Now that I have over seven years experience leading and managing Design/UX teams, I’m clear on what works and what doesn’t. I’ve never been a “command and control” manager – the type who is authoritative and decisive and usually has their team living in fear. My approach in recent years has been to be the […]
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While User Experience is, like, at least six occupations rolled into one, it’s still possible to reach a point in your career when you’re asking yourself – “There must be more to it than this!” Time for a bit of a shake-up? 1. Carry on as usual but shift into […]
After a wonderful five-plus years as the “UX Guy” at Click Suite I’m making a move to the pink palace in Newtown – Powershop HQ. I’ve continuously looked ahead to the next big thing and one reason I joined Click Suite is because I saw the touch-gesture revolution coming. Turns […]
Experience Design is a constantly changing landscape where many of us get to temporarily step inside the protective bubble of organisations and industries most people only ever read about.
In a myopic move the New Zealand Transport Agency has nixed a proposed rescue package that could have saved the long-running Capital Connection rail service. In the process they will be killing-off a productive little economy that has been thriving for over 20 years. Their excuse is that removing the […]
DJ FiESTA! 1995. Photo Otago Daily Times. To others I apparently appear self-confident, but in reality I suffer from a fairly regular sprinkling of self-doubt. Too often I feel like my work might not be good enough, that I don’t spend quality time on things and that there’s […]
Well… …I don’t have a plan but it looks like I’m back. I think I’m going to be less glossy and a bit more gritty from now on. You’ll not only be hearing about my adventures in Experience Design but whatever’s rocking my world right now. I’ll reveal more about […]
Occasionally I get emails from aspiring User Experience professionals asking a bunch of questions about the industry and how I got into it. Over the years I’ve had people contacting me from around the world including the USA, Europe, The Philippines, India and New Zealand. I thought it might be useful to […]
In 1995 I took part in what was arguably one of the first webcams in New Zealand and certainly the one and only bearcam on the planet! The innovation took place at Vidmark Productions – a little TV and video production house based in Dunedin – it was run by Steve […]
Inquisition, Theosophy and Tools Minister John Wayne has ordered a review into the ”wild west”, he announced today. The Minister will examine the adequacy of regulations around how cowboys and cowgirls interact with the townsfolk. One-armed bandits and outlaws are not subject to any form of regulation or professional or […]
During the day I work at Click Suite – a little new media company based in Wellington which picks up some strange and wonderful projects. I frequently write articles for their blog – 360°. Here’s some of my latest posts… Your Place or My Place? Facebook will soon not only […]
The above infographic was created for the Science Media Centre to coincide with the launch of the revised New Zealand emissions trading scheme (ETS) which came in to effect last July. New Zealand emissions have grown by over 20% above 1990 levels. The ETS is a first attempt to price […]
There appears to have been a slight upsurge in recent months of companies looking for User Experience (UX) people in New Zealand. But taking a peek at the advertised jobs you could be left scratching your head when faced with the diversity of job descriptions and increasingly bizarre skill-sets expected […]
In March 2010, New Zealand’s Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee and Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson released a discussion paper containing a suite of measures to facilitate development of New Zealand’s mineral estate – this included minerals within national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, marine reserves and protected islands. The Standard argued […]
[+] Enlarge The above infographic is the first I’ve created for the Science Media Centre. Their aim is to promote accurate bias-free reporting on science and technology by helping the media to work more closely with the scientific community. The Story Behind the Infographic The New Zealand Government is considering […]
On Friday night I was the proud recipient of an ONYA – awarded to this website for ‘Best content (personal)’. The other finalists in the category were Alison Green of WebWeaver for The Gathering Archives, and Jared Gulian for Moon over Martinborough. Sorry guys! What makes the ONYAs so special […]
Click Suite // Auckland Museum: The Pollinator from Click Suite on Vimeo. Using touch-screen technology visitors could tap into a world of pollination. Auckland Museum and Click Suite took three common New Zealand insects – the honey bee, monarch and native hoverfly – and set them loose in an amazing […]
Ever heard the saying “you’re your own worst client?” In our industry it’s common knowledge that a DYO (or “Design Your Own“) website is one of the trickiest things a web/interactive/design company can undertake. First of all, paid work always comes first. So despite your best efforts the DYO falls […]
Here’s some of the information graphics I created in 2009 while working at Click Suite. These featured in various reports such as online strategies and concepts. I started to experiment a bit more, beyond the usual bar-graph, but I have a long way to go before I’m in the same […]
When it comes to creating a user experience specification for a website, it\’s usually a straight forward exercise. You create wireframe diagrams and show the web pages in different states. But how do you specify user interactions for a touch-screen that\’s ever-changing, highly interactive and has unpredictable curious creatures influencing […]
User Experience professionals need to get their heads out of the computer screen and look at the bigger picture.
