In this article, Ksenia Sternina decided to analyze the physiology of using the interface of Mail.Ru’s Email app; for example, how comfortable is it to use an iPad app in typical positions? The behaviors we studied included tapping buttons while lying down, browsing photos while sitting, swiping, and writing text. Her results revealed a number of purely ergonomic problems that should be taken into account when developing any iPad app. The results are shown here on an iPad layout using a three-color schema. Controls located in the green zone are easily reachable by the average person; the yellow zone is still reachable but not as easily; and the red zone is the most inconvenient location for controls.
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Procedural content generation has been in use for the last 40 years in video games, and it’s a key characteristic of rogue-like games. Instead of manually writing different levels, defining where walls are or where monsters are hidden, you could use an algorithm to generate that for you. While there are many different situations in which procedural content generation is possible to use, it’s more evident in well-known video games. There is one example which is less well known but highly respected by passionate geeks: Dwarf Fortress. In this game an entire world is simulated with its history.
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What are the guidelines to follow when using data to personalize digital experiences, and how can organizations help people feel comfortable with personalization services that research clearly shows people want? CX and UX professionals are faced with the difficult task of helping clients navigate design decisions around privacy and personalization of digital services. It’s up to us to help clients understand the implications to business outcomes and ethics. To do this well, we must introduce privacy considerations into the design process as early as possible.
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With the ever-increasing computing power of desktops, browser sophistication and use of native apps, every day we learn of new ways to push the limits of what defines a well-crafted UI. When used correctly, motion can be a key utility in helping your users achieve their goals. UX designers who are considering motion in their designs will find themselves under pressure to explain, communicate and defend why the extra effort is required. Know your audience, and communicate your intentions to the team early on. With UX animation, subtlety is key. Focusing on helping users achieve their goals is paramount.
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Vitaly Friedman believes that blocking loyal readership isn’t a reasonable option for any website. Relying on donations for an “ad-free experience” is unlikely to work either. Publishers should figure out a way to initiate an honest, direct conversation with their readers and find a respectful and profitable way of dealing with the ad revenue gap. Fighting against ad-blocking extensions is a fight against windmills. Ad-blockers have the upper hand, and while advertising will evolve, and it will become less disturbing and annoying, it remains to see if the trust users lost in traditional display advertising can be regained.
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As our artifacts and everything around us become more connected, we run the risk as humans of becoming increasingly disconnected from each other. We have a responsibility as interaction designers and user experience researchers to consider the ways in which we create interfaces for everyday experiences in the home, at school, out and about, and with our trusted advisors such as financial planners, doctors and educators. In this article, Jes Koepfler & Kieran Evans will discuss the concept of shallow interaction design and show how we applied some basic principles of this approach to a learning game related to disaster resilience.
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Pagination is still the most popular way to load new items on a website. However, the usability test sessions found “Load more” buttons combined with lazy-loading to be a superior implementation, resulting in a more seamless user experience. In this article, Christian Holst will present Baymard Institute’s usability research findings for both “Load more” buttons, infinite scrolling and pagination, including for both mobile and desktop. He’ll see how search results need to be implemented differently from category navigation, along with several pitfalls with implementation and examples from leading e-commerce websites.
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We often want information on what users and potential users of our designs think and how they behave in the context of where they will use our design. Intercepts allow you to engage users in a variety of settings to collect data to inform your design. In this article, Victor Yocco shares a method to design and carry out effective intercepts as part of your user research. You can use the steps and information provided in this article in your own process for intercepting users!
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In this article, Tom Green will describe the methods he uses to get from content to responsive wireframe — and how you can, too. There is no big reveal or other excitement with the creation of content reference wireframes. You can practice content wireframing by deconstructing popular websites into their basic building blocks. Start with rough containers of information, add in the real content, and then start chiseling them into more finalized forms. In doing so, you’ll be better able to design around what users really care about: the content.
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There are many options for a designer to consider. Hopefully, after seeing Dr. Moore and Dr. Chen’s research applied to some modern examples, as well as some insights into what other businesses are doing, you will have enough juice to power your social proof. We can learn so much from the subject of reviews, especially now that experience design is emerging and becoming a force of its own. Through its ethos of bettering customer experiences, we can start to deliver experiences that make people smile. These happy users may then tell everyone else about those positive experiences. And when people talk about you or your products, listen carefully and manage those reviews to your advantage — from start to finish.
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