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New Encyclopedia on Interactive Design, Usability and User Experience

Catalin Zorzini — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:20:49 +0000

The encyclopedia at interaction-design.org has just launched and includes video interviews, commentaries, interactive illustrations, and lots more. The encyclopedia deals with Interactive Design, Usability, and User Experience and the heading of the project is “Democratization of Knowledge”: That people from all the far corners of the world can get free access to world-class educational materials.

The encyclopedia has taken the opposite approach of the Wikipedia and crowdsourcing: All chapters are written by leading figures who either invented or contributed significantly to the topic they write about. However, it’s similar to the Wikipedia in that readers can copy and use the content for any purpose.

Living in the US, China or Germany doesn’t make a difference. Everybody can access all of the content. For free and forever. Students and practitioners usually spend up to $200 on each high quality educational textbook dealing with the design of interactive products like the Apple iPad or Microsoft Windows. That may be acceptable for someone in the US or Europe, but not for someone in India, China, or Indonesia. That’s the reason why researchers and professors from prominent companies and universities like Cambridge, Stanford, Microsoft, and IBM now contribute hard work for free to create open access to their knowledge.

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New Encyclopedia on Interactive Design, Usability and User Experience

Defining the User’s Online Experience: Finding Balance Between Art and Science

Fresh Tilled Soil — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:03:05 +0000

Fresh Tilled Soil is a bloody brilliant team of web designers in Boston MA, who focus on UI web design and user interface design.

Maintaining a profitable online business can be attributed to establishing a successful balance between art and science. The “art” side is about recognizing the importance of experience and personal impression, while the “science” focuses on the bottom line and maximizing ROI. These two basic principles can function together to create a harmonious balance that propels online businesses into the highest levels of success.

37Signals attributes the basis of their company’s growth to their development and execution of the user’s experience. They’ve embraced a “less is more” philosophy to deliver a clean and thoughtful user experience.

(37signals homepage)

Behind their carefully crafted experience lies the science, that helps assist the sale. 37signals is an iconic example of a web company whose success is a direct result of their ability to perfectly integrate the best and smartest technology with a user experience that caters to their audience. Therein lies the genius of their business; their ability to establish a common language between the art and science, creating a meaningful user experience that actually converts leads to sales.

Companies that don’t account for the user’s experience, or that place all of their priority on defining metrics and sales, will fail to deliver the total package. These companies inherently have to work much harder to market and sell their product/service; relying heavily on sales tactics instead of on improving and refining their experience. If customers don’t form that necessary relationship, it will be harder to close a deal because trust hasn’t been built and a lack of trust means a harder sale.

Quick — name one of your favorite restaurants. In your eyes, what makes that restaurant so great? I bet many of the elements you mentioned correlate with the experience and not the transaction. People don’t go to restaurants to make transactions; they go for the experience and when that experience is a positive one they are more inclined to go back. Too often, online businesses fail to recognize that these fundamental elements play a significant role in driving consumer popularity and revenue, even in online markets. At the end of the day, a positive experience, with the right customer, will result in higher profits.

The user’s experience however isn’t enough and needs to transcend into the user’s interface. The user interface is an important extension of the user’s experience; it’s the creation of platforms and applications that will be used by the customer, representing an important variable within the experience. Great user interface design always involves a strategic balance of art and science– the “art” relating to the overall aesthetic and tone of the website, and the “science” appealing to the form and function of that website and it’s ability to convert leads to sales.

Apple has done a great job designing an online user interface via their website that’s the perfect compliment to the user’s experience. The Apple website delivers a quality design that’s sleek and simple. This simplified approach has enabled Apple to blossom into a technology leader. Again, striking that ever important balance between art and science.

(Apple homepage)

When customers enter the Apple website, it’s extremely easy for them to find whatever it is they are looking for. The purchasing process is hassle-free and the entire operation is streamlined. It’s easy to be blown away by the delightful images and stylish back-drop, but if you look closely at the website the science is also present. It aids the navigation and helps easily define the ordering process.

In user interface design the science supports the art. If you choose to ignore one or the other completely you will lack the key components that will differentiate your user’s experience and user interface from the competion. Designing a website is more than a slew of pretty images and graphics, it’s about helping customers navigate their way through the purchasing process to transform leads to sales. The artistic component of the website is the engaging feature, but if you forget the science and necessary function, the goal of customer acquisition will easily get lost.

It’s time for you to find your balance between art and science.

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Defining the User’s Online Experience: Finding Balance Between Art and Science

10 Excellent Services To Get Feedback For Your Design Works

Catalin Zorzini — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:46:12 +0000

Everybody wants to receive feedback from friends about their hard work, but sometimes we also need opinions coming from complete strangers, maybe some rough critiques about aspects we might have overlooked. This way we could get some ideas on how to upgrade the work. Here are 10 excellent feedback services you should start using right now.

PS: You might also like this one: UX Madness – 20 Fantastic Resources For User Experience Know How

Inspired Magazineux | Inspired Magazine

New Encyclopedia on Interactive Design, Usability and User Experience

Defining the User’s Online Experience: Finding Balance Between Art and Science

10 Excellent Services To Get Feedback For Your Design Works

Five Second Test

Concept Feedback

Design Critique

QBN

Usabilla

Feedback Army

OpenHallway

Get Satisfaction

UserVoice

Wave

Further Reading