When the recent 6 metre tsunami hit the Samoan region, killing 189 people, there unfortunately wasn’t time to warn their people. But there was time to warn their neighbours in the South Pacific. We failed. New Zealand had several hours to crank-up the tsunami warning machine. The police did […]
The information graphics created to inform people on the Samoan tsunami about to hit New Zealand didn’t send a clear message. When disaster hits it spreads on the internet like wildfire. But the information graphics the public are served up are next to useless for making an informed decision on […]
Digital content should be there to enhance and extend an already compelling real-world experience, not replace, clutter or dominate it.
Why I don’t use Card Sorting Card sorting is a simple technique in User Experience Design where a group of users are guided to arrange subject-headings under pre-determined categories or into groups which make sense to them. For example, a card labelled “apples” might logically sit under a category […]
Being down-under often means we are off the radar. But did you know that New Zealand is also brimming with UX (User Experience) evangelists? This is my list of Twitter must-follows for any New Zealander interested in locals talking about usability, user experience, information architecture and interaction design. This is […]
Business owners, service delivery managers, business analysts and user experience consultants could learn a lot from tacky reality TV shows like ‘Tabatha’s Salon Takeover’. The straight-talking Ozzie, Tabatha Coffey lends her sound advice and styling expertise to help make over America one salon at a time in this new series […]
A presentation from my archives – many of the points made in these slides are still relevant today. A brief presentation I did at ‘Microsoft Expression for Art’s Sake‘ – a 3 Day Silverlight Camp held in Wellington, New Zealand in April 2009. It makes the simple point that, while […]
A presentation from my archives – many of the points made in these slides are still relevant today. Extracts from a workshop at GOVIS 2007. This one-day intensive workshop taught attendees how to incorporate user goals and agency needs into the web design process. Workshop presenters: Zef Fugaz, Bob Medcalf, […]
A presentation from my archives – many of the points made in these slides are still relevant today. Extracts from a 2006 presentation to one of the world’s largest manufacturers and retailers of kids clothing. We investigated their in store experience and how this might be translated online. E-Commerce for […]
A presentation from my archives – many of the points made in these slides are still relevant today. Notes From User Experience Week 2008 from Zef Fugaz
With around 75% of New Zealand homes online that leaves about a million people who do still do not have access to the internet in this country. Worldwide an estimated one billion people have access. That’s leaves around 5.7 billion who don’t. The main reasons are they can’t afford it, […]
The electricity industry is undergoing a revolution in New Zealand and overseas. Here’s a look at some of the latest activity…
A big hit of Webstock was internet phenomenon and chief chef of Earth Sandwiches, Ze Frank. Ze Frank is an online performance artist, composer, humorist and public speaker based in New York. He rose to internet fame ever since his “How to Dance Properly” viral video (born as a party […]
The SUITE SPOT (as seen at Webstock) takes live data feeds from blogs, Twitter, Flickr and SMS messages then ‘repurposes’ all of this into an exploratory scene. The feeds might look simple enough on screen but deciding what appears on the timeline, where and when were all challenges faced during […]
Who knew swimming with data could be such fun. In 2009 my employer, Click Suite, is a major sponsor of Webstock. Webstock is a series of workshops and seminars held in Wellington from 16- 20 February focusing on web technologies and attracting major international speakers. As part of our sponsorship […]
Throughout 2009 you’ll probably hear a lot of talk about the semantic web, aka “Web 3.0”. The semantic wave embraces previous stages of internet growth. The first stage, Web 1.0, was about connecting information and getting on the net. Web 2.0 is about connecting people – the web of social […]
Is ‘process’ the same as ‘method’? Many people seem confused. Does it matter? Sort of. It matters when your job is to take a look at how a company runs its design and production line. Over the years I’ve re-engineered the in-house processes for a handful of IT and New […]
Just over a year ago I took part in an amazing team competition called FullCodePress to build a website from the ground-up in 24hrs. Read all about it Since then I’ve had numerous requests from User Experience professionals around the world for copies of my information architecture templates and artifacts.
