Whether you’re looking to improve your lawn, buy a baby stroller, or figure out which new 60″ TV you want, it’s quite common to start with a search on the web. You read product reviews, reviews from other consumers, and use social media to ask others for opinions. Searching on the web is a pretty [...]

“There are no problems, only opportunities. However, there are some insurmountable opportunities.” Just when we thought we knew what we were doing, suddenly we realize everything has changed. We thought we had finally mastered building great applications on the desktop, only to realize that we now have to challenges of the mobile platform to deal [...]

Web-based applications are a different beast than other types of software or web sites. Web app designers have to take care of the users’ goals, and also ensure that the business needs are taken into account. Business needs can be complex. They come from all over the enterprise, originating from initiatives (like marketing campaigns), infrastructure [...]

Even the best of plans can go awry. We role play in our head how a usability test will proceed, understand the objectives at hand, and do a rigorous job of screening the participants. But what do you do when something totally unexpected occurs? Life circumstances among the participants can throw a curve ball at [...]

Woody Allen once said, “There is no scientific evidence to support the notion that life should be taken seriously.” When it comes to designing applications, Woody was right on the mark. We’ve spent some quality time with Stephen Anderson. Steve makes it his business to explore how serious applications can be fun and engaging. The [...]

We’ve all been there. Your mobile phone, tucked away in your back pocket, accidentally dials someone you have no intent on speak with. Or perhaps you deleted an important message to quickly. Mishaps do happen with mobile devices, but there are ways that design can protect against those accidental occurrences or even undue the mistakes. [...]

The excitement in the room was electric. Everyone was waiting for the big moment. Finally, it was here. For six months, the team had been working on their new design principles. In closed meetings, they were hashing out what they were going to do and how it would be different. Now, the project manager was [...]

There’s a lot of work that goes into making a graphic beautiful and informative. But how efficient is your graphic? Are you emphasizing the right content or data of the graphic? Can the reader quickly find what they are looking for? Last week we featured an excerpt from Noah Iliinsky’s book Beautiful Visualization. The article [...]

They say you don’t get a second chance to make a great first impression. That holds true for your kickoff of that new project. How can you ensure your team members and stakeholders leave that kickoff meeting excited and inspired? On Monday, we published part 1 of an article by Kevin Hoffman, Kick Ass Kickoff [...]

Joe was excited to get the project off the ground. Finally, his boss was giving him a chance to lead a project. This was going to be his chance to shine. He invited all the key players from various departments. As they started filing into the room he started hearing murmurs of, “Here we go [...]