At the Google Ventures Design Studio, we have a five-day process for taking a product or feature from design through prototyping and testing. We call it a product design sprint. This is the third in a series of seven posts on running your own design sprint. (more…)
What is user experience? What is a lean UX approach? The goal of UX design is to create a seamless experience for users. Many different methods and processes support this goal. They are highly dependent on the development environment, but the ultimate objective for a UX designer is to understand and support users’ needs. (more…)
The value of UX as a corporate asset is no longer in question. Just look at the $1 billion price tag paid by Facebook for Instagram, whose primary asset is not technology, but the best photo sharing UX in the business (and some of the best UX talent as well). Look at the recent Apple vs. Samsung judgment: 93% of the damages were related to design patents that define the iOS user experience. (more…)
Teams moving to agile often struggle to integrate agile with best practices in user-centered design (UCD) and user experience (UX) in general. Fortunately, using a UX Integration Matrix helps integrate UX and agile by including UX information and requirements right in the product backlog. (more…)
POLAR IS LIKE INSTAGRAM CROSSED WITH "HOT OR NOT." AND IT’S AN OBJECT LESSON IN MOBILE DESIGN DONE VERY, VERY RIGHT. Quick, which is better: Lucas or Spielberg? Star Wars or Star Trek? Kobe or LeBron? Internet Explorer or Chrome? You probably have an opinion on each of these questions that’s strongly held enough to make a choice in seconds. (more…)
For years, UX professionals have vigorously lobbied for a “seat at the table” when it comes to formative decisions about products and product development. Looking back at 2012, trends indicate that this wish is becoming reality. Many leading UX consultants reported that their clients are more open to research and design methods with a UX focus than they have been in the past. (more…)
While certainly not as well known as Photoshop, Adobe Fireworks is a great tool for creating user interfaces, website designs and mock-ups, wireframes, icons and much more. However, most designers who have been using Photoshop for years may find Fireworks a bit awkward at first. Fireworks does have a slightly different workflow and requires a slightly different approach than you may be used to. (more…)
UX has become a neologism. When something has “good UX” it is an implied meaning of having the core components of UX (research, maybe a persona, IA, interaction, interface, etc etc…). It’s not really necessary or desirable to tack the word design onto the end anymore. It’s a distraction and leads people down a parallel but misguided path… the path to thinking that UX = User Interface Design. (more…)
User Experience (UX), a term that first appeared a decade ago, still has no formal definition or standard. So its not surprising that as mobile applications inundate the app stores, mobile user experience is starting to garner serious attention because some app developers are wondering why their app is not getting much uptake while others who may have less features for more money are. (more…)
A couple of years ago I realised that a lot of my IT, non-designer, friends were using the names of my beloved design deliverables synonymously. They assumed that a wireframe, prototype and mockup are exactly the same thing – a kind of greyish, boxy, sketch representing an ingenious idea. (more…)
The UX community is extremely generous when it comes to sharing useful and meaningful information related to the field. Whether its tips on how to tackle your first survey to case studies, podcasts, interviews, UX cartoons and more, there is a plethora of information at your fingertips and a community of professionals willing to share. (more…)
Don’t let prototyping drive your design. The best prototyping tools are not necessarily the best design tools. It certainly saves time if you can design and prototype at the same time, but the last thing you should have to focus on when designing are the limitations of a prototyping tool. (more…)
Designing towards touch really forces us to simplify and decide what's most important- what needs to stay on the screen. If we go through that exercise we ultimately end up with software that's easier to understand and as a result more often used. Both good things. (more…)
Designing an interface is a process. It all begins with an idea, but that idea needs user interface translation. It’s not enough to say, “I want an app that does X, Y and Z”. You need to know what the user will see on each screen of your app to do X, Y and Z. Sketching takes your mind from in the clouds to the user interface, where you start thinking about the user experience. (more…)
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