Re: [IxDA Discuss] Design Masters Thesis Extent of Realization
This discussion (of whether an interaction design Masters project should prototype, or deploy, or perhaps neither) has attracted some interest, which is great. For me, the basics are pretty clear -- you require designerly modes of working, which includes creating things and listening attentively as they talk back to you. But the challenge lies in situations where a typical prototype is not adequate for capturing the key elements of use experience -- it doesn't talk back, as it were. Mauro mentioned this out as well. Andrei replied to Mauro by pointing out that tools are increasingly becoming available that essentially enable non-engineers to build the real thing, or close approximations of it. I would like to connect back to the initial post from Jack that sparked the discussion. The example of facilitating a community for female cancer victims is, in fact, a very challenging case. Not primarily for technical reasons -- standard Web technologies and prototyping tools should be sufficient, as per Andrei's post -- but because it is a fundamentally social situation. The key elements of use experience in this case are not related to the interface and the navigation of a web site, but to the ways in which a woman who has been diagnosed with cancer connects with other women who are or have been in a similar situation. How this social structure unfolds and plays out in practice is virtually impossible to predict based on the backtalk of pencil sketches, wireframes and prototypes. It is equally impossible to capture in conventional user testing. Christine makes a similar point in her discussion of interactivity. This was the reason for me to make the following, rather complicated, suggestion of what I would have looked for as a teacher in this case: - a design detailed to the level of a prototype presenting her new ideas on how to facilitate a community for female cancer victims, plus - a good line of arguments backing her claim that the new design would in fact facilitate the community. This is not equal to building the whole site, deploying, observing use in practice but could be approached by, e.g., a triangulation of -- field studies of existing communities, -- sociological theory on bereavement/illness community mechanisms, -- reasoning around key design decisions and explored alternatives, and -- experiments with elements of her key ideas through roleplay, dramatization, or longitudinal mid-fi off-the-shelf-component-based prototype testing. This situation is increasingly common as notions of social media sweep the corporate world and our students' minds. I find that I supervise an increasing number of Masters students who want to develop communities of various kinds. To me, it seems that sociological theory, media theory and communication theory is growing in importance for our field along with this development. We may have to realize that the kinds of prototypes we are used to consider in interaction design are basically incapable of backtalk on the level of social emergent structures. Regards, Jonas Löwgren *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Design Masters Thesis Extent of Realization
On Dec 14, 2007, at 4:28 AM, pauric wrote: 1) I guess it could be explained to the reviewers that while an implemented site is an conceivable goal. Creating a living/breathing social community for cancer patients is not something that should be entered in to for the purposes of getting sign-off on a thesis. A website 'shell' is a pointless milestone in this context. When they ask for 'implementation' it should be explained that they're really asking for a live working community. 2) Sort of a small one, and not really a criticism of the student, something to file in the lessons-learned category. I feel a fundamental checkbox for -all- output from a designer is to 'understand your audience'. Be that a spec, an email, a prototype or an implementation. Maybe it wasnt possible for the student to know who was going to be on the review board, but if it was, she could have avoided this misunderstanding by preparing a solid answer to the question. Thanks Pauric, very good points. That did come up in the discussion. What it finally boiled down to was a question as to the measures of success. I suggested that the student think about success based on the stakeholders in the project. What determines success for her as a masters student in design? What determines success for the users of the site—the community? What determines success for her potential client/sponsor? She needs to specifically state her goals, both in terms of what she hopes to achieve for her thesis, and what she eventually hopes to achieve with the project. Jack Jack L. Moffett Interaction Designer inmedius 412.459.0310 x219 http://www.inmedius.com The public is more familiar with bad design than good design. It is, in effect, conditioned to prefer bad design, because that is what it lives with. The new becomes threatening, the old reassuring. - Paul Rand *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Board Positions
As probably the longest standing board member here, I thought I'd join in Greg's testimonial thread here and place my own thoughts out there. Being a leader of this nascent organization has been a ton of hard work, but has always been a labor of joy and has returned its value 10-fold. I put in hours (way more than the 3 required) a week into IxDA, especially now with the conference looming. Here's what I have gotten from this experience over the last 4 years. Visibility in the design community, which has opened me up to positions professionally that I could not have had occur without this visibility. It's a very different world when people come to you instead of you trying to track them down. My career has sky rocketed over the last 4 years. The education I've received from this community should be accredited. Whether it is from the list, from face-to-face groups, or the many mentors (more on this) I have learned so much about design, design management, research, etc. Access to all types of mentors has just been tremendous. It is the primary reason I got into this biz and it is probably the most successful outcome for me. But there is more than the selfish; there is the altruistic. I am deeply passionate about interaction design. Forget for a moment all the politicking around titles, organizations and education systems and what-not. I deeply believe that interaction design is THE design discipline of this century that more than any other will space our lives and worlds. This is why I have devoted so much of myself into leading and growing this organization. I have always thought big about what and where IxD can do and I have always thought big about IxDA's role in how to make that happen. The journey is just at its very early beginning, and there is so much to do and we need dedicated impassioned individuals to take us there: * Codifying our practice * Creating an eco-system of career development from education through management including viable continuing ed. * creating a lexicon of semantics and syntax * creating venues for more opportunity for sharing, networking, and inspiration * bridging the divide that still today we have through language and distance that keeps practitioners apart from one another and a host more ... There is so much to do and so much to be gained. -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=23481 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Last Call: Early Bird Registration for Interaction08 Ends Tomorrow
Tomorrow ends the early bird registration for Interaction08, when you can get in for just $499. Cheap! We're already over 200 attendees, so seats are going fast. We'll likely sell out the conference in the next few weeks, so register early! http://interaction08.ixda.org Oh, and I hope you are all subscribed to the new Interaction08 blog for the latest news about the conference: http://interaction08.ixda.org/blog/ But wait, there's more! Our social network site has filled up with attendees and speakers, as well as new features! http://interaction08.crowdvine.com/ So register! And I'll see you in Savannah! Dan Dan Saffer Chair, Interaction08 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Design Masters Thesis Extent of Realization
Chris and Jonas' sparked an idea for me in this thread. For our work, unless deployed, how do we judge success/failure? I'm sure this can be translated to other degrees of practice. I mean how did we know Bilbao was going to be a success before it was built. Most confidently kept their same opinion before (from the model) that they have after the fact. What allows other disciplines to have a more confident set of judgment that doesn't require the full production of the item in order for it to be envalued? In the case of this cancer community, I mean how does the student judge whether their notions of community building in this context will work? Is it comparative to the successes and failures of other existing communities (related and unrelated)? For me this speaks to a strong need to understand the foundations of our medium so that we can clearly communicate success/failure amongst each other in the theoretical space. So even a partial prototype in my mind only works in the environment of such foundational analysis and maybe lacking that is why those who come from areas that have those foundations are drawn towards completion in order to lay a more accurate judgment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=23446 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Uh, who designed that?
