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  • Using PowerPoint for Storyboards

    On my design team, the main work product is PowerPoint storyboards.  We deliver these files to Engineering.  In a nutshell they include: Size of the PowerPoint depends on the complexity of the feature: The Good PartsI haven’t seen other people use this methodology, but it really gives a very clear way to describe the feature.  It’s…

  • The UX of WeBuilder 2014

    I originally typed my HTML in Notepad on my 75 MHz Windows 95 desktop.  It wasn’t very helpful, but then again, HTML wasn’t that sophisticated at the time.  This was in 1995.  Very shortly after that, I discovered Homesite, a program by Nick Bradbury.  Homesite was better than anything else and stayed that way for a long…

  • SkyDrive Word App – AutoSave

    I like Microsoft’s new service SkyDrive.  It’s like Google Apps and Google Drive.  Inexpensive, tightly integrated with MS Office 2013.  All-in-all, very satisfactory.  However, I have one gripe. In the Word web app, it doesn’t autosave.  The Excel one autosaves.  The PowerPoint and One Note apps autosave.  Even the Excel Survey app autosaves.  Why the…

  • Hiring UX Designers 2013

    I manage a team of 4 designers at Marketo.  The company is doing quite well and UX Designer here is a central function.  We are looking to add another member or two to the team.  If you are interested (or know someone), please apply as a UX Designer. Designer Characteristics: Creative. Can come up with new…

  • Designers require a positive attitude

    The reality is that everyone has negative feedback about any design.  It doesn’t mean that it’s all stupid feedback, although much of it is exactly that.  However, it does mean that a designer is constantly bombarded with negative critique from design peers, management and executives, engineering and product management.  It is crucial to maintain a…

  • Keeping Everyone Interested

    I didn’t do well in High School, 2.2 grade point average.  In fact, I fell asleep (often) in Math class.  I started well, trying to pay attention.  However, that didn’t last long.  The droning of the teacher saying mindless facts, asking us to rote memorize them so we can parrot them back at test time…

  • The UX of iTunes 11

    I hate iTunes 11. Did I get to the point too quickly?  OK, I’ll try again. I use iTunes specifically because I use iPods.  We have 3-4 iPods, more if you count the ones we have lost.  We use them mainly for music, especially in the car.  I use iTunes to manage the music and…

  • How blind people know if you are working

    No clicking of mouse, no typing of keyboard = not working.  You are probably spacing out, not there or reading a blog article. Lots of typing = Not working.  You are writing an email or instant messaging or typing a blog. (This is what I sound like now) Talking in a friendly voice = not working.  You…

  • The UX of the Dell XPS 12 Convertible Touch Screen Ultrabook

    I recently gave my Samsung Series 9 to my wife as a hand-me-down present.  This left me without a new laptop.  I obviously couldn’t live with that, so I had a choice.  Either buy a new laptop or get one through work.  The one I lusted after was the Acer Aspire S7.  That thing is…

  • Flash of Inspiration

    Flashes of inspiration are a critical ingredient for great design.  However, they really are brief moments in the life of a project.  The real work of making something great is time consuming.  It is iterating and polishing and re-ordering and re-conceptualizing and backtracking and focusing relentlessly for long periods of time. Design is a marathon,…

  • The Second Amendment

    Last week a 20-year old took hundreds of rounds of ammunition in high density clips and a semi-automatic machine gun into an elementary school in Connecticut.  He shot 26 people, mostly 6 year old kids. It’s senseless.  It’s insane.  It’s an act of mental illness, evil or both. The thing that really drives me nuts is…

  • Samsung Galaxy S3 with Jelly Bean

    Verizon just upgraded my phone to Android Jelly Bean 4.1.1.  It has some minor improvements, but generally speaking it isn’t much of a change.  The icons look different and the email clients look newer.  There is more color in the built-in apps like Calendar and Email.  They have a new widget I am using for…

  • Cool heads make good decisions

    Making a decision in a bad headspace is a bad idea. Frustrated Anxious Guilty Sad Angry Frantic / Hurried Fearful Distracted Passionate Hungry Ecstatic These emotions make your brain run hot.  They take away valuable CPU power in decision-making.  You want to be calm and collected when you make decisions. Cool heads make good decisions.…