If anyone knows of any good gesture stencils for Phones and mobile devices specifically (using the thumb, etc) let me know.
Fab.com Email PrefsFebruary 20th, 2012
I just wanted to give props to the Fab.com team for designing a beautiful Email preferences experience. Many sites over look this as an important feature, but this is great.
Responsive DesignOctober 18th, 2011
I’m surprised to see not that many Responsive Designed website out there. It’s a great thing to look into as a designer:
Beautiful & Simple Printer ConceptOctober 3rd, 2011
SWYP: See What You Print from Artefact on Vimeo.
Display one image using multiple screensSeptember 29th, 2011
Junkyard Jumbotron from chris csik on Vimeo.
Why Does Interaction Design MatterSeptember 19th, 2011
Found a good read on .Co Design by Robert Fabricant. It discusses the importance of ID, using the NYC subway system as an example.
My favorite quote:
If interaction design plays such a critical role in our lives then its time that we got our act together. We can’t just point to the latest Apple product and nod our heads. Every company that I work with, from GE on down, is trying desperately to hire qualified interaction designers yet most of their employees haven’t a clue what interaction designers do. We need to close that gap and start agreeing on what makes interaction design “good” or “meaningful”–and communicate that back to people in ways they will care.
Full article here
Introduction to Design Studio MethodologyAugust 24th, 2011
Found this great article from UX Mag on Design Studio and collaborative design.
My favorite quotes:
Having spent time in some larger digital agencies, I’ve noticed that often the account planner, strategist, and creative director spend time in a conference room with the client trying to suss out requirements. The process then moves to the agency’s ivory tower (or black box), where a few select people lock themselves away until they generate “The Insight,” often followed by “The Solution,” which are then communicated to the art directors and technology teams responsible for execution. I could, and will, write an entire article about how fucked up that is, but not today. Needless to say, the days of the black box rockstar/ninja/douchebag creative director are quickly coming to an end. Thank God!
The reality of designing modern digital solutions is that no individual can solely capture all the complexity of creating a truly vibrant product with various customer engagement points, different usage patterns, and behaviors based on complex needs, goals, and customer backgrounds, all interwoven into an emergent, ubiquitous engagement tapestry. This is why innovation really is, and should be, a team sport.
Co-creation needs externalized material. Sharing the fuzzy, early, raw concept gives your partner material to work with, to respond to and evolve. Externalizing ideas allows for closer collaboration, earlier input, and deeper thought partnership. This is true when generating and proposing ideas, and equally important for synthesizing and evolving concepts.
- Stefan Klocek
“Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.”
- Herbert Simon, cognitive psychologist
Reaction: New Approaches To Designing Log-In FormsAugust 23rd, 2011
Smashing Mag has a pretty good article on some of the challenges in log-in and sign-up form design. Bagcheck’s “start typing your name” feature is interesting, but I’m not sure how well this would handle the scenario where you have multiple people with the same name, and there’s
no profile picture to access.
Boundaries In DesignAugust 15th, 2011
In the world of information architecture, strategy, and design, boundaries are fuzzy and lines get crossed every day. IAs do design and designers do IA. The best solutions are oftened spawned from the biggest debates. While not always possible, interdisciplinary collaboration is the ideal, and collaboration works best when each of the experts understands something about the other area of expertise.