I went to the IxDA Redux talk at Sapient’s offices in London last night. It was a series of seven 10 minute talks on the IxDA conference in Dublin, some spanning the whole conference, others focussing on a single talk.

Once again I forgot to bring a notebook with me (maybe there’s a reason I stopped doing industrial design) and so had to take down some notes on the iPhone. About half the people there were doing the same, being a room full of UX designers, so I didn’t feel like too much of a chump. I also realised that auto-correct whilst typing quickly doesn’t work anywhere near as well as handwriting: what would be illegible scrawls translates to either the right or wrong word. I guess digital will still be very binary for the foreseeable future.

From the notes mentioned above, here is some of the information I gleaned from the talks:

Innovation comes through disruption and disruptive technologies. Designers should provoke not predict, and be asking what could be done, not what should.

Wireframes don’t work for modern interactions. Things like sharing, syncing and working across devices don’t translate onto a single layout (responsive / mobile-first design approaches).

Users don’t have goals. Where the classic UX texts talked about users doing single tasks in the early age of interfaces, the same isn’t true anymore. Computers are omnipresent and goals are a product of several cognitive areas and are constantly shifting. A more interesting goal is that of users moving from novice to expert: the journey of experiencing a product.

Users will redesign and re-appropriate your design. As an example, Twitter has very tight limitations on what is generated, but the user’s pushing of these constraints is what has made the service so successful and in the case of the arab spring, instrumental in providing the vector for social reform. Applications should be very simple and provide few but strict rules, allowing users to be creative within the parameters set.

Rather than tasks and goals, modern interface design is about emotions, contexts and relationships.

Three important elements of web application design - UI, Blank State and Content Delivery.

Microcopy. Using text on buttons and short instructions to present a clear and uniform tone of voice throughout an application. Verbs are very important (Like, Tweet) and can become the hook for a service. But can also be inappropriate if not flexible enough to handle the variety of content going through your app: can you ‘Like’ all news articles?

Simple framework for microcopy: Who is the message for? How? Where? When? What tone?

The blank state of a system sets the tone for the application for new users. It presents the app’s way of thinking and introduces rules. The application should ask specific questions with regards to content being generated by the user: think Trip Advisor, not App Store.

Shapeshifting of content. Tasks follow you on your mobile, wherever you go, presenting a shift in contextual consumption. 

There is still an obsession with layout, a legacy of print design and fixed-width web design. Instead, design should be responsive. Wireframes are not appropriate anymore. (Yeah, we heard these ones already, but they kept coming up and for good reason.)

We are in an age of Natural User Interfaces (NUIs), and have reached the limitations of Graphic User Interfaces (GUIs). Interfaces are becoming more organic and integrated into natural gestures and the way we operate day to day.

Comfortable computing: iPad in bed. Invisible interfaces, first talked about 30 or 40 years ago are becoming a reality. We don’t have to deal with physical products to the same extent anymore. With a tablet, the television can come with us to bed, to the toilet or when traveling. 

Interactions accrue over time. Products facilitate exploration. Products sense intent.

Illustration by Dominic Owen

Icons for Brevia Consulting by Chris Gray

bbach82:

Various M&Co. business cards and sticker from our Tibor Kalman collection. (by Herb Lubalin Study Center)

Between Bears by Eran Hilleli

First saw this animated short at the OneDotZero Festival either last year or the year before. Re-watched it again today and thought I had to grab some stills of the journey depicted in the video (although I highly recommend watching it yourself). 

Reminds me of the visual imagery being shown from the forthcoming game Journey for PS3.

Woven maze by Ernesto Neto

I love this exhibit / net / hammock / playground by Brazilian Neo-Concreto artist, Ernesto Neto. Just wish I could experience it in the flesh.

Faena Arts Center, Buenos Aires

via Fast Co. Design

Overgrown by Yuko Michishita

Michishita’s work will be on show at Pick Me Up, Somerset House, London in March. 

via Design Week

Clear for iPhone

A beautifully colourful and blocky to do list app for iPhone. The UI and UX of the app look amazing. The aesthetic and sounds remind me of the game SpellTower for iPhone.

This will be replacing Wunderlist for me. Wunderlist is very useful in synching lists between devices, but is massively bugging and has questionable UI in parts. Can’t wait for the release.

via @millsustwo

Very much in love with the new More4 rebrand by ManvsMachine

The coloured triangular tiles get animated in a number of different ways on the programme information clips and are realised beautifully in physical form in the idents created with Jason Bruges Studio.

Check out the rebrand page for videos of the idents and on-screen GFX, as well as stills and branding guidelines. All in all, I don’t think it would be possible for me to like this project any more. This video in particular is my favourite of the lot.

via @antimega and @jasonholland

Bali photo set by Atelier Olschinsky

via Behance

Watched Pretty in Pink yesterday for the first time. The computer screen killed me.

OscilloScoop iPad app by Scott Snibbe

Snibbe (of BubbleHarp and Bjork’s Biophilia) has created a unique interface for creating and manipulating sound, taking cues from DJ decks and sequencers to give colourful crowns representing the pitch, filter and volume.

I’m downloading it right now to have a little play around.

via Fast Co. Design

Dimsum by Tim Wan

Very much like the graphics and typography in this informational project on dim sum. Other work in the project includes a printed booklet and pamphlet, but I really liked the graphics from a web / UI standpoint. Kind of reminds me of the shape and linework of the iPhone game