Tool tips – When should design explain itself?
Should a hacksaw or staple gun need a manual? Mine have permanently moulded instructions to help get the most out of using them. This sort of thing has become commonplace in the digital world too. Hover your cursor over any button or tool and you’ll see prompts, tips, guidance, explanation etc. as you explore and [...]
Visualising UX research
I’ve never seen clients stand around a written report gesturing at various pages discussing their implications… but when this happens with a drawing, I really feel like my job is done. A written report can be restrictive when working with rich, emotive material, so I often use visuals to communicate insights and what they mean [...]
Life or death usability
Over the last couple of years I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in the R&D programme for a ground-breaking medical device to help diabetics manage their insulin treatment. Part of the project was to reach a regulatory milestone, which has now been achieved. To reach this milestone we tested the usability of the device [...]
Getting a Grip. Prodesign Magazine showcases my approach to UX
This month I’m featured in Prodesign mag. The article harks back to my days designing surfboards and the moment I became ‘hooked on usability’ during a project for Sony Playstation. Read the Prodesign article ‘Getting a grip’ here as a PDF. It turns out this is the last issue of this magazine after 16 years. [...]
Motivations. Delivered fresh to your door
I’m in London this month and just received a boxful of fresh produce from Abel&Cole. Two things become very clear upon opening the veggie box; They know who their customers are, …and that each customer has a different set of motivations to use the service. A great example of this is in the friendly Spring [...]
End to end customer experience for Swiftpoint
All too often, I’m working on one aspect of a product while valuable insights emerge relating to other areas of the broader customer experience. Classic example: A website usability study generates feedback around physical product, brand, delivery, billing or in-store interactions. In theory this offers double or triple whammy for the sponsor of the project. [...]
Swipe this way
You know you’ve overlooked basic design research when your customer can improve your product in a few seconds using a pen and some tape. This is the case with these three payment terminals. The design usually includes a discreet symbol to indicate which way the card should go through the slot, an interaction that occurs [...]
10 tips for usability studies with children
Children are some of the most demanding and discerning users of interactive products, making them difficult to design for and challenging to moderate in a usability or UX research situation. Whilst they can’t always articulate their thoughts and you can’t rely on what they say, with a careful approach you can generate incredibly useful design [...]
UX research. Making every minute count
Facilitating ‘face to face’ interviews with your clients’ customers is central to UX research. It’s also one of the most difficult of all UX skills to develop. Valuable insights can be generated and captured during each session but you’re often having to cover a lot of ground in the time allocated. After hundreds of these [...]
Apology, or invitation. What’s your message?
If this were a checkout operator speaking to you, which would you think was most friendly and helpful? Two signs; Same context, audience and purpose. More design effort has gone into one, but it is the choice of words here which has the most impact on the message they convey. So when it comes to [...]