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7 Tips to Improve Your UX Design Practice
Hey! But my UX design practice is perfect! Thankfully, we don’t hear that very much but the truth is – the longer we’re in a job, the better we consider ourselves to be at that job. Sometimes, it’s worth remembering that even the best professionals still have learning to be done. It’s also worth remembering that the longer we do things, the easi...
Using Mobile Apps – The One Thumb, One Eyeball Test for Good Mobile Design
Mobile designs need to take into account the way that users work with a mobile phone. That means understanding that distractions can come into play when the smartphone is in use and also ensuring that you make the input process as simple as possible to counteract their impact. Luke Wroblewski suggests the “one thumb, one eyeball” test as an effi...
Positive Emotional Responses
Positive emotional experiences are specific to the individual. However, we share many characteristics, which, to a certain extent, make things a little easier for designers. If we had to alter a design according to every single person who uses it, the budget would be extinguished within a matter of weeks and, as the saying goes, you can't please...
Serial Position Effect: How to Create Better User Interfaces
Learn about the limits of your user’s short-term memory by understanding how the serial position effect works and how you can manipulate it in the context of user experience design. Many of the most successful designs out there, produced by highly successful companies like Apple, Electronic Arts, and Nike, reflect an understanding of the serial ...
My Head Hurts! Cognitive Friction in the Age of Mobile
There’s nothing more annoying than when things don’t function the way we expect them to. When we develop user interfaces (UI), we try to relate it to the “real world” – think the floppy disk for “save” in most applications. Why? Because we take our cues in the digital world from ones we’ve already developed in our ordinary lives. Cognitive frict...
Understand the Elements and Thinking Modes that Create Fruitful Ideation Sessions
Facilitating ideation sessions involves an understanding of human thinking and mental modes as well as a whole range of factors like creating the right environment and goals, which we’ll introduce you to here. “Ideation is the mode of the design process in which you concentrate on idea generation. Mentally it represents a process of ‘going wi...
The Self-Generation Effect: How to Create More Memorable User Interfaces
Learn how to improve user experience by incorporating the self-generation effect in your user interface design. The self-generation effect is prompted in many of the customization tools built into some of the most widely-used products out there. This phenomenon provides users with a sense of control as they customize their own tools and function...
The Moment of Truth - Build Desirable Relationships with Users and Customers
In order to understand “the moment of truth”; it’s important to understand the customer lifecycle with a brand or product. There are many moments at which a customer (or potential customer or former customer) will interact with a brand. A moment of truth is simply any interaction during which a customer may form an impression of your brand or p...
Getting Lost and Found – Maps and the Mobile User Experience
The ability to harness GPS data and map data on smartphone platforms offers designers a chance to enhance the user experience of their products. However, in order for maps to deliver better experiences for users – it’s important to integrate these features with UX in mind. There are some sensible rules that can be used to increase your chances o...
Tell Me About Me – User Profiles for Mobile Applications
With the move away from websites to applications on mobile devices; there’s a need for many apps to create, maintain and manage user profiles so that users can effectively interact with the app and so that the app’s creators can collect and analyse data useful to their businesses. There is no “one size fits all” method of building user profile i...
Designing for the Mobile Environment – Some Simple Guidelines
If you’re going to design for mobile, then it’s likely you’re going to need to consider the way that the device is used and the specifics of the device itself. There are some general principles that can help designers for mobile get started but don’t forget that these don’t replace the need for user research. They are guidelines not hard and fas...
Prototyping in Design Thinking: How to Avoid Six Common Pitfalls
The Design Thinking process cannot be done without prototyping and testing. However, for companies or teams unfamiliar with the Design Thinking method, there might be some common mindsets about prototyping that potentially undermine its effectiveness in helping you craft the optimal design solutions. Let’s look at six of the most common misconce...
7 Powerful Steps for Creating the Perfect Freelance CV
A CV is a great way of explaining your expertise to a would-be client. Not all freelancers use a CV/resume to market their services or to convey their experience to their clients. Those who do use one will tell you that it’s a great way of explaining complex information to potential clients and partners without long speeches. A freelance CV is v...
Google’s Material Design - Android Design Language
Material Design (originally referred to as and codenamed “Quantum Paper”) was developed by Google and is a design language used for Android devices. The idea, according to Matias Duarte Vice President of Design for Google, is to provide a design language which mimics the feel of pen and paper. Material design offers the user physical edges and s...
How to Build Your First Freelance or Design Agency Portfolio
For most freelancers and newbie design owners, their most powerful marketing tool will be their portfolio. A portfolio is simply a collection of samples of your work that you use to demonstrate to clients that you have the experience and competence to handle their projects. As there are an awful lot of disciplines, it’s impossible to define the...
The Myths of Mobile Design and Why It Matters
When it comes to any school of thought surrounding a new concept – there comes a point when there is a body of “accepted knowledge”. That body of knowledge then becomes sacrosanct and instead of being treated as a guide to inform our work – it becomes practical dogma. It is worth challenging such myths and seeking to explore beneath the surface ...
Mobile Usability Research – The Important Differences from the Desktop
It’s important to remember that while we may use the same methods for mobile usability research as we use for other types of usability research; the mobile environment is different to the environment at the desktop. This means being aware of the context and adapting research to take advantage of that context. It’s not so much learning new resear...
Getting into the Mobile App User’s Mind – User Research for Mobile Applications
It’s well understood that user research is what makes for the best user experiences but what are the right user research techniques for mobile apps? While, there is no doubt that any classic UX research technique may be turned to mobile app user research – there are some techniques which have already been demonstrated to show proven value. Maste...
Do I Need a Degree to Work In User Experience?
This is a question that, in slightly different forms, gets asked a lot by those considering a UX design career. The question is a simple one but the answer..? Well, that’s a bit more complicated. A lot depends on you and your approach to life and your career. So let’s take a look at the benefits of a degree and the alternative paths you might pr...
How to Implement Sitemap Footers to Keep Users Going
In your attempts to minimize the effort your users need for performing actions on the website you’re designing, you just might be overlooking one major opportunity: sitemap footers. You might think about footers as a page section where you can dump any links or contact information you couldn’t fit anywhere else. Allow us to convince you of a mor...
