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  • 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 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Comic Sans

    Q: Can the font, Comic Sans ever look good? A: Comic Sans is meant to be used for comic book circumstances. Normally, these are ALL CAPS. Looks fine in that circumstance. Like this:

  • The UX of Halloween in the Office

    Halloween increases your positive Karma.  It is a proven fact.  I read that somewhere.  It fills your soul with sunshine and lollypops.  I strongly suggest that you get dressed up each year. Here are some of the types of costumes you get: The Full Monty This is when someone spends…

  • Phone Lust: Samsung Galaxy Note

    My hands are not small.  My pockets are not small.  I want a bigger phone.  I don’t want to hold an iPad up to my head, but I do want a bigger phone.  Here it is:  The Samsung Galaxy Note. Apparently it will be available in Europe first this weekend.…

  • The UX of the Occupy Movement

    Disclaimer:  I am a progressive.  I believe taxes should be raised for people making more than 750k per year and defense spending should be cut in half and the National Endowment for the Arts funding should be increased 100x. With that disclaimer out of the way I have to say…

  • The UX of the Bathroom Sink

    Not any bathroom sink; this is the sink in the bathroom at my work.  I use it several times a day.  Take a look. Notice where the water comes out.  It’s all the way to the left edge.  Notice the size of the sink.  90% of the sink is wasted…

  • The UX of JS.Everywhere (Wakanday 2011)

    I was invited over the weekend to speak at the Wakanday 2011 conference title JS.Everywhere.  It was a fascinating gathering because the emphasis was not on JavaScript in a browser, but rather on the server.  4D is the company sponsoring the event.  They have had a database server product for…

  • The UX of Quora Notifications

    This is how Quora notifications look if you have a bunch. To me, this is borderline criminal UX design.  Why in the world would you repeat the question so many times in a row?  The information grid is pretty straight-forward: Who commented, edited or answered questions that I follow and…