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 …
MoreCategory: Usability
Get Real!
Digital content should be there to enhance and extend an already compelling real-world experience, not replace, clutter or dominate it.
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11 Must-Follow Kiwi User Experience Evangelists on Twitter
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 …
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Power to the People!
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 …
MoreJakob’s Top 10 Provoked!
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 – …
MoreBlobbing-Up Users
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 …
MoreFeedback from Power to the People
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 …
MoreReflections on Power to the People
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 …
Morestuck in a reality distortion field
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’ …
MoreHelping Airlines Cope with Children
Qantas and Air New Zealand could greatly improve their online booking process when it comes to children who need to fly unaccompanied. There’s many reasons why children need to fly …
MoreMake Qantas Smarter (and win!)
Qantas have a ‘thick’ online booking system. This came to light when I read an article in The Dominion Post this morning, which reads: A mother says she will never …
Moreprototyping tools for web design
After a slow start to the year, the Wellington Usability Professionals group has an exciting series of events planned for 2007! To kick things off, their next meeting is Tuesday …
MoreSeeking User Experience Strategic Guru (E-Commerce)
Provoke has some exciting projects on the horizon and I’m keen to hear from (or about) any fantabulous e-commerce gurus out there (freelancers or full-timers). You might be the sort of person who could lead the research, strategy, requirements and information architecture of a large e-commerce and dynamic data-driven web site.
MoreHiccups ruin commuter’s lives…
Stuff reports a ‘big financial hit’ for Stagecoach due to staff not understanding their new software.
MoreiFlat Earth
Are we throwing ourselves blindly into a yawning flat paradigm with the Apple iPhone? Let us consider a world without pressing your (or someone else’s) buttons… First of all, try …
MorePersonas Banking Elves & Why Technology Does Not Matter
PERSONA QUAKE! Following my ‘Bring Your Personas to Life’ article on Boxes and Arrows (and more recently, this blog) I’ve attracted a lot of criticism and some praise. I don’t …
MoreBring Your Personas to Life!
Most UCD (user centred design) companies now create personas – profiles of representative users – to guide their designs. After all, to do UCD you need to get the ‘U’ …
MoreFiltering Out Advanced Search
Last year I designed a prototype of an advanced search system for Student Job Search (SJS). I’d taken inspiration from the iTunes ‘smart playlist’ feature and created an ultra flexible …
MoreGet the Method with Boxes and Arrows
My latest piece of writing – ‘Method Acting with Personas’ – appears over on Boxes and Arrows It’s a suggestion for publication and your interest might help get it to …
MoreMicrosoft Bridging the Gap Between Developers, Designers and the User Experience
This article originally appeared on Digitalmelon, and is re-blogged here with the kind permission of Chandima Kulathilake. Chan has been recently evaluating new Microsoft technologies for User Interface Design – …
MoreStatisfaction
A few months ago I kicked up a fuss about the usability and interaction design of the first New Zealand Online Census. Just having completed my own design projects for …
MoreTriple Bottom Line Usertarianism
As the designers of user interfaces we have an obligation to not only our clients, but our users and their greater working environment. In practical terms, Triple Bottom Line Usertarianism …
MoreIt’s K-Time!
Webstock is the biggest thing to hit the Wellington web industry since Trade Me sold for $700m in cash – the difference is that, this time, almost everyone gets to …
More“I aint got no use-a-bill-latty”
As the President of the Usability Professionals’ Association of New Zealand (you can just call me ‘Mr President’), I\’m charged with supporting and growing “usability” in this country. Well, things …
MoreTo submit, submit or submit?
I’m sick to death of screens containing multiple submit buttons and in recent years I’ve been culling submit buttons from any web application I can lay my hands on. Most …
MoreEnvironmentally Friendlier Pop-ups
Old fossil Web1.0 technologies (such as pop-ups) continue to pollute our browsing environment and are hampering progressive and sustainable navigation. So, in one of my previous blogs I declared “War …
MoreWar on Pop-Up Pollution!
Pop-up creators are polluting our fragile web eco-system – they must look to alternatives. Now pop-ups are infiltrating people’s homes and messing-up the web eco-system.You might not realise it, but …
MoreOnline Census Flopped?
The online census attracted less than half the expected number the Dominion Post reported yesterday. Less than half the expected number of people filled out the new Online Census.The paper …
MoreA Cultivated Census
In my blog a few days ago (about the poor design and usability of the New Zealand online Census), drew bundles of feedback and criticism from various quarters. Comments I …
MoreHolding the Online Census to Account
The online version of the New Zealand 2006 Census is littered with unnecessary design and usability issues. For the first time New Zealand citizens have the option of doing the …
MoreMan Goes Silly Over Usability
Here’s proof that usability can make you look a little bit silly. My work colleague is in love with these new mega-chunky Phillips headphones, which he bought half price for …
MoreKing Kong of Usability Stuff Ups
Last Wednesday I was setting up a usability test environment for a new website. Somebody commented on the computer monitor – “It’s fuzzy” – and proceeded to try and adjust …
MoreStudents Treated to Defensive Design
The Student Job Search website has been relaunched, but at first glance you wouldn’t notice much of a difference… While the visual design has largely remained untouched – most of …
MoreRadio NZ Rocks Online
I’m probably a tad younger than the core Radio New Zealand demographic, but in recent years it has become my station of choice – thanks in part to my fabulous …
MoreFoto Blotto
It was my first exploration into the brave new world of ordering photo-prints online. I thought the experience would be simple… Visit a website Upload a bunch of photos I …
MoreBlind Greens
While travelling from Ohakune to Paraparaumu the other day I became obsessed with the plethora of political party billboards lining the highway. To the point…The National Party takes the cake …
MoreTrade Me Your Region
The Trade Me ‘change my region’ feature assumes New Zealanders are hermits – never leaving the comfort of their internet device, home, street or town. I live and work in …
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