User Experience (UX)

“What’s a Browser?” – Remembering the Non-Tech-Savvy User

“You work with computers, don’t you?” That simple, innocent-enough question — when asked by a family member or friend — gives no hint about the trouble about to rain upon your head. You just know you’re going to spend the next few hours battling to get their computer to work. I was asked that question […]

UX Lessons from Ford’s MyFord Touch Fiasco

Earlier this summer, it was announced that in response to customer feedback, Ford is bringing back buttons to its MyTouch in-car infotainment system. My response: Well, Duh. I’ve written previously about about my appreciation for Ford’s UI design, featuring my ’01 F150 pickup. Since then, I have traded in my old truck for its younger, […]

UX Fail – Are Safety-Minded UIs Making Cars Less Safe?

Car rental companies provide a convenient way for drivers to experience new vehicles, including the plethora of fancy features that modern-day technology provides. I recently got to experience the new 2013 Toyota Sienna LE Minivan for a whole week with my wife and 2 kids. (Although, this vehicle has nothing “mini” about it; it has […]

Compelling Storyboards: Learning from Comics

A little over a year ago, I was made aware of Scott McCloud’s book Understanding Comics as a source of inspiration and direction for building impactful storyboards during software creation. I acquired a copy of the book shortly after and have read it several times since. It’s good. If you’ve read the comic that illustrates […]

Using HTML5 Form Validation to Improve User Experience

Developers in all reaches of the web are adopting HTML5 and related technologies like CSS3 and WebGL to create more rich, dynamic, and interactive web experiences. While powerful multimedia features like HTML5 canvas, video, and audio get a lot of attention, there are many other features in HTML5 that, while not exactly jaw-dropping, can nevertheless […]

The Information Age – Getting Away With Mimicking the Mechanical Age

It’s kind of funny how much of the incredible technology we have today mimics old technology. For example, the iOS Compass app looks like a physical compass. The app, an information-age object, is being represented by its mechanical-age form. As technology continues to rapidly evolve, it is interesting to see what retains its mechanical-age representation […]

Designing Around an Experience

When designing an app it’s easy to think about the thing I’m building. When sitting down to design, I usually start outlining the areas of the app I think should be there. I then draw sketches depicting the screens around that architecture. This doesn’t always work because what I think might be good for the […]