dig up if you're interested.
> But these point are pretty core to keeping your presentation controlled.
>
> Jennifer
>
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:
> discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Navid
> Sadikali
> Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 3:41 PM
> To: IxDA Discuss
> Subject: [IxDA Discuss] UX Presentation to the CEO?
>
> Does anyone have any good slide-decks or talks that you would reference in
> creating a presentation to the CEO?
> Goals
> - make them see the void without design
> - suggest an alternative to feature-lists going directly to engineering
> - inspire them on a business level, educate them to a "Business Week" level
> of design thinking
> - suggest the cultural changes that are necessary and the change that must
> occur
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Website UI competitive analysis

[mark schraad]

There are a couple of frameworks that can get you started... by the way this
is often referred to as market research (different than marketing research)
or competitive analysis. If you search/look for references towards SWOT
(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) or Porter's five factors
you will find background and structures that may help - all coming from a
business perspective, but they can easily be applied to design.
Mark



On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 2:24 AM, Willl Hacker wrote:

> I've been tasked with documenting how one of my company's user
> interfaces compares with our top three competitors, as a way of
> understanding where we excel, where we need improvement, and where we
> are roughly equal. The business goal is to more fully understand the
> UI conventions used by these sites so we better anticipate what
> customers coming to us from the competition bring in the way of
> expectations. We'd like to know what our competition does well to
> make sure we aren't lacking in that area, and where there is an
> opportunity to improve on what they are doing to provide a possibly
> better experience.
>
> I'm wondering if anyone has seen a good report format for recording
> the observations of the four sites. I was thinking of using
> Nielsen's heuristics checklist as a starting point, but would like
> to know if anyone has done this kind of analysis and how they
> performed it. Another approach I'm considering is one I found on the
> IBM website: http://tinyurl.com/davyr5
>
> I recognize this type of analysis involves a certain amount of
> subjectivity and does not address things like the users' domain
> knowledge and the context in which the customers use the sites so it
> will be impossible to make absolute statements about what works and
> what doesn't. I'm curious how you would approach this task.
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] How could I deal with my ex-employer for not releasing the design work I\'d done?

[mark schraad]

The ugly reality here is that if you were an employee or a work-for-hire
contractor you have no rights to access or show that work. Inherent in those
relationship is ownership of your work, which you do not have. Even had you
backed up all of your work locally, and they asked you to destroy those
copies, you would be legally obligated to do so.
Most employer will allow you use work that is not confidential in your
portfolio. Once the work is public domain, in other words published or
publicly used, you can claim credit



On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 12:06 AM, Tara Goskie wrote:

> I have been working for a company creating online software/application
> for the past years. Recently I got laid off and they disabled my
> connection to the company's server right away. Since I was a remote
> employee, I wasn't able to get the design files I'd done for the
> company. Therefore, I emailed them to ask for a copy for the purpose
> of creating personal portfolio. They transferred my question among
> different managers and ended up ignoring my request.
>
> I'm really frustrated because I'd been working for this company
> since I graduated and now I'm losing all the design works I've
> done, not knowing what I could include in my portfolio in order to
> move on to the next job. Since I was paid to create the designs, I'm
> afraid I may not have the rights to request the files. Is there any
> third person I could contact for assistance? What would be the
> appropriate way to handle the issue?
> 
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[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] User Experience Architects - Chicago - Sears Holdings

[mark schraad]

User Experience Architects - multiple positions available -incredible
opportunity to improve the online retail space. Chicago, IL

Sears Holdings is a $50 billion company and the nation's fourth largest
broadline retailer - we're looking to grow our Online Experience Design
practice and we need creative, passionate, and dedicated individuals to
join our group! The ideal candidate should be able to creatively
envision, evaluate, and design successful user experiences.

Summary:

You will work with a team of 4-6 UXA's that take on new design
initiatives and platform enhancements across sears.com, kmart.com and
the associated portfolio of brand properties.  You will be responsible
for conducting and analyzing research, gathering business requirements,
identifying technology constraints in order to synthesizing intelligent
and successful design solutions.

As an integral part of the Experience Design practice you will
collaborate closely with visual designers, front-end developers, and
business stakeholders on concept generation through final
implementation.  This will include collaborating on new design concepts,
working on win/win solutions with primary stakeholders, consulting with
stakeholders on design enhancements, and working on small/mid-size
maintenance projects.

Your responsibilities will include making informed recommendations on
design strategies, leveraging best practices, accurately estimating and
tracking your time across multiple simultaneous projects, as well as
working with the UX staff to develop and document methodologies,
standards and best practices for the group.

Currently, we are interested in candidates with 3+ years of demonstrable
experience and who have had a background involving large scale web
initiatives, or have recently graduated from a masters program in industrial
design, interaction design or HCI. The ideal candidate will have exceptional
analytical
skills, be well versed in user-centered design practices, and can turn
business and user requirements into elegant user interfaces and
compelling interactive experiences.

All candidates under consideration must be able to present a
comprehensive portfolio.

Core Competencies:

Deep understanding and skilled practice of user-centered
design, usability, information architecture, interaction design, and
goal-oriented design

Experience and familiarity in the capabilities of HTML,
DHTML, CSS, Flash and AJAX-based applications.

Excellent communication skills - in person, written and
presentation.

Ability to prioritize and track multiple tasks across
multiple projects, under tight deadlines.

Willingness to switch gears quickly and be flexible to work
on concurrent projects.

Ability to create clean, precise and detailed IA
documentations.

Collaborate with stakeholders to deliver on new business
initiatives and platform enhancements

Desired Qualifications:



Experience working as an information architect,
interaction designer, or user experience designer.

Experience in retail merchandising/marketing,
advertising, product development, e-commerce or related field.

Experience with usability testing including
preparation, execution and analysis.

Familiarity with current user experience and usability
research, theories, best practices and methodologies.

Degree in a related field, such as information design,
human-computer interaction, library science, cognitive science, graphic
design, or industrial design a plus.

Experience with Localization Issues and Web Accessibility
Standards a plus.

Design Firm experience is a big plus. A portfolio of your best recent work
will be reviewed.


If this looks like an opportunity that suit you, email with cover letter and
resume:

Mark Schraad:  Mark (dot) Schraad (at) searshc (dot) com

and/or

Tracy Hayes:  Tracy (dot) Hayes (at) searshc (dot) com

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Expression Blend 3.0 with SketchFlow Released Today

[mark schraad]

didn't say I did not understand why, or in a logical mind see that  
its appropriate in a free market... just said it bugs me ; )



On Jul 11, 2009, at 11:01 AM, Jared Spool wrote:



On Jul 11, 2009, at 10:56 AM, mark schraad wrote:



Joshua, David has a point: You have to realize that those of us  
who are Apple users, being a segregated minority, are a little  
sensitive. We get a little touchy when they think they are being  
ignored. Even thought we opted to go with a non-standard platform  
because we like the convenience of getting things done quickly,  
we do feel slighted when good software appears to be PC only.


always bugs me that I have to pay a higher price for SPSS and  
Intuit products (and surely others) just because I work on a mac


But it doesn't bug you so much that you buy a PC to run those apps. :)

The water pump in a Toyota Camry and a Lexus es330 is exactly the  
same. However, if you buy the pump for the Lexus it will be $200  
more than for the Toyota. Don't buy a Lexus is that bothers you.


