Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Anand Giridharadas is one of my favourite writers at the New York Times and this time his reflection on the merits of open societies is particularly thought provoking. “A stunning idea has entered respectable American discourse of late: that China…
iFixit launched today today a “global repair community†with the aim being user-level repairs of any device. CrunchGear comments: “Such a project is well-timed; the relationship between user and manufacturer is becoming more one-sided. It doesn’t trouble you that the…
The April issue of Boxes and Arrows is recommended reading: Designing for social interaction – strong, weak and temporary ties by Paul Adams, senior UX researcher, Google Our social web tools must start to understand the strength of ties, that…
The latest issue of Design and Culture contains an article by Louise Crewe, Nicky Gregson and Alan Metcalfe on “homemakingâ€. Entitled The Screen and the Drum: on Form, Function, Fit and Failure in Contemporary Home Consumption, it describes the complex…
Researchers at the Universidad Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Spain have studied how older people interact and use email in their daily life. The study, conducted by Sergio Sayago, was carried out in social centres in Barcelona and will be used…
The Economist explores the topic of consumer research in emerging markets: “Emerging markets are far more varied and volatile than mature ones. There is little money around: the average income per person in China is around $3,500 and in India…
Tales of Things is a new tool that allows people to attach memories to their objects in the form of video, text or audio, thus “exploring the implications of The Internet of Things (network of objects that are traceable at…
The latest issue of Interactions Magazine is about a new intellectualism of design, write co-editors Richard Anderson and Jon Kolko: one that embraces discourse, dialogue, systems thinking, and the larger role of designers in shaping culture. Here are the articles…
Bill Albert, director of the Design and Usability Center at Bentley University, highlights five common myths related to online (unmoderated) usability testing, and explaining why he thinks these myths are not true. “The motivation for this article is to help…
Forbes Magazine, in collaboration with Frog Design, has been looking at what the future in 2020 might look like in a range of areas: computer, choice, classroom, commute, home, job, diet, health and reputation. Some articles are clearly more inspired…
In his bimonthly column in the ACM CHI magazine, Interactions, Donald Norman argues that most gestures are neither natural nor easy to learn or remember. “Gestures lack critical clues deemed essential for successful human-computer interaction. Because gestures are ephemeral, they…
The latest Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project report is out: “The Impact of the Internet on Institutions in the Future” surveys 895 tech experts on the way that technology will change institutions (government, business, nonprofits, schools) in…
The Winter 2009 issue of MIT’s Innovations Journal is focused on “Mobilizing Markets.” All contents are available online. Prerequisite to Prosperity Why Africa’s Future Depends on Better Governance by Mohamed (Mo) Ibrahim Harnessing the Mobile Revolution by Thomas Kalil Phone…
“Mobile-based livelihood services in Africa: pilots and early deployments” is a new paper by Jonathan Donner, a researcher in the Technology for Emerging Markets Group at Microsoft Research India, The paper describes a collection of initiatives delivering support via mobile…
To launch Twist, a new men’s fragrance in its global Axe brand, Unilever turned to a preapproved crowd of eager young amateurs for help. Venessa Wong reports in Business Week. “In July 2008, Unilever executives convened 16 regular young men…
Petz Scholtus reports in TreeHugger on presentations by Alastair Fuad-Luke, Gui Bonsiepe and Alfred Astort during the recent 1st International Congress of Design and Innovation of Catalonia (CIDIC) at the ESDi School of Design in Spain. “Designers should get away…
A new study by the Associated Press has come to the conclusion that consumers are “tired, even annoyed, by the current experience of advertising,†and that, as a result, they don’t trust very much of it. But at the same…
Qualitative, and especially observational or ethnographic, research enables us to delve much more deeply into the relationship between our firm and its product/service and the customer, argues Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of…
David Sherwin argues in his blog that there are a few eerie similarities between the plotting of mystery novels and how designers should document design research findings. “So how is the design research process anything like the plotting of a…
Now, more than ever, it’s important to determine when it’s feasible to save money and the environment by conducting more user research remotely. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of remote research. Jim Ross reports in UX matters. “Although…