Posts filed under ‘Usability’
Web-based Applications: Best Practices
One of the services we offer to clients is a usability review of web sites or web-based tools. Sometimes we then are fortunate to help improve the site or tool. Being given the opportunity to review interfaces created by other firms means that we continue to develop our awareness and sensitivity to user interfaces. Because of this background, when we use web sites or web-based applications, we look at them a little differently than the casual user might.
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Add comment May 22, 2012
Usability and Web-based Applications
It seems like everyone and their dogs are rushing to put “applications” on the web. I think this is for two reasons. First, it’s a natural evolution from using static web pages (Web 1.0), to using ajax to make the Web behave more like software (Web 2.0), to using the Internet to “be” software.
Second, using a web browser as the user interface looks like an attractive solution to the problem of designing effective user interfaces, because everyone knows how to use a browser. But web browsers have limitations. And designing effective software interfaces is not a simple task.
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1 comment April 13, 2012
Of Gardeners and Geeks
People have looked at me oddly when I mentioned that people in Korea have used sausages on a stick to use their iPhones. Especially when I add that this Korean snack food had a jump in sales once the word got around that it could be used this way.
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Add comment April 6, 2012
iPhone Stylus
I ordered a stylus for my iPad, because I wanted a pen that would allow me sketch on my iPad with an app I’d downloaded. I couldn’t remember the brand of stylus I’d read about, and that was my mistake—because I ordered something different from what I was expecting. It was also a happy accident—because I solved a different problem.
1 comment March 2, 2012
Beyond the “Spork”
One of the hallmarks of good user experience is a sense of delight. Here is a story about something that delighted me.
Initially, I was a little sad to see this spork (combined spoon and fork) in my Trader Joe’s salad the other week. Even though I usually use a real fork, this looked sadly mangled. I was glad that it was inside a plastic bag so I wouldn’t have to pick bits of broken plastic out of the food.
A broken spork?
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1 comment December 12, 2011
Usability and Accessibility
I work with usability as it applies to web sites and interactive pieces. We sometimes discuss accessibility with our clients, which has brought up some interesting questions. (Depending on the client, accessibility may be a requirement for the design we create.)
Glove for use with touch screen device
The first step is to understand how accessibility and usability work together. Accessibility addresses the needs of people with differing physical abilities. Usability considers the needs of all people. Typically, anything that makes a site or product more accessible will also make it more usable, but not always.
It’s also interesting to note that we are all in need of accessibility aids at some point. For example, we may be wearing gloves or may be using a mobile device—both will reduce our ability to manipulate smaller objects or click small text.
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Add comment November 7, 2011
Nothing to Undo
My iPhone sometimes displays this error message, which has become my favorite. The message carries with it both a sense of calm and an opportunity to pause in the moment.
4 comments July 15, 2011