Privilege has its price.

Just sayin'

Jared




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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Expression Blend 3.0 with SketchFlow Released Today

[mark schraad]

Joshua, David has a point: You have to realize that those of us who  
are Apple users, being a segregated minority, are a little  
sensitive. We get a little touchy when they think they are being  
ignored. Even thought we opted to go with a non-standard platform  
because we like the convenience of getting things done quickly, we  
do feel slighted when good software appears to be PC only.


always bugs me that I have to pay a higher price for SPSS and Intuit  
products (and surely others) just because I work on a mac



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] In 10 words or less, what is software design to you?

[mark schraad]

arranging code to perform a function on a computer


On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 10:08 PM, Russell Wilson wrote:

> At the end of a recent interview, the candidate asked me “What is software
> design to you?”  I can probably come up with a thousand different answers
> but the one that popped into my mind immediately that day was “*software
> design is making the ordinary extraordinary*.”
>
> Okay, so maybe it won’t get me a mention in Businessweek, but what I was
> trying to capture and communicate was that software design in particular is
> largely about taking unglamorous tools and making them functionally robust
> and efficient, rewarding to use, and aesthetically pleasing.  We aren’t
> artists, but we are creatives.  We aren’t rocket scientists, but we’re
> smart
> and talented. And every day we have to use our creativity, smarts and
> talent
> to design the best tools for people to use.
>
> *So I’m interested… in 10 words or less, what is software design to you?*
> Enter more than one if you like (as seperate comments).
>
> (would love to get comments on my post about his so that I can collect them
> all in one place):
>
> http://www.dexodesign.com/2009/07/03/in-10-words-or-less-what-is-software-design-to-you/
>
>
>
> 
> Russell Wilson
> Vice President of Product Design, NetQoS
> Blog: http://www.dexodesign.com
> LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/russwilson
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] On tactile feedback, I just can't place the analogy here...

[mark schraad]

Because some mail servers and some aps break up the long urls and render
them ineffective.
Mark

On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 5:17 PM, Francis Norton wrote:

> Out of curiosity, why do people use URL shrinkers when posting to mail
> lists? I like being able to inspect a URL before I click on it -
> compressing
> and thus disguising it seems to me to be a UX degradation in any context
> other than Twitter where it's pretty well unavoidable - am I missing
> something?
> Francis.
>
> 2009/6/23 
>
> > Saw this [1] and thought of all of the IxD people on here who deal with
> the
> > haptic & tactile.
> >
> > Now, there's something analogous to nature in this particular concept but
> > I'll leave that to you to resolve.
> >
> > [1] http://bit.ly/JIAyd
> >
> > John
> > 
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>
>
>
> --
> "Tigers walk behind me, they're there to remind me - I'm lost but I'm not
> afraid" David Byrne and Brian Eno: Life is long
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Design Training

[mark schraad]

John,
Most successful design studios (print, web, ID, arch) are successful because
they understand and have refined process. And by process, I don't mean an
assembly line like process, but an understanding of what tools to apply to
what situation. Most of those successful firms institutionalize this, and in
many cases (IDEO) sell upon the benefits of their process. In some case the
process can become a large portion of the brand (discover, define, design
etc). Most any firm will consult... and often about process. In the
nineties, we were leaders in application of digital tools to the graphic
design process and would often book our lead designers for weeks of
consulting and training within corporations. We found that in 9 out of 10
cases this lead to design consulting and to some really great projects.

Mark


On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 1:03 AM, John Labriola wrote:

> Hey Guys,
>
> Thanks for continuing the discussion, this is all great stuff. And to
> be honest I was surprised that there wasn't too much I could find int
> he discussion threads on this topic.
>
> The situation I have is I have a good friend in a medium size
> marketing company. They originally did only graphic design, then they
> got into simple brochure-ware web design, then into Facebook
> applications, and now they are looking to do more.
>
> I am a ux designer, focusing mostly on IxD and I could probably help
> them. But I feel a company/person who does this on regular basis
> would be better.
>
> - John
>
>
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> Posted from the new ixda.org
> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42795
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Undergraduate Curriculum in HCI

[mark schraad]

Dave is quite bias regarding schools (and he should be). He is absolutely
right on this point.
Mark

On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 2:25 PM, dave malouf  wrote:


> but out of the common undergraduate degrees out there, the one that
> will prepare you the most as an IxD is NOT GD. Hands down industrial
> design is better.
>

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Bill Buxton just might be my design management hero

[mark schraad]

You can slice design into lots of small issues, skills, and knowledge
sets... none of which are exclusive domains. I think Bill's point is that
design is not one of those. While everybody relates to design and believes
they have some capacity to design, not everyone has a comprehensive toolset.
We are extending this conversation within my group to the topic of
professional consideration. We should all be very familiar with the
skillsets, responsibilities and tasks of those we work with (PM's, PJM's,
SEO folks, Usability, Researchers, Visual designers,Dev guys, and Engineers
all come to mind) but to presume that I can do their job with just a few
rules or by reading a book is arrogant and frankly insulting.


On Fri, May 1, 2009 at 12:46 PM, Michael Kay  wrote:

> Nice piece. That happens a lot with clients/colleagues in other disciplines
> asking for simple black and white answers to issues that have a lot to do
> with context and many other factors.
>
> On the other hand, I would be careful about seeing usability as something
> that requires a lot of specific training. Even in this article Buxton talks
> about how usability practices do not have to be the exclusive domain of
> usability specialists. While having a deep background in human factors and
> cognitive sciences can help, this does not have to be the exclusive realm of
> people with specific qualifications. In fact it can be a lot better as
> engineers, designers, marketing people, and poets listen to each other and
> learn to speak the same language.
>
>  .   .   .   michael kay
>  .   .   .   buenos aires / http://www.peep.org
>
> On 30/04/2009, at 17:53, j. eric townsend wrote:
>
>  FWIW, that's an excellent write-up of why I went back to school to study
>> design...
>>
>>
> 
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[IxDA Discuss] Bill Buxton just might be my design management hero

[mark schraad]

Holy cow, I wish that I had written this...
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2009/id20090429_083139.htm?chan=innovation_innovation+%2B+design_top+stories

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Any NYC'ers see the planes flying low in Manhattan now?

[mark schraad]

its part of a photo op - says the wsj




On Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 10:11 AM, Rich Rogan  wrote:

> Any NYC'ers see the planes flying low in Manhattan now?
>
> Looking for something on the news and there's nothing.
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] How does requiring fields affect completion rates?

[mark schraad]

You definitely are effecting the completion rate with the amount of
information you ask for, the depth of its perceived privacy, and by
requiring any or all of the information.
Unfortunately, equally disruptive to the entire leads model is that leads
with incomplete information are worth less, or worth nothing.

