An IDEO team combined human design talent and machine learning to create Font Map, a tool for designers to compare and find similar fonts. This started with Google’s ~750 typefaces, but can scale to many more. Explore for yourself. More and more of my searches start and end in the Google ecosystem, including those short snippets results in …
Friday 5 — 4.14.2017
Facebook’s AI assistant, M, is now rolling out in Messenger with features like sticker, polls, and payment. While some are underwhelmed, others see this start with a limited number of functions as a step to broader AI capabilities. Poor usability affects everyone, but it disadvantages older adults in particular. This excerpt from a new book offers guidelines …
Friday 5 — 3.17.2017
John Maeda and team released the 2017 Design in Tech report. Observations include lessons from Chinese design tech principles and practices; the value of inclusive design; and writing as a must-have skill. The early promise of social media as proxy for inclination to purchase has not been realized. HBR explores the marketing value of social media, and highlights …
Friday 5 — 3.3.2017
Having lived through 1990s website with visit counting tickertapes and dancing babies, and then the 2000s with endless moving carousels, I’m skeptical of movement for movement’s sake. But Nick Babich explains three valid use cases for animation in mobile user interface design. If your email open rates are flagging, consider using emojis. New research finds that …
Friday 5 — 2.10.2017
The Met announced this week that all images of public domain artworks are available under a CC0 license. That means ~375K images are free to use and re-mix for scholarly or commercial ends. To maximize reach, the Met is working with partners like Creative Commons, Wikipedia, Pinterest, and Artstor (that’s us!). Some technology advances, like the ability to make …
Friday 5 — 2.3.2017
It’s hard to tease out what makes for a great use of color in interface design but like Potter Stewart, we know it when we see it. Explore these practical tips and tools for using color in UI design. Andrew Chen identifies the smart questions to ask to make sure you aren’t falling for the …
Friday 5 — 1.27.2017
It’s a mobile, social world, as this 2017 report by Hootsuite and We Are Social confirms. A few stats stood out: The shift of web traffic to mobile devices, the dominance of Facebook, and the hyper-penetration of mobile devices in some regions of the world. UX Matters tackles a question close to my heart: the difference …
Friday 5 — 1.13.2017
Even if you’re cooling on your virtuous New Year’s resolutions, keep the one about sending better email. Commit to designing and delivering content that will drive opens, clicks, and conversions. Is on-site search the red-headed stepchild of SEO? Claiming that 30% of visits include on-site search, this article makes the case for improved optimization, and outlines steps …
Friday 5 — 1.6.2017
Paul Ford gave online donations to 33 charities, and you won’t believe what happened next. Actually, you would — he found a number of opportunities to improve the user experience in online giving. The headlines remind us that artificial intelligence is coming, and we’re all at risk of losing our jobs to the machines. Consider these four factors …
Friday 5 — 12.9.2016
Is Snapchat’s somewhat impenetrable experience design a feature and not a bug? Josh Elman explains the difference between intuitive design and shareable design. The latter reflects the deeply social nature of how humans learn, and capitalizes on people’s desires to learn and to teach. Just when I finally mastered NYC’s Whole Foods color-coded checkout lines, Amazon Go opened in …