Fairfax Digital UX Blog

Collection of interesting things happening in the UX space

Designing for Tomorrow

Technology changes fast and there is always a risk that what is great today will be so-so six months later, and positively tired in two years. So how can you design something that maintains lasting relevance?

 Jonathan Duhig (Objective Digital) wrote this article on Designining for Tomorrow which introduce the basic trend analysis and highlights some observed trends in technology design:

  • Casualness
  • Connectedness
  • Interaction replacing IA
  • Hi-fi - Lo-fi loops

Read more...


Getting people to sign-up

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No one I've met has actually *liked* registration.  It's just a hoop users are forced to jump through.

Given that no one wants to do it, it kinda makes sense to make it as easy as possible it you want people to engage with your product/service. This little article from six revisions has some great tips on how to maximise your registration conversion rates.

[Source: Six revisions]

Finding your mobile niche

For years designers have been crying 'Less is More!'. When applied to mobile, this design mantra has never been more true.

Here's a little thought experiment: Think of your favourite mobile app. Can you describe what it does?  Chances are your description of the app will be short and sweet. Most apps are great not because they do lots of stuff but because they do one thing and they do it brilliantly.

But adding more features is all too tempting. Especially when you're working in a commercial environment where features are often sponsored, or worse, 'productised'.

Finding your mobile niche is a great article discussing different ways for existing brands have created powerful mobile experiences while (ironically) doing very little.

[Source: UX Magazine]

The History of Spaghetti Sauce (or "Choice and happiness")

Malcom Gladwell is one smart guy.

I've recently stumbled upon his book 'What the Dog saw' and from there discovered his Ted talk around spaghetti sauce. Sounds like a fairly mundane topic for a Ted talk but his entertaining story highlights a deeper more fundamental concept about choice and happiness.

From a user experience point of view, it highlights how user research needs to shift from searching for universals truths to embracing variability.

Source: Ted