Most times your leads partner (or whomever is responsible for selling those
leads) is a pretty good source for what works and what does not. They have
no vested interest in turning away customers... and in most case they will
have data to back up their claims.
Mark




On Wed, Apr 22, 2009 at 8:02 AM, Jennifer  wrote:

> I know that this question does rely on the context and the form
> itself; however, I would imagine there are some general thoughts out
> there about this topic.
>
> Specifically, if the objective of having the form is to collect
> lead-gen information so that an appropriate sales person can call the
> person who completes the form, should we be concerned with requiring
> the user to fill in fields?
>
> >From the sales-team perspective, yes; they want as much clean
> information as is possible. I just wonder if from a user-perspective
> this can be a bit much for just initiating a sales call.
>
> The fields that we're being told are required are: Company, Number
> of Employees, Address (all fields), Phone, Email, as well as first
> and last name.
>
> A couple of us on the web team think this is overkill, that we may in
> fact be adversely affecting the completion rates by requiring so much.
> What if the user doesn't want to put in their address? Why isn't
> phone # enough? Or, what if they don't want to divulge their company
> name just yet?
>
> Thoughts?
>
> -Jennifer
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Online Advertising vs User Experience

[mark schraad]

Ankit.

One of the problems you will likely encounter is both cultural (to  
the org) and semantic. Try to define what constitutes the user  
experience. And for a frustrating exercise, try to establish metric  
for that. Then, survey your stakeholders to determine what they think  
the user experience is... or what a good one is. This is at the root  
of the problem.


There is little consensus... you will find very few people that won't  
tell you of the importance of the user experience... yet those same  
people will quickly compromise it in exchange for revenue. Look at  
what about.com has become in recent years. Far from its position as a  
quality information site of years ago... it is basically a search  
engine magnet with little if any usable content. User experience (and  
content) have taken a back seat to revenue.


There are also places where the two overlap. When you observe or  
research readers looking through the travel section of a newspaper...  
you will notice that the advertisements, to a great extent, are the  
content. This revenue vs experience issue is not as cut and dry as it  
may seem.


Mark




On Apr 15, 2009, at 1:46 AM, Ankit Shekhawat wrote:


Hi All,

We often end up in a debate with our clients who are desperate for
earning some extra revenue by adding new advertising spots on the
website.

How much ever we hate it, we end up trying to create a balance. It is
often the only source of revenue for many content based sites.

I am currently doing a research on how to deal with advertising with
minimum compromise on user experience.

Do we have any research / guidelines / best practices supporting the
same? How can we explain them the user experience point of view.

Regards

Ankit Shekhawat



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[IxDA Discuss] titles and roles (VII)

[mark schraad]

As I followed the discussion about jobs, titles and tasks for the last few
weeks I found myself changing the way I think about my role. And at the risk
of a lot of eye rolling, I am going to throw out what I hope will provide
some further insight and perspective.

The official corporate job description for folks on our teams is something
along the lines of a UI designer. Its original intent was specific to
interfaces… but interaction is probably more accurate in the strict HR and
recruiting sense.

For quite a while I have claimed that we are user-experience designers. But
we are not. We are product designers… and here is why.

Adding new parts to one of our portals is a small study in semantics.
Product managers like to say we add features, and biz-dev likes to talk
about revenue opportunities, the dev guys call it functionality, and user
experience folks like to talk about tools and capabilities. It is all a
matter of perspective. From a completely neutral perspective we are adding
attributes to our offerings.

When this process begins, we (the UI team) gets a brief (we use a problem
focused brief), as well as constraints, some metric and launch goals, and
some combination of data, a feed or content provider. Sometimes we get an
example of what other folks have done (sort of a hap hazard or shallow
competitive analysis).

Here is what I think is a very important observation... in our group, the UI
stage is the first time where user needs/wants, biz goals, tech
capabilities, data structures, and context are all brought together for
consideration. This is significant and is worth exploiting in efforts to
raise the perceived importance of what we as designers do.

So, while we generate taxonomies, use-cases, process flows, wireframes and
eventually mocks and prototypes…  those deliverables to not constitute the
most outcome of our process. That outcome is the syntheses of all the
constraints into a cohesive product design… essentially the recipe for
building the product.

In the future, when asked what I do, I think I will respond with, ‘I am a
product designer (building online experiences)’. People I meet seem to
respond much better to it than anything interaction or user experience-ish.


Mark


Mark

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[IxDA Discuss] roles within a start up

[mark schraad]

This is just one person's perspective... specific to the narrow niche of
tech start ups, but the perception held is still valid (we tend towards deep
instances over aggregates don't we?). As an interaction designer, user
experience designer, information architect or just a designer... where do
you see your place in this picture?
Mark


The Hat List

   - Visionary/Architect. Idea generation, shape features, repositioning,
   market fit, competitive landscape, research.
   - Lead Developer(s). AKA Hackers. A good place to have a pair of jelled
   programmers. Uses web framework, creates functionality; knows Python/Ruby,
   Javascript, AJAX, Flash(?), HTML, databases.
   - Sysadmin. Network, web server, NFS (for VCS/file sharing), caching,
   other infrastructure, data backup, backup hardware, performance tuning,
   scalability.
   - Toolsmith. Team is provided with: productive development environments
   (all users can say “apt-get install …“), frameworks, editors,
   interpreters, multiple browsers, GIMP/Photoshop, (D)VCS, wiki, maybe BTS,
   quick training/consulting on tools/environment, continuous integration.
   - Webmaster. SEO, analytics, domain registration, site hosting,
   Apache/lighttpd.
   - DBA. Helps developers plan schema, set up tables, design for
   scalability, tuning/optimizing.
   - Graphic Artist. Color coordination, logos, icons, image libraries, etc.
   - CSS Designer. Usability, accessibility, layout, look-n-feel.
   - Content Creator. User-facing documentation, populate/organize wiki,
   design tutorial, usage studies.
   - Customer Support. Answers phones, forum voice, FAQs, knowledge base,
   help entries, problem solving.
   - Tester. Bangs on site, tries devious things, automates stress.
   - Marketer. Evangelism, blogging, advertising.
   - Manager. Coordinates all team member activities.
   - Lawyer. Business setup, guidance, law interpretation.
   - Chef. Handles all other (random) tasks to keep team functioning.



Full posting:
http://www.businessinsider.com/15-roles-every-startup-needs-filled-2009-3

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] JJG's IA Summit 2009 Keynote

[mark schraad]

Hi Dave,

Admittedly I kind of ignored that digression, not knowing much about  
the issue, and frankly not caring to know. Which is not at all meant  
to trivialize that part of the conversation... its just not mine.


I know there is some old and apparently deep division amongst the two  
groups. I have never felt like I was part of either group to the  
exclusion of the other... or UPA, SIG-CHI,  DMI and others. They are  
all a subset of how I see role professionally. And I think a lot of  
folks on these boards feel that way as well.


And for the record... I don't think there is anything to be gained by  
joining the to groups in any fashion. The two groups approach related  
work and overlapping efforts with distinctly different  
perspectives... both valid and both important in their own right.  
Homogenization is not necessary or beneficial. I do think that it  
makes total sense to get over what ever bad blood is there and  
collaborate. We will be much stronger if these two entities remain  
separate and work together... and in fact along side ISDA, and even  
the AIGA.


Mark




On Mar 29, 2009, at 10:58 AM, Dave Malouf wrote:


Mark & Richard,

much of the content of the talk was spot on.

he lost me at his mis-information about what went down between IAS
and IxDA this year. He mis-represented IxDA completely and demonized
the organization totally unnecessarily. His point was clear w/o doing
that, and he lost my respect for not doing the truly respectful and
professional thing of either staying out of it, providing both points
of view, or finding out the truth.

