September 2008

Content Analysis Slides from EuroIA 2008

"I wanted to make a big shout out to all the folks who came to my talk at the EuroIA Conference today. Wow! Thanks! I had no idea so many people were interested in content analysis." (Chiara Fox)

Posted by PJB on September 30, 2008 | Classification: Events | Permalink

Don Norman on Service Design

"Now that I've listened to the lecture a couple times I've got a better idea where Norman is going with this. He makes some good points about the importance of back stage operations but I don't agree with his assertion that operations and design are the same topic. He seems disappointed with much of the existing service design literature and treats Pine and Gilmore with mild disdain. The lecture goes on a rambling tour of theme parks, fast food, hospitals, hotels and banking, with some great anecdotes and pointers toward interesting research." (Jeff Howard - Design for Service)

Posted by PJB on September 30, 2008 | Classification: Service design | Permalink

EuroIA 2008 presentations

Various speakers from the EuroIA 2008 summit have uploaded their presentations on Slideshare.

Posted by PJB on September 29, 2008 | Classification: Events | Permalink

Thoughts on the Euro Information Architecture Summit 2008

"At the moment I'm trying to pull back and see information architecture as a new but somewhat established field. Invention used to be necessary of everyone, but now it's only needed from a few. Compare it to another field like electrical engineering. At the beginning there was a lot invention, but now we know enough to simple do it. Today, some engineers continue to push the envelope in the design of microprocessors while others specify the wiring in the next model of speaker phone. I would expect IA to settle into the same spread." (Victor Lombardi - Noise Between Stations)

Posted by PJB on September 29, 2008 | Classification: Information architecture | Permalink

About Us Information on Websites

"We found a 9% improvement in the usability of About Us information on websites over the past 5 years. But companies and organizations still can't explain what they do in one paragraph." (Jacob Nielsen - Alertbox)

Posted by PJB on September 29, 2008 | Classification: Usability | Permalink

Activity-Centered Design

"Apparently the forces of interaction design have been facing off against the forces of information architecture in an epic battle for quite some time. I was flying a flag I didn’t know I was flying." (Joshua Porter)

Posted by PJB on September 25, 2008 | Classification: Information design | Permalink

Is Adam Greenfield A Communist Or...?

"Having been to 'The Web and Beyond 2008' and hearing about Adam Greenfield's keynoting at the coming EuroIA Summit in Amsterdam, I started thinking about what he said at the time and what his words could mean. I also took into account two of the other main presenters: Ben Cerveny and Jyri Engeström." (Jeroen Elstgeest)

Posted by PJB on September 25, 2008 | Classification: Information design | Permalink

The Study of Visual Aesthetics in Human-Computer Interaction

"Given the evidence and potential for aesthetics' overarching effect on human-computer interaction, it would seem timely to explore the themes summarized above in more depth. While a lively debate is to be expected in this workshop, the overriding goal is to define and formulate a possible HCI research agenda on these topics. To achieve this, the seminar will bring together seasoned researchers who share a deep interest in aesthetics; prominent designers who are grappling with the concept theoretically and in practice; and graduate students who are likely to provide fresh perspectives." (Seminar site)

Posted by PJB on September 23, 2008 | Classification: User experience | Permalink

Beauty Matters: Usability and Aesthetics

"Usability is an approved quality when designing interactive products. Another factor becomes more and more important: the hedonic quality, which includes the aesthetic of a product. The long-time experiences in user-friendly design convinced the initiators of Beauty matters that the combination of usability and aesthetics ensures the success of a product. Usability alone ist not enough. Most people associate the aesthetics of a product with its beauty. The beauty is also decisive whether a product represents a special value for us." (Michael Burmester, Marc Hassenzahl and Franz Koller)

Posted by PJB on September 23, 2008 | Classification: Usability | Permalink

Is Your Organization Experienced?

"While the report is 4 years old, our experience is that the findings are relevant still today, and we use the models in this report often in our client work. It’s satisfying that Forrester's report seems to validate Janice and Scott's research, and we're happy to share it with you free of charge." (Peter Merholz - Adaptive Path)

Posted by PJB on September 23, 2008 | Classification: User experience | Permalink

Social Networks Going Global

"I'm giving a presentation on Taking Social Networks Global, at the EuroIA Summit in Amsterdam. I was working on it the past days, and I'm pretty happy with how the talk is turning out. As a preview, here are my slides (so far, they might still change slightly)." (Peter Vandijck)

Posted by PJB on September 22, 2008 | Classification: Information architecture | Permalink

Emotion and Voice User Interfaces

"When you hear the term voice user interface (VUI), what comes to mind? Most likely, memories of an interactive voice response system (IVR) for customer service arise. IVRs are certainly not going away. For many companies, they remain the foremost contact point with customers. But voice user interfaces are more than just IVRs. In fact, VUIs have tremendous potential for enhancing the experience of any mobile phone user. As the use of mobile devices and applications proliferates internationally, understanding how to integrate, or mash up, graphic user interfaces (GUI) and VUIs is becoming critically important." (Darnell Clayton and Colleen Jones - UXmatters)

Posted by PJB on September 22, 2008 | Classification: HCI | Permalink

What Place Does Theater Have in the Creative Process of Design?

