http://www.uie.com/brainsparks UIE\'s latest insights on the world of design Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:01:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en There's lots to say about Search and how to best design for it. Folks often reach out to our own Jared Spool for his thoughts and sage advice on Search. Want to know what he has to say? Jared will be presenting at our July 9 UIE Virtual Seminar ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/07/01/wondering-what-our-research-says-about-designing-for-search/ Last week we re-published part 1 of Producing Great Search Results. As I mentioned last week, producing a great search results page takes a ton of hard design work. It's critical to study the users' goals and needs, and watch how the user interacts with the results the engine produces. In almost every instance, ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/29/uietips-article-producing-great-search-results-harder-than-it-looks-part-2/ Joe wrote us: I was just in a pattern review meeting, and the age-old discussion of whether to use icons and labels vs. just icons or just labels came up. Years ago, I recall Jared Spool and UIE posting an article in which their tests showed that icons and labels together ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/28/old-news-about-icons/ When you study how designs get made as much as we have, you start to notice something: good design is directly related to effort. Good design takes a lot of work. Bad design, as the bumper sticker says, "it just happens." You won't find this to be any more true than ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/25/uietips-article-producing-great-search-results-harder-than-it-looks-part-1/ Once I understood how the Market Maturity model worked, life became much easier. The theory, which describes how organizations prioritize user experience over time, makes it easy to know what to suggest to team managers. Using the model is easy. First, you ask a few questions to determine where the organization's products are relative ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/18/uietipsderivingdesignstrategy/ This week: Live from VTM’09: Tips on persona creation and the usability of iPhone apps Duration: 12m | 7 MB Recorded: April, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] For our ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/18/userability-10-live-from-vtm09-personas-and-iphone-apps/ You may have noticed that the last two UIEtips articles concentrated on UX teams. The first article was on Building and Managing a Successful UX Team. The second article was Five Techniques for Getting Buy-In for Usability Testing. Following the rule of three principal, I'm focusing this next article, once again, on the UX ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/15/uietips-article-assessing-your-teams-ux-skills/ Producing a usable design takes time, money, and resources. It also requires an organization's dedication to focus on usability testing and customer needs throughout the entire design process. Knowing how to sell usability testing will substantially help it get approved and supported by an organization. Most development teams we work with ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/10/uietips-article-five-techniques-for-getting-buy-in-for-usability-testing/ This week: When is your project "useable-enough"? Duration: 16m | 9 MB Recorded: March, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] This week's episode features a compelling question from Will Evans. ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/09/userability-9-when-is-it-useable-enough/ Producing a usable design takes time, money, and resources. It also requires the User Experience team's dedication to focus on customer needs throughout the entire design process. Knowing how to identify and communicate the value of a User Experience project will gain you design strategy approval and support throughout the organization. ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/08/article-building-and-managing-a-successful-user-experience-team/ Carrying the User Experience flag through your organization can be a daunting task. Whether you're a UX-Team-of-One or manage a 20-person Experience Design team, our research shows that organizations are varied in their readiness to accept and act upon this idea of User Experience Design. To pull off successful design, ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/08/upgrading-your-ux-team-with-sarah-bloomer/ Deep within Amazon's pages are hidden secrets — secrets that every designer should know about. Duration: 54m | 31 MB Recorded: May, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] Earlier this ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/05/presentation-podcast-revealing-design-treasures-from-the-amazon/ Guest Robert Hoekman, Jr. answers questions about interaction design frameworks. Duration: 22m | 12 MB Recorded: May, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] Robert Hoekman, Jr. recently joined us for ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/03/spoolcast-interaction-design-frameworks-seminar-qa-follow-up/ Back in February we introduced a new podcast series - the Userability Show. We think they're some of the most entertaining and educational podcasts available on UX. Since it's inception, we've answered questions ranging from design exploration, career changes from coding to interface design and