On Dec 13, 2007, at 6:37 PM, D E wrote: We want to keep these kind of ideas flowing through the team, but we can't have folks inserting their hand at random points in the project time line. So, just tell them that. This pretty much sums up what you want to say. Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel President, Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] AIM:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Blog: http://toddwarfel.com -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Design Masters Thesis Extent of Realization
Jack, there were two other point that came to mind. 1) I guess it could be explained to the reviewers that while an implemented site is an conceivable goal. Creating a living/breathing social community for cancer patients is not something that should be entered in to for the purposes of getting sign-off on a thesis. A website 'shell' is a pointless milestone in this context. When they ask for 'implementation' it should be explained that they're really asking for a live working community. 2) Sort of a small one, and not really a criticism of the student, something to file in the lessons-learned category. I feel a fundamental checkbox for -all- output from a designer is to 'understand your audience'. Be that a spec, an email, a prototype or an implementation. Maybe it wasnt possible for the student to know who was going to be on the review board, but if it was, she could have avoided this misunderstanding by preparing a solid answer to the question. Best regards - pauric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=23446 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Your favorite rating interface
Thanks a ton for these, Jeffrey. I'm building ratings into our site, as well, and one of my challenges is coming up with different ratings for different kinds of people. We have three sets of users on our site - coaches, athletes and fans, and I want to differentiate ratings from coaches and fans (because one may have more weight than others in helping an athlete get recruited), so I might use some of your ideas to do this. Another rating interface I like (tho I've only looked at it a little bit) is RottenTomatoes.com. Thanka =] Bryan http://www.bryanminihan.com -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jeffrey D. Gimzek Sent: Friday, December 14, 2007 2:03 AM To: IXDA list Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Your favorite rating interface Kim Asked: Anyone seen any interesting rating interfaces lately? I'm especially interested in rating of CONTENT on a site (more than an ITEM you might buy or have bought). The one currently in use on Amazon product pages is actually pretty nice. It breaks down the ratings with bar charts so you can se how many people rated something a 5, 4, etc. It adds more meaning to the rating. I am working on a rating site now and let me tell you this is a tough nut to crack ! 1 - 5 stars are ubiquitous for a reason. One scale i really liked was a branded one: this site http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Saddle/product_22653.shtml used chili peppers. I have seen less... socially acceptable scale icons in certain magazines run by Hugh Hefner. Ebay has a nice rating interface on their buyer/seller feedback that allows them to use different Likert scales http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Likert_scale with the same graphic 1 - 5 star graphic. ie: Like - Dislike on one scale, Satisified to Unsatisfied on another. the quality and quantity of the data is important - if you rate 5 things from 1-5, is the overall rating a 4 or a 4.5 or a 4.2 or even 4.25 ? how important is that accuracy to your users? Another aspect of rating is helpful/unhelpful where 27 helpful vs. 3 unhelpful basically rate a post... thumbs up/dn is also used this way. Sites such as Yelp and thefunded.com use this as an addition to rating. We wound with a sort of LCD/LED meter like you see on equalizers, but horizontal. that way we can change the scale: 1 - 5 1.0 - 5.0 1 - 10 0 -100% without really changing the graphic... what that meant however is that we needed a real number next that gives you actual data: 3, 2.5, 7 of 10 etc. sort of like this:|| || || || | (4.5) Again, this is a great place to brand your rating to make it unique. hope that all helps you get started ! jd -- Jeff Gimzek | Senior User Experience Designer [EMAIL PROTECTED] | www.glassdoor.com *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Board Positions
I am interested-what do I do? Cheers, Bernie Monette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=23481 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Screen Capture Software of Interest
Sunny Beach wrote: http://www.jingproject.com/ I love Jing! Examples of my Jing use: - http://screencast.com/t/uoKL26VF - http://screencast.com/t/Tt54Y7Badr - http://screencast.com/t/8YPp6qMd -=- Jerome *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forward/reverse in a mobile phone's music player
I'm listening to CBC Radio's hourly news podcast, but the current news story doesn't interest me; I want to skip to the next story. A Forward button would offer me nothing that I don't already get from dragging or scrubbing the playback head through the timeline (or pressing-and-holding the FFwd knob on my MP3 player). What I really want is a podcast that enables signposts, so that I can quickly jump between news stories. Jerome, for an example of chapters as described by Jack, check out the CBC Radio 3 podcast on this page: http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/index.html?arts I am a bit of a CBC podcast junkie -- to my knowledge Radio 3 is the only one who uses chapters. It's too bad. I would particularly like to see them on the regional podcasts. (The Toronto podcast, at least, is made up of 3 segments from different shows, and if I don't like the first one, it's a struggle to find the start of the second!) Meredith --- Meredith Noble Information Architect, Usability Matters Inc. 416-598-7770, ext. 6 [EMAIL PROTECTED] *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Design Masters Thesis Extent of Realization
