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Month: November 2011

  • Being a Problem Solver

    I hate when people are complainers, but not problem solvers.  If there is a problem, then let’s figure out how to make it better.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be better. Football analogy:  2 minutes left, down by 5.  Don’t throw the bomb.  Just move the chains.  Throw for 5-10…

  • The UX of MS Word for Students

    The difference between a task completing or not is often about knowing the right button/gesture to tell the system what you want.  My son (6th grade) has been writing more and more reports on the computer using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.  School reports are exactly what MS Word was designed to handle.  However, the UI…

  • The UX of the Crazy Idea

    It’s always so hard to make the leap.  Most people defend the status quo.  It’s scary!  Who wants to leap out into the unknown and risk failing?  What if you miss the mark and fall/fail?  (I never noticed how similar those two words are.) However, the reality is: If you want “good stuff” you have…

  • The Perfect Product Shot

    Truth:  Most products are not that good. I don’t blame terrible designers or unreasonable managers for this.  The bottom line is:  It is incredibly difficult to develop a product that is great.  I mocked up a diagram to help explain. Imagine you are in space, with a basketball.  You are floating in one direction in…

  • The UX of the Asimo U3-X Mobility Unicycle

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuIJRsAuCHQ Let’s just assume you don’t have sound because the music was pure ridiculousness.  I don’t want to get hung up on the cheesiness of the video.  I want to focus on the unicycle itself. Here is my description of the features: Like a unicycle, but requiring less skill.  No pedals or need to know how…

  • Charts about Wealth Distribution

    Charts are always a superior way of delivering key information and hopefully to elicit and emotional response.  If you can get your audience to understand the data on an emotional level, you are much more likely to get them to act. Here are a dozen interesting charts on wealth distribution in the US. 1.  2. …