"In a world where a focus on designing innovative, compelling, valuable, and engaging user experiences is becoming increasingly important, designers of user experiences endeavor to enhance and improve the way they work and achieve the desired outcome. As designers, to be truly innovative, we must open ourselves up to new ideas, surround ourselves with diverse inputs, and be willing to embark on a new journey—regardless of whether we know the destination. Actors and others who create theater would tell you this kind of mindset is part their everyday work culture. So, what can we learn from the way actors and other theatrical artists work that will help us be more innovative, too?" (Traci Lepore - UXmatters)

Posted by PJB on September 22, 2008 | Classification: User experience | Permalink

Quick Turnaround Usability Testing

"It starts with any number of scenarios: Design and development have taken too long to produce a prototype, you need to release in three weeks, and you suspect there may be design flaws. You are trying to incorporate usability testing into an Agile development process. Or maybe you simply want to pare down your process to make it shorter and less expensive." (Paul Nuschke - Boxes and Arrows)

Posted by PJB on September 19, 2008 | Classification: Usability | Permalink

Tap is the New Click (Presentation)

"I had awesome crowds yesterday at my two 'Tap is the New Click' presentations. Lots of great discussion and people laughed at my jokes to boot! Here is a pdf version of the presentation slides (8mb) for your downloading pleasure! The first chapter of the upcoming Designing Gestural Interfaces book can also be downloaded for your reading pleasure." (Dan Saffer - Kicker Studio)

Posted by PJB on September 19, 2008 | Classification: Interaction design | Permalink

John Maeda's Inauguration Speech at RISD

"RISD: Rhode Island School of Design or Reason, I'm Sleep Deprived?" (YouTube)

Posted by PJB on September 16, 2008 | Classification: Visual design | Permalink

Store Finders and Locators

"Finding addresses and location information on company websites has gotten dramatically easier, but users increasingly turn to search engines first for this task." (Jakob Nielsen - Alertbox)

Posted by PJB on September 15, 2008 | Classification: Usability | Permalink

Cultural Aspects of Interaction Design

"When a group of people, no matter its scale, start sharing common ways of thinking, feeling and living, culture emerges. Culture therefore can emerge from any population segment. It is not limited to a geographic area or ethnicity. Different cultures can be distinguished by their individual and group characteristics, e.g. the mental models, behavioral patterns, emotional responses, aesthetics, rules, norms, and values that group members share. Different cultures therefore produce different artifacts and environments based on their cultural characteristics. On the other hand, artifacts, through people’s interactions with them, influence cultures and can even produce a new culture." (Keiichi Sato and Kuohsiang Chen - Special Issue of Int.'l Journal of Design)

Posted by PJB on September 15, 2008 | Classification: Interaction design | Permalink

Thoughts on the Open IAI initiative

"(...) my main concern is that this discussion about openness and transparency could be distracting us from the main question we need to be addressing right now: what is the IAI's vision and its role in society?" (Jorge Arango) - courtesy of petervandijck

Posted by PJB on September 15, 2008 | Classification: Information architecture | Permalink

Aurora: Panel At UX Week

"Following the release of Aurora, a panel discussion about the project was hosted at UX Week by Leah Buley. The panelists included members of the Aurora team, Alex Faaborg of Mozilla Labs, and Jamais Cascio a futurist who worked with us at the beginning of the project. If you were unable to attend UX Week, you can see video of the discussion below in which the panelists discuss how the concepts shown in the video were identified, and what methods we used to bring them to life. The panelists also field some questions from Leah and the audience. Enjoy!" (Adaptive Path blog)

Posted by PJB on September 13, 2008 | Classification: User experience | Permalink

Information Architecture for Audio: Doing It Right

"Creating usable audio is not difficult when you follow a few simple rules. These mostly stem from the creation of usable content in the form of text. Information architecture, journalism, educational psychology, usability engineering and interface design provide plentiful tips for doing so. Most of the methods used in these fields can be applied to the creation of audio." (Jens Jacobsen - Boxes and Arrows)

Posted by PJB on September 12, 2008 | Classification: | Permalink

Bridging the Designer-User Gap with Empathy

"I believe the key here is empathy. It's not just about knowing what's wrong with the product, it's also about acknowledging that to users this is a serious issue, and about being motivated to fix that for them." (Jasper van Kuijk - uselog)

Posted by PJB on September 12, 2008 | Classification: User experience | Permalink