It actually demonstrated for me clearly that JJG is too biased by his
background of the IA community first (he's done nothing to engage
this community, unlike Peter M., his partner), which is really my
main point when speaking to Richard in this thread.

- -dave


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40597



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] JJG's IA Summit 2009 Keynote

[mark schraad]

I fInally got to read Jesse's talk in its entirety. This is  
brilliant. This is how leaders speak. It spanks and critiques... but  
it presents vision, and challenge. And while it is very frank about  
short comings and under utilized opportunities... it open minded,  
humble, and optimistic. Reading this was a refreshing break from so  
much of the close minded, absolutist, agenda filled dogma that often  
spews from these two communities.


I have no idea of Jesse skills as an orator, but I can't help imagine  
leaving this conference at once challenged and motivated.


Mark

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] JJG's IA Summit 2009 Keynote

[mark schraad]

I think we all (on this board) wish there were companies that  
realized the importance of design and leveraged design as a strategic  
asset.



On Mar 27, 2009, at 1:50 PM, Dru wrote:


Funny.  As I read that, I was thinking, "what about Apple". I wish
there were more Apple-think companies and Apple-minded individuals.
And for the record, I am not a zealot about Apple, Macs, iPhone,
iPod, iAnything but I do appreciate clean design, user satisfaction,
and fun.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40597



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] $705k for redesigning a website???

[mark schraad]

The only 'reasonable' response to an RFP (IMO) is to chuck a huge number at
it to see if they bite.
Three reasons that folks put out an RFP:

1. They have no idea what they want and would like you to tell them for
free.

2. They already know who will get the project, they just want qualifying
prices.

3. They will buy cheap... as in the lowest bidder.

I know there are a very few times when a RFP is done well. And, there are
many times when an RFP is mandated... either by government regulation or by
industry culture, but it is  a terrible approach to design and counter
productive towards quality and effective problem solution.



On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Jared Spool  wrote:

>
> On Mar 25, 2009, at 8:16 AM, Russelll Wilson wrote:
>
>  If I read correctly it also says that they sent the RFP out to 228
>> companies and received 3 replies???  Does that indicate a
>> "nightmare" project?
>>
>
> Or it could mean that firms are getting smarter and not responding to RFPs.
>
> Jared
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] $705k for redesigning a website???

[mark schraad]

reminds me of the late 90's


On Mar 24, 2009, at 10:13 PM, Russell Wilson wrote:


Wow - see post/article here:
http://www.dexodesign.com/2009/03/24/705k-for-redesigning-a-website/

This is for real (and maybe I'm the only one shocked about the  
price tag?)


Russell Wilson
Vice President of Product Design, NetQoS
Blog: http://www.dexodesign.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/russwilson

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] job descriptions

[mark schraad]

The post is for an ID role, not an IxD... but the specifics of the job were
not my point.
As to the relevance of six sigma to design, or interaction design... I don't
see much. It has a place if you are designing for manufacture (such as an
industrial designer typically would). Unlike manufacturing where variance is
a huge problem, the design process can actually benefit from it (thinking
outside of the box).


On Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 12:40 PM, Alan Wexelblat wrote:

> I'm curious, though - how many IxDers are "Master Black Belt" level in
> Six Sigma or comparable process re-engineering methodologies?  Is that
> something you'd expect an interaction designer or manager to have?
>
>

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[IxDA Discuss] job descriptions

[mark schraad]

I was struck by how well this post was written (and what an amazing  
opportunity if you have the juice) and thought it worth sharing...  I  
know there are lots of recruiters lurking here. No mention of rock  
stars or free lunches... and yet its pretty damn compelling.


https://v2.projectix.com/tycohc/jobboard/JobDetails.aspx? 
__ID=*58BD98351350D6F8


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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Bowman leaves Google

[mark schraad]

When I was running my design group in the midwest, I was always  
fascinated by the two groups of clients we encountered. The first  
group being those that understood design and its potential to be a  
game changing influence in product development... the other being  
those companies that think of it as just another step in the process  
they had to get through.


The same is true when interviewing for a job. Yes... you could make a  
huge difference in an organization that does not yet embrace  
design... and yes there is tremendous competition for opportunities  
where the company already values design as a critical strategic  
skill. But large corporate cultures are really really hard to  
shift... especially from a task based roll. Google has always struck  
me as an engineering driven culture. And as Dave stated... the  
interview with Marissa confirmed that and revealed very little chance  
a for change in direction.



On Mar 22, 2009, at 11:28 AM, Dave Malouf wrote:

Jennifer, the recent Charlie Rose interview of Marissa Mayer (as  
she heads
UX across the entire organization, no?) really solidifies that  
perception.


I've also interviewed folks from Earth and other non-search props that
confirm this. Even the work in Mobile including Android is beyond
uninspiring.

As to your point about risk taking in search. I'm not sure why that  
point
had to be made. No one so far was suggesting that Google search  
should be

anything other than what it is. It's success is beyond.

The use of themes in Gmail was a brilliant addition as well. THANK  
G-D!! (I
wish they worked equally well across all the labs and extensions  
that I

have)

Ya know, Mozilla has a design labs that are pushing he envelope of  
designs
place in their organization. It would be realy interesting given  
Google's
size to let loose a lab that is design centric in its approach ala  
IDEO < >

R/GA (design thinking to story telling) and see what comes from it.

-- dave



On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 10:10 AM, Jenifer Tidwell  

wrote:



I am a UX designer for Google.

I wish I could dig deep into this discussion with you all, because  
it's
very relevant to some of the work going on there.  Sadly, there  
are many
things about my employer that I'm not at liberty to talk about --  
I'm sure
many of you can understand that.  I'll make a few points, and then  
make a

graceful exit to my usual lurking state. :-)

* Different product teams at Google have very different approaches to
design, data, research, and "soul" in design.  Some product  
designs I've
seen there are truly amazing and beautiful, and some designers do  
indeed
take risks.  The cultural fit between a UX designer and a product  
team
depends very much on where in the organization they are.  I'm  
confident that

that's true in most large technology companies.

* The main search properties, especially Google's main page and  
search
results page, are managed extremely carefully.  I've seen some of  
the A/B
experiments run on those pages, and while I can't share much, I  
will say

that the results are fascinating -- you would be amazed at the usage
variations that arise from tiny design changes.  And no, those  
variations
are not always predictable from first principles.  This convinces  
me that we

collectively have a lot yet to learn about design.

* Yes, Google is successful at search.  Very.  Rhetorical  
question: how
much design risk SHOULD such a company take with a product that  
still works

so well?  In that context, I think we designers would actually be
irresponsible to not test our designs with good experiments --  
countless
people depend on Google's main properties, and there are lots of  
ad dollars
(much of which go to actual advertisers, not us) and shareholder  
value at
stake.  It's not just about designers and our good ideas.  The  
point about

hill-climbing with data-driven incremental changes is well taken, but
honestly, don't you think that It Would Be Bad to accidentally  
send Google
Web Search into a design valley while you blundered about looking  
for a

higher hill?

* I never had the chance to meet Doug Bowman while he was at  
Google, though
I regret not having had a chance to work with him.  I have no  
reason to

think of him with anything but deep respect, and I wish him well.

