No one needs the embarrassment of a notification popping up at the wrong time — or on the wrong device. Wired explains how to find out where you’re signed into iMessage, set up two-factor, and turn off messaging where needed. Bloomberg’s new Lens app provides a handy overlay of contextual information about people and companies. You …
Friday 5 — 4.7.2017
YouTube TV has launched in select U.S. cities. Despite a relatively slim initial offering, the mobile-first sensibility and shared accounts seem designed to on-board millennials, and a way for the platform to build relationships with — and gather data on — its massive user base. In a world of specious and incomprehensible data visualization, this article pinpoints …
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 — 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 — 12.2.2016
Thanks to the 200+ readers who filled in the survey. Great feedback on areas of digital to cover, and I am equally impressed that the most common write-in entry was for NYC food and drink recommendations — see below. Your experience of email is starting to look a lot like your experience of the web. Animation and …
Friday 5 — 11.11.2016
Gmail just got way faster (and prettier) on your iPhone with their new app release. Download for features like the critical undo send, a better swiping experience, and spell-corrected search. A great push notification is three things: timely, personal, and actionable. Apps are competing for our attention, and push notifications are a means to a touchpoint …
Friday 5 — 10.14.2016
Amazon is taking another swing at streaming music, but this time with Alexa as its not-so-secret weapon. Will the hardware that’s insinuating itself into our home lives (and turning our tots into tyrants) make the difference? Alexa’s already done a good job making Siri seem dumb. No one ever sits you down to teach you how …
Friday 5 — 8.12.2016
Jasmine Friedl suggests how to make your not-so-great visual design better. More importantly, she shares the process that can help a designer get better: asking questions and guiding rather than issuing prescriptive statements. Connie Chan explains why stickers are more than just a frivolous gimmick: they are an emerging visual digital language. In messaging platforms like WeChat and Line, stickers …
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 — 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 …