June 16, 2009 in
conferences with
Here is a dump of my live tweets during The Don’s presentation at UX London. I’m writing a more coherent version of this for Johnny Holland
Don Norman on the stage. Last speaker of the day at UX London
the Don opens with ‘Thank you, it is now time for questions’
whenever anyone says they want something, I oppose it. I question it. #uxlondon #TheDon
Rules of complexity: Life is complex, The tools we build have to match life, the problem is understanding not simplicity #uxlondon #TheDon
Complexity is not bad. Complicated is bad. #uxlondon #TheDon
If you want to make something simple you compensate by making other things complex #uxlondon #TheDon
When @lukewdesign
Complex can be enjoyable. Some simple things can be horrible. #uxlondon #TheDon
Don Normal talking about the doors. What a treat. #uxlondon #TheDon
‘I highly recommend walking around with sticky green dots to remind yourself which way things should turn’ #uxlondon #TheDon
As a generalisation, Asian cultures prefer more complex interfaces #uxlondon #TheDon (123india.com vs google.com)
he even sounds a bit like a messiah, don’t you think?
Magpies are the only bird that can pass the mirror test, can lie, they’re extremely intelligent #uxlondon #TheDon #WhoKnew
reading music is incredibly complex but it produces amazing things, we don’t complain about that complexity. #uxlondon #TheDon
People whose offices look messy often know where their stuff is & are better able to find things than ‘neat’ people. #uxlondon #TheDon Amen
Too simple is boring. To complex is frustrating. There’s an ideal amount. Experience moves the preferred complexity up. #uxlondon #TheDon
Being distracted is sometimes a good thing, it can be how we learn things. #uxlondon #TheDon
some ‘simple’ tools take time to use well. eg. a silversmith’s hammer #uxlondon #TheDon
there’s a sweet spot for complexity & engaging things are found in that sweetspot, but it keeps shifting! #uxlondon #TheDon
As I get better at something, I need increased complexity to maintain interest, otherwise I get bored. #uxlondon #TheDon
Complexity is good. It’s good to feel the world disappear as you engage in what you’re doing. It’s enjoyable & productive #uxlondon #TheDon
I think Don is proving his point re: complexity & understanding (unconvinced by his suggestion to redesign musical scales) #uxlondon #TheDon
@fred_beecher we are sending seriously mixed messages – we say we want simplicity but we buy things because they’ve got more features #uxlondon #TheDon
we can’t resist features. Even when incredibly simple mobile phones are produced, we don’t buy them. We want features. #uxlondon #TheDon
quoting The Paradox of Choice, Schwartz – we have more choices than ever but less satisfaction. More is Less #uxlondon #TheDon
You can contain complexity by putting things in modular clumps so you only see options when you need them #uxlondon #TheDon
Google’s advanced search interfaces helps me do something complex in a supported way and starts to teach me Boolean search #uxlondon #TheDon
the solution: conceptual model #uxlondon #TheDon
eg file system interface is a fake. It doesn’t really exist but it helps me understand where to find things on my computer #uxlondon #TheDon
But the Graphical User Interface does not scale. #uxlondon #TheDon
Another solution: Systems Thinking #uxlondon #TheDon
The reason the ipod is such a success is that it is a complete system. License music iTunes iPod #uxlondon #TheDon
Lots of the visiting US speakers are talking up the Kindle. And saying it’s increasing their reading volume. Jealous. #uxlondon #TheDon
Complexity can be fun – for example this very complicated coffee maker. I don’t know if it makes good coffee or not #uxlondon #TheDon
and that’s the end of Don Norman’s ‘In Favour of Complexity’ – what a treat! #uxlondon #TheDon
from the Q&A – if I can’t get my pictures out of my camera, it’s hopeless. The whole system has to work #uxlondon #TheDon
in the old days we suffered through technology, but now we are selling to everyday people. Things have to work. It really matters.
