Update & Happy New Year

As you can see, I am no longer regularly updating my blog. I still plan to post thoughts on design and user experience as time or if time permits. For more recent thoughts if really interested, check out my twitter feed.

Happy new year everyone!
...and for my french followers...
Bonne Année à tous!

Interesting Ideas: Wind-Powered Ball to Clear Mines

The Mine Kafon (teaser) from Callum Cooper on Vimeo.

Sign of the month: No fishing between arrows

Seen at the Santa Monica pier.
Note: there are no other arrows than the ones on the sign.

Designing for Multiple Devices

I have been looking for a while for a specifications sheet for designing for multiple devices and today I've come closer to what I am looking for. Today's UX Magazine feature article lists common resolutions for different devices and offers some great guidelines for beginners on how to plan your design strategy when designing for multiple devices. The article outlines some great reminders for those

Here are three reminders that are not emphasized enough in my opinion:

1. When possible, design for mobile first since the mobile environment offers the most constraints both real estate-wise and feature-wise.
2. Make sure to identify the users' goals for each separate type of device (tablet versus smartphone versus PC, etc). The user's primary and secondary goals depend on the context of use of each device and therefor the users' goals need to be defined for each type of device. You might be surprised at what you discover!
3. Design low detail wireframes then high detail wireframes followed by visual design mockups scaled to each screen size and containing the essential elements common across all devices types. This helps to create unity across devices in the early stages of design.
4. Establish and document design style guidelines and patterns noting the specifications for each device type when the design differs because of constraints.

In addition to other tips, the article also includes a table comparing native mobile apps to mobile web apps. Check it out!

Forms: using mad libs layout

Interesting article on a different way to style a web form.

Make sure you test it out on your users if you feel creative. Just because it works for some doesn't mean it will work for your primary users.

Don't know what mad libs is? Check out the definition from wikipedia.