Good points Dave, and I agree. But, in thinking about what Jonas said (and my own position), I would argue that the strong need to understand the foundations of our medium you mention below must be carefully defined, with the foundations necessarily including equal parts medium (the tools/interfaces) and interactive social behavior (sociological/cultural effects that lead to effective and dynamic community-building). Favor one side or the other, and we fall short, in other words. This was the thing, btw, that first fascinated me when doing my dissertation, when I realized that what I was actually studying was not human-computer interaction (individual interactions) so much as it was what happens at the point where interfaces meet cultures (social interactions), in order to discover how interfaces shape social groups, and how social groups can shape interfaces (on the fly, or collaboratively-authored in a specific social contexts). To my mind, that was how to learn about how larger dynamic and vital virtual landscapes ultimately shrug themselves into being. Chris On Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:01:44, David Malouf [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Chris and Jonas' sparked an idea for me in this thread. For our work, unless deployed, how do we judge success/failure? I'm sure this can be translated to other degrees of practice. I mean how did we know Bilbao was going to be a success before it was built. Most confidently kept their same opinion before (from the model) that they have after the fact. What allows other disciplines to have a more confident set of judgment that doesn't require the full production of the item in order for it to be envalued? In the case of this cancer community, I mean how does the student judge whether their notions of community building in this context will work? Is it comparative to the successes and failures of other existing communities (related and unrelated)? For me this speaks to a strong need to understand the foundations of our medium so that we can clearly communicate success/failure amongst each other in the theoretical space. So even a partial prototype in my mind only works in the environment of such foundational analysis and maybe lacking that is why those who come from areas that have those foundations are drawn towards completion in order to lay a more accurate judgment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=23446 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Board Positions
For those that didn't see Liz' initial message Here is the cross link back there: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=23478 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=23481 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Uh, who designed that?
Usually a project team like the one you describe has a project manager: someone who's responsible for keeping the team on track, making sure schedules are met, providing resources, acting as liaison with the management structure of the company, and very importantly; running interference for the team so that it can get its job done. I suggest that this competing design is interference that it is the responsibility of your project manager, not you personally, to handle. It's certainly appropriate for you to bring this problem to your project manager's attention, and to offer to your expertise and assistance in handling it, but it's his/her job to address it. I also suggest that whatever techniques are used (such as complimenting initiative, encouraging ideas, and discouraging divisiveness or competition) the fundamental objectives should be (a) for your project manager to relieve your team from the burden of interference, and (b) for the interfering party to learn how to work effectively and appropriately within a corporate/team environment. This last may require a collaboration between your project's manager and that party's boss, and in my mind should be done in a firm but constructive and professionally nurturing manner (your corporate culture may vary). FWIW, Bill Fernandez -- == Bill Fernandez * User Interface Architect * Bill Fernandez Design (505) 346-3080 * bf_list1 AT billfernandez DOT com * http://billfernandez.com == *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] (JOB) Interaction Designer@ meebo, Mountain View CA, meebo-Full time
Interaction [EMAIL PROTECTED] We love delighting users. We don't expect our average user to notice consistent button margins, a one-click buddy icon selection user flow, or a background image that updates depending upon the screen size. However, we attribute much of meebo's growth to our users discovering meebo, experiencing delight, and then having a deep desire to share that experience with their friends. To cultivate this process, we relentlessly strive to understand our users and are passionate about fostering a creative, open-minded atmosphere within meebo. We don't always get it right - however, with user feedback, we keep trying and trying and trying. We're a small team. So small that you'll be the first Interaction Designer to join meebo. We're looking for someone logical with deep Windows/Linux/Mac OS UI expertise, who appreciates why web design is different than software design, who can take seemingly contradictory user feedback and pinpoint the real issue, and who asks enough questions to understand strategic objectives. Members of our team tend to be nice, humble, and genuine. In this role, your responsibilities will include: * Designing complex web application interactions * Conducting informal and formal usability testing * Promoting consistency across meebo's products * Documenting design decisions and interaction guidelines * Driving mockups, sitemaps, and page flows * Keeping up-to-date with similar user interfaces and products * Working with a diverse team to cultivate ideas and positively influence design direction * Proactively suggest improvements for meebo's existing and future products * Maintaining perspective while balancing polish, edge cases, a strong core user experience, and project deadlines * Serving as an advocate for the end-user To be most effective, you will: * Be familiar with HTML/CSS/JavaScript and have the drive to learn more depending upon the project * Have at least basic Photoshop, Illustrator, or Visio experience for prototyping and concept visualization * Have a keen eye for typography, layout, and user interaction. Even after you've stared at an interface for hours, you can still spot inconsistencies and potential improvements. * Be comfortable with statistical analysis tools and data-mining packages and know how to use the data to influence design. * Have the communication and team skills to facilitate logical design discussions within meebo's engineering, design, and business teams * Promote a clean, intuitive experience that meebo's users will be excited to share with friends and family * Have a background in Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or comparable degree/experience. However, we're more impressed by passion rather than GPAs, degree titles, or years of experience. Please submit resumes and cover letters to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Look forward to hearing from you! Anita Chan meebo Staffing p. 650-237-4189 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Check out meebo careers at: http://jobs.meebo.com http://jobs.meebo.com/ image001.png *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] OLPC: BBC article
