User experience design is a subset of the field of experience design which pertains to the creation of the architecture and interaction models which impact a user's perception of a device or system. The scope of the field is directed at affecting 'all aspects of the user’s interaction with the product: how it is perceived, learned, and used.'
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The Iceberg Analogy of Usability
Developers sometimes ask which aspects of look and feel contribute most to the overall usability of an application or Web site. They are typically surprised when I answer that the 'look and feel' aspects aren't the major contributors at all. Look and feel have been popular discussion topics for many years, and some developers have proposed various schemes purporting to allow an easy swap of one look and feel for another. They were perhaps compelled to this thinking to compensate for an inadequate understanding of their users. Around 1990, I became alarmed by the popularity of design architectures advocating paradigms like the User Interface Management Systems (UIMS) that enable a pluggable look and feel. Many of my colleagues and I felt that look and feel represented only the tip of the iceberg. We felt that the set of concepts users must learn and understand to use a product or Web site effectively is actually the most important factor.
Berry, Dick. IBM (2001). Articles>Usability>User Experience>Web Design
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User experience is a term that is widely used these days to refer to all sorts of interactions between people and technologies. But when it comes to videogames, experience is the only sensible word to use. Games are pure experience. And the range of experiences they offer is huge from what it is like to land a 747 at Heathrow Airport to slaying space dragons with a team of like-minded warriors. Thus, when it comes to really understanding user experience in games, it can be hard to say anything that would apply in general. However, one expression that does seem to crop up regularly, and that gamers relate to, is that games are immersive: when people are having a good experience, they get lost or immersed in the game and the world outside the game fades into the background. So what is this notion of immersion? What causes it? And is it the heart of what makes a good game? These are the questions that I have been trying to answer, together with my colleagues and students, over the last few years.
Cairns, Paul. uiGarden (2008). Articles>User Experience>User Centered Design>Games
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Implications for Designing the User Experience of DVD Menus
DVD menus often miss out on usability and are complex and difficult to navigate through. One of the main problems is the lack of design standards. By conducting an expert walkthrough we identified typical usability issues of DVD menus and verified them with usability testing and a user survey. Our research goal is to develop a set of specific solutions for designing usable DVD menus to improve the overall user experience. As a first step towards this goal we present an initial set of usability issues that are specifically relevant for DVD menu design.
Koltringer, Thomas, Martin Tomitsch, Karin Kappel, Daniel Kalbeck and Thomas Grechenig. ACM SIGCHI (2005). Design>User Experience>Multimedia>DVD
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Improving Customer Experience (ICE) started out as a paper newsletter back in 2001. Paper. How quaint.
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Since HTML first became mainstream, with HTML version 2.0, there has been a struggle between the structure of a document and its presentation. This battle is symptomatic of two competing visions for the web.
King, Emmanuel Taylor. List Apart, A (2001). Design>Web Design>User Experience
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Apple and Netflix gained insight by investing in understanding the current experience of their potential customers. Those insights led to industry-changing innovations that have made an indelible impression on businesses everywhere. As innovation is now the new black, experience design is the fabric of new insight. The work designers do is now the hot spot to be.
Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2006). Design>User Experience
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Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction is an explanation of the design of the current and next generation interactive technologies, such as the web, mobiles, wearables. These exciting new technologies bring additional challenges for designers and developers - challenges that require careful thought and a disciplined approach. Written for both students and practitioners from a broad range of backgrounds, this book addresses these challenges using a practical and refreshing approach. The text covers a wide range of issues, topics and paradigms that go beyond the traditional human-computer interaction (HCI).
Perlman, Gary. Interaction Design (2002). Resources>User Interface>Interaction Design>User Experience
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Interactions 08 in the Garden of Good and Evil
An interview with Dan Saffer, 2008 Conference Chair and IxDA Director. Dan discusses the context of the organization, how the conference emerged and formed, what the conference will be like, and how one might get a flavor even if attendance is not an option.
Baum, Chris. Boxes and Arrows (2008). Articles>Interviews>Interaction Design>User Experience
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Introduction to Apple Human Interface Guidelines
These guidelines are designed to assist you in developing products that provide Mac OS X users with a consistent visual and behavioral experience across applications and the operating system.
Apple Inc. (2006). Design>User Interface>User Experience>Macintosh
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An Introduction to User Journeys
User journeys are a method for conceptualising and structuring a website's content and functionality. These journeys allow us to shift away from thinking about structure in terms of hierarchies or a technical build; instead you create a narrative around your user's needs.
Hobbs, Jason. Boxes and Arrows (2005). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>User Experience
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Live by the Mockup, Die by the Mockup
Regardless of what you call it, the mockup can either sell your design or plummet you into a cyclical tunnel of churn. That's why, like it or not, interface designers often live and die by the mockup.
