NMD 442 Sophia C-C

The article discussed can be seen here This article asked us to put aside, almost unlearn, the habits and processes we learned this semester.  It had a similar message to the article we read about Facebook's redesign a few years ago , which said that a good design will win out and ultimately make people 'happier'.  This article added on to that sentiment that making a client happy is not necessarily part of the designer's job, that by fulfilling their needs instead of their arbitrary desires, a better product is created that will better accomplish the original goal.  This article seems to be in direct opposition with the conversation we had will Will Seyffer (Designer at Facebook) who talked about how fully empathizing with customers allowed for a better design to form.  While I think that empathy can be useful, I think that assessing the needs and almost dismissing the whims of the client would result in a more well rounded finished design. Discussion Qu...

The article discussed can be viewed here The internet of things is getting closer to becoming reality with the rising popularity of devices like nest thermostats and amazon echo. However I disagree with the article’s statement that screens will become obsolete. Because we are such visual creatures, I don’t see a world where people completely abandon screens and interact with technology solely using voice control. Discussion Questions: Will zero UI and the Internet of Things it's associated with have to come with an ability to opt out?  How would the different styles of interaction work with eachother? There are often connections made between the movement towards the Internet of Things and dystopias such as those shown in Brave New World, the Circle, and 1984.   How likely is it that the Internet of Things will result in the downfall of society?

The article discussed can be found here As much as the article read as an angry rant against anyone and everyone, I think there were some important distinctions made as to the nature of designing for users. Based on my experience this semester, I think that UX is an umbrella term that encompasses many things including UI. Most, if not all of the projects we completed over the semester placed a lot of emphasis interfaces. Although we were told to ‘design an experience’, we were reprimanded and told to do it again if the user interface was not up to snuff. The different facets of user experience design are too intertwined to be able to only focus on one small aspect such as interface design. Therefore it must fall under the UX umbrella as something that is important to the finished product but cannot be developed independently. Discussion Questions: The meme provided in the article shows a paved walking path and a beaten path through the grass leading to the parking, which l...

The article discussed can be read here I liked that this article gave a concrete qualifier to 'simple' design, because that is a concept I have been struggling with all semester; the article suggests that in a design sense, 'simple' is often interchangeable with 'clear'.  'Simple' is a hard goal to achieve, but 'clear' is a bit more straightforward and doable.  Clear design is a design that can be complex if needed, but limits the user's cognitive load and is largely self explanatory, be that through layouts, chunking workflows into more discrete areas, or other strategies.   // further discussion awaiting the author actually having time // Discussion Questions: The iPhone is often held as the pinnacle of simple design.  What have they done that is so special? What are some user experiences that are not web or mobile based that either have a high level of clarity or are very difficult to navigate?  What aspects affect t...

The article discussed can be found here As I started reading this article, I realized that I seemed to be using the browsing technique being discussed, or at least a blend.  I have an online scrum board open all the time, but add tasks as I need them.  Tonight I opened Slack and immediately opened the articles I had to write responses to, not to read them all piecemeal but to remind myself what it is that I have to do.  I then opened Blogger and moved that tab around as I finished reading articles so that they were separated for easier referencing.   I think that the generational difference in browser use makes sense. Older generations use the web in a manner similar to that of a library, where you are essentially forced to do what the article calls 'pogo sticking' which is finding a source, digesting the information, then moving to a new source.  Younger generations who grew up using the internet are better equipped to use a browser as a sort of...