Murli: But that does not always translate into ideas and actions that 'succeed'. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to talk to the Minister for Culture for Brazil, Gilberto Gil, about the OPLC. He described how a pilot classroom was seeded with the XO and how that injection of technology in to the community went as far as involving the often illiterate parents in to their child's education. He was not able to give a clear answer to the larger issues of product lifecycle/recycling. But on the whole he was hugely positive about the initiative based on the findings from the pilot scheme. Regards -pauric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=23456 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Co-Relations between Graphic - Digital Media Design
There are design principles that translate easily from print media to digital media, and some of the same creative processes make the transition easily. For some time, though I think it happens less often now, I've seen graphic designers utterly resist the flexible nature of web design because they're conditioned to want absolute control over presentation. I've been guilty of it myself. That way lies madness. The jury is out as to whether the madness manifests more deeply in the designer or the user, but it's a foolish path to pursue. Pursue it if you want to try to prove me wrong. Some otherwise very good web architects and designers are oblivious to how their designs will be presented to a text-only browser, a screen reader, a Blackberry or some other small-screen browser ... or even how it will display on a standard Postscript printer. That needs to change, because smaller devices and adaptive devices will proliferate and become cheaper in a very short time. The power of this medium is in its flexibility, portability and extensibility. Use it! People always think that issues of accessibility, like rape or alcoholism, are about somebody else. The vision impairments that will cause people to use screen readers are increasingly more likely with age. You may have noticed that this baby boom generation is aging, and substantial wealth is concentrated in this market segment. Businesses soon will be taking note of this and targeting that audience, and those businesses will expect us to know how to reach them even if they're using adaptive devices. Structural elements are necessarily more flexible on the Web, and we have to think about how a design re-flows into different containers. Designers and editors for the Web must understand this flexible virtual world as well as designers of yore understood modular layout inspired by people like Piet Mondrian. This virtual digital world is more liquid than solid. As a designer you can work with that. In engineering terms, it's more like building a floating pier than a fixed pier. The challenge now is not to create a changeless work of art, but to design a flexible structure that will flow easily across different digital media. Jakob Nielsen once said something brilliant about developers inevitably creating complexity, and I think that's true of developers who work for other developers. It's been true of designers who seek the approval of other designers, too. You've heard this before, but good design assists in conveying the intended information quickly, effectively and clearly. Whatever else may change, that will not. Jeff Seager _ i’m is proud to present Cause Effect, a series about real people making a difference. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/MTV/?source=text_Cause_Effect *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Uh, who designed that?
Thanks for all of your responses. Each was very helpful in determining a course of action. That said, before I could think too much about it I actually ran into the PM in the hallway this morning. Sensing s/he knew I knew about the design I started of the conversation with some light humor about this person joining the design team w/out going through the proper interview loops, etc. I then dove into determining their motivations and reasons for doing the work. After talking through the problems of the design solution, s/he admitted there were flaws in the design and saw why I hadn't taken that approach. I ended the conversation with appreciation for the work and encouraged this person to submit further ideas to the project team directly. I also mentioned how we'd likely put the design into the RD bucket and likely seek his help in fleshing out the design flaws. All in all, about 10 minutes of my time was used and it went very well. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=23497 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Why has micro-blogging become so popular
Hi, I can relate to people asking questions, posting experience/views, promoting product/ideas etc; in blogs. What I cannot understand is why What are you doing right now (Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku) has become so popular. What value does micro-blogging add which conventional blogging lacks? -Sachendra *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] OLPC: BBC article
I appreciated Murli's questions, and replied to him yesterday when I intended to respond to the list. I've included a slightly edited version of my reply below. I also appreciate Jeff Axup's response, and his point of view that OLPC may be a step in the right direction. I may agree with Jeff, but not without reservations. I have not seen a working model of the laptop, though I applaud the effort to make it affordable and build it around open source software. Is anyone here familiar with the Boxer Rebellion, when China drove away the outsiders who were bringing too much in the way of foreign technology, including the opium trade? After a century of intense Western trade in the southern Chinese seaports, and after repeated and desperate attempts to resolve the problem in other ways, the wisest of those in the crumbling Chinese empire understood that they could not accept new technology without accepting the implications upon which that technology was based. The strict social and moral fabric of China had been disrupted badly by the consequences of foreign trade, and communist rule followed a few years after the death of the last dowager empress, Tzu Hsi (or Cixi, in the pinyin transliteration). The communists brought China into the machine age, which may have prepared the Chinese people for the much more rapid modernization happening today. But at the dawn of the 20th century, it was necessary for China to shun all modernization and take one big collective breath. That function was served by the Boxer Rebellion. Technology is not culture, but culture is implicit in all technology. Besides their overt purpose, technologies are languages by which we transmit our culture. If we buy into this idea that we really are improving the world by exporting computers or any other technology, we may one day have to accept the inevitability that all world cultures must be assimilated into one world culture. Altruism aside, I promise you that somebody is making money on this deal and I suppose that is the real motive force at work in the OLPC program. I like diversity in theory and in practice, and I believe that cultural diversity is an advantage to all of us. Some of that advantage may be forever hidden from us until such time that diversity is no more. Perhaps this technology won't eliminate cultural diversity, but the possibility is something to consider. At worst I think the desire to disseminate such technology is a well-intentioned arrogance, and certainly not the first or the last in human history. Jeff Seager _ i’m is proud to present Cause Effect, a series about real people making a difference. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/MTV/?source=text_Cause_Effect *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Why has micro-blogging become so popular