  - Jenifer

 On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 2:38 PM, David Malouf  wrote:


Jarod, I don't like it. I find it to be ..
1) reminiscent of MS
2) too brash and distracting

More importantly it has in no way shape or form improved my
relationship with Google (or diminished it).

I think people have missed my point.
I think design is not for or against data, but design should always
be for imbuing human expressionism beyond the measurable. A designer
of worth, merit, etc. should always be encouraged to express
themselves in any way that does not break Raskin's 1st law of
interaction design (don't fuck w/ the content, purpose or utility of

Re: [IxDA Discuss] Bowman leaves Google

[mark schraad]

I find some issue with this argument. Re-applying solutions to new  
problems is not ideal. It goes to one of my pet peeves... applying  
solutions from books, that may or may not have a similar context or  
problem. I see MBA's and business owners reading books like 'Good to  
Great' and then enthusiastically applying said recipe to their  
company. The same goes with using tertiary research... proceed with  
caution and even skepticism.


I am one of the first to talk about wasting time with eye tracking.  
The Cog-science folks have already gathered most of the important  
data and knowledge from those kinds of studies. But applying  
learnings from instance specific research to similar but not exactly  
the same context is dangerous.


Mark



On Mar 21, 2009, at 12:15 PM, William Brall wrote:


Collecting Data is a big part of IxD, and like any field with a
science background, that data need not be collected a second time for
the same problem.

Do biologists retest basic chemistry in order to make a biological
experiment? Certainly not.

What google is doing, and why that is bad, is they have taken to
retesting. They have developed a culture where they don't
extrapolate from prior testing, like we IxDs do, even when it was not
our test.



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Bowman leaves Google

[mark schraad]

Data driven business decisions (and the offshoot being discussed here  
- design decisions) is a significant movement… much of it being  
fostered from engineers and statisticians. The notion that we, the  
humans, do not need to know the why, but only what he data tells us  
to do is at the core of its controversy. There have been many  
articles published on this recently and even a few in the popular  
press (Time and Business Week as I recall).


There are a couple of issues here. The first, is the notion that  
human understanding of the ‘why’ in insignificant. I find this  
troubling. More and more I run into folks who want a decision that is  
not encumbered by ‘mistake prone’ humans. This is silly, and frankly,  
it is a weak ass approach to decision making. It is unrealistic and  
devoid of an important part of decision-making… judgment. Statistics  
do in fact lie. Following this purely data driven approach,  
executives often become the victim of type 3 errors (sometimes called  
a type 0 error) in which the wrong questions was asked.


A wise professor once told me that having research is much better  
than not, but in the end… once you have absorbed and evaluated all of  
the data, you still have to make a decision. The same is true whether  
you are using qualitative research, quantitative research, accounting  
numbers or other business metrics… it must be interpreted, weighed  
and assessed for significance… then you make a decision. The data  
should never render the decision for you.


Further… making the choice between selections A, B, and C is the easy  
step (as pointed out by Tichy and Bennis in their recent book  
‘Judgment’). You still have to evangelize, execute and follow through  
with the decision. That is hardly do-able if you have let the data  
take the first step. Not knowing the why is crippling in the ‘whole’  
of the decision process.


Mark

 


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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Joel Spolsky claims the "Program Manager" role does UI design... ????

[mark schraad]

Sometimes wireframes are the only thing we produce. If your CSS is  
properly developed...



On Mar 11, 2009, at 8:37 PM, dave malouf wrote:


If I never see "wireframe" as a deliverable again, I will be a
happy man. The age of visio, omniograffle, axure, iRise, etc. I hope
come crashing down (now offense to all the coders who worked hard on
these tools), in favor of Fireworks, Catalyst, Flash, Blend and
Illustrator, Coda, etc



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Joel Spolsky claims the "Program Manager" role does UI design... ????

[mark schraad]

I need designers to be familiar with:
business and revenue models
project and product management
SEO
action script
scalable front end development
back end development
database structures
site metrics
market research
usability studies


By familiar... I mean they have enough knowledge to work along side, have
indepth conversations and understand at a fairly deep level what these folks
are doing. In a pinch, they may need to lean over and help. I don't need
them to be experts in these area because I have folks that do this 50 and 60
hours a week... and do it very very well. Why would I have a designer do
this instead? It makes no sense.

Maybe that is the difference between working at a larger company with the
resources and expertise and a small design shop. I realize with smaller
staff you need folks to wear multiple hats.

Mark



On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 4:09 PM, Milan Guenther  wrote:

> Chris,
>
> agreed.
>
> Designers (all of them, not only those working on digital products) have
> to been savvy in business, technology, and human factors/psychology
> thinking. The more broad the better. The separation between industrial
> and communication design for example, was not there when the discipline
> emerged at the Bauhaus in the 20s.
>
> On the other side, there will always be need for specialists, such as
>
> * 3D Designers
> * Motion Designers
>
> for IxD, that would mean
>
> * Social Interaction Designers
> * Workflow/Business IxDs
> * Service IxDs
> etc.
>
> But design is an art of linking, bridging and connecting,
> and thus not comparable to classic "knowledge" disciplines.
>
> A deep knowledge in those other disciplines involved, be
> it technical, user or business related, helps a lot!
> And for IxD, technology is something essential.
>
> milan
> --
> milan guenther * interaction design
> ||| |  |  ||  | || | ||
>
> +33 6 67 11 13 83 * www.guenther.cx
>
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] A long page with scroll v/s Tabbed Page?

[mark schraad]

There was an article written about a year ago that discussed scrolling
relative to 'the fold' published on boxes and arrows.
I counted (through a dozen or so days of usability lab studies) that over 70
percent of our subjects almost immediately scrolled to the bottom of the age
and then back to the top. We did not focus on this behavior specifically,
but it was frequent. The one caveat being that these folks were in a lab,
not on their own computer, and aware that we were assessing usability... all
of which likely impacted the behavior.

Mark


On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 4:54 AM, rejeeb  wrote:

>  Can anyone refer me to some material that explores, what are the
> heuristics of when to use along page with scroll  v/s Tabbed Page?
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Joel Spolsky claims the "Program Manager" role does UI design... ????

[mark schraad]

In my life I have met handful of people who could be a candidate for  
such a role. As a hiring manager or owner I could spend all of my  
time looking - and frankly, there many other tasks worthy of this  
time. To put this sort requirement out there as a standard would be  
irresponsible. It is also an aspiration that I can only think is  
rooted in the struggle to think through the required tasks of an  
assignment and assemble the appropriate team to match.


Obviously quality of the work is not addressed in this list... but to  
have these skills at a high level... is very tough. And frankly,  
there is not enough time in the work week to keep this many skill set  
sharp. I'll take a balanced crew of professionals that have 3/5s of  
these skill, but greater ability in in just a few places any time.


