CategoryDesign Patterns

April 22, 2014 — Users skip or otherwise ignore dialogs, tours, video demos and transparencies. At best, users find them a minor inconvenience. At worst, the patterns significantly aggravate new users who are trying to get into the app. In this article, Theresa Neil and Rick Malley will look at why many common tutorial patterns are ineffective and how you can leverage game design principles to increase user engagement. Read more…

February 24, 2014 — An off-canvas menu is a great way to maintain context while giving the user a lot of additional information. In this article, Kyle Peatt will talk about why off-canvas has become so successful as a navigation pattern. Countless methods and patterns are waiting to be discovered by intrepid designers. The potential of this pattern is bound only by our drive to pioneer. It’s time that we explore just how far off canvas we can go! Read more…

January 6, 2014 — In this second part, Pete Smart will share what travelling 2517 miles taught him. Every day, he had 24 hours to observe a problem, attempt to solve it and then communicate the solution. For more of an introduction to the adventure, “50 Problems in 50 Days, Part 1: Real Empathy for Innovation” gives an overview of the project. Read more…

January 2, 2014 — Working walls are known by countless names. Underlying them all is a single idea: that physically pinning our sources of inspiration and work in progress can help us to rearrange concepts and unlock breakthrough insights. According to Vyas and his colleagues at the University of Twente, designers integrate these surfaces “artfully” and organize information in such a way that it empowers them to visualize and extend their work in progress. Read more…

October 9, 2013 — Things such as group brainstorming, on-the-fly presentations and open workspaces have become the norm in most design agencies. But the stereotypical extrovert is just one of the personalities that make up a successful team. A lot of people who excel at and are passionate about design are actually introverts. So, how can we better balance our teams and elevate extroverts and introverts alike? As introverted UX designers ourselves, we’ve been unsurprisingly passionate about finding answers to this conundrum. Read more…

May 17, 2013 — Web typography is as rich, versatile and accessible as ever before. Yet new opportunities introduce new complexity; and with new implementation challenges, we are all spurred to reconsider our practices. Now, we’ve reviewed the original study and explored how Web typography has changed over these years. Read more…

March 1, 2013 — Probably the most famous interface in sci-fi is gestural — the precog scrubber interface in Minority Report. This is one of the most memorable things in a movie that is crowded with future technologies, and it is one of the most referenced interfaces in cinematic history. By using it, detective John Anderton rushes to the scene of a future crime to prevent it and arrest the would-be perpetrator. Read more…

February 1, 2013 — In this article, Greg Nudelman uses the analogy of a real-world amusement park carousel to explain what makes for an authentically mobile user experience. Also, find the design, the complete source code and a downloadable mini-app, which you can use today to add an enjoyable and effective carousel to your own app on phones and tablets. Read more…

August 10, 2012 — Designing for device orientation brings various challenges and requires careful thinking. The experience must be as unobtrusive and transparent as possible, and we must understand the context of use for this functionality. Read more…

July 12, 2012 — Mobile users and mobile usage are growing. With more users doing more on mobile, the spotlight is on how to improve the individual elements that together create the mobile user experience. Read more…