usability, and the most common UIs that confuse or impede the ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/03/userability-podcasts/ Audiences have been grooving on one of my newest presentations, Revealing Design Treasures from the Amazon. Here's what I talk about: Revealing Design Treasures from The Amazon On its surface, Amazon.com just seems like a large e-commerce site, albeit a successful one. Its design isn't flashy, nor is it much to write ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/01/presentation-revealing-design-treasures-from-the-amazon/ How does your design team's vision, feedback, and culture affect the experience design you strive to create? How do your team's great designs get delivered to your development team? How does your organization deal with major design changes? What's your design decision style? All these questions are addressed in the conclusion of our series on top ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/06/01/uietips-our-top-articles-on-experience-design-part-2/ This week: How should you style links that trigger different types of interactions? Duration: 14m | 8 MB Recorded: March, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] This week's episode features ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/29/userability-8-the-case-of-multiple-link-types/ Experience design has become a strategic tool for most organizations. Great experiences for customers, vendors, partners, employees, and shareholders create long-lasting bonds and strengthen their engagement with the brand. Recently we've re-published two articles focusing on experience design. The first article, The 3 Steps for Creating an Experience Vision, focused on specific steps design teams should ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/26/uietips-our-top-articles-on-experience-design-part-1/ Seth Earley & Stephanie Lemieux answer questions about their recent UIE Virtual Seminar on Taxonomy. Duration: 35 m | 18.5 MB Recorded: May, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] Last ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/22/spoolcast-follow-up-podcast-for-taxonomy/ I think we can all agree the most fun part of any design project is coming up with something nobody has ever thought to do before. These moments of innovation are exhilarating, getting the heart pumping and the adrenaline flowing. However, on most projects, they are few and far between. That's because, even in the ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/20/uietips-componentspatternsframeworks/ An interaction design framework is a collection of patterns that make up an entire subsystem of your design. In your project, you'll need to ensure you've got all the essential features along with those new, super-cool, hip capabilities that will dazzle your users. By using these interaction design frameworks, you'll ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/20/so-what-are-these-ixd-frameworks-robert-hoekman-jr-is-talking-about/ For years my kids, when assigned the chore of cleaning out the refrigerator, exhibited a consistent idiosyncratic behavior. They'd take a sniff of a far-too-mature item, make a face, then turn to me and insist, "Smell this. It's gross!" My experience and wisdom had granted me the knowledge to know ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/14/uietips-experiencedesign/ This week, how can you court favor with design teams you consult with? Duration: 14m | 8.5 MB Recorded: March, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] This week's episode features ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/14/userability-7-the-strain-of-relationships/ When starting a new design project, whether it's a design-from-scratch or an upgrade beyond existing functionality, much of what we are about to do has been done before. How do you make sure you've got everything the user will expect? Even the most thought out design requirements (and most, unfortunately, ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/13/web-anatomy-effective-interaction-design-with-frameworks/ Last week in part 1 of our series, I brought you 5 great podcasts covering Ajax and accessibility, patterns and components, web form design, web standards, and interactive prototyping.  In part 2, we have new topics to muse over. Are you building out a web 2.0 strategy? Having trouble communicating and documenting the design process? ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/12/uie-podcasts-web-app-expert-interviews-part-2/ Do you prototype your web app projects? Can Ajax techniques really improve accessibility? Do you wonder how components and patterns stack up to style guides and which is more efficient to use? The answer to these questions, and many more, are in a series of podcast interviews I did with web app experts. Twitter ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/08/web-app-expert-interviews-part-1/ Guest Brian Kalma speaks about unique lessons from Zappos.com. Duration: 26m | 15MB Recorded: March, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] This week I wanted to share my interview with ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/07/spoolcast-company-culture-meets-customer-experience-with-brian-kalma/ If you missed attending the UIE Web App Summit, we've created something special just for you. Experience the Summit yourself with the Proceedings CD.  For the first time ever, you can get a CD loaded with all the presentation slides PLUS 14 audio recordings.  