Keeping up this weekly newsletter relies heavily on a single Chrome extension, Pocket. Throughout the week, I use the productivity tool to capture the interesting articles that fly by and read through them all on Thursday evening. Product Hunt promises that these seven Chrome extensions will similarly change your internet life. AI is coming to marketing through capabilities as diverse as website design, …
Friday 5 — 7.15.2016
Pokémon fever struck this week with the release of Pokémon Go, an augmented reality app that allows players to catch virtual characters populating physical spaces. Here’s how it works. Om Malik points out that the app has heightened expectations for how we can access information, acting as a kind of gateway drug for broader applications of AR. …
Friday 5 — 7.8.2016
A case for using paper rather than a purely digital approach underpins this article on how to get the most value out of wireframes. The goal is to focus your energy — and your stakeholders’ attention — on providing feedback that is high-level and conceptual rather than aesthetic and over-specific. This insider’s guide to Google docs at work …
Friday 5 — 7.1.2016
This is the year I began to rely on voice commands in the same compulsive manner that we all reach for our mobile devices. Try this helpful catalog of over 150 questions and 1,000 variations you can ask Google. My favorite Easter egg: “askew.” Just when you thought it was safe to count on your distributed content strategy, Facebook tweaks the …
Friday 5 — 6.24.2016
Slack has launched Buttons to ensure you never leave, advancing the platform from a discrete messaging app to a productive work hub. Now you can pay back a colleague, resolve a tech alert, update a project management task all from within Slack, thanks to some new APIs.
Friday 5 — 6.17.2016
Mary Meeker’s annual internet trends report reveals that internet growth is finally losing its mojo, but certain behaviors, like photo sharing and voice, continue to rise. Read the slide deck (or just the analysis.) Pleased to see Candace Payne, aka Chewbacca mask lady, made slide 85! The New York Times explains dark patterns, websites that turn persuasive user experience design into a dark …
Friday 5 — 5.27.2016
Friday 5 is taking a break to go peer at people’s internet-enabled devices in 三门峡 and 西安 — neither of which I can pronounce, but Wikipedia can teach you. Back in time for Lionel Messi’s birthday, Friday, June 24. This UX reality check presents 14 hard truths about users. Most common mistakes I’ve seen (and committed) are ignoring the fact that …
Friday 5 — 5.20.2016
Bots won’t replace apps, better apps will. Read the entire post for insights on the limitations of the conversational user interface, including too many taps and lingering skeuomorphism in chat interaction design. 85% of Facebook video is watched without sound, which is why you’ll find savvy organizations posting videos like this, this, or this — all tell a compelling story with the audio …
Friday 5 — 5.13.2016
Findings from Artefact’s recent design maturity survey indicate that your chief design officer is not your savior. Other tactics, like training cross-disciplinary teams in design thinking, may have more impact than a single, high-profile hire. There’s not a lot I love more than a good digital playbook, and NYC has just released theirs. The interface is a little dramatic …
Friday 5 — 5.6.2016
Visual content is everywhere, and measurement and optimization are starting to catch up. Netflix already knows which pictures you’ll click on and why, and blogged some lessons learned — including the value of regional nuance, and of recognizable, polarizing characters. As a travel geek, I loved this compilation of 16 apps that will help you travel the world. Some …