Recently a few people have asked me why I haven’t formed my own User Experience company. I do think about it and it’s possible that one day I will. But for now I aim to be my own ‘little industry’ within another company. It is something I hold close as […]
At Click Suite we’re researching the feasibility of an outdoor LED installation at a top secret location somewhere in Wellington. It’s in the early stages but what’s evident is that just like tall building envy, there’s LED envy. But is big HUGE MASSIVE always better? China has the biggest LED […]
The seeds of the next big thing are being planted now. Are you getting ready to turn the downturn into an upturn? No-one yet knows what the new economy will look like, but one thing is for sure, 2009 is going to be pretty turbulent. This is why it’s crucial […]
It has been about six months since I changed jobs and now some of the projects my old team were working on at the time have started going public… This was my last mini-project during my last week at Provoke (ironic since I don’t eat meat!). I did the Information […]
A modified typewriter touted as the original Google appliance is, in fact, a well-crafted fake, the Skeptics Society, Mr Vintage and a font expert says. The device, an object known as a ‘typewriter‘, was said to have contained the template for Google, the popular search engine, as well as a […]
Jack Wyndham invented the Goggle Chrome Appliance and founded the Milton Beekeeping Society. He talks with zef[a]media. You invented the Goggle Chrome Type Appliance? I came up with the idea of a quick-search sheet for cataloguing honey varieties (and bees) down copper telephone lines in 1957 when I was 39, […]
With the “Goggle Type Appliance” making the TV3 Nightline news last night, many people have been asking “…so what’s the difference between Goggle and Google?” Here’s a side-by-side comparison of a Goggle-generated document and a Google-generated webpage… [A] A slight variation in spelling. [B] The key topic or phrase is […]
After my exclusive scoop last week created ripples on the internet, the original “Type Goggling Appliance” (one of just three prototypes) has been discovered on a dusty shelf at the rear of the Mataura Muesum. No one knows how it came to be there but suspicions are that it […]
The creation of this, and over 20 other art works, was made possible by Click Suite supporting us by donating a day to "Art with a Heart".
Theres more information atwww.clicksuite.co.nz
Proceeds from this auction are going to Save the Children to support our fundraising efforts as part of the 2008 Vietnam cycle challenge.
Thanks for supporting our cause bybidding on this auction
- bid high, coz its all going to charity!
A lot of people I’ve been talking to recently are excited by the emergence of NUI (Natural User Interfaces), but are asking “Isn’t this just for gamers?” My immediate answer is “yes”. Gamers have been the first to embrace the technology (the Nintendo Wii remote controller is one example of […]
The presentation slides from the UPANZ Wellington Spring Event which took place yestersday – thanks to all who came along… Don’t Get GUI : Get NUI! View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: gestural interface) Web Strategy (by Lulu Pachuau) View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: user […]
Have you been getting NUI recently? If you’ve ever used a touch screen then you’re well on the way to the brave new world of ‘Natural User Interfaces’. Well, that’s what they were calling it over at UX Week in San Francisco. But it’s also know as ‘Gestural User Interfaces’ […]
You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get a stamp for a postcard in San Francisco. Getting a postcard is the easy part. But buying stamps? They should make it a new sport at the Olympics. The place that sold me the postcards told me to try the liquor […]
On my 12-hour flight to San Francisco, Air New Zealand offered a plethora of inflight entertainment including a grumpy hostess, movies, music and computer games. I’m one of those people who feels overwhelmed by too many choices when visiting a record store or bookshop. The Air NZ inflight entertainment system […]
Rex and I are off to the West Coast of the USA this weekend… I’ll be attending User Experience Week in San Francisco and Rex SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles. It might come as a surprise to our American friends, but the biggest concern we have about visiting the US is […]
Technology Minister Dave Cunlife, says the Government will announce a date for the turn-off of HTML websites by 2010 – or sooner, if uptake of rich media hits 55 per cent of users. He expects there to be a six to ten month transition period before the migration to rich […]
I’ve been contemplating if I should ditch my blog and vanish. What do you think? While my blog subscribers have halved in the past year, the other statistics indicate this (niche) site is still reasonably popular, attracting over 100,000 unique visitors in the past 12 months. So, I know you’re […]
The time has come for a change and it is with some sadness to tell you that next week is my last at Provoke. It has been an invaluable experience over the past 4+ years, but for numerous little reasons it is time for me to move on. It’s especially […]
Brendon Ford and I have just returned from a miniature junket in Nelson to present the mechanics behind the award-winning intranet we worked on for the Ministry of Transport back in 06/07. Quantum Content During my presentation I briefly tried to compare quantum theory to CMS-metadata-driven content – which for […]
I’m working on a new information architecture for a transport-related website. I’m presenting the first cut tomorrow and wondering if this one will get past the critics… Wouldn’t it be nice to see a bit more humour on New Zealand websites?
