Author Archives: Alex Poole
Playing Top Trumps with UX
Do you remember the card game Top Trumps, where you beat your opponent’s hand with a card that outranks it in some capacity? Well, in UX you can play a version of this where instead of carefully crafting the visual … Continue reading
Severity ratings for usability reviews
A quick reminder of severity ratings – these ones are adapted from ‘Usability severity codes’ in Usability & Technical Documentation, Xerox Corporation, July 1995. One point to remember – if you are developing applications for internal use in an organisation, … Continue reading
Google Wallet email looks like a phishing attempt
I just received this email apparently from Google asking me to update my some of Google Wallet account details. Turns out that’s it’s genuine, but why did they make it look so much like a phishing attempt? There are 3 … Continue reading
What is user experience?
User experience (UX) is a convergence of many disciplines. It goes beyond making something just easy to use or visually pleasing, but looks after all the aspects of a person’s interaction with a product or service – and most importantly, … Continue reading
Widget for impatient readers
This little flag tells you how much time left to read till the end of the article. I don’t know if it’s pandering to people with low attention spans, but I like it anyway. See it in action here: http://informationarchitects.net/blog/responsive-typography-the-basics/. … Continue reading
Facebook wants to know your political views before it gives you a birthday card
How can you tell if it’s worth trading your personal info for something online? Continue reading
Spot the UX mistakes in this Hollywood film
It’s easy to spot UI design bloopers in Hollywood films, like big red beeping “ACCESS DENIED” messages or cheesy 3D database fly-throughs. Well, the other day I was watching the film Friends with Benefits when a scene came on that … Continue reading
Microwave usability
“I’ll have it cold” a video testament to the importance of user testing and usability.
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Fighting bad typography research
When you hear claims which are radically different from the established body of research, you should rightly be sceptical – here we go two rounds with some rogue claims about serifs and legibility from Colin Wheildon. Continue reading
Zombie infographic
The Book Depository just sent me a newsletter reviewing the buying trends of 2011. In the list was this fun infographic on the sale of zombie related books and graphic novels. It reminds me that a lone zombie is slightly … Continue reading