About
This blog is where I share what I’m passionate about and what’s currently got my attention in the realm of User Experience (UX), User Centred Design (UCD), Information Architecture (IA), Interaction Design (IxD), and Usability.
I’m particularly interested in where these things intersect with Social Design and have a great interest in how social environments online shape us and how we shape them, and how we as designers should be getting involved in improving our social experience online.
My name is Leisa Reichelt. I do freelance contextual research and user centred design. I’m based in London but have quite a bit of experience working remotely.
What does this mean? Well, it means that I am interested in creating experiences online that are both pleasurable and effective. I take a User Centred approach to Design. This is an approach that can be applied in virtually any environment you can think of – from a retail space, to a phone call, to a website.
I use techniques like ethnography, depth interviewing, shadowing, day-in-the-life-ing, diary studying, concept mapping, and other fun stuff to work out who your audience is, what they do, what they want, and what you can do for them.
I then use skills in Information Architecture, Interaction Design, and my good understanding of what makes interfaces Usable to help define the requirements for a project, understand (and often define) the content and functionality involved, and design a structure (or architecture) and interface.
I’ve been doing this kind of work for more than 10yrs, under various guises both in Australia and the UK.
If you’re interested in working with me, then please don’t hesitate to contact me on the email address below.
Is this your first visit to my blog? Well then, let me point you in the direction of some of my most popular/favourite posts so far. Here’s a selection:
- Ambient Intimacy
- Chatting with Bill Moggridge – Part One | Part Two | Part Three
- Pair Design Pays Dividends
- Less is not enough
- The six species of Information Architect
- There are three kinds of bloggers
- Boxes and Arrows (Ten ways that packing up a house is liked Information Architecture)
- Women of 2.0 (Get up, Stand up)
- Design is a good idea (on ugliness, with some thoughts on the DesignGuys Craiglist ‘realignment’)
- User Experience and Cognitive Pleasures
- Pattern Driven Usability (Opportunities and Challenges)
- Storytelling Requirements (and why most focus groups are a waste of time)
Blogging is about the conversation, so don’t be shy. Please drop me a comment at the end of a post or send me an email and say hi!
cheers.
Leisa
leisa.reichelt at gmail.com
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18 Comments
leisa.reichelt on February 14th, 2006
hi Ric, thanks for stopping by 
Lots of work on in Adelaide at the moment?
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WebWord » Blog Archive » Left, Right, Top, Bottom Navigation? on April 24th, 2006
[...] Good list, Leisa! [...]
about page updated at disambiguity on August 25th, 2006
[...] About [...]
Berkun blog » Blog Archive » Can we do better than Gannt charts? on September 28th, 2006
[...] Leisa over at disambiguty laments the absence of Gannt charts in various popular project management tools – In a fun post she not only comments on basecamp and the brand new GoPlan, but advises on the wins gained by visualizing schedules. [...]
TSNS. | Blog » Il valore aggiunto di Twitter: Ambient intimacy on March 22nd, 2007
[...] Leisa Reichelt, disambiguity: “Ambient Intimacy”. [...]
Mb. : Matt Balara thinking about design » Blog Archive » Reboot 9/Day 1: Happiness & 20 Seconds on May 31st, 2007
[...] Much more entertaining and potentially useful were the “Micropresentations” which followed. Seven presenters, each has 15 slides and 20 seconds per slide. It was exhilirating and often hilarious, but amazing how wildly the presentations differed, not only in subjects but, more interestingly, in effectiveness. For example, Leisa Reichelt’s “Ambient Intimacy” flowed with humour and intelligence as if she’d done this every day, while others stumbled to complete each slide in time (no names, I’m not out to embarrass anyone who failed as dramatically as I probably would) and brought very little across. Note to myself and colleagues who present: we need to do this once a week. If you can not only survive but also communicate in such a form, you’re a Powerpoint God. [...]
Mb. : Matt Balara thinking about design » Blog Archive » Linkbag of Constant Noise on November 29th, 2007
[...] Although Noam Cohen doesn’t seem to understand how Tumblr and Twitter differ, he’s written an interesting article for the New York Times about the social effects of being constantly, but lightly, in touch with hundreds. And he quotes all—round smart Aussie lady and Twitter friend Leisa Reichelt. [...]
esphères identitaires » Blog Archive » Twitter! je ne boirai jamais de ton eau et pourtant… on December 6th, 2007
[...] …et pourtant je m’amusais déjà avec le mood message de skype que je mets à jour tous les jours. Ensuite j’ai continué à m’amuser avec les status update de Facebook. À suivre mes êtres chers ailleurs, à laisser des pistes sur mon quotidien… Mais depuis Facebook Beacon, j’ai de moins en moins envie de laisser ma trace via Facebook: j’ai vérrouillé mes privacy settings à mort, bloqué Beacon, coupé court aux histoires suscitant le voyeurisme des mini-feeds, éliminé un tas d’applications inutiles juste pour le fun et revisité la signification d’amis de sorte que je suis fière de n’avoir que 10 amis! Ensuite je suis tombée sur The RWW Guide to the World’s Most Popular Twitter Clients ainsi que sur d’autres ressources abordant la notion d’ambient intimacy (i.e. Ambient intimacy is about being able to keep in touch with people with a level of regularity and intimacy that you wouldn’t usually have access to, because time and space conspire to make it impossible, Leisa Reichelt) et aussi Video: Twitter and Ambient Intimacy. [...]
notizblog - Weblog der Social Web WORLD: Social Media: Hintergrundrauschen mit sozialen Bindungs- und Agenda-Setting-Mechanismen on February 7th, 2009
[...] die ich mit diesem Services aus meinem sozialen Umfeld gewinne. Er verweist dabei auf Leisa Reichelt, für die das Thema unter dem englischen Begriff “ambient intimacy” läuft (während [...]
How to be a hero with stuff like Twitter, Facebook, blogs, delicious, wikis and more | Steven Milstein's Blog on February 25th, 2009
[...] 3: Find a project management tool that’s sociable Flip through Leisa Reichelt’s presentation about how project management is evolving. Social Project Management View [...]
mike on March 19th, 2009
Hi Leisa
I need a better class of mates
Any tips on getting into Ux as a collaborator (not as designer – though I know what I like )
Hoping to make the UxLondon but on the waiting list.
I have chocolate.
mike
[Reply]
Digitalks - Medienkompetenz für Menschen über 26 » Digitalks Spezial Weib2null Rückblick on September 15th, 2009
[...] praktische Tipps von Leisa Reichelt, die mir sehr gut gefallen haben, wie Frauen sich und sich gegenseitig sichtbar machen können, ihr [...]
Kristina on December 9th, 2009
Unfortunately there is no audio file. o you still have it? It might be very interesting for my final thesis.
http://www.disambiguity.com/podpress_trac/web/414/0/BillMoggridge_Part3.mp3
[Reply]
fmachs on December 11th, 2009
Awesome content Leisa.
Your posts will be my homework at weekend 
Like I told you on Slideshare (hope that you received the message), guess we have some in common, the UX stuffs and the user research thing. Specially the user research work ( that I am in love with ).
Soon i will be blogging about it. Hope you drop some tips there!
[Reply]
Ric on February 13th, 2006
Pleased to meet you – I’m Ric, I live in Adelaide,and we seem to do similar work …
[Reply]