Usability made fun...

Usability Design: Because it's awesome

View more presentations from Jen Yu

Recently discovered Slideshare and found this light hearted but very informative presentation about usability design. I've learnt quite a lot about usability design and testing since I was introduced to it during my final year at uni.

It's a very interesting and necessary topic that can be utilised by all kinds of organisations to make them more competitive, allow them to connect with their customers or run internal operations more efficiently saving both time and money. It is however also a topic that can be difficult to explain, visualise and 'get your head round', this presentation manages to do it in a clean, fun and engaging way... suppose it's just good usability though!

Design Thinking: Method Cards

My uni course introduced me to the concept of 'Design Thinking' something which should be obvious to all designers and creatives but if often quite difficult to get your head round and pinpoint exactly what it is (something I will need to perfect for future interviews!). Many organisations can benefit from design thinking, not just companies working within the creative industries.

I found this interesting presentation from the University of St Gallen which displays their Design Thinking Method Cards and explains how companies can benefit from this innovative approach.

Design Thinking Method Cards (Beta 1.0)

View more presentations from BorisFriedrichMilkowski

Certified banger of the week...

Heard this song last Friday night and I've not been able to get it out my head since.

Good song, good video, good guy.

Skifree Monster!

I'd forgotten all about this game until I stumbled upon the work of Aled Lewis, a London based designer and illustrator. Aces!

http://www.aledlewis.com/

50 Things Every Creative Should Know...

Jamie Wieck created #the50, a visual essay comprising of 50 points every creative should know. As a recent graduate I still have a number of points to work on but #the50 provides a good source of advice, inspiration and comfort for students, graduate and creative professionals.

The 50

Awe-inspiring

Someone on twitter first alerted me to this, Jurassic Park theme 1000% slower. The result is 55 minutes of beautiful ambient music to rival Brian Eno or Stars of the Lid. It's only a song played really slow but it does sound pretty damn good.

Design thinking can change the world...

Yoxi is a creative competition and social game that invites teams of three to enter to compete to find the best solutions to current social problems.

The first competition challenge was simply titled; 'Reinvented fast food.'

Easier said than done.

Ten teams were selected to compete and developed a product, service or programme that helped to answer the challenge in a socially positive way.

The winners were The Udon Project with 'The Spoke' a fast food drive thru restaurant that's transparant, locally interactive and community driven.

The second competition challenge has now been released with the title; 'Trim the waste of fashion' and hopes to address issues of waste and sustainability within the world of fashion.

I think some of the responses to the first challenge were very creative, exciting and innovative so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next ten entries when they are announced next Friday.

Visitors of the site are also encouraged to play along and support their favourite team, a good technique for getting people involved with social issues...

Big bad world of freelancing...

Like most of my peers on the design cluster courses at the University of Salford I graduated with a respectable degree, however it's after graduation that most of us find our biggest test... finding a job. They're hard to come by and I've quickly come to realise that degree classification is all well and good but it can still be impossible to get your foot in the door without solid experience and a good reputation.

Thinking about setting up my own business with fellow graduates or going solo sounds terrifying especially with a hefty student debt looming over our heads but realistically it could provide the best option to get out into the professional creative world and avoid flipping burgers to earn some dollar...

I found this 'freelancers guide to the galaxy' on the fresh books website. May provide some much needed inspiration:

Fresh Books Blog

Keep calm and carry on...

During my final year of uni I embarked on a computing module which involved usability testing and human centred design. It involved me designing a digital interface for a specific target market. I had to take into account content, typography, colour pallets, use of media and navigation. What is the best way for my target user to move around my site quickly and easily, finding all the information they require and what happens when a missing URL is requested and they get the dreaded ‘404 NOT FOUND’ message?

Good human centred design takes all these things into account, including the occasional error message and clearly communicates to the user that there is an error but the site is not broken. By taking the time to design the 404 NOT FOUND page in keeping with the branding of the rest of the site, confidence with be maintained and users shoul

d stay on the site for longer.

Here are some examples of well designed error pages:

gdzl

Mail Chimp

Inflicted