Last week's UIE Web App Summit was ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/05/01/missed-the-web-app-summit-you-can-still-experience-it/ Last week we reprinted an article discussing the 3 steps design teams take when creating an experience vision to guide the direction of design toward their users' ideal experience. Once a design team creates that experience vision, they need to share it with everyone involved in the project to make sure everyone is on the ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/04/30/knowledge-navigator/ If you're like me, (and hopefully you're not,) you have books and magazines scattered all over your house. For reasons I can't completely explain, I always want reading material in arms reach, so I've haphazardly distributed my library in every possible room. There's even reading material in the bathroom. (I once bumped into the editor ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/04/28/uietips-faceted-search/ Our May 7 UIE Virtual Seminar is right around the corner.  If you are struggling with how to organize a vast amount of information for your users, then you're not going to want to miss this UIE Virtual Seminar. UIE Virtual Seminar New Ways to Think about Taxonomy: The Role of Taxonomies in ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/04/27/new-ways-to-think-about-taxonomy-the-role-of-taxonomies-in-your-organization/ The UIE Roadshow is back! UIE is excited to continue our new UIE Roadshow: Secrets Behind Designing Great User Experiences, a full-day workshop, based on 10 years of UIE's extensive research, that will deliver new insights and inspire your team to create the best user experiences. Folks who missed out on the February and ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/04/21/uie-roadshow-returns-with-three-new-locations/ Guest Hagan Rivers answers questions about web app navigation. Duration: 45m | 25.5 MB Recorded: April, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] Hagan Rivers is one of our favorite go-to ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/04/10/spoolcast-web-app-navigation-qa-follow-up/ Guest Robert Hoekman, Jr. speaks about design frameworks. Duration: 28m 45s | 16MB Recorded: December, 2008 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] This week Robert Hoekman, Jr. joins us to discuss ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/04/09/spoolcast-introducing-interaction-design-with-frameworks/ Today's projects can be big and they can be fast. It's easy to push forward, creating design documents, wireframes, prototypes, and screens, just to get through it on schedule. But, at some point, we need to check to see if we're going in the right direction. Are we creating what we ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/04/07/uietips-hunkering/ Right now, in a conference room somewhere, there's a team of designers standing in front of a whiteboard, thinking about a cool new design idea. It's highly unlikely that, as the team is standing there, everyone is silent. I'm betting that at least one member is walking through the proposed ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/04/03/uietipsdanbrown/ Duration: 14m | 8 MB Recorded: March, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] This week's episode features a surprise guest for Jared and Robert. Actually, every guest is a ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/04/03/userability-podcast-6-20-years-no-improvement/ On Tuesday, April 14, we’ve got one of our most popular presentations from the last UI Conference, and one of our most popular presenters in Scott Berkun. Scott will ask the following: How often do you celebrate failures? Yes, you heard that right. Most shun failure, but in the ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/03/31/why-designers-fail-and-what-to-do-about-it-with-scott-berkun-our-next-uie-virtual-seminar/ Duration: 15m | 8.5 MB Recorded: January, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] Userability is back with another episode. Have a serious UX question? Send it in and Jared ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/03/23/userability-podcast-5-just-one-ux-method/ Duration: 48 m | 27.5 MB Recorded: March, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] This week we are happy to share with you a followup podcast to our recent ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/03/20/spoolcast-follow-up-podcast-for-an-agile-ux-primer/ The Web App Summitis just over 4 weeks away. World-class speakers like Derek Featherstone, Luke Wroblewski, Molly Holzschlg, Robert Hoekman, and others will be attending and presenting on form design, Ajax, RIAs, design deliverables, wireframes, accessibility, design patterns, and web standards. Would you like to help us out? The Web App ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/03/19/looking-for-volunteers-for-the-web-app-summit/ A few weeks back, I wrote about how changing a button increased a major e-commerce site's revenue by $300 million dollars. The article quickly became one of the most popular articles we've ever published. People love the fact that a small design change could be linked to a huge increase ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/03/17/uietips-amazonmagic/ On Thursday, March 26 we've got one of our most popular presenters back for a UIE Virtual Seminar.  