Mark



On Mar 10, 2009, at 1:40 PM, Andrei Herasimchuk wrote:

* Understand type, color and layout composition/grid and can  
execute on those design fundamentals with their own two hands
* Know the fundamentals of I/O and behavior with hardware (like a  
mouse and keyboard, and now with multi-touch displays)
* Understand how algorithms, code, frameworks, databases and other  
software engineering aspects of the product work under the hood

* Draw and sketch with real pen, pencil and paper
* Use professional software tools to make design and process  
deliverables (specs, mockups, wireframes, posters, etc)
* Use professional creative software tools to make production  
ready, final assets that ship in the release build
* Write code at the HTML, CSS and JavaScript/ActionScript level to  
build prototypes; more is always better
* Create an interface architecture and strategy that can be coded  
and built within schedule constraints

* Write specs and documentation

There are a variety of softer skills needed as well:

* Communicate product vision
* Conduct or lead research team with customers
* Be the customer/use advocate and expert
* Communicate with managers, directors and executives about the  
state of the project

* [Insert a few of your own here]



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Joel Spolsky claims the "Program Manager" role does UI design... ????

[mark schraad]

So the theory is to cloak the designer as a program manager? Or did I  
twist that a bit?



On Mar 9, 2009, at 3:42 PM, Russell Wilson wrote:

"Lacking a program manager, your garden-variety super-smart  
programmer is

going to come up with a completely baffling user interface that makes
perfect sense IF YOU'RE A VULCAN (cf. git). The best programmers are
notoriously brilliant, and have some trouble imagining what it must  
be like

not to be able to memorize 16 one-letter command line arguments. These
programmers then have a tendency to get attached to their first ideas,
especially when they've already written the code."

  How to be a program manager
  http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2009/03/09.html

What Geoffrey Moore, Donald Norman, Paul Graham, Heidi Roizen,  
Jennifer

Aaker, Michael Lopp, and Ryan Carson all have in common?

  http://www.businessofsoftware.org/

--
Joel Spolsky
j...@joelonsoftware.com

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Persona skeptics

[mark schraad]

This is quite an excellent point. Good marketers segment by desired
attributes... the hacks use demo, socio and psycho graphics. Those later
things are useful in determining how to reach, speak and market  to the
segments once they have been identified. Its exactly the same with design
research.

On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 11:59 AM, Dan Saffer  wrote:

>
>
> "The greatest pitfall with personas is that most of them focus on the wrong
> things. Differences between personas are often chosen based on demographics
> and preferences, not the things that really matter, like goals, motivations,
> and behaviors."
>
>

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Persona skeptics

[mark schraad]

Hi Megan...
Talking with folks that I have know and have worked with across the country
there seems to be less and less tolerance for 'ramping up' user research.
Particularly in the online market, they need to react quickly... launch
something and iterate based upon site (and other) metrics. I think it
behoves designers and researchers to be in constant touch with the user
base. That is a very tough thing for the designer for hire or design firm to
accomplish.

Additionally, the sort of economy we have right now positions the 'cost
management' folks as pretty important so any costs that are not absolutely
necessary are being heavily scrutinized. Even 'return on investment' and
'added value' seem to be falling short to the 'how little can we spend'
conversations. So for personas... that means doing personas without the
research... and in my book that is often worse than having no personas at
all.

My guess is that it will be this way for a while.

Mark



On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 9:25 AM, Megan Grocki  wrote:

> A colleague recently mentioned to me that she has sensed that clients
> are starting to question the value of personas.
>
> What do you think, has an inherent gap been revealed in the
> usefulness of personas as we know them? Has anyone else gotten this
> sense, and if so, can personas be redeemed?
>
> Also, When is the last time you actually saw a project team-member
> outside of IxD/UX go back and refer to persona documentation during
> the later stages of a product or site development process?
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] What music for interaction designers

[mark schraad]

Musak used to (they may still) offer a service that pumped white noise into
the office rendering the open office concept much quieter. Basically it
served to kill voices. You had to walk over and have conversations within a
cube. There was also a noise curtain under development at one point. You
placed it at the top of a door way and it projected high intensity white
noise straight down with the intent of canceling out noise that might come
from the room. Not sure what happened to that idea...
I often listen to music in order to screen out small noises and
conversations when working. I also just put in ear buds at times to do the
same thing... but allowing better focus.

Mark

On Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 10:38 AM, Meredith Noble <
mered...@usabilitymatters.com> wrote:


>
> I actually have a 1 minute white noise track that I found via Wikipedia
> a year or two ago. I loop it and it drowns out the chatter in my open
> concept office.
>

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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prototyping tools resources

[mark schraad]

There are a couple ways to approach contract design work ( a studio  
or agency working from the outside of the firm or client) and thus  
protoyping.


In the first, you actually put the client, or someone from the client  
firm on the design team as a product manager and as a proxie  
contributor for the client. In this case, you will typically share  
rough ideas, sketches and less defined prototypes with them. This is  
by far the better approach (IMO) if you have the chops, the staff and  
the ability to present. Also... there are clients out there for whom  
this will not work.


The other approach is more agency-ish. The approach takes the  
position that we (the designers) are the experts. We will show you  
finished product... we will not bother or indulge you with our  
process or the in process steps. This is a very high risk approach...  
it leverages posturing, reputation and market position... and send  
you a long ways down the road of solution with out client check in.  
With this approach... deliverables are crucial. Let me say that  
again... deliverables are crucial... your account relationship will  
live or die based on delivery of prototypes, presentation materials,  
documentation, standards and such. They must be very slick, very  
polished and all of the details must have been really thought out an  
executed. You can easily get way down the road on a solution that is  
out of sync with the client. Account management skills become very  
important potentially more important that design skill. This is  
also a very expensive approach and (again IMO... and experience) does  
not typically render optimal design solutions.


I have participated and directed design in both approaches. My  
preference is obvious... mostly because I prefer to slightly  
understate and way over deliver.


Mark









On Mar 1, 2009, at 3:02 PM, Todd Zaki Warfel wrote:

I think one of they keys here is that Andrei's perspective on  
prototyping is very different from the majority. That's not to say  
it's strictly right or wrong, but I find it a bit myopic, narrow,  
and shortsighted. It seems to be very 37signals—this is the way we  
do it and it's really the only way that matters.


Full disclosure—almost every prototype my company produces is a  
hand-coded XHTML/CSS/JavaScript prototype that is production level  
code. In fact, probably very similar in fidelity to what Andrei's  
company produces. However, that is fairly unique in the field and  
not required. We do it, because it's typically part of the goal  
that's established at the beginning of the project.


However, we do some very advanced paper prototyping a few times a  
year, typically when a client hands us a pre-existing set of  
wireframes. Additionally, when all the client has is a few  
photoshop comps and wants to test some basic flows with that, we'll  
either use PPT, or stitch them together with HTML—far from fully  
functional, but very effective for testing what we need and  
accomplishing the goal.


When I speak on or teach prototyping, I do let people know that we  
typically build production level prototypes, but that that is not  
the norm and not required to be an effective prototyper and I can  
back that up with data.


So, realistically, I can say with certainty that Andrei's  
perspective, or at least the one that's being communicated here, is  
not the standard and does not represent prototyping. That's not my  
opinion, that's something that I can back up with dozens upon  
dozens of examples.


Out of curiosity, Andrei, where would you put tools like Axure,  
iRise, or Catalyst for prototyping? Waste? Beneficial? Where do you  
draw your line?


Cheers!

Todd Zaki Warfel



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Do business objectives belong in personas?