June 16, 2009 in
daily del.icio.us links with
Here is a dump of my live tweets during Jeff’s presentation at UX London. I’m writing a more coherent version of this for Johnny Holland
@veen @veen a tiny little 6yr old epiphany for @veen
tools for participation lots of capacity to store data = some pretty cool effects
there are 24hrs of video uploaded every 8 seconds on YouTube.
as a designer I can look into the data and see if there is something in there I can use to inform the design (eg. the colour)
I’ve taken the story out of the data and shown it by applying design elements
‘decorating’ data rather than using design to provide better access is dangerous. @veen
Google Analytics interface inspired by Indiana Jones @veen
use visualisation to change behaviour (statistics can be anesthetizing, hard to make meaning)
find the story in the data, assign different visual queues to each dimension, remove everything that isn’t telling the story
mini theme from #uxlondon – don’t be a control freak
think more about giving yr audience tools so they can find their own patterns & stories, rather than controlling their experience
shout out to Dopplr at
provide filters to enable clarity (helping people make sense of data) @veen
Storytelling using data visualisation is incredibly compelling Now we need to give people tools so they can find their own stories
@veen research is great but it’s just data that you use to inform your design. Data doesn’t tell you how to design. shoutout to @stop
@veen @zeldman ‘The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.’ Richard Hamming, 1962 #uxlondon (via @ritchielee
June 16, 2009 in
conferences with
Here is a dump of my live tweets during Jared’s presentation at UX London. I’m writing a more coherent version of this for Johnny Holland
warming up my twitter fingers in a vain attempt to keep up with @jmspool
‘ …and they thought that was just a senseless waste of asterisks’ @jmspool
designs can’t intuit anything, people intuit things, calling design ‘intuitive’ is a shortcut.
people become frustrated because they are no longer focussing on what they are doing, they are focussing on the design itself
novelty isn’t always responsible for unintuitive design, sometimes it is simplicity
intuitive design is a personal thing – it is based on what you currently know (your previous experiences)
intuitive design is evolutionary – as the technology matures, our expectation for intuitive design increases.
Current Knowledge (what the user brings with them to the design) & Target Knowledge (what they need to have to complete their task)
In between ‘Current’ and ‘Target’ knowledge = ‘The Gap’. Design happens in The Gap.
is anyone at #uxlondon heading over to tonight’s UX London bookclub? (via @Wandster
Lots of excellent (but not so tweetable) comparisons of IM setup pages and their relative ‘intuitiveness’
wizards reduce Target Knowledge, which is great… as long as they work. If they don’t work, the user is screwed.
a design is intuitive if target and current knowledge are the same, or the knowledge gap imperceptibly small.
ethnography/field research: users in the mist @jmspool
Techniques for creating intuitive designs: Field Studies (Current Knowledge), Usability Studies (Target Knowledge)
use robust personas to store and communicate what you learn from your user studies
can’t believe @jmspool
June 16, 2009 in
conferences with
Here is a dump of my live tweets during Dan’s presentation at UX London. I’m writing a more coherent version of this for Johnny Holland
Designing from the Inside-Out: Behaviour as the Egine of Product Design with @odannyboy
@21five it is easier to focus on things like form than it is on behaviour.
many competitive products do very similar things, it is the behaviour of the products that differentiates them (eg iphone/nokia)
features are not a good long term strategy for product differentiation. eg. Flip Camcorders
behaviour led design can be a great defender against featuritis
very pretty KeyNote transitions @odannyboy
It’s easy to replicate features but it is hard to copy how those features behave if care is taken to design them well
Stop looking for people’s goals and preferences and start looking for what they do and why they do it.
Focus on: Motivations, Expectations, Actions, not demographics or preferences for customer modeling
Transitions Matter #uxlondon (ref: previous tweet re: Dan’s keynote transitions. lol)
@odannyboy @lukewdesign If the product was an action, what would that action be? There is a big difference btwn ‘design X’ and ‘design something to do X’
‘So, am I saying form follows function? Somewhat, but don’t quote me’ @odannyboy
