fun+form+function

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[sventh]

Personalizing the Impersonal

It's amazing that mass-production has gotten to the point where what are, at their core, impersonal products can be personalized, customized, even printed at home. This progress matches up perfectly with our digital lives, which are already personalized, customized, and on-demand. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this offline advancement in mass-customization technologies stemmed from the now-ubiquitous personalization of our digital spaces. Whether it chicken or egg, it's allowed for some really cool stuff.

This month alone I've learned about Uniqlo's "UTMe" app, which allows users to design a custom t-shirt that is then printed for them, and Adidas' upcoming MiAdidas upgrade to include the ability to print user's photos on shoe uppers. Uniqlo's app has some cool interactions built in, and I'm curious to see MiAdidas's new interface.

I can't help but wonder about the sustainability implications: are these personalized items more resource-intensive to produce? Alternatively, will owners covet them and get more use out of them than non-personalized items?

Sources

UTMe: http://hypebeast.com/2014/5/uniqlo-launches-utme-custom-t-shirt-app

MiAdidas: http://hypebeast.com/2014/5/adidas-originals-to-relaunch-mi-adidas-with-photo-print-app

[sventh]

One backpack for 3 weeks in Southeast Asia, including a wedding. I'm getting worryingly good at this. (at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK))

[sventh]

There's definitely a UX lesson in here about the type of properties that lend themselves to strong online communities, how to foster them, etc., but for now I'd just like to say I <3 the Internet.

[sventh]

When you adopt someone else’s narrative, it’s because you aren’t hearing your own clearly enough.

Not design-related, but a really nice quote that stuck with me. Source: http://thoughtcatalog.com/brianna-wiest/2014/01/18-things-women-shouldnt-have-to-justify/

[sventh]

Usable Headlines vs. Headlines-as-hook

This post is half-rant, half-content-strategy, so bear with me. I'm starting to reach my saturation point with Upworthy-style headlines (e.g. "I thought this was just another cat video, but what I saw changed the way I look at bike locks forever"). Now, there are myriad reasons for this that are mostly very subjective, and I won't bore you with those, but what I want to talk about in this post is why this type of headline should be avoided by 99.99% of properties that value their users.

User-friendly headlines speak to, or even summarize, the content of their related article. This gives users the ability to quickly scan for the content that meets their needs. Seems obvious, right? The marketing hook headlines used by several web properties at the moment (a la Upworthy) speak around, rather than about the content. This serves only the business and its desire for more eyeballs. 

This literal adaptation of headline style is not actually a common mistake made by sites, but the focus on business and internal organizational needs and terminology certainly is. I've worked on several digital properties for large corporates that mistake internal terminology for understandable, user-facing terminology. As part of the UX process, designers should vet questionable terminology with users, and set guidelines for content writers about tone, voice, and content of headlines.

In sum, writing usable headlines may seem like common sense, but in fact can be a challenge for any company or organization. Make sure they aren't overlooked in your next project. On a related note, Buzzfeed-style top lists (e.g. "the 25 coolest ways you can use Legos") are killing me slowly as well, but they actually work as headlines so I'll save that for a post about a different topic -- maybe about the rise and inevitable fall of a web-trend....

[sventh]

Warby Parker has nailed its content strategy, from timing of their communications to their tone of voice. Who knew a survey "thank you" could be heartwarming?

[sventh]

"Start thinking more with your heart and less with your head. Make really big life changes if you need them to be happy." — Brad Ludden. Watch the video at http://creativemornings.com/talks/brad-ludden/1

[sventh]

Just for fun, but loving this. It's like an updated GIF version of Paris vs. New York.

[sventh]

My blog fun+form+function turned 4 today! Well on August 2nd but I just got around to reading the email about it.

[sventh]

I stumbled across James Mellers' responsive wireframes a while back, and have returned to it now that I'm working on a meaty responsive design project of my own.

I've bastardised his slick coding work to create the static diagram above, which I've printed out so the team (design, dev, and UX) can talk about the approach and if we think it'll work for what we're doing. Our project is a content-heavy site, so templating as much as possible will be key, and the simple alphabetical approach to conveying prioritisation will be great to both get the client on board and to allow our awesome developer to use his ridiculously good design instinct to use my wires as a starting point, but then fill in the blanks as long as priority is clear.

[sventh]

Just stumbled upon ASOS's bespoke size tape -- a nice example of a design solution to a business problem(s), in this case I'm guessing the business cost of returns/exchanges/customer mental barriers to online shopping.

However, if you read the comments on the video it looks like it's the execution that's backfiring; ASOS has run out of this custom size tape, leaving some people who ordered it hanging, and others who want it out of luck.

Moral of the story? Don't think your job ends when you've designed the product. Supply chain, distribution, extensibility, and a maintenance plan are all part of capital-D Design.

[sventh]

First time using Silverback for testing. Let's see how this goes.... #UXSelfies

[sventh]

So, by this billionth version of FB and millionth version of YouTube this Newsfeed issue hasn't been addressed?

Facebook: if you want people to stay on your site to consume content, create a responsive content area.

YouTube: is this some kind of Facebook sabotage? Well played.

[geneticist]

[sventh]

Whoa. I must see this in person.

geneticist:

Rainbow Eucalyptus trees shed their bark at different rates, freshly revealed patches will reveal a bright green color, which then darkens to give orange, maroon, and blue colors. (via)

[sventh]

My design got a shout-out...

UK tech/business news outlet The Register recently wrote a piece (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/06/arrays_too_expensive_for_cloud/) about Haylix's recently-launched cloud storage application, and had the following to say about the user interface I designed for the company:

Another differentiation is a user interface which, in a demonstration to The Register, appeared rather more user-friendly than that offered by Amazon Web Services.

Dat's right.

Sign up for a free account to see it for yourself (haylix.com), or check out this YouTube video for a preview.

[explore-blog]

The best way to get approval is not to need it. This is equally true in art and business. And love. And sex. And just about everything else worth having.

Cartoonist Hugh MacLeod and other thinkers on how to find your purpose and do what you love. (via explore-blog)

[sventh]

Matthew Taylor has an interesting take on what "21st century enlightenment" is, and it involves the development of a more empathetic society... sounds like designers could be the perfect catalyst, no?