UIE Brain Sparks » Podcasts

Assumptions tend to be the downfall of many research projects. Making design decisions based on generalizations of what people are likely to do leads to surprises once you finally get your product in front of actual users. The result? Rework and frustration due to an overall lack of communication within the team.

Typography wears many hats in the user experience world. It’s part of the overall look of the visual design. It can convey tone and meaning of the content. Well set type can improve the user experience through readability and be an important piece of the accessibility puzzle for users with low vision. As with most things involving the web these days, typography isn’t immune to the disruption caused by mobile and multi-device design.

Facilitation is an important skill, whether with collocated or remote teams. It drives conversation and collaboration. The ability to facilitate well is integral when conducting participatory design activities, giving a presentation, or even giving a virtual seminar. Russ joins Adam Churchill to discuss the book and the various types of facilitation in this podcast.

Here at UIE we’ve amassed quite a library, and we’re adding to it all the time. One of the more recent additions is Margot Bloomstein’s book Content Strategy at Work. The subtitle of Margot’s book is “Real-World Stories to Strengthen Every Interactive Project” and in keeping with that idea, it is chock full of case studies and practical examples. Adam Churchill catches up with Margot to discuss her book in this podcast.

The world of web application design is expanding at a rapid rate. We’re now expected to design great experiences across a huge variety of platforms, from small screens to large displays. The flood of iPad applications and successful online businesses are showing our executives that design matters.

Ever wonder how many “World’s Best Coffee” signs exist in the world? The world is a big place, so that claim may or may not be entirely accurate. These days, with social media being so prevalent, it’s important that your messaging is truthful and that your product or service delivers on those promises. Otherwise you run the risk of losing the trust of your customer base, and scaring away potential users.

Shared understanding is important to any team working towards a common goal. Ensuring every member of the team is on the same page can be difficult. Sketching is a quick, lightweight method for communicating design ideas or interactions. Starting with sketching early in the design process lets everyone share the same vision.

A beautiful design means little if it’s not useful. Content is the key to making it useful. From the outset of the design process, you must consider the content for the site. Members of the design and development teams should work along side the content strategist to ensure the right content is delivered with the right message.

The proliferation of mobile devices has made it necessary to rethink your web experiences. The mobile phone and tablet, along with retina displays, have substantially changed how a user experiences your design. Responsive web design has emerged as a solution in some cases, but even though connection speeds on mobile networks are increasing, performance remains an issue.

With the emergence of techniques like responsive web design, many of the traditional prototyping methods become difficult to employ. Sketches and wireframes have in some cases given way to HTML and CSS prototyping so that users and clients can experience a richer, more complete interaction.

Accessibility is important, but somewhere along the way it got an undeserved reputation for being ugly, costly, and driven only by technical-compliance requirements. Making it an integral part of your design early creates something that is beautiful, inexpensive, and user-experience-driven. When someone with a disability comes across usability issues in your design, they're likely to be amplified. Something of minor inconvenience for a user could be a significant roadblock to another using assistive technology.

As more web capable devices hit the market, designers need to consider where and how their designs will be seen. Unfortunately, the same consideration isn't always made when it comes to content. With design changing so much in a multichannel environment, content must be structured independent of how it will eventually look.

Des Traynor is an expert on crafting microcopy. In his virtual seminar, Microcopy That Strengthens your Design’s Experience, Des identifies the key questions to ask when creating microcopy so that it doesn’t get lost or created by accident. The audience asked a bunch of great questions during the live seminar and Des joins Adam Churchill to answer some questions in this podcast.

Building a prototype is a great way to test your design early on with users. Whether you choose to go for a high-fidelity representation, or go lo-fi with paper, you can learn a lot about the usability of your site. Often, teams are concerned with which technique or tool to use because of the litany that are available.

What makes a user want to download an app in the first place? Ideally, it’s the promise of fulfilling a goal or need for the user. With the hundreds of thousands of options available, and the immediacy of the mobile context, you have a small window of opportunity to engage your user. If users can’t easily use your app, they simply won’t.