Hagan Rivers, of Two Rivers Consulting, will give a new talk, Designing Better Navigation for Web Applications. If you're struggling with your web application's navigation system, or if you're setting out to ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/03/17/designing-better-navigation-for-web-applications-an-upcoming-uie-virtual-seminar-with-hagan-rivers/ Duration: 31 m | 16.5 MB Recorded: December, 2008 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] Without planning, web apps have no where to go. Planning documents for web app projects ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/03/06/spoolcast-roughing-it-with-interactive-prototypes/ For almost ten years, the research team at UIE has been searching to uncover the secrets behind great designs. As we talk to team after team, a key truth continues to emerge: The best teams communicate internally really well, while those teams that struggle also struggle at their internal communication. When ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/03/04/uietips-concept-models/ Duration: 13m30s | 7.5 MB Recorded: January, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] Userability is the show that answers your vexing UX questions with irreverence and useful advice. Remember, ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/26/userability-podcast-4-just-one-ux-message/ Every design team has a design process.  Hopefully, one that meets deadlines, on budget, with the limited resources at your disposal.  Have you been exposed to Agile?  It's one solution to consider, and the topic of our next Virtual Seminar. In this presentation, Jeff Patton will discuss the essentials of Agile ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/23/an-agile-ux-primer-march-4-uie-virtual-seminar-with-jeff-patton/ Duration: 23 m | 12 MB Recorded: January, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] Yes, if you do it right, using Ajax techniques can improve accessibility. Surprised? You shouldn't ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/20/spoolcast-ajax-aids-accessibility/ Duration: 13m | 7.5 MB Recorded: January, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] This week's episode demonstrates the lengths that people will go to be a part of the ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/13/userability-podcast-3-blind-to-average-users/ The iteration is a basic tool for successful designs. We've found that the teams that iterate frequently and effectively are the ones that produce the best results. Yet many teams don't know how to iterate effectively. They spend too long building out a design and then don't collect any useful information ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/09/uietips-anatomy-iteration/ UIE’s Virtual Seminar on February 11 is sure to be a special treat for you.  Ginny Redish, author of the book Letting Go of the Words, will talk with us about Writing Web Content that Works. We love Ginny's book and recommend it to all of our clients. This is ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/09/writing-web-content-that-works-an-upcoming-uie-virtual-seminar-with-ginny-redish/ Duration: 11m 30s | 6 MB Recorded: January, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] We're back again this week with more savvy and silliness from the world of Userability. ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/05/userability-podcast-2-transitioning-to-ixd-and-usability/ Over at From Chaos, Brian Hochhalter wrote a very thoughtful review of the interview I did with Dan Brown: Growing documents Brown begins by suggesting that designers start documents with a basic nucleus of necessary information then adding detail in layers. He also put forward the idea that ideal documentation should be ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/02/brian-hochhalter-on-my-interview-with-dan-brown/ One of the big changes in web application development over the last year is its growth. No longer the domain of simple, little functions that serve a single purpose, web-based applications are now often part of larger, enterprise-wide development initiatives. One of the challenges of being part of a bigger solution ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/02/uietips-web-anatomy-frameworks/ Duration: 36m | 20 MB Recorded: January, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] When I tell people that one of our most popular conference sessions of all-time is about ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/02/02/spoolcast-web-form-design-with-luke-wroblewski/ We don't live for press clippings, like some folk do. We just do our best to provide good, quality content to you, our audience, figuring that those people who need to know about us will find us. So, it's a nice fifteen minutes of fame when we get picked up by ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/30/300-million-button-research-featured-on-fastcompanycom/ Duration: 12m 30s | 6.7 MB Recorded: January, 2009 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer [ Subscribe to our podcast via ←This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Direct Link to MP3 File ] Friends, I'd like to introduce you to our newest creation, the Userability Podcast. No, I ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/30/userability-podcast-1-exploring-more-design-alternatives/ Most online design requires the designer to focus on two separate but equal elements. The content of the design and the chrome that supports it. (Do you think I've watched too much Law and Order over the years?) Take a multi-step dialog sequence, such as, say, signing up for a new ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/27/uietips-previous_next_luke/ We're looking for a little bit of help from you.  