A Suite Makeover
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
Category: Websites
Tsunami Early Warning Information Graphic
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.
Card Sorting Doesn’t Cut the Custard
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
It’s Semantic
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
Free UX Templates
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
What’s Your Strategy for the Downturnaround?
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
leftovers
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
blogger blogs blogging
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,
Search Engine Not Starting!
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
who wants to save the world?
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
It’s about the experience…
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
auckland spoolfly buys lulu
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
Unravelling Visual Design
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
Gadget Neglect
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
FullCodePress : The Aftermath
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,
FullCodePress : We Begin!
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…
FullCodePress : The Day Before
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…
FullCodePress : Getting There
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…
geeks gearing up for website olympics
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
Press Release: Kiwi team gears up for Geek Olympics
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
I’m Full Code Press Ahead!
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
We’ve Been Skin’n
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
stuck 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’ where the busier I get the
Helping 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 alone. Their parents might live in
Seeking 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.
…
Reprasent!
The new few months are going to be busy in Wellington when it comes to conferences and presentations.
This time I’m involved in a few myself…
…
Bring 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’ in focus right from the start.
I’m Hiring (Again…)
When you see the latest jaw-dropping feature from Flickr, 37signals, ZoomIn, TradeMe or [your favourite website], do you think, “how on earth did they do that”? Do you then dig around the browser code, scour the
Filtering 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 tool for students to add multiple
I’m Hiring
Well, strictly speaking, Provoke is hiring… I’ve now been working as the Director of Design & User Experience at Provoke for just under two years – in that time my small team has been flat-out conducting
BankDirect vs Kiwibank
It’s one of those strange things about my world – every time I criticise a company or Government department the next day they’re nominated for an award (or even actually win something). It happened with Statistics
When the Web Was Young
Glimpses of zef[a]media between 1995 and 1999 – courtesy of the Wayback Machine… [Note: Wayback Machine isn’t perfect, some links and images are missing]. 1995 I’ve been scouring the archives to find versions of this website
Microsoft 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 – in what is just the start
Gold-plated Paper
Dealing in software design I often work with budgets worth many more times than my car (and sometimes as large as my 25-year mortgage). And because I often work in the early stages of web projects
Statisfaction
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 the SJS registration forms and E-Government
Bob’s Webstock Lyrics Uncovered!
In an exclusive scoop, Zef brings you the original lyrics from Bob’s legendary Webstock performance on May 25. Those who were lucky enough to be present at Webstock may notice a few differences from the improvised
Taking Stock…
Well – Webstock was a blast. Here’s snippets from my seven days of coffee and haze… Sunday (PM) I join the Provoke crew to wine and dine the phenomenally busy Kelly Goto. Monday Running a packed
Google Trends is Misery
Google Trends is the new hot topic – but apart the fun it gives you (by comparing search terms), in most cases the information it spits out is quite useless. This is because Google can’t read
To 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 of the time users will click
‘Absolute Beachfront’ by 2050
What will New Zealand look like in 20 years if we don’t have fresh Water, are still dependant on Oil and human-induced Climate? A sea-level rise of 5m will make my house ‘absolute beachfront’.To debate this
Environmentally 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 on Pop-Up Pollution“. In this issue
Meantime, in my day job…
Recent success stories from the Provoke coal face (where I manage a small team of interaction designers)… The National Bank of New Zealand’s new plastic fantastic personalised photo cards have been so popular that oil prices
Online 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 reported that Statistics NZ had hoped
Just “waiting for the real thing?”
Ever had a brilliant idea that could potentially ‘spice-up’ a business, the world wide web, or the planet? Like many creative people my great ideas often stay “just ideas”. They tend to languish and then fade
A 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 received via email and on other
Holding 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 census online – which is brilliant
Students 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 the work has gone in to
ZoomIn BloomIn Brilliant
Zoomin is a New Zealand dynamic street map site, where you can zoom, pan and navigate around the map in real time. Sound Googlesk? Well, it is, but better. What I really like about it is
Radio 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 retro 1950’s transistor radio (which only
TV3 Website Gives Me Nightmares
Just when I thought the web was actually going through a revival with usability, web standards, AJAX taking hold – and New Zealanders actually starting to churn out some pretty decent websites – TV3 had to
Down Traden
Are you paying too much when buying goods on Trade Me? All it takes to find out is a couple of Googles. Last July our juicer became redundant. That is, I was enthusiastically trying to clean
Foto 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 want printed Choose the size and
Trade 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 more than one region.The purpose of
Designing for Loyalty
Astute web designers do more than just design with your customers in mind- they actually design with your customers- in person. Zef Fugaz looks at ways to get your users on board, and looks at New
Kissing the Lips of E-govt
Achieving e-Government compliance for public sector websites will require a makeover that’s greater than skin-deep. Zef Fugaz looks at the realities of putting public service websites on the operating table and making them skip to an
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