It goes to show that people have way too much time on their hands :) -- -Vishal http://www.vishaliyer.com On Dec 14, 2007 12:25 PM, Sachendra Yadav [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi, I can relate to people asking questions, posting experience/views, promoting product/ideas etc; in blogs. What I cannot understand is why What are you doing right now (Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku) has become so popular. What value does micro-blogging add which conventional blogging lacks? -Sachendra *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forward/reverse in a mobile phone's music player
The CBC Radio 3 podcast was actually my first encounter with chapters in podcasts and I loved it... I still look for it in all my other podcast subscriptions and am consistently disappointed. It's what makes podcasts more usable than a recording of a live radio show or a long MP3 delivered to my computer.. On Dec 14, 2007 11:14 AM, Meredith Noble [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Jerome, for an example of chapters as described by Jack, check out the CBC Radio 3 podcast on this page: http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/index.html?arts I am a bit of a CBC podcast junkie -- to my knowledge Radio 3 is the only one who uses chapters. It's too bad. I would particularly like to see them on the regional podcasts. (The Toronto podcast, at least, is made up of 3 segments from different shows, and if I don't like the first one, it's a struggle to find the start of the second!) -- Matt Nish-Lapidus email/gtalk: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ++ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattnl Home: http://www.nishlapidus.com *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Why has micro-blogging become so popular
1) Doesn't require thought or reflection, so it's easy. 2) Can be funny...may be some social element here (other people post funny stuff so I do too). On Dec 14, 2007 12:25 PM, Sachendra Yadav [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi, I can relate to people asking questions, posting experience/views, promoting product/ideas etc; in blogs. What I cannot understand is why What are you doing right now (Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku) has become so popular. What value does micro-blogging add which conventional blogging lacks? -Sachendra *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Why has micro-blogging become so popular
Sachendra: What I cannot understand is why What are you doing right now (Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku) has become so popular. I grew up in a small remote town where everyone knew everyone else and even strangers said hello, asked how you were doing and commented on the weather. I noticed this is less common in larger towns and cities. I see the 'micro blog' not at a sharing of information but the fulfillment of a basic human need to connect at a simple level have have our/their existence acknowledged. To my mind, its more about the act than the content. Yes, there have been some 'practical' uses of places like twitter but I think there's a substantial underlying human need being met with these tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=23528 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Your favorite rating interface
On Dec 13, 2007, at 11:03 PM, Jeffrey D. Gimzek ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: I am working on a rating site now and let me tell you this is a tough nut to crack ! 1 - 5 stars are ubiquitous for a reason. The only reason 1-5 stars is ubiquitous is because it's ubiquitous. Anyone remember when hotels and such only went to 4 stars? And now I've seen ones touted as 7 stars. Sounds like starflation to me: when everyone is a 4-star, you have to go to a 5-star system just to differentiate yourself from the crowd. But why is everyone a 4-star? Answer: not because they are all top of the line, but because no one wants to be below the top. (And doubly so when Motel 6 and its peers show up as 2-star, leaving the question of what fleabag is only a 1- star? Eew? The problem of a 1-5 star system is that there is typically no definition of what the various ratings mean. Is 3-star average? (What is average?) Is 1-star avoid even if they pay you to stay there and it's the middle of a blizzard and there is no other place at all within 100 miles? Does no stars mean hasn't been rated or less than 1 star; does it mean both? A number of systems have gone to a 7-star system: 5 stars, no stars, and don't like. (Adobe Bridge, Rhapsody, many others.) Even then, it may do a good job of capturing levels of dislike which may be valuable in some settings -- movies, for example. For that, an 8-star system is probably better: -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 (and unrated). Then you could decide that (picking two movies I saw from the Rotten Tomatoes worst list from last year) than while DaVinci Code and Eragon were both bad, that Eragon was a -2 (Tivo it and maybe remember to watch it later, or not) but DaVinci was only a -1 (might be worth Netflixing some day), while Dreamgirls was a +2 (might be worth buying a copy for your personal library). (Such a positive/negative balance also makes rolling up group averages more accurate.) -- Jim Drew [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.soundskinky.com/blog/ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Why has micro-blogging become so popular
The difference could be the time it takes to compose. A blog is like a book report, term paper or official position on something, whereas a twit(ter) is like an offhand comment. You don't have to think about the second one, but you want to make a strong point (about fly larva, in my case) in the first one. I have 1000 ideas for blogs to write, and never feel in the right frame of mind to write one. I wouldn't use twitter either, but can see its stream of consciousness appeal, even if I personally don't need to share that much with folks on the Internet... Bryan http://www.bryanminihan.com -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Vishal Iyer Sent: Friday, December 14, 2007 3:46 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Why has micro-blogging become so popular It goes to show that people have way too much time on their hands :) -- -Vishal http://www.vishaliyer.com *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Maybe it's just me, but...