[mark schraad]

I usually work with specifically grouped information in separate docs.
Market research (competitive analysis etc), User needs and behaviors
(including personas), and Biz requirements (sometimes including technical
constraints, but sometimes its better as a fourth bucket). The reason I keep
these separate is that I like to NOT have ownership of these, but have them
provided buy subject experts, kept current and then I utilize them in the
design process.
Mark




On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 6:10 PM, Tom  wrote:

> We're working on building some personas for some desktop software.
> I've been going over Todd Warfel's template and Steve Mulder's
> (The User is Always Right).
>
> Steve includes Business Objectives, Todd does not. The argument is
> that you want to include what you as an organization want to
> accomplish.
>
> I guess I would argue that a persona is not about my organization and
> it's goals, it's about the person and their goals. And if I am
> satisfying their goals, that's going to be good for my org and my
> software.
>
> Am I missing something as to why they should be included? Love to
> hear your thoughts.
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Do you work from a home office?

[mark schraad]

There are plenty of project that I can do at home. In fact there are some
projects that I can do better at home. But by and large I work as part of an
integrated team... and for many things I need to be here. Small details are
important... and many times, my org sometimes operates like the borg... if I
am not here, crucial (at least to me) decisions may occur without my input.
Yea... its not ideal, but it happens, and there is a limit to what I can do
about it. Lastly, I like to be in the room with the primary stakeholders
when I get input, present concepts and brainstorm. We've tried using remote
video  and it is just not the same.
As much as I would like to not be in cube-land and would love to be at home,
my work would suffer.

Mark



On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 1:12 AM, dnp607  wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I wanted to get a pulse on how you feel about designers who work a good
> amount of their time from a home office.  I've noticed that most companies
> prefer 9-5 onsite employees. The reasoning that most often comes up is that
> it's "corporate culture" and better for communication.
>
> However, I've never been able to get comfortable with being creative in a
> cubicle... More, I've found that my ability to communicate is run by email
> and phone most of the time whether I'm onsite or not. Perhaps I'm
> idealistic, but I get so much work done by attending meetings on site as
> needed, then retiring to complete my work. I can blast music, pet my cat,
> make phone calls without needed to hush down for fear of bothering others...
> it's just conducive to productivity. My gas mileage is better to boot :)
>
> I've read about how many organizations are progressive in dealing with such
> things, but to be honest, it hasn't materialized outside of consulting work.
>
> What are your experiences? Is this still considered a "privilege" or has
> the mindset changed?
>
> Thanks for any input!
> -Dan
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Initial engagement: question

[mark schraad]

Break the requests into two parts, the evaluations and then the re-design
(or fix as you stated it). Let them know the extent of the evaluation and
recommendation effort up front. Then, when you report back, weight the
importance and include a scope of effort for the various items. If they buy
into this process, then you have at least half a chance of not only helping
them, but coming away with a good product that you can be proud of.
Mark

On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 3:54 PM, oliver green  wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> Frequently, various departments from my firm will ask me to "fix"
> their UI. They show me what they have implemented and what they can do
> to improve it. This is a new experience for me. What questions should
> I be asking in these initial engagement? what should I be wary of?
>
> Thanks,
> Oliver
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Wireframes, supporting documentation, and software choices

[mark schraad]

Ooops... thinking raster... hands typed vector... clearly a mind body  
conflict...



On Feb 20, 2009, at 12:08 PM, Todd Zaki Warfel wrote:


Um, Illustrator is vector.

On Feb 20, 2009, at 11:38 AM, mark schraad wrote:

I like Indesign as well... it handle vectors much better than  
illustrator...



Cheers!

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Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully.
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In practice, they are not.






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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Wireframes, supporting documentation, and software choices

[mark schraad]

I like Indesign as well... it handle vectors much better than illustrator...
and handles type ultimately better than photoshop. I am much faster with the
same results than in either omni or the other dedicated aps.
We do a tone of iterative works so we often need to wireframe a section on
top of todays screen capture. Indesign does this really well.

I only wish that is would export into illustrator better. I get that it is
meant for print where you need to go from illustrator to indesign... but
lost of our visual folks build art in illustrator and render into photoshop.
The only real option is pdf... and editing text in a pdf is pure hell.



On Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 9:20 AM, Christopher Risdon wrote:

> I use InDesign, or a Fireworks/InDesign combination depending on the
> fidelity of the wireframes.
>
> I like InDesign because it's great for vectors, and it's great for
> 'editorial', since it's a powerful publication design tool. And it
> does tables just fine, though I just go the annotation route.
>
> You can still use .eps files/templates and maintain libraries, and it
> does most any vector task that Omnigraffle or Illustrator can do.
>
> Obviously it's more expensive, but it's what I use because it does
> drawing and text very well in a multi-page document.
>
> - Chris
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> Posted from the new ixda.org
> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=39000
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac

[mark schraad]

if it comes from Apple, software is relatively inexpensive the first time
around, but when a new version comes out, you just buy it again, rather than
upgrade. It is a slightly different pricing model that lowers the hurdle of
switching platforms (in either direction btw). But they are fairly
confident... attrition from Mac to PC is pretty minimal. Over the long haul,
if you upgrade, they get their money just like Microsoft does.
Mark



On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:19 PM, Vishal Iyer  wrote:

> I was an existing PC user & I switched to a Mac (had an option to choose
> either) primarily for Omnigraffle. Also, I find Adobe CS a lot faster on a
> Mac. Though I'm not entirely sure about this- I think that a PC with
> comparable performance for tools that most UX designers use is going to run
> almost as expensive as a MAC.
>
> I'm saying this because even the standard PC desktop I had does not compare
> with my Macbook Pro (the PC laptop was almost unworkable). I use the
> Macbook
> as my primary machine and I find the portability very convenient (also have
> Parallels in the unlikely scenario that I need a PC).
>
> Finally, isn't Mac s/w especially iWork a lot cheaper (did I miss better?)
> than the Windows counterpart.
>
> --
> -Vishal
> http://www.vishaliyer.com
>
> >
> > >> Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move
> > >> back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again.
> >
> > Simple question, Why?
> >
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Should IxDA support a US National Design Policy?

[mark schraad]

This effort frustrates me. I really appreciate and applaud the effort that
went into it. But items 2 and 3, while admirable, really have no business
being on this list. They are not only political agendas but are highly
charged and likely to sink the entire effort. These two items need, and are
worthy of, their own platforms and there own initiatives. And while
designers can and should lead such efforts, these are not inherent issue
regarding design.


