CategoryDesign Patterns

July 6, 2016 — Considering that most carousel implementations lack many usability details, one can understand why strong wording is often used in discussions about carousels. But there are alternatives to a home page carousel that both perform well and are vastly easier to implement. In this article, Christian Holst will go over the 10 implementation details he’s found that are required to make home page carousels perform acceptably with end users. He’ll outline how and why mobile and desktop implementations should differ and, lastly, suggest a simpler, problem-free alternative to home page carousels. Read more…

June 6, 2016 — Passwords are written off as inconvenient and unavoidable, but due to a combination of sensors, encryption and seasoned technology users, authentication is taking on new (and exciting) forms. In this article, Drew Thomas will show you that it’s OK to rethink common password habits, and it’s acceptable to use common sense and due diligence to create usable, secure and error-free authentication – passwords or otherwise. Most other interaction patterns have been updated over time, but no one wants to mess with password authentication. It’s time to change that! Read more…

May 30, 2016 — When we design responsive websites, we tend to see responsive design merely as a collection of slightly differently sized rectangles, with a slightly different layout, sometimes with slightly different content poured into them. In this article, Vitaly Friedman features some of the slightly more obscure design patterns, such as responsive car-builder interfaces, mega dropdown navigation, content grids, maps and charts, as well as responsive art direction. Read more…

May 6, 2016 — In his article on Selling Design Systems, Dan Mall suggests to illustrate how fractured an organization is by printing out its different presences online and putting them on a large board as an example of all the wasted money and effort that goes into making sites from scratch, one-by-one, needlessly reinventing the wheel every time. What Vitaly Friedman learned from his experience is that trying to focus on the workflow or the process is never as helpful as focusing on tangible benefits that the client will get as a result. Read more…

March 10, 2015 — In this article, Igor Fastovski invites UX designers and usability experts to look at the user experience of continuous input. He will detail the process of continuous input and weigh its gains against its pain points. Igor will then apply usability heuristics and basic empathy considerations in an attempt to remove pain points and tweak the design, helping developers improve usability of continuous input apps. Read more…

October 8, 2014 — When sliders are not done well, they can cause a lot of frustration (not to mention lost sales) by standing between your customers and what they want. And getting them wrong is surprisingly easy. In this article, Greg Nudelman and Daria Kempka will present a solution, including the design and code, for a new type of Android slider to address common problems, along with a downloadable Android mini-app for you to try out. It’s a deep dive into sliders based on a chapter in Android Design Patterns. Working with sliders is no great mystery, and there’s nothing to stop you from trying! Read more…

April 22, 2014 — Users skip or otherwise ignore dialogs, tours, video demos and transparencies. At best, users find them a minor inconvenience. At worst, the patterns significantly aggravate new users who are trying to get into the app. In this article, Theresa Neil and Rick Malley will look at why many common tutorial patterns are ineffective and how you can leverage game design principles to increase user engagement. Read more…

February 24, 2014 — An off-canvas menu is a great way to maintain context while giving the user a lot of additional information. In this article, Kyle Peatt will talk about why off-canvas has become so successful as a navigation pattern. Countless methods and patterns are waiting to be discovered by intrepid designers. The potential of this pattern is bound only by our drive to pioneer. It’s time that we explore just how far off canvas we can go! Read more…

January 6, 2014 — In this second part, Pete Smart will share what travelling 2517 miles taught him. Every day, he had 24 hours to observe a problem, attempt to solve it and then communicate the solution. For more of an introduction to the adventure, “50 Problems in 50 Days, Part 1: Real Empathy for Innovation” gives an overview of the project. Read more…

January 2, 2014 — Working walls are known by countless names. Underlying them all is a single idea: that physically pinning our sources of inspiration and work in progress can help us to rearrange concepts and unlock breakthrough insights. According to Vyas and his colleagues at the University of Twente, designers integrate these surfaces “artfully” and organize information in such a way that it empowers them to visualize and extend their work in progress. Read more…