I was completing an on-line recommendation for someone to an Ivy League PhD program today, and on the web form there was the following question: Please check if this letter may not be used by the Office of Graduate Affairs after the student registers. The choices were Yes and No (radio buttons). Yes it may not be used? No it may not be used? I'm still mystified. *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Maybe it's just me, but...
Please check if this letter may not be used by the Office of Graduate Affairs after the student registers. The choices were Yes and No (radio buttons). Yes it may not be used? No it may not be used? I think you're supposed to predict the future and say Yes if you think the Office of Graduate Affairs will use your letter - for marketing or personal hygiene, who knows? OR Say Yes if you want them to use it after you register. Say No if you want them to use it before you register. Close the browser if you want their entire database to explode. I like that one...makes me want to register...=] Thanks, Bryan http://www.bryanminihan.com *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Three kinds of design
I've been thinking on this for a while and I admit the idea's still only half-baked. But I thought I'd toss it out to the list for commentary. I think there are three kinds of design for product features (web site features also, not so much with intranet features). 1. Core design. This is the good stuff that we all want to be doing, that we have tools and techniques aimed to support (personas, contextual design, et cetera). We write and speak about this design all the time, and we behave as if it was the only kind of design we do. However, we end up designing other things, and those other things often eat up a lot of design cycles. 2. Demo design. This is particularly prevalent in enterprise software or situations where the customer (person who writes the check) isn't the user (person who works with the software on a regular basis). This design is not for things that support user goals, or that help people complete tasks with the software. Or for that matter, any other metric that's used to judge features in category 1. This design is all about does it look good on a demo? will it impress customers? For example, a program might support complex layout movement/arrangement features for its components. Salespeople will use this to show off how whizzy and powerful the app is. But real users (or at least 95% of them) won't change the default settings or may even be given a 'corporate look' and not allowed to change it. When doing this design, all the user research in the world is irrelevant. Most good interaction design techniques aren't much help either. If it looks good and sales people can memorize a great spiel around it, you design it. (or at least, I do, grimacing all the way. Dunno about anyone else.) 3. Checklist or me too design. This happens a lot in situations where products enter into a highly competitive space, or one where there's a dominant or well-known leader. If you want to compete in the market space then you end up needing to check off certain features on a head-to-head comparison. It's not usually an opportunity to apply innovative design - everyone knows what the feature is and expects it to behave in a certain way or look a certain way. The fact that you can produce a more efficient or aesthetic design isn't really at issue here - doing so would run counter to peoples' expectations and that's not going to help. A classic example here is entering mailing addresses into a form. In the US, having the Zip code uniquely identifies the state, and in over 95% of cases allows you to know the town as well. And yet, every single form asks you for city, state, and then zip code. Why? Because it's not a differentiating feature. Nobody cares that it's 2/3 wasted effort on the user's part. You have to have a way to capture mailing addresses, but the usual interaction design goals don't really apply here. Just do it the standard way. (where here standard really means expected). Does this match up with your experiences? Is there another major category I'm missing that you find sucks up significant design cycles on your projects? --Alan *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Your favorite rating interface
On Dec 14, 2007, at 1:16 PM, Jim Drew wrote: On Dec 13, 2007, at 11:03 PM, Jeffrey D. Gimzek ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: I am working on a rating site now and let me tell you this is a tough nut to crack ! 1 - 5 stars are ubiquitous for a reason. The only reason 1-5 stars is ubiquitous is because it's ubiquitous. Anyone remember when hotels and such only went to 4 stars? And now I've seen ones touted as 7 stars. Sounds like starflation to me: when everyone is a 4-star, you have to go to a 5-star system just to differentiate yourself from the crowd. But why is everyone a 4-star? Answer: not because they are all top of the line, but because no one wants to be below the top. (And doubly so when Motel 6 and its peers show up as 2-star, leaving the question of what fleabag is only a 1- star? Eew? The problem of a 1-5 star system is that there is typically no definition of what the various ratings mean. Is 3-star average? (What is average?) Is 1-star avoid even if they pay you to stay there and it's the middle of a blizzard and there is no other place at all within 100 miles? Does no stars mean hasn't been rated or less than 1 star; does it mean both? A number of systems have gone to a 7-star system: 5 stars, no stars, and don't like. (Adobe Bridge, Rhapsody, ma ny others.) Even then, it may do a good job of capturing levels of dislike which may be valuable in some settings -- movies, for example. For that, an 8-star system is probably better: -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 (and unrated). Then you could decide that (picking two movies I saw from the Rotten Tomatoes worst list from last year) than while DaVinci Code and Eragon were both bad, that Eragon was a -2 (Tivo it and maybe remember to watch it later, or not) but DaVinci was only a -1 (might be worth Netflixing some day), while Dreamgirls was a +2 (might be worth buying a copy for your personal library). (Such a positive/negative balance also makes rolling up group averages more accurate.) OK, but is that instantly understandable ? that is the deal with the stars - ubiquitous = understandable many many people dont really understand negative numbers to see an example of a rating that is almost totally useless, see jobvent.com what's a 1303? what's a - 43? i dont know. i have to figure it out, and by then i dont care. jd - - Jeffrey D. Gimzek | Senior User Experience Designer http://www.glassdoor.com *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Your favorite rating interface