I’ve started uploading some of my presentations to SlideShare… Here’s the one from kiwi foocamp… Visualisation techniques for workshops where you need to get a consensus in the room And the one from Webstock 2008… If you find these useful let me know and I’ll upload some others!
The Imagine Cup encourages young people to apply their imagination, passion and creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world today. Now in its sixth year, the Imagine Cup has grown to be a truly global competition focused on finding solutions to real world issues. The […]
Designers who don’t pick up on their users’ confusion to the environment in the interweb may be risking more than a fine – they may be putting their souls at risk of damnation, according to a new zef[a]media list of seven deadly sins for the 21st century. As the seven […]
Tom Coates Rowan Smith Zef conjured a web persona into Jimi Hendrix before we knew what was happening. The real Hendrix was better (I was hoping for Star Spangled Banner) but Zef’s one was a damn fine stand-in. wasabicube Jimi plays a mean ukelele during Zef’s 8×5 presentation Shadowfoot Robyn […]
Thank goodness Webstock is over! Too much of a good thing can corrupt the senses… Photo by wasabicube On Jimi Was that pre-recorded? No Was that his real hair? Yes Wow, who on Earth was that? My bro: http://www.tokerau.net Was it videod? See it on YouTube. Official version should soon appear on […]
Occasionally I get emails asking about the (rapid) information architecture process I followed for FullCodePress last year. Steve Batey from Meld Consulting asks all the right questions and has agreed to share my answers with you! [Steve] What were your thoughts going into the event about your role in […]
Another little secret I’ve been sitting on for a while now (and can now reveal) is that Front Seat Media and Provoke Solutions have partnered to develop an innovative internet and digital TV platform. By 2009 you could be languishing on the front seat too…"We can’t think of a […]
I’ve been hinting for a while that we had big news for 2008 : and now the word is out! Provoke – Project Management, Information Architecture, Implementation, Development. Capiche – Visual Design.From Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, January 7, 2008 10 Best Intranets of 2008 The winners of the award for 10 […]
While Provoke has a golden reputation for being leaders in Microsoft-driven solutions, this doesn’t restrict our dUX (Design & User Experience) team from crafting an awesome experience for other technology platforms. The most recently example is sustainability.govt.nz – with the information architecture, visual design and HTML/CSS templates created by Provoke […]
In case you’re wondering what I’ve been up to recently, here’s a quick update… Fly Buying The new site has a fresh visual design and an improved user experience. This is the first stage of an ongoing programme of work so expect some further enhancements in future (and yes, we […]
After years of hiding in the dark I’ve been recently making an effort to submit some of Provoke’s Design & User Experience work to industry publications and awards. One we know we’ve already got ‘in the bag’ but can’t reveal what it is until early 2008. Two more sites we’d […]
The Gathering was New Zealand’s biggest and best outdoor dance party, which was held every New Year for six years between 1996 and 2001. This is the first Gathering documentary which was about the 97/98 event, held at the magical Canaan Downs site on top of Takaka Hill near Nelson. […]
I have a lot of respect for Jared Spool – but I almost choked when I received this invite… Building Robust Personas in 30 Days or Less Jared M. Spool, User Interface Engineering Length: 90 Minutes Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 1PM ET (see the time/date in your area) Price: […]
At Provoke we’re increasingly focussing on visual design and how this influences a user’s comprehension of content, interactivity and pathways. Moments before unravelling…Coming up with a nice-looking visual design usually isn’t the greatest challenge – the real magic lies in the delicate interplay between the brand, content, navigation pathways, interactive […]
My design team at Provoke have been busy creating mayhem… Congrats to Alastair who picked up Silver at the Best Awards last week for his Social Ticketing concept… Isha (pictured below) has been finding new and creative ways to spread his fame – you can views his interviews with the […]
Provoke took top honours at Microsoft New Zealand’s partner awards last week… Provoke won both the premier award for ‘Partner Solution of the Year’ (for our work on the Ministry of Transport intranet) – and – the ‘Business Productivity Solution’ award, beating finalists Polymedia and HP. Provoke was also a finalist […]
Canon TX1 : Ingenious or insane – I’m not sure which…I’ve been so busy recently that my new (and first ever) digital camera sat unopened on my desk for 7 days... For just $NZ500 (plus an extra $80 for a 4Gb memory card) I’ve now got a camera which not […]
