UI Patterns
September 7, 2009 at 9:18 pm | In Architecture, Design, Process, Product development, Project management, Strategy, User Experience | Leave a CommentPattern languages are a design tool used to describe a set of best practices for a given design-space. Pattern languages have been used for centuries in urban planning and architecture; more recently they have been applied to software product design.
The earliest pattern books were created by the Roman architect Vitruvius wherein he describes best practices for siting buildings, proper arrangement of rooms, external ornamentation, fenestration, etc. Christopher Alexander coined the term “pattern language” in his 1977 book that focused on designing buildings and ranged from the macro (regional planning) to the micro (interior window treatments).
Jennifer Tidwell started an early effort to catalog UI patterns online which resulted in her book Designing Interfaces. Yahoo’s design pattern library is a popular site for Ux designers interested in pattern languages. There are many web sites on UI patterns that can be found using Google.
My team is currently in the process of constructing a set of UI pattern libraries that will serve as the canonical design references for our entire product suite. Continue reading UI Patterns…
Agile + User Experience Design
May 4, 2009 at 5:18 am | In Architecture, Design, Process, Product development, Project management, Strategy, User Experience | 2 CommentsI’ve recently been thinking about how to better blend Agile development and User Experience Design.
Given my education in Industrial Design (ID), that was a natural first place to see what models might translate. Yes, there is all the prototyping, mockups, and rendering that are highly applicable to any software project. However ID doesn’t really do it because it is classic “waterfall-based” design approach. There is no other choice when designing for manufacturing on an assembly line. Everything has to be defined up front in order to build the tooling and stamp out the parts.
Next, I looked to Architecture (the building kind). Although I’m not an Architect, nor do I have Architectural training, I helped to re-design the kitchen and master bedroom/bathroom of my house. I also served as general contractor on the kitchen remodel. Building buildings is a lot more like software development than ID. You try to define most things before construction begins, but there are always quite a
The Skipper, The Boat & The River
November 26, 2008 at 10:17 pm | In Business, Design, Process, Product development, Strategy, User Experience | Leave a CommentThe concepts for this post were taken from an interview given by Erica Payne on KPFA radio. Payne holds an MBA from Wharton School of Business and is founder and principal of the Tesseract Group–a boutique consulting firm that specializes in strategy and communications for foundations, philanthropists and organizations engaged in the public policy arena.
Payne’s interview focused on the US presidential elections of 2008. She described politics as essentially a supply chain problem. Payne went on to describe how we ought to conceptualize political change through the metaphor of the skipper, the boat, and the river. Her message has a direct application to User Experience teams.
Vertical Gardens
September 1, 2008 at 2:15 am | In Architecture, Design, Environment, Green, Nature, Process, Strategy, User Experience | 2 CommentsPatrick Blanc–a Parisian botanist–developed the concept of integrating vertically oriented plantings directly into unusual architectural settings. His book, “The Vertical Garden, From Nature to the City” is profusely illustrated ( I thumbed through it for about an hour this afternoon at the bookstore). It begins with many examples from the forests he studies. The next section features a discussion on how certain plants will naturally grow on architectural surfaces (most notably in the tropics). The final section is dedicated to Blanc’s many installations throughout the world.
Musee du quai Branley in Paris
The installations were strikingly attractive, rich in color and texture. The scale of some of these were immense. While most of us have seen ivy-covered walls and mossy walkways, what made these so interesting for me were the variety of the plantings, and their incorporation into unique architectural environments distinct from gardens. Blanc turns what would normally be bland architectural surfaces into living, growing garden-spaces. Continue reading Vertical Gardens…
User Experience Strategy
August 12, 2008 at 4:05 am | In Business, Design, Process, Product development, Project management, Risk management, Strategy, Usability | 1 CommentI recently posted the following question to a group of Ux professionals: What is the single most important activity that a user experience group can do to increase its effectiveness and influence? I asked everyone to draw from their real-world experience, NOT theory or ideals.
There were a number of thoughtful, practical responses…
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