Clearly, the Michelin guide's ratings system is superior, since they only have 3 stars. g Of course, 99.99% of restaurants are beneath their notice and receive no star, so they're only providing ratings from excellent to superlative. Which is actually a good way of controlling your ratings. If I'm being asked to give ratings, I tend to prefer a system that's spelled out. For example: 1 -- I'll never shop here again, you suck 2 -- It would take a major sale to convince me to shop here again 3 -- I will probably shop here again 4 -- I'll definitely shop here again, and recommend you to friends 5 -- Please, take all my money, I love you so much I think spelling out the ratings prevents me from having to think too hard about it (hmm, is it a 6 or a 7?). You might also shame people into not giving you such a lousy rating by using over-the-top humor. Movie/book ratings are always hard because you can either rate all movies against each other or you can rate within genre. So, Eragon might get a 1/10 compared to movies overall, but a 4/10 compared to other fantasy movies. I've also noticed that I tend to rate movies higher if I had low expectations and lower if I had high expectations. One might get better results if you asked people to rate movies compared to other movies. That way you can control whether they're within genre, for example. -- Kim + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Kim Bieler Graphic Design www.kbgd.com 240-476-3129 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Why has micro-blogging become so popular
I can relate to people asking questions, posting experience/views, promoting product/ideas etc; in blogs. What I cannot understand is why What are you doing right now (Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku) has become so popular. The way I see it, microblogging is to weblogging what IM is to email. It's just a different, faster, and more disposable form of self- publishing. I'm on Twitter and it's an awesome way for me to still feel connected in some way to friends that live in different cities. It's also great for when you're at a conference to let people know what you're currently up to or where you're at. Neil *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Why has micro-blogging become so popular
The difference could be the time it takes to compose. A blog is like a book report, term paper or official position on something, whereas a twit(ter) is like an offhand comment. You don't have to think about the second one, but you want to make a strong point (about fly larva, in my case) in the first one. I find this fascinating, because way back when, in the late 90s/early 2000s, I saw my blog as my quick way of getting a thought out into the world. This was compared to writing an article for my site, which I would carefully edit and revise to be as well-written as possible. Now we've gone one step further, to needing a quick version of a blog post. Amazing! As a bit of a side note, it seems to me that the reason blogs became popular was because they were a ready-made content management system. People who didn't know a lot about HTML could get a pretty good looking site up quickly, and without the need to crunch code on a daily basis. If free, easy-to-use, *non-chronological* content management systems had existed at the same time blogs became popular, would people really have latched on to blogs as much as they did? I admit that some information out there is genuinely timely, and loses freshness after a few days -- it makes sense for that content to be in blog format. That said, it seems like a lot of really great content gets missed these days because it's been pushed down to the second page of a blog. If the primary means of access of this content was by topic, perhaps we'd serendipitously find content we're interested in more readily. Am I way out in left field with this? Meredith --- Meredith Noble Information Architect, Usability Matters Inc. 416-598-7770, ext. 6 [EMAIL PROTECTED] *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Time's a wastin' and spaces are going fast ... Interaction08
We are well on our way to an amazing sell-out of Interaction08. We still have only 50-75 spaces left for the conference and well time's a wastin' on the early reg discount which officially ends at midnight tonight. We are so amazed with gratitude with the numbers of people who are supporting this 1.0 conference from this community (and other communities). Well head on over to http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Also, we KNOW! the Hotel is sold out at the conference rate. We are looking at some really good options right within 1 or 2 blocks of the conference site and we'll put up a blog post on the main site when we have that information. Now worries, we are taking care of you all! See ya in Savannah -- dave -- David Malouf http://synapticburn.com/ http://ixda.org/ http://motorola.com/ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Three kinds of design
Alan, This doesn't relate directly to your question, but Luke Wroblewski has a recent blog post where he examines the pros and cons of the approach you mention to collecting address information: http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?605 Dmitry On Dec 14, 2007 2:27 PM, Alan Wexelblat [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: A classic example here is entering mailing addresses into a form. In the US, having the Zip code uniquely identifies the state, and in over 95% of cases allows you to know the town as well. And yet, every single form asks you for city, state, and then zip code. Why? Because it's not a differentiating feature. Nobody cares that it's 2/3 wasted effort on the user's part. You have to have a way to capture mailing addresses, but the usual interaction design goals don't really apply here. Just do it the standard way. (where here standard really means expected). Does this match up with your experiences? Is there another major category I'm missing that you find sucks up significant design cycles on your projects? --Alan *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Three kinds of design
