Erik Andersson is the creator of Kick Ass, the new iPhone game based on his hit web-app. Kick-Ass is an adaption of asteroids that allows you to attack your favourite (or least favourite) websites, destroying them with a selection of ships, while earning achievements. The iOS game can be downloaded here, and the original bookmark-let […]
The Reflective Practitioner in User Centred Design
The reflective practitioner, as described by Schon in his 1983 book, is the idea of continually reflecting on your work and the process during the design or production of a system. By continually reviewing, and improving the manner in which you work, and the deliverables, the process can be continually refined and improved, leading to […]
Ethnography as an application of third space theory
After many competing companies had failed, IBM were tasked with creating an air traffic control system. As you can imagine in this setting a correct solution was crucial – lives were at risk if anything went wrong. The first thing IBM’s designers did was go to the air traffic control tower for a few weeks, […]
Unintentionally designing with users.
Participatory design is the idea of involving every stakeholder in design decisions when creating or maintaining a product or service. As a formal process, it is at the more extreme end of human centred design – rather than just analysing users and using this to inform the design; it gives the user’s direct control over […]
The Uncanny Valley of Wireframes
The uncanny valley is a theory describing how, as games and robotics produce more accurate representations of humanity, people’s reactions towards them are increasingly negative. This is also true with the production of wireframes, and in user experience testing and is something user centred designers need to be aware of. The uncanny valley was originally […]