Scott Berkun, our top speaker at UI13, has agreed to present our April 14 UIE Virtual Seminar, and wants you to help select the topic. The guidelines are simple. As he says on his blog, the topic should be "design ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/26/we-want-your-input-for-scott-berkuns-april-uie-virtual-seminar/ Web-based application development is a field in flux. With new advances in interaction technologies, social media, and fast-paced design, it can be hard to keep up. That's why we've put together a series of podcasts with some of the experts in the field: Dan Brown, Molly Holzshlag, Steve Mulder, Riccardo LaRosa, ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/23/uie-podcasts-with-web-app-experts/ SpoolCast: Achieving Pattern and Component Reuse with Nathan Curtis Recorded: December, 2008. Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 28m | File size: 16MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Text Transcript Coming Soon. ] Dealing ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/21/spoolcast-achieving-pattern-and-component-reuse-with-nathan-curtis/ You may know of Jason Fried and the folks at 37Signals, makers of the Basecamp project-management application, the Highrise contact-management application, and other successful web-based products. Jason spoke at last year's Web App Summit, his basic philosophy is to focus primarily on designs he wants to use. When he builds ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/21/uietips-5-design-styles/ UIE is excited to announce our new UIE Roadshow: Secrets Behind Designing Great User Experiences, a full-day workshop, based on 10 years of UIE's extensive research, that will deliver new insights and inspire your team to create the best user experiences.  This winter, we're taking this workshop on the road to: Portland, OR on Tuesday, ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/21/uie-roadshow-secrets-behind-designing-great-user-experiences/ In today's UIEtips, I tell a story about a client who found a way to dramatically increase their e-commerce site's revenues with a couple of simple changes. While the story is interesting, the story-behind-the-story is just as interesting. The client had hired us because they were concerned about checkout-process abandonment. Their ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/14/uietips-300-million-button/ Back in 2006, I wrote an article called The Elements of a Design Pattern which has proven to be very popular. The interesting thing about popular articles is they regularly get good comments, long after they were written. Fast forward three years and today we get a comment from Tessie asking: I ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/09/tools-for-creating-pattern-libraries/ The Vulcans had something good with that mind-meld thing. Just put your fingertips on someone else's forehead and your two minds become one. I wonder if Vulcan  designers used that technique to ensure everyone knew how to come up with a coherent, integrated design, even though they all worked on ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/09/uietips-components-vs-patterns/ Have a design question you're dying to get an answer to? Well, look no further. (For the answer, that is.) Robert Hoekman, world famous author of Designing the Obvious and Designing the Moment, and I, Jared M. Spool, a person who co-authored a book in 1996 that you've probably never seen, ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/08/userability-seriously-seeking-ux-questions/ SpoolCast: Web Standards for Web Apps with Molly Holzschlag Recorded: December, 2008. Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 32m | File size: 17 MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Text Transcript Coming Soon. ] ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/07/spoolcast-web-standards-for-web-apps-with-molly-holzschlag/ Recessions are a harrowing experience for everyone. Organizations turn their inspection goggles on every project, looking for ways to cut costs and extract more value. "Is this project doing what we need, right now?" becomes the mantra, as everything comes under review. In design, it's no different. Inevitably, great design is ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/06/uietips_recession_strategy/ Last month, Deb Brown at Aligned Structures wrote up a great review of Joshua Porter's recent UIE Virtual Seminar, Designing for Signup: Yesterday I attended an outstanding seminar by Joshua Porter produced by those great folks at UIE (yep shameless Ak’ing there.):) The topic was Designing for Sign-up. What struck me ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/05/review-of-designing-for-sign-up-virtual-seminar/ SpoolCast: Web 2.0 Strategy and Design With Steve Mulder and Riccardo LaRosa Recorded: December, 2008. Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 26m | File size: 14.5 MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Text Transcript ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/05/spoolcast-web-20-strategy-and-design-with-steve-mulder-and-riccardo-larosa/ UIE's Virtual Seminar on January 15 will be full of key takeaways your team can use immediately.  