Time to read: 2 minutes People with my skills have been called UI designers, business analysts, information architects, interaction designers and a few other things besides. This is confusing and tiring. I have chosen “UX Architect”, and I have a reason. Firstly, “UX” stands for user experience, and is an offshoot of Human-Computer Interaction. My choice of “UX Architect” is […] continue reading »
Tag: design
Sketchbook Mondays: prototyping an A5 folio
Time to read: 2 minutes This weekend, i noticed that i was going to interviews a lot. I mean quite a lot. Three a week? Maybe that was just a one time thing. Anyway. So it occurred to me that maybe i should get myself a nice present. A nice leather present. Maybe the kind that zips up, contains my […] continue reading »
Dinah Casson #talkingInteriors lecture at RCA – Notes #madewithpaper
Time to read: 2 minutes Last night, I went to a lecture by Dinah Casson, of Casson-Mann, given at the RCA in Kensington. The gist of it was “think about the users”, and “they come to relax, learn, be surprised, laugh, cry, and leave as changed people”. Casson Mann design museums and exhibitions. If you made it to the AMAZING […] continue reading »
The ethics of web design: do we have any?
Time to read: 3 minutes What makes someone an expert? A wise woman once told me that you are an expert “when others come to you for answers”. Well. It does take a little bit more: such as the ability to answer questions, repeatedly, correctly, memorably. There is a requirement to educate, surprise and spread knowledge and skills. Do that […] continue reading »
I need a Paul Smith shirt: mobile app for shopping malls
Time to read: 4 minutes What if you owned a big mall, say out in Kent, and you had a website that existed, but that you weren’t sure was very helpful? Maybe your stores listing was confusing. I’d love to poke around a mall’s google analytics data! Look at failed searches, where users quit, what they type in… Treasure trove […] continue reading »
sketchbook Monday: interfaces and hummingbirds
Time to read: 2 minutes Some random Monday sketches. All drawn today. The wireframes are from the structure of a website I’m spending some time thinking about. It talks about children and tech (across games, online security, education, and more) and I have to say I rather like it. quib.ly: for techie parents. (this is my tagline, not theirs) They […] continue reading »
sketchbook Mondays – laptop work bag
Time to read: < 1 minute A sketch for a handbag inspired by Longchamp’s simple pliage “H” base pattern. Carries laptop in the centre, notebook, kindle, ipad in the “back”, and cables and other tidbits in the front. Handles would be wide for comfort. Longchamp’s laptop bags, to my surprise, value aesthetics over usability and persist in having stringy painful straps. […] continue reading »
sketchbook Monday – handbag contents
Time to read: < 1 minute New goal: post a sneak photo of what went on in my sketchbook the previous week. Today, a simple unpolished sketch of various items that I carry with me every day. They don’t actually fit in the tiny handbag featured. And that’s part of the point of this sketch, to visualise how much stuff I […] continue reading »
7 ways to improve error messages
Time to read: 4 minutes It’s 2013, and we should no longer be seeing unhelpful error messages. Some common mistakes and practices, with examples of how to make them better. […] continue reading »
If you’re a designer, you have got to read this book!
Time to read: 2 minutes “An engineer cannot be caught writing poetry.” I was hooked. Artist, Designer and Inventor Bruno Munari wrote one of the most inspiring books on Design. Read it. Really. […] continue reading »