Wroblewski, Luke. UXmatters (2006). Design>Web Design>User Experience
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Living La Vida Virtual: Interfaces of the Near Future
Personal computing is in an awkward adolescence right now. On one hand, we are rapidly moving into ubiquitous computing environments that let people constantly interact with the omnipresent network; on the other, the devices and interfaces we are using to enter these new frontiers provide woefully inadequate user experiences. Let's take a look at one of the key technologies that will take mobile user experiences to the next level: holography.
Knemeyer, Dirk. UXmatters (2005). Design>User Interface>Ubiquitous Computing>User Experience
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Louis Rosenfeld on Enterprise Information Architecture
In this interview with Louis Rosenfeld, The Rockley Bulletin asks the information architecture and user experience guru to talk about enterprise information architecture, what it is, where it's heading, and how you can get started.
Abel, Scott and Louis Rosenfeld. Rockley Bulletin (2006). Articles>Information Design>User Experience
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Making Emotional Connections Through Participatory Design
Most of the people we talk to believe that the desired end result of experience design is an emotional connection between a person and her experience with a product or service. When a company is able to make them, such connections can have a positive impact on the company’s brand.
Gage, Marty and Preetham Kolari. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>User Centered Design>User Experience>Emotions
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A weblog on Information Visualization, eLearning, Rich Internet Applications and more.
Mentegrafica (2006). Resources>Web Design>User Experience>Blogs
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Metrics for Heuristics: Quantifying User Experience (Part 2 of 2)
In part one of 'Metrics for Heuristics,' Andrea Wiggins discussed how designers can use Rubinoff’s user experience audit to determine metrics for measuring brand. In part two, Wiggins examines how web analytics can quantify usability, content, and navigation.
Wiggins, Andrea. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>User Centered Design>User Experience>Heuristic Evaluation
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Million Dollar Web Usability Tips
What has long been a struggle for UEX professionals can actually be a great tool to demonstrate the importance of your role. We have found a way, using tools that you may already have, to support the users' needs that can positively impact your company’s bottom line.
Remus, Jacqueline and Jessyca Frederick. Usability Interface (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>User Experience
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Motorcycle UX: Riding in the Fast Lane
The design decisions that both industrial designers and interaction designers have made on the Breva provide an enhanced experience for the rider--that is, for me.
Sokohl, Joe. UXmatters (2008). Design>User Experience>User Interface
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Web site designers should think hard about how to keep users from muddling around on their sites. 'Users muddle when it isn’t clear what they are supposed to do in any given situation.'
alt tags (2004). Design>Web Design>User Experience
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New Levels of Experience Design
The internet was originally developed as pure technology - interactions and navigations were very complex, so there were huge opportunities for anyone who could make the user experience easier, more intuitive, more compelling. But now experience design isn’t just about the usage of a device, but all the other aspects as well.
Sinclair, Matt. Ping Mag (2006). Design>User Experience>Technology
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On a Scale of 1 to 5: Understanding Risk Improves Rating and Reputation Systems
Where would we be without rating and reputation systems these days? Take them away, and we wouldn’t know who to trust on eBay, what movies to pick on Netflix, or what books to buy on Amazon. Reputation systems (essentially a rating system for people) also help guide us through the labyrinth of individuals who make up our social web. Is he or she worthwhile to spend my time on? For pity’s sake, please don’t check out our reputation points before deciding whether to read this article.
Kirtland, Alex. Boxes and Arrows (2008). Articles>Web Design>User Experience>Social Networking
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Opening PDFs in a New Window with JavaScript
Using JavaScript can be particularly useful when a website is content managed. Rather than having to rely on site editors to remember to open a link to a PDF in a new window the process is handled by a simple JavaScript function.
McCarthy, Paul. Webcredible (2007). Design>Web Design>User Experience>Adobe Acrobat
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Pioneering a User Experience (UX) Process
Creating a User Experience (UX) process can be a very rewarding journey; it can also be a nightmare if approached from the wrong angle. Initiating a culture-shift, overhauling existing processes, evangelizing, strategizing, and educating is an enormous undertaking. Often it's a lonely path the UX advocate walks, especially if you are the only one who is driving that change from within the company. But that path is ripe with opportunities to improve your company's product creation process, as well as the product itself.
Hillman, Amy. UXmatters (2007). Design>User Experience>Project Management
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Quickness and Usability Keys to Successful Web Sites
Three clicks and that's it. Most Web site users allow only three clicks to be impressed with your product. Most people don't surf the Web; they have an agenda. In specialized fields such as banking, users will stay with sites that give them information quickly and pleasantly. The challenge is to produce a positive Web site experience the first time around. It boils down to one word: usability. Is your Web site user friendly? With 80% of current Web sites falling by the wayside, your home page must be easily accessible as well as eye-catching and informative. The imperatives are point, click and find the right department.
Schaffer, Eric M. TechWeb (2001). Design>Web Design>User Experience>Usability
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There's a lot we, as designers of the web experience, can learn from something as simple as a water glass.
Gustafson, Aaron. List Apart, A (2007). Design>Web Design>User Experience
