Whether you are working on a website, mobile app or a physical product (like a better mousetrap!), incorporating personas into your design process makes it easier to keep a customer (user-centered) focus.
Category Archives: Design
On Memes and Sources, and A Tip For Presenters
Am I the only person who grumbles when presenters (or writers) make interesting claims but provide no source/evidence?
In Conversation is the New Attention, Christopher Fahey (@ChrisFahey) and Timothy Meany (@TimothyMeany) argue that “public speaking technology” can and should be improved because conferences are broken. What do they mean by “public speaking technology”?
(a) gathering people in a room, (b) giving the speaker(s) a microphone and a projector, and (c) allowing the audience to ask questions at the end.
This is what I call “sage on a stage” and it is an age-old conference format with a technological supplement, the projector. And criticism of that format, at least for “learning”, is a century-old [1]:
Verizon Mobile : Broken Navigation (#fail)
[updated] This is bigger than your garden-variety broken navigation.
First, I conducted a Google search for “verizon cellphone plans.” The number one hit on Google took me straight to the plans page (an SEO win):
Number One Google Search Result for "verizon cellphone plans"
Another Reason To Avoid “Click Here” Links: Link Rot
There are many (many!) reasons not to use “click here” as your hyperlink text inside the body of a piece of content. One that you probably haven’t considered is what happens when the link rots.
UI: Text v Buttons
A really really long time ago, I remember hearing Jared Spool report usability research that said text links trumped images. I mean, a really long time ago. In the ’90s, I think.
I don’t know if it’s the “button” or its placement on the screen, but I seem to regularly get a headache trying to find “edit” links when they are disguised as buttons. Maybe it’s because button=submit in my mind. In any case, Diigo is the latest example.
