Prototyping

“We define information architecture as the art and science of organizing and labeling websites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability an findability.” – Information Architecture Institute (iainstitute.com) Getting Started Card sorting is a research technique used to help organize complex information into intuitive, user-friendly systems. I use card sorts on nearly every project…

Platforms that are making user and data-driven decision making accessible to more teams. User Research UserZoom — userzoom.com This platform seems to have it all. Moderated and unmoderated user testing, benchmarking, IA analysis, surveys, live intercepts, and more. Have you ever done remote card sorting? I haven’t — but I can do it with User Zoom…

Immersing in great design will keep you doing your best work. Admit it, Dribbble is a never-ending click hole! It’s just not practical for finding great design inspiration. For this list, I chose websites which organize and curate great interaction design, go in-depth with case studies, or push the boundaries of interaction. You should be spending…

Modern brainstorming with rapid ideation techniques will save you time and headaches. Pain points are real or perceived irritants–often a critical factor in gaining or losing customer loyalty and trust. This means you want to prioritize and solve these problems fast. But skipping an ideation session in favor of pursuing the first solution offered can…

Empathy mapping is not a replacement for a user persona and it won’t replace quantitative or qualitative user research. Instead, empathy mapping is an exercise you can use to externalize assumptions about users so you can relate to them and in turn understand their desires. This abstract thinking makes empathy mapping accessible to diverse teams…

These prototyping tools are doing some heavy lifting for experience designers. I put them to the test to decide which tool would most enhance my workflow. I love software that helps me work more efficiently while improving the outcome of my UX efforts. All of these tools have the potential to do just that so let’s…

Brainstorming isn’t as effective as many believe it to be. While sharing ideas in groups is essential, the typical, unstructured format of brainstorming sessions leads to groupthink, a situation where the first few ideas are quickly validated before more creative ideas can come to light. Early ideas also provide a template or anchor for the…

The human experience is rapidly shifting from physical to digital and the demand for high-quality digital experiences is higher than ever. Companies are taking note and moving as quickly as possible to compete by improving the many points through which they reach customers and in many cases their own employees. This new economic shift is…

In case you forgot, “the fold” is an invisible line on a webpage drawn at the bottom edge of the browser window. Content which is above the fold does not require scrolling to view. Content that is below the fold requires a user to scroll past the fold to view. The fold was once a…