Jared M. Spool will share state-of-the-art techniques to get from observation data to informed decisions. He'll show you the best practices for teams to organize chaotic data, develop consensus, bring objectivity out of ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/05/the-road-to-informed-decisions-an-upcoming-uie-virtual-seminar/ Here in the Boston area, we've got some great UX talent. Folks like Chauncey Wilson, Deb Mayhew, Mary Beth Rettger, Lynn Cherny, and Lisa Neal Gautieri have been working in the business for many years, developing and refining their practices. And now you can have a chance to learn from ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/05/boston-chi-ux-seminars/ Over at Semantic Foundry, designer extraordinaire, Will Evans, has a wonderful essay explaining how he uses wireframing as both a problem setting and a problem solving approach. I pick my primary audience and the one activity which allows them to solve one goal quickly, effortlessly, elegantly. In this case, the ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/04/semanticwills-process-of-wireframing/ Back in Holes in The Experience, I talked about what happened if you asked UPS about a package that your e-commerce vendor has readied for shipment, but hasn't given UPS yet. Originally, you got a dialog that looked like this: This looks like an error because that's how UPS treats it. While ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/03/plugging-holes-in-the-experience-sort-of/ Earlier this year, Carolyn Snyder and the good folks at the Cutter Consortium asked me to write an article for the Cutter IT Journal. Several weeks later, I submitted Is IT Ready for Experience Design? I wrote this essay for IT managers and CIOs looking to understand what it means to ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2009/01/02/free-download-is-it-ready-for-experience-design/ My article, Design Cop-out #2: Breadcrumbs, is one of the most controversial I've written in recent years. People either agree completely or think I've gone off the deep end. When people disagree, it's often because they think I'm suggesting that we stop putting breadcrumbs in our designs. I'm not suggesting this ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/30/more-on-breadcrumbs-as-a-design-cop-out/ To wrap up this year, we're revisting some of our best articles and podcast from 2008. Out of the 29 articles that we published this year, we've decided on five that we think had the most impact and really got people thinking. Even if some readers didn't agree with our ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/29/uietips-articles-best-articles-and-podcasts-of-2008/ Many of our clients are in the business of designing tools for their users to build great things for a wider audience. These range from mapping tools to pattern libraries. Naturally, our clients' teams start by focusing on their direct audience. They look to make the best experience for these ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/28/moving-to-support-downstream-users/ Special Podcast: 2009 Web App Summit Preview Recorded: December 18, 2008 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 30m | File size: 17 MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Text Transcript Availble. ] At the beginning of this month, we had ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/23/spoolcast-design-for-signup/ This time, we spot an embiggen over at macenstien.com (Click to Embiggen): http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/21/another-embiggen-sighting/ The security challenge question on Bank of America's site seems innocuous: In what year (YYYY) did you graduate from high school? But, what if the user didn't graduate high school? (Little known fact: I didn't graduate high school, so I'm a little sensitive to this question.) Should the user enter the date ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/19/but-what-if/ Randall Monroe's XKCD is probably my favorite comic strip. Here's one of the latest ones: (Of course, the flow charting portion of Dan Brown's Communicating Design: Essential Deliverables for Highly Effective Design Teams session at the UIE Web App Summit will have a lot more depth to it.) http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/19/a-guide-to-understanding-flowcharts/ If we want to see how brand engagement works, we don't have to look any further than the Cuisinart Popcorn Maker. Williams-Sonoma is featuring this intriguingly designed popper on their site. It's received 3.6 stars from the 25 reviewers. Only 9 (36%) of those reviewers gave it one, two, or ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/18/a-popping-good-look-at-brand-engagement/ Special Podcast: 2009 Web App Summit Preview Recorded: December 17, 2008 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 28m | File size: 17 MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] I think the 2009 UIE Web App Summit (April 19-22, Newport Beach, ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/18/special-podcast-web-app-summit-preview/ SpoolCast: Effective Visual Design Recorded: December 1, 2008 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 36m | File size: 20 MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Text Transcript Available. ] We recently had our friend Patrick Hofmann a designer with Google ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/17/spoolcast-effective-visual-design-seminar-followup/ There's nothing that's as ubiquitous on the web as