Provoke’s new Auckland office has just opened on the back of six years significant growth in the Wellington market. Provoke Auckland have already started working with a selection of new northern customers and are currently looking to close their first big deal with a large Australian-based company. With a budget […]
My perfect job would be sitting around sipping soy lattes and coming up with bright ideas for the next “killer app”. Now, from the archives of the legendary zef[a]media bondi blue iMac – crazy ideas that never happened! p.u.p {a portal concept from 1999 – then updated in 2000} Impound […]
I’ve been reinventing the deliverables for the Design & User Experience (DUX) team at Provoke… The many facets of design and user experience – user requirements, business goals, content models, site maps, information architecture, task flows, interaction design, visual design – and more… Trying to fit this all into one tidy […]
On Saturday 18 August 2007, teams from Australia and New Zealand competed to build a fully-operational website for a non-profit organisation in 24 hours. No excuses, no extensions, no budget overruns… Press release below. Full coverage, including videos, photos and commentary, over at FullCodePress Code Blacks bring home the trophy […]
On Saturday 18 August 2007, teams from Australia and New Zealand will compete to build a fully-operational website for a non-profit organisation in 24 hours. No excuses, no extensions, no budget overruns…
On Saturday 18 August 2007, teams from Australia and New Zealand will compete to build a fully-operational website for a non-profit organisation in 24 hours. No excuses, no extensions, no budget overruns…
On Saturday 18 August 2007, teams from Australia and New Zealand will compete to build a fully-operational website for a non-profit organisation in 24 hours. No excuses, no extensions, no budget overruns…
It\’s not often that the geeks get to represent their country in a team sport. That\’s an honour usually reserved for the rugby types, the netballers, and the all-round action stars. More Photos But for seven self-confessed computer nerds, the embarrassment of always being picked last in PE is now […]
Mason (‘Mase’) Pratt, chief executive of Provoke Solutions, has has been named NZIM/Eagle Technology young executive of the year. How young? Well, he’s first boss I’ve had who is younger than me (and I’m still in my mid-30s).Mase was a founding partner of Provoke, in 2001, at the age of […]
On Saturday 18 August 2007, web teams from Australia and New Zealand will compete in Sydney to build a fully-operational website for a non-profit organisation in 24 hours.The All Blacks have held on to the Bledisloe Cup. Can our ‘Code Blacks’ match their success and come home winners? All will […]
No, this isn’t the name of my latest usability technique, but a ‘smattering’ of news from the frontline here at New Zealand’s toastiest Interaction Design kitchen… Kitchen? Why yes… Provoke’s ever-expanding Design & User Experience team have been camped in the kitchen for several months now – we’ve been putting […]
The wait is finally over! The following names from both teams were drawn from a hat*: The Australian team: Marla Mitelman – Project manager Ruth Ellison – User experience /IA Sarah Peeke – Designer David McDonald – HTML/CSS coder Rex Chung – Programmer Melissa Cater – Writer The NZ Team: […]
I’m surrounded by brand new Prius’ in traffic. My neighbours have installed solar panels. Organic food is now trendy. Can I afford to be “green” anymore? THEN (the past 20+ years) NOW (the past 12 months) Should my track record be dated back to 1971 I figure that I’d be […]
We’ve been going all gooey over ‘blob charts’ – our answer to persona data analysis – a godsend when faced with dozens of interview transcriptions and observations. When analysing users we look at a huge number of facets including: …Gender, Age group, Family situation, Income, Housing, Where living, Occupation, Education, […]
The Provoke Design & User Experience team had some fun last week when we were given the opportunity to design some ‘skins’ for a beta of the new Sharepoint Community Kit blogging tool. The Community Kit for SharePoint is a set of best practices, templates, Web Parts, tools, and source […]
Apologies to my regular subscribers – I’m not keeping pace with my goal of two blogs a week. Part of the reason is the return of my dj turntables (I sold them in 1999 – now they’re back!), gathering and stacking firewood for the winter (which we’re told is “still […]
I’m going a little off topic from ‘User Experience in IT’ this week to user experiences of a different sort… It has been an interesting week for New Zealand with a plethora of "good news" stories. Beating is for Eggs First of all the so called "anti-smacking bill" (a far […]
Today I co-presented a full day workshop at GOVIS 2007 here in Wellington. I didn’t think I’d make it having spent the last few days in bed with an aggressive case of bacterial sinutus. Over the weekend I’d taken nasty antibiotics (for the first time in living memory), and was […]
If you haven’t heard from me in recent weeks it’s because I’m stupidly busy, and when I get extra busy I often end up in a strange ‘reality distortion field’ where the busier I get the more I suddenly decide to take on. I don’t know if this is a […]