There's another reason, in addition to what Luke points out in his article: Many users enter one of the components wrong. This is why the post office hasn't eliminated the redundancy on the envelope. It's not unusual for someone to get a digit wrong in the zip or to get the name of the town or state wrong. (People regularly confuse MS and MA or MA and MD, for example.) By having both the zip the city/state, both the system (with a decent address verification system) and the post office can do error correction. Jared On Dec 14, 2007, at 6:15 PM, Dmitry Nekrasovski wrote: Alan, This doesn't relate directly to your question, but Luke Wroblewski has a recent blog post where he examines the pros and cons of the approach you mention to collecting address information: http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?605 Dmitry On Dec 14, 2007 2:27 PM, Alan Wexelblat [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: A classic example here is entering mailing addresses into a form. In the US, having the Zip code uniquely identifies the state, and in over 95% of cases allows you to know the town as well. And yet, every single form asks you for city, state, and then zip code. Why? Because it's not a differentiating feature. Nobody cares that it's 2/3 wasted effort on the user's part. You have to have a way to capture mailing addresses, but the usual interaction design goals don't really apply here. Just do it the standard way. (where here standard really means expected). Does this match up with your experiences? Is there another major category I'm missing that you find sucks up significant design cycles on your projects? --Alan *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Time's a wastin' and spaces are going fast ... Interaction08
On Dec 14, 2007 3:08 PM, David Malouf [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: We are well on our way to an amazing sell-out of Interaction08. We still have only 50-75 spaces left for the conference and well time's a wastin' on the early reg discount which officially ends at midnight tonight. Wait so the early-bird deadline of the 15th means that the discount ends at midnight on the 14th? -xian (the procrastinator)- -- Christian Crumlish http://xianlandia.com Yahoo! pattern detective http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns IA Institute director of technology http://iainstitute.org *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Three kinds of design
Alan Wexelblat kirjoitti 15.12.2007 kello 0:27: I've been thinking on this for a while and I admit the idea's still only half-baked. Your ideas and observations reflect with mine. But I think there's #0, which is where every designer begins: getting away from what me or you personally thinks is cool. That's a sticky problem. We are hard-wired to like the things we've worked so hard for, like your grandpa, and the grandpa before that... To the list: 1. Core design. This is the good stuff that we all want to be doing, Good stuff from the end user's point of view, right? There is the stuff that should be in the design, and I think it's absolute what should be there - theoretically at least - more advanced design methods are making us sharper at identifying, which form, information and behavior helps the users and customers to achieve their goals better than what they had before, and what the competition offers. 2. Demo design. This is particularly prevalent in enterprise software or situations where the customer (person who writes the check) Almost every product/service goes through some layer of enterprise or financial management, or a bank, unless the entrepreneur has deep pockets her-/himself. This means that some part of the design must be especially comfortable to inform to the stakeholders, and none of it should be especially uncomfortable to inform to the stakeholders. -- A demonstration is required but it's not sufficient. Design communication is a tough topic in itself. 3. Checklist or me too design. This could be thought as the design of how to make the final product/ service comfortable to sell. The salespeople have to establish a business relationship with every customer, and they can have one to one hundred (?) relationships per day. Feature lists are a good shortcut for negotiation. Quite often a customer doesn't have time or money to make a truly rational choice. Therefore, we must design the product to feel good to sell and buy. Does it matter if the purchase decision is irrational, if they end up with your design, which hopefully helps them to achieve their goals better than the alternatives? Checklist or me too considerations are required but not sufficient. But you've probably identified a need for a design/ prediction process, which isn't limited to what you mentioned. Is there another major category I'm missing that you find sucks up significant design cycles on your projects? It's really hard to not like your own experience with your own design, and that's what I'd add to the list. It does suck up a lot of design cycles. So, #0 No self-referential design #1 Design for the users #2 Design for the stakeholders #3 Design for the salespeople and the buyers Number three has 2 groups. If you bow to the sales force, you have to bend over to the buyers, and vice versa. In the end they have to agree on the same price, so there is a design target - the value of the exchange. (Beliefs * Desires) = Value? Thanks, Petteri -- Petteri Hiisilä Senior Interaction Designer iXDesign / +358505050123 / [EMAIL PROTECTED] Simple is better than complex. Complex is better than complicated. - Tim Peters *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] On the topic of twitter - Why?
A few interesting thoughts here. First off: (http://twitter.com/daveixd) What is interesting is that almost everyone has looked at this question from the Poster's point of view and not the reader's. Very interesting. I LOVE reading my twitter follower's feed. Sometimes its a bit much when David Armano is at a conference, or Thomas Vander Wal is traveling around the world (I mean how many times can one man be stuck on a tarmack?). But it is a great way for me to not be connected (that's like 'ease of use'), but rather to get new insights into the lives of. Examples. I have met with, corresponded with, even planned a conference with Dan Saffer, but I only found out through twitter that he plays cello. There are a million such situations like this. Now going back to the other side of it (and I'm concentrating on twitter). First off, I don't think of it as micro-blogging. It is not a log in any sense of the term for me, the way a blog is, or maybe it is more like a log than a blog is. But it is so much about the way I monitor it. The fact that it can come into so many different platforms and they are all push (by choice/selection). And I can push back through all of those same platforms as well. Next thing, it is sometimes an easier (and also cheaper) way to SMS someone, especially someone around the world. I love doing back and forth direct message conversations with Daniel Szuc in Hong Kong (or wherever he is this week -- I think Taipei). The fact that I even know he is in Taipei would have never happened before twitter. A great resource to look up about all this are some of the talks on Leisa's blog www.disambiguity.com. Just look for ambient intimacy. On a separate note, this is also why I use facebook. It's stream/feed is also a great way to relate to people in a different way. -- dave -- David Malouf http://synapticburn.com/ http://ixda.org/ http://motorola.com/ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
