As designers, we must understand the role of momentum in effective user interface design and create experiences that keep our users moving forward. How do you know when your design has enough friction to be understood but is not overly complicated? In this article, Martijn van Tilburg considers different design scenarios and how to manage the user’s momentum by speeding up or slowing down their flow according to the situation. He will also discuss a framework for thinking about friction in your next design and when to be strategically innovative in order to maintain momentum.
Read more…
The best mobile web applications are the ones that excel at handling mobile processors, network connectivity, bandwidth, latency and touchscreen keyboards. In this article, Nick Gauthier will look at how to identify the tasks your users want to accomplish on a mobile device, memorize your users’ situation, presume that their actions will succeed, and also how to predict your users’ next actions, and prepare accordingly. The mobile web is a harsh environment, but by simply focusing on what matters, you will find a clear path to a superior experience.
Read more…
A 2013 survey of adults with disabilities found that 91% of people with disabilities use a “wireless device such as a cell phone or tablet.” Among these users, screen reader usage is common, even on mobile devices. However, many basic best practices for accessibility are forgotten on mobile websites. Therefore, disabled users are frequently presented with interfaces that are frustrating or impossible to use. In this article, TJ VanToll will show us a few practical measures that address the most common issues disabled users encounter which leads to a better experience for everyone.
Read more…
Anyone with an idea could turn out the next Facebook. Technology takes no heed of gender, creed or race, but is reduced down to code and the desire to create. Everyone you meet has an idea for the “next great website or app.” However, there is a harsh reality: many new products fail. But what should you do if your product does fail? How do you close a product with dignity, so that both you and your users leave on good terms? In this article, Kevin Stone will answer this questions.
Read more…
Ajay Revels is always looking for novel ways to present information to the audiences she works for. Her collaborators and clients aren’t limited to UX designers, software developers and UI visual designers. It was only recently that she thought a comic book would make a fine user-research deliverable. Sure, it might seem strange to create a comic book in a staid corporate environment, where they are thought of primarily as light entertainment. But it’s not strange at all.
Read more…
The second part of this series addresses the third step into making navigation as simple and predictable as possible, and discusses which type of navigation menu is best suited to which content. A navigation menu is any area of an interface that presents navigation options to enable users to find content on the website. A common distinction in navigation models is between a primary, traditional navigation system and secondary, alternate navigation models. Exactly defining this distinction is difficult.
Read more…
We all have our favored methods and techniques, but the general process is similar: Conduct research, prototype, then present to stakeholders and users. However, every once in a while something will take you by surprise. In this article, Chrisday will discuss the variety of challenges that he faced and how he eventually overcame them. Many of these learnings can be applied to enhance the user experience design process in smaller projects.
Read more…
Paul Boag would argue that the single most precious commodity in Western society is time. People hate to have their time wasted, especially online. We spend so much of our time online these days, and every interaction demands a slice of our time. One minor inconvenience on a website might not be much, but, accumulated, it is death by a thousand cuts. On each project ask two questions: “Am I saving myself time at the expense of the user?” and “How can I save the user time here?”.
Read more…
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…
If you are building a product, you should always speak with customers and test your idea before. But you probably don’t know that *you *might be making some of the most common mistakes when running your experiments. Mistakes include testing the wrong aspect of your business, asking the wrong questions and neglecting to define a criterion for success. In this article, Grace Ng will show you a guide to designing quick, effective, low-cost experiments.
Read more…
