Re: [IxDA Discuss] Help! Is there a Cardiothoracic Surgeon in the room?
Let me first say that I agree with Jared's POV on the value of being a generalist. As for this: In my opinion, we'll see less emphasis on individual specialist job titles going forward. We're already seeing that in the job postings that have come out in the last year. They tend to be looking for more generalist individuals with a well-rounded, rich set of skills. Many teams can't afford to have members who are missing the core skills, even if the skills they have are rich unto themselves. I think the rise in interest in people with broad skills has a lot to do with the economy. Every time it goes down the toilet, employers want people who can fill more than one role. When the economy improves and more bodies are needed, that pressure is alleviated and employers become less picky and demanding. It happened in 2001 and again in 2008. Nancy Nancy Broden nancy.bro...@gmail.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] The tiny things matter - a UX story
[Car B] in this story is a 2010 Lexus RX350, which my husband and I recently purchased. I too found it somewhat annoying that the audio function begins playing the first item at the top of the list, be it a song on your iPod or an XM station. The solution is to use the Lexus' voice-control features instead. They are quite sophisticated and there is a learning curve to getting used to them, but they work fine and provide the quickest way to get to what you're looking for, be it a location on the route or a radio station. And, when you come to think of it, shouldn't the driver be using this instead of fiddling with a mouse? Nancy On Mar 12, 2009, at 8:18 AM, Alan Wexelblat wrote: We all have these stories, I suspect. A friend wrote this up and I'm passing it along, with his permission, anonymized. He was buying a new car - fairly high end, significant purchase: The choice came down to [Car A], which is an updated version of my old car, or the [Car B]. I love love loved the feel of spaciousness in [Car B], I could have used the cargo space, and the user interface with the nav/audio screen is stunning. (You get a mouse-like thing instead of the touch screen that you have in the ES and it's really quite brilliantly designed.) But it couldn't compete with the smoothness, comfort and quiet of [Car A]I want my car to feel like my living room---I mean like my NEW living room, since I replaced the couch---and [Car A] comes closest to that. So it was a close call. But here's what finally swayed me. It's a tiny thing, but when it's so close a call, the tiny things matter. That brilliant user interface in the RX has one glaring flaw. Namely: When you're using your iPod (which plugs in through the USB port in the armrest!), you can scroll through songs, albums, artists, etc, on the car's screen---but whatever your cursor is currently touching starts to play. So you can't listen to one thing while scrolling around deciding what to listen to next. As soon as you start scrolling, the song changes. Suppose I want to play a song that starts with L, making it, oh, about song #3000 on my alphabetical list. I bring up the song menu. It shows me the first twelve songs on my list, starting with something like A is for Alligator, and it starts playing the first of those songs. I hit the button to go to the next screen; it shows me twelve more songs and starts playing the first of those. Then on to the next screen and the next.By the time I get to my L song, I've listened to the first few bars of, oh, about 300 songs or so. As far as I can tell, there is no way to scroll through the list without this happening. Caveat: They lent me the car for 24 hours; I tried very hard to find a way around this and couldn't find one. Maybe if I'd had the car for 48 hours, I'd have discovered it. [Car A], being old technology, just has you plug your iPod in through an audio jack and then you operate your iPod in the usual way, using the iPod screen instead of the car's screen. That's much better. So here's a situation in which a major purchase turns on a tiny detail of user interaction. There are probably thousands and thousands of stories like this, mostly undocumented. Hope you enjoyed reading this one, --Alan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Nancy Broden nancy.bro...@gmail.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Whistler Trip after IxDA
A strong maybe for me and my husband. No preference for before or after the conference. Nancy Broden [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Oct 10, 2008, at 5:44 PM, Todd Zaki Warfel wrote: Anyone interested in doing a trip to Whistler after the IxDA conference? They have a bus that will take you from Vancouver to Whistler and back. Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel President, Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. 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] Clients are funny
In my more jaded moments as a consultant I used say that there was only one user you needed to please: the CEO. I just prayed that s/he knew how to turn on their computer and what a browser was. On Aug 25, 2008, at 12:27 PM, Marty DeAngelo wrote: I got an email about an hour ago telling me that our client was concerned that the video player on one of our projects pages had controls that were 'below the fold', and the client was concerned it would cause user experience problems. Nancy Broden [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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 at Qik, Inc., Full-time, San Francisco Bay Area
This is a great opportunity to work with a tight-knit team on a service that is revolutionizing the way people share video with their networks. Our service crosses platform, so we are interested in talking with interaction designers who have web-only experience but are interested in learning more about the mobile space, as well as IDs who've worked in mobile and are looking for a chance to broaden their experience. Please submit your resume with a portfolio website to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Candidates are strongly encouraged to have an online portfolio for best consideration. This position is located in Redwood City, CA. Only candidates with proper permits to work in the United States can be considered. Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates. Nancy Broden Director of User Experience, Qik, Inc. -- Job Description Qik, Inc. is looking for a mid-level interaction designer to join its User Experience team on a permanent, full-time basis. The interaction designer should have a strong understanding of the user-centered design process and be comfortable working independently alongside design and engineering team members. The ideal candidate should have 2-3 years of experience designing interfaces for the web and/or mobile and feel comfortable in a fast-paced startup environment. About Qik Qik (http://qik.com) enables camera-equipped mobile phones to stream live video to the world via 3G, GPRS and Wi-Fi networks. Qik is changing the way people communicate and interact with others by letting them share what they see and interact with friends, family or a broader audience in real-time. Qik is a well-funded startup offering competitive compensation packages and great benefits. We are located steps from the Caltrain station in Redwood City, 30 minutes from San Francisco and San Jose by bullet train. Our office is around the corner from outstanding live music at the Fox and Little Fox Theatres, across the street from free entertainment in Courthouse Square, and surrounded by a wide array of restaurants. If you are excited at the thought of designing a new way for people create and share experiences with others, we’d like to speak with you! Responsibilities include: - performing heuristic audits - developing conceptual models, personas, scenarios and storyboards - defining user task and interaction flows - creating screen- and page-level interaction designs - writing user interface specifications that capture proposed designs in details - working with a multi-disciplinary team to evaluate the feasibility of proposed solutions. Required qualifications: - strong understanding and demonstrable experience of user-centered design process - 2+ years designing effective interfaces for mobile applications and/ or consumer facing web-based applications - undergraduate degree in relevant field and/or equivalent work experience - ability to communicate conceptual ideas and design rationale to other members of the design, development and executive team - working experience with appropriate design tools including OmniGraffle, Adobe CS, etc. as they relate to documenting interface flows and screen- or page-level features and functionality - focused attention to detail - sense of humor and positive, flexible attitude - ability to multi-task and work on competing tasks with tight timelines - strong interpersonal, communication and problem-solving skills - comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic startup environment Desired qualifications: - prefer candidates with previous experience in an agency setting and/ or OEM/wireless carrier background - domain experience in relevant technologies (J2ME, WAP) and platforms (J2ME, Symbian, MS, iPhone, Blackberry) advanced degree in relevant field --- 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 haven't video calls taken off
Add to these the fact that simply seeing the other person on the other end of the line adds very little to the communication. Now, if I were to see what you see, instead of just seeing you On May 30, 2008, at 9:34 AM, Peyush Agarwal wrote: Alexander, I'm not sure I agree with the notion of 'greedy interface' as the problem. I mean, it's the whole point when you do video calls, no? I think rather that there are 3 general issues with video phoning - 1. Technology - they are bandwidth heavy, and unreliable in terms of quality. Sometimes it's good other times choppy etc. It has to work like tv all the time from any location. Sort of how audio phoning works. 2. Logistics - maybe this is also technological, but it's too much hassle to sit in the right place, have the right lighting etc. to make it worthwhile. I remember when I first used webcams (low res, choppy etc.) the excitement of seeing someone from another part of the world was quickly overcome by constantly wanting to 'place' them such that I could be 'eye to eye' with them, and be able to see their face properly etc. Typically, lights behind the person that work fine as local ambient light are terrible for the person on the other end of the call - all they see is a silhouette. 3. Privacy - I think it would be just terrible if you HAD to use videoconferencing - I don't have to pat down my cowlick in order to speak over the phone today, or put on a tie etc. Nancy Broden [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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] What do you think: Is participating in a poll social networking?
Polls are a one-way feedback mechanism. Unless there's a way to turn that into a two-way street, I wouldn't think of it as a social networking feature. N On May 28, 2008, at 12:09 PM, Tom Dell'Aringa wrote: If you had a social network that had all the typical features, friends, photos, chat, etc., and it also had polls, would you consider polls as part of that social network? Nancy Broden [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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] Don't listen to your customers.
I second Todd's observation. There is nothing better than being in your customer's environment to help you as a designer puts some context around what they are saying. I'll share an IDEO story that they like to show to clients to help them understand why contextual sessions with customers are necessary. IDEO was working with a client in the health and beauty industry. As a part of the project, the team interviewed extreme users - those people who said they never, ever used beauty products or services, as well as those for whom pampering was a regular habit. The clip that IDEO plays is of a forklift operator - a big burly guy who falls into the former category. During the session, one of the observers noted that there was a home foot spa next to the sofa where the interview was taking place. When asked about it, the guy admitted that it wasn't just for his fiancee, that he used it as well, explaining that the boots he had to wear for work every day did a number on his feet and the spa helped relieve his aches and pain. He simply didn't (or didn't want to) interpret that to be a 'beauty product' or his daily foot spa to be 'pampering'... On Mar 28, 2008, at 5:45 AM, Todd Zaki Warfel wrote: There is a difference between doing what your customers say and actually finding out/interpreting their needs based on a conversation with them and observing their behaviors. Nancy Broden [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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] The Millenials are coming
I remember when my generation was described this way, waaay back in 1984, the year I graduated from high school. Unfortunately, the stock market crashed in 87 and the recession dragged out into the early 90s. By that time, battered by lack of opportunity, we'd become Gen X - a bunch of nihilistic slackers. God help the millenials if they find themselves in the same situation. I don't think they'd have the skills to cope. On 11/15/07, Joseph Selbie [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Robert wrote: Some of them are the greatest generation. They're more hardworking. They have these tools to get things done, she explains. They are enormously clever and resourceful. -- Nancy -- [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