account sign-in. Do it wrong and the user is frustrated and you may have permanently lost them. Do it right and you can turn a visitor into a long-term customer. Few things can be as important as having user accounts. Our goal ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/09/uietips-sign-in-process/ SpoolCast: Documenting Design with Dan Brown Recorded: November 28th, 2008 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 32m | File size: 17 MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Text Transcript Available. ] If you ask designers what the most frustrating parts ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/09/spoolcast-documenting-design-with-dan-brown/ We're very excited about the 2009 Web App Summit, in Newport Beach, CA for April 19-22, 2009. This will be the must attend event for anyone building web applications! We're planning on launching the full site in January, but we wanted you to have a sneak peak at the great program ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/08/webappssummit200/ designing for the social web Our friends at Bookpool are passing along a special discount to the UIE audience.   You will find Josh's book Designing for the Social Web, at bookpool.com.  For a limited time they're offering a 38% discount in conjunction with the promotion of Josh's December 11 online ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/05/need-a-copy-of-joshua-porters-book/ UIE Virtual Seminar - Designing for Sign-up with Joshua Porter Date: Thursday, December 11, 2008 Time: 1:30pm ET (Please note the special start time) Is sign-up part of your design? How do you engage users long enough to motivate them to take that precarious step of giving you information? What methods do ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/12/02/the-challenge-of-sign-up-an-upcoming-uie-virtual-seminar/ SpoolCast: Q&A Follow-Up from Conducting Usability Tests in the Wild Recorded: November 12, 2008 Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 29m30s | File size: 17 MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] [ Text Transcript Available ] Back in October we had ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/11/21/spoolcast-follow-up-to-conducting-usability-tests-in-the-wild/ The User Experience world is filled with many disciplines: information architecture, user researcher, interaction design, copywriting, and visual design -- to name just a few. Each of these disciplines have a rich history, a deep knowledge base, and an extensive tool set. Each takes a lifetime to master. While the successful ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/11/17/uietips-ideal-ux-team/ UIE Virtual Seminar - Essentials of Effective Visual Design with Patrick Hofmann of designPH and Google Australia Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008 Time: 1:30pm ET (Please note the unique start time) You have the Visual Design skills to do a good job, but what tools or tricks can you add to your toolbox? Does ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/11/07/uie-virtual-seminar-essentials-of-effective-visual-design-with-patrick-hofmann/ One of the many highlights of our recent UI13 conference was Scott Berkun's Why Designers Fail and What to Do About It presentation. It generated a tremendous amount of buzz on the topic of how we can learn from our failures. Interestingly, the theme of how to learn from failure was ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/10/29/uietips-failure-not-an-option/ At last week's UI13 conference, the buzz was about getting started with usability testing. Folks I talked to had a frequent refrain: their group wants to start with some type of user research, but they can't afford a full-blown scientific study. Neither the schedule nor the budget would let that ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/10/20/uietips-usabilitytesting_dc/ So, the user had just booked their ticket and was choosing their seat assignments when, out of no where, comes this error message: What should the user do with this little tidbit of information? An "Invalid State Error" sounds like someone entered the wrong US state abbreviation, but the system a ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/10/07/invalid-state-error-whats-a-poor-person-to-do/ Folks, it's just about that time… if it's fall in New England, it must be the User Interface Conference. We are now in our thirteenth year of bringing together all walks of user experience and usability folks together from around the world. This year, we thought we give our attendees a ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/10/06/preparing-to-attend-ui13-the-attendees-podcast/ Here at User Interface Engineering, we've come up with three questions to help us determine if a team will produce designs that deliver great experiences. Teams that answer the questions positively, in our research, are more likely to succeed with great experiences. What I think makes these questions magical is ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/10/06/uietips-the3qs/ Have you looked at your site with Javascript disabled? Robert Nyman does just that with the Nokia and SonyEricsson UK sites and finds some surprising results. It's quite a good write up. Very much worth a read followed by the obvious next step: checking your own site out the same way. [Hat ... http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/10/05/life-wo-javascript-a-look-at-nokia-vs-sonyericsson/