On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 11:08 AM, Josh Seiden  wrote:

> Folk,
>
> Recently, a group of leaders from various US design organizations
> came together to discuss the question of a US National design policy.
> This summit meeting resulted in 10 design policy recommendations,
> which can be found here:
> http://www.designpolicy.org/usdp/policy-proposals.html
>
> (The full report on the summit meeting can be found here:
> http://www.designpolicy.org/usdp/summit-report.html)
>
> After the summit meeting, the leaders of this initiative contacted
> IxDA to ask for our participation and endorsement. In turn, the Board
> has asked me to reach out to you--the community--to help us decide how
> (or if) IxDA should participate.
>
> The Board finds much to support in the 10 policy initiatives. In
> particular, the spirit of optimistic patriotism is welcome, and we
> certainly support the efforts of those who are motivated by that
> spirit. That said, the 10 policy proposals include some items that
> the Board strongly disagreed with as well. The Board finds itself
> similarly split on whether or not the very idea of design
> organizations partnering with government is a good idea.
>
> What do you think? Should IxDA get involved? Are there specific
> initiatives that YOU would like to support by working alongside your
> IxDA peers? Are there alternative ways you would like to see IxDA
> proceed?
>
> For quick reference, here are the the 10 recommendations:
>
>   1. Formalize an American Design Council to partner with the U.S.
> Government.
>
>   2. Set guidelines for legibility, literacy, and accessibility for
> all government communications.
>
>   3. Target 2030 for carbon neutral buildings.
>
>   4. Create an Assistant Secretary for Design and Innovation
> position within the Department of Commerce to promote design.
>
>   5. Expand national grants to support interdisciplinary community
> design assistance programs based on human-centered design
> principles.
>
>   6. Commission a report to measure and document design's
> contribution to the U.S. economy.
>
>   7. Revive the Presidential Design Awards to be held every year and
> use triple bottom-line criteria (economic, social, and environmental
> benefit) for evaluation.
>
>   8. Establish national grants for basic design research.
>
>   9. Modify the patent process to reflect the types of intellectual
> property created by designers.
>
>  10. Encourage direct government investment in design innovation.
>
>
> What do you think? How do you see IxDA's role relating to this?
>
> Thanks,
> Josh Seiden
>
>
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] IxD Greats?

[mark schraad]

or Muriel Cooper.

On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 11:05 AM, Nina Eleanor Alter
wrote:

> BTW- I haven't seen Joy Mountford or any other women mentioned... and I
> know there were a couple of other ladies in the 'ol-skool PARC and Apple UI
> teams.
>
> We've got lots of men and Americans, women? Intl?
>
> n
>
>
>
> On Feb 18, 2009, at 7:22 AM, Dan Saffer wrote:
>
>>
>> On Feb 18, 2009, at 1:39 AM, Ferran Alvarez wrote:
>>
>>  Do we already need a 'hall of fame'?
>>> Do we really need a 'hall of fame'?
>>>
>>
>> Yes and yes.
>>
>> We should recognize and understand the history of our field and celebrate
>> those who created the interaction design paradigms like cut and paste that
>> all of us use.
>>
>> Dan
>>
>> 
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>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Terms Every IxD Should Know

[mark schraad]

Great clarification David.


On Feb 17, 2009, at 5:25 AM, david farkas wrote:


I personally try to avoid the term affordance due to the
misrepresentation of affordance and perceived afforadance. Mentioning
the two even though they can fill books of their own would be
benefitial. Also concepts on friction.

Actual affordance
perceived affordance
cognitive friction
fitt's law
moore's law
goal oriented design verus user centered design


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38736



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Talk to the Hand: Dan Saffer and gestural interfaces, by Andy Polaine

[mark schraad]

Its easy to get into a semantic discussion here, but from the point  
of view of a business person and researcher... with a back ground in  
design, there are times when the distinction between service and  
product are not helpful. A product, after all is the physical portion  
of a service. I can not think of a product that is not really the  
physical tool for delivering a service. In a more general sense... I  
think it helps to think of them as offerings. These offerings have  
attributes. Calling them attributes helps us to stay out of the  
product manager mindset of calling them features. When they become  
features, the salability rather than utility becomes the focus.


To directly answer your questions, yes, designers do need to think  
beyond the 'thing'. Further, I think that there is a lot of activity  
in developing both product and services that occur well before  
designers are typically involved. Those activities could be done  
better by incorporating methods and practices that design is deeply  
invested in. Being user centric, qualitative research, iterative  
planing, visual thinking and concept mapping to name just a few.


When biz dev folks start to brainstorm or seed ideas, they typically  
start with a revenue model or a partnership. They are effectively  
beginning to design a product or service. Unfortunately, they are  
often not equipped for this sort of practice... well at least in my  
opinion. Designers can either make themselves available or not... but  
the tools I mentioned are helpful and add value in this stage. If  
designers do not bring them to the table, it is likely that the biz  
folks will eventually find and utilize them on their own.


Mark




On Feb 14, 2009, at 8:48 AM, Will Evans wrote:


Talk to the Hand: Dan Saffer and gestural interfaces, by Andy Polaine
In Core77
http://tinyurl.com/ce9sbq

"Product designers are now service designers," argues Saffer. "We  
can't help it. Most of the devices we're making now are part of a  
network, or need to work with other devices, or at a minimum have a  
website. Our products are now services."


http://tinyurl.com/ce9sbq

So after reading the article - what do you think? Do we as  
interaction designers need to think more seriously about service  
design? Our own Jeff Howard did significant research about service  
design and posted many useful articles about this here:

http://www.howardesign.com/exp/service/



~ will

"Where you innovate, how you innovate,
and what you innovate are design problems"

-- 
--

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tel: +1.617.281.1281 | w...@semanticfoundry.com
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gtalk: semanticwill
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--



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Use of colon

[mark schraad]

not so much...


On Feb 12, 2009, at 5:20 PM, Jared Spool wrote:


Unless you have a partial colonectomy, which, of course, leaves a  
semi-colon.


[Somebody had to say it]



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Re: [IxDA Discuss] CSS Wizard tools

[mark schraad]

A bit off the topic, but interesting non the less...
The wall street journal experimented with an interesting customization model
a few years ago. But instead of styling, they actually allowed you to
collect topical departments and other site elements, arranging and ordering
them the way you want.
The system was dropped within a year or so. My guess would be that it was
not utilized and that their readers trusted the wsj selection of stories.

The really interesting component of their system would have been to capture
the user preferences and consider their implications for future content
organization.

Mark

On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 10:46 AM, Jeff Noyes  wrote:

> I'm in the midst of designing a tool that allows users to style a website
> via the interface. Most sites that do this allow you to pick a canned
> theme,
> apply a few colors, fonts, etc, and maybe even have an advanced view where
> you can edit the CSS directly.  Couple questions on this...
>
> 1. Can you point me to some good examples?
>
> 2. As designers, if you've used a tool like this in the past and felt
> something was good or bad about the tool, what was it?
>
> Thanks
> Jeff
>
>
> 
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] all small or add caps?

[mark schraad]

When you are working with brand and marketing (of which logos and  
corporate identity are a part of), breaking from the norm is very  
very powerful. Throw out the old english teacher rule book and make  
decisions that empower the brand and match it to your targeted  
audience. There are plenty of examples of logos (abc, hewlett  
packard, the old anderson consulting, etc) that use lower case.


Opinions vary when converting a lowercase brand to text... you will  
find strong arguments for both, and there is not consensus or a  
'right' way. You can also extend this to brand positioning statements  
and headlines. Most larger companies will have a style guide for  
implementation... but the name of this (style) implies it as an  
interpretation. Rules are conveniently (and justly) broken when you  
are striving to stand out from the crowd. This is not english lit...



Mark



On Feb 8, 2009, at 8:55 AM, SteveJB wrote:


Having capital letters at the start of the words certainly calls more
attention to the words and emphasizes that. I cannot personally
recall a logo with small letters and all the logos I can recall from
memory end up having at least the first letter capitalized.

As Mark stated, company names (and branded products too) are proper
nouns and thereby should always have the first letters of their name
capitalized. As an example: reading the words 'microsoft windows'
just doesn't seem to me as impressive as reading the words
'Microsoft Windows.'


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38327



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