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Evolution vs. Revolution in Digital Design
iPhone presentation Originally uploaded by Dan_H. One distinction many people make when defining a design project is whether the design will be another evolution of an existing technique, set of tools, or technologies, or if it will be a revolutionary implementation. This decision is most often made implicitly, generally without any direct thought about revolutionary…
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It’s not about touch screens
In a few months, remember that you heard it here first: Technology pundits are sure to hail Apple’s iPhone and soon-to-be competitors for using touch screens in their designs. I submit, and will continue to maintain that it is not the touch screens, but the interactions that those screens afford. Many others will try to…
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On Mobile Phones and Commitment
I was talking with a friend the other day, and the fact that he does not have a cell phone came up. I, of course, was amazed. Immediately I said what most mobile-toting folk would say: “I don’t know what I would do without my phone!” His response was simple: “No, it’s easy. You know…
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The Themes of Good Design
Most people who have worked with me up to this point have probably noticed that I have a strong urge to think about solving problems using Design methods and methodologies. This is not accidental. In my heart of hearts, I believe that the work I do each day will help make the world a better…
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With a Good Pair
There’s just something about working with others that makes the job so much more enjoyable. In many agile development frameworks, the idea of “Pairing” prevails as a key concept. When pairing occurs, two developers work together to progress a single user story, working together weave code into coherent, valuable functionality. There are many reasons why…
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I’m giving Flock another try
So Apurva just gave this a shot, and I’m gonna do it too. I’m trying out Flock, “The Community Web Browser.” It seems to work a little nicer on my Windows machine than on the Mac…which is pretty normal for Firefox these days. I’ve tried Flock in the past, and have moved back to regular…
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What do you do when your business’s ideas don’t align with how employees think?
Just something I was pondering this morning on the train in to work. A long time ago now, user researchers at Intuit realized that small business owners don’t like to think about their money in terms of “debits” and “credits,” which are the terms that bankers and other more heavily trained business people like to…
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AllFreeCalls
AllFreeCalls.net allows you to make free international calls from the US. It doesn’t work with all countries, so beware. Still, being able to make international calls from my cell phone for free is awesome. I wonder how they make money? Update: Be advised…this might be a scam. Check out the quote from Garren, a commenter:…
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What kind of User Experience Professional am I?
Friend and colleague Jeff Patton floated an idea a few weeks ago around the thought that there are 3 types of User Experience Professionals: Before-, During-, and After-People. I think this is a brilliant way to characterize UXers…simple and to the point, with no big-giant-confusing-wordiness. Of course, all the qualities of these different types of…
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In Response to Kevin
In response to me beaming about my job, Kevin wrote: Would you say that you are doing all the things you were trained to do at the School of Informatics? I got to see Matt and Apurva over the weekend, and one of the things that came up was how little their jobs resembled what…