Diving Deep in UXDI

My journey delving into the world of user experience design during a ten week bootcamp

[jhalpy-blog]

Looking for Design Improvements

Here I have three designs that I think could be improved upon. What I found were very beautiful objects and sites that seemed to be plain confusing to navigate. 

This first captures my sentiment of beauty not coinciding with usability. While visually pleasing, the call to action or even an explanation of the product is buried. Mostly it is difficult to find because most type is rotated on its side,  tiny, and poorly labeled. I found myself craning my neck to figure out the main navigation menu. My only clue as to where I should go is a thin arrow that appears in unintuitive directions, first taking me to “more.”  More of what exactly? When scrolling was an option, there were few visual cues that more information could be found by scrolling up and down, or for that matter, if it were expected that you scroll left to right (except for tiny writing that sometimes would appear in the lower left hand corner). I found the intuition expected of a user on this site to be unrealistic. Though again, very pretty. 

 I had mixed reaction to the Curious Smart Oven. The majority of my issue with this design is my belief that if you have an appliance that can get above 450 degrees Fahrenheit, it is very important to have recognizable places where it is safe and unsafe to put unprotected hands. My worry is that in an effort to be space efficient and streamlined, the designers did away with a handle to open the oven. Instead they opted for the edge of the oven to be used as a “hidden handle” while at the same time controlling the interface of the oven.  The physical invitation then is for me to stick my hand IN an oven before I can remove my food. While I as a cook might (safely) grow accustomed to that interface, were visitors to come over and graze the oven surface and trigger the hidden handle, what cues would they have that this was an oven, to not reach in, that severe harm could come to them? 

The idea of having a stove stylishly recede into the background is seductive. But for now I would still want my stove to read, with one swift glance, as STOVE in most people’s minds. 

I’ll have to come back for the third design to be improved upon- for now, it’s bedtime. 

[jhalpy-blog]

Searching for Good Design

 I first looked to industrial design for design inspiration. I find myself looking for the incredibly tactile - objects that have such a pull that I have to restrain myself from wanting to pick them up, touch, and interact with them.

The first design (of three) that I found to be well designed was this DOMINO flash drive.  The design is very simple, a clean minimalism. But what I find delightful is that in conjunction with the name, it invites activity beyond its primary use. It invites me to play. Very cleverly, it also invites me to collect more DOMINO flash drives to play more. Multiple colors with identifying numbers makes it possible to collect more. Instead of having a single novelty flash drive, I would feel a pull to collect matching flash drives. And then set up a domino cascade as a break from my computer. 

The second design I felt was compelling is the Energy Pet. Not only are they adorable and whimsical as they channel the weiner dogs physique, but I imagine stowing a pet away in my purse, not lugging an extra battery along in case of emergency. I love the practicality of the suction cup feet -- it means ithe Energy Pet will be findable when needed. But not only that, they are designed to prop my phone up for a hands free experience. The one issue I have is with the lightning bolt eyes. While these do directly relate back to function, they are slightly disturbing. Unfortunately the zig-zag can read as an “x” when I don’t look at it directly, and no one want a dead pet in their purse. 

Finally, I figured I should find something compelling in the two dimensional world. I thought this animation was really successful in adding to the search icon. The motion of the eye searching makes my eye inadvertently dart to where it’s “looking,” eventually grounding me on the icon. That motion inspires an added curiosity for me, and once the pupil molds back into the magnifying glass handle I’m ready to explore. I also love the force of the handle turning to pupil end entering the circle, as it calls to mind decisive action. Upon impact the distending of the circle calls to mind a squinting eye, thinking before searching. 

[jhalpy-blog]

Introductions!

So here I begin. After years (seven, count ‘em) working as a public program developer in the museum world, I took a step back. I took a year to explore other potential careers, to examine what makes me fulfilled, to learn from others who have tread many different paths. Working in the museum world was rewarding beyond words, and I left behind (though I still keep in touch) fantastic thinkers, expansive creators, and the largest hearts. Seriously- if you’re ever in MN, visit the Science Museum of Minnesota. You can feel the love, care, and intelligence permeate the exhibit walls. 

I worked for a six months at a medical clinic catering to the elderly, and most recently have been working for a sociologist, reading reading reading about how we create knowledge as social beings. I have been tutoring adults learning English as a second language, always fascinated by our differences and our commonalities, and the nuance of language. And I had been conducting informational interviews with people from all careers. This year has been a year of reflection and personal growth, and I feel so lucky to have been able to have taken the time. 

The one informational interview that struck me the most, immovable from my brain, happened as I sat down with a former museum colleague who had made the transition from exhibit development to UX. The parallels she drew between her career in museums, the types of problems tackled through UX, the teamwork, the thought process- it all resonated with me.  UX seemed a way of enhancing what I had already learned through developing museum programs with skills applicable in the tech world, with a detailed framework and process. I could extend myself, instead of completely redirect. 

I did more informational interviews, went to Meetups, visited agencies. I buried my brain in UX blogs, examining it as a career with as much of a neutral eye as possible. All the while my gut was telling me I think you’ve found the next chapter. 

So I decided to take the plunge, and on October 31st I start the User Experience Design Immersive. Ten weeks, and I’m all in. Excited, enthusiastic, and all in. 

[mindblowingscience]

The science world is freaking out over this 25-year-old's answer to antibiotic resistance

Could this be the end of superbugs?

A 25-year-old student has just come up with a way to fight drug-resistant superbugs without antibiotics.

The new approach has so far only been tested in the lab and on mice, but it could offer a potential solution to antibiotic resistance, which is now getting so bad that the United Nations recently declared it a “fundamental threat” to global health.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria already kill around 700,000 people each year, but a recent study suggests that number could rise to around 10 million by 2050.

In addition to common hospital superbug, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), scientists are now also concerned that gonorrhoea is about tobecome resistant to all remaining drugs.

But Shu Lam, a 25-year-old PhD student at the University of Melbourne in Australia, has developed a star-shaped polymer that can kill six different superbug strains without antibiotics, simply by ripping apart their cell walls.

“We’ve discovered that [the polymers] actually target the bacteria and kill it in multiple ways,” Lam told Nicola Smith from The Telegraph. “One method is by physically disrupting or breaking apart the cell wall of the bacteria. This creates a lot of stress on the bacteria and causes it to start killing itself.”

The research has been published in Nature Microbiology, and according to Smith, it’s already being hailed by scientists in the field as “a breakthrough that could change the face of modern medicine”.

Before we get too carried away, it’s still very early days. So far, Lam has only tested her star-shaped polymers on six strains of drug-resistant bacteria in the lab, and on one superbug in live mice.

But in all experiments, they’ve been able to kill their targeted bacteria - and generation after generation don’t seem to develop resistance to the polymers.

Continue Reading.

[everything-creative]

Desk 02 by Artifox

In times of making everything wireless and online, with a minimalistic approach, there are things we don’t need any more when it comes to a desk. But things have been coming up that we hope for, like a neat way of holding the energy cord. Artifox has created the modern and minimalistic Desk 02, that has everything you need and nothing more.

[jhalpy-blog]

Beautifully designed.