The Three Paradigms of HCI 

"Informal histories of HCI commonly document two major intellectual waves that have formed the field: the first orienting from engineering/human factors with its focus on optimizing man-machine fit, and the second stemming from cognitive science, with an increased emphasis on theory and on what is happening not only in the computer but, simultaneously, in the human mind. In this paper, we document underlying forces that constitute a third wave in HCI and suggest systemic consequences for the CHI community. We provisionally name this the 'phenomenological matrix'. In the course of creating technologies such as ubiquitous computing, visualization, affective and educational technology, a variety of approaches are addressing issues that are bad fits to prior paradigms, ranging from embodiment to situated meaning to values and social issues. We demonstrate the underlying unity of these approaches, and document how they suggest the centrality of currently marginal criteria for design, evaluation, appreciation, and developmental methodology in CHI work." (Steve Harrison et al. 2007)

Posted by PJB on September 10, 2008 | Classification: HCI | Permalink

us■able

"A label for things that are convenient, practical, and functional." (Lennart Grötzbach)

Posted by PJB on September 10, 2008 | Classification: Usability | Permalink

Experience Design Manifesto

"An experience designer must love and care about people and the world in which we all live. It's his mission in the world to proudly spread love and happiness through his creations." (Andrë Braz) - courtesy of katerutter

Posted by PJB on September 10, 2008 | Classification: User experience | Permalink

LIFT Talks in Video

"This page contains all the LIFT speeches that have been recorded over the years." (LIFT Conference)

Posted by PJB on September 09, 2008 | Classification: Information design | Permalink

When Role Playing Doesn't Work

"Usability testing makes use of a lot of role-playing scenarios like this one, and many findings and design recommendations result from participants’ responses to these scenarios. But an over-reliance on role playing when testing a product and making design recommendations can have major downsides and risks (...)" (Isabelle Peyrichoux - UXmatters)

Posted by PJB on September 08, 2008 | Classification: Usability | Permalink

Keynote at MobileHCI2008: BJ Fogg - Mobile Miracle

"At the center of the talk was that prediction that mobile devices will be within 15 years the main technology for persuasion. He argued that mobile phones are the greatest invention of human kind – more important than the writing and transportation systems (e.g. planes, cars). He explained why mobile phones are so interesting based on three metaphors: heart, wrist watch, magic wand." (Albert Schmidt - User Interface Engineering)

Posted by PJB on September 04, 2008 | Classification: Mobile design | Permalink

MobileHCI 2008 Tutorial

"The conference on mobile human computer interaction (MobileHCI 2008) started today in Amsterdam with the tutorial and workshop day. (...) Have a look at the slides." (Albert Schmidt - User Interface Engineering)

Posted by PJB on September 04, 2008 | Classification: Mobile design | Permalink

Dan Saffer Leaves AP

"I plan on relishing my remaining time here at Adaptive Path, even though I know with a pang in my heart the end is coming, and soon. I've worked here longer than any place I’ve ever worked. Here, I learned everything I know about running a design consultancy, and, truthfully, a lot of what I know about being a designer in general. It was here I sharpened my interaction design and product strategy skills, as well as honing my speaking and writing chops." (Dan Saffer - Adaptive Path Blog)

Posted by PJB on September 04, 2008 | Classification: Interaction design | Permalink

User Experience Week: Conversations with Presenters at Adaptive Path's UX Week

"User Experience (UX) Week was held in San Francisco, CA from August 12–15. Boxes and Arrows, in co-operation with Adaptive Path, interviewed speakers in UX, IA, IxD, and Human Factors. Many thanks to the entire team at Adaptive Path for the opportunity to share these conversations with the communities of practice." (Jeff Parks - Boxes and Arrows)

Posted by PJB on September 04, 2008 | Classification: Podcasts | Permalink

InfoCamp Seattle 2008

"InfoCamp is a hybrid unconference that blends the egalitarian, community-driven basis of barcamps and other unconferences and with some more conventional conference structures. Students, professionals, entrepreneurs and hobbyists from the user-centered information community are all encouraged to come together to join in the conversation, adding to the community of ideas and building connections to people who share a similar passion for information and how to best utilize and design information for the people that use it. InfoCamp is fueled by the serendipity that happens when connecting open, like-minded people with new ideas." (September 27-28, 2008 - Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Seattle WA, USA)

Posted by PJB on September 03, 2008 | Classification: Events | Permalink

Chromium Developer Documentation: User Experience

"This section describes the motivations, assumptions, and directions behind Chromium's user interface design. Its goal is to explain the current design in a way that further work can be developed in-style, or so that our assumptions can be challenged, changed, and improved." (CDD)

Posted by PJB on September 03, 2008 | Classification: HCI | Permalink

Site Map Usability

"New user testing of site maps shows that they are still useful as a secondary navigation aide, and that they're much easier to use than they were during our research 7 years ago." (Jakob Nielsen - Alertbox)

Posted by PJB on September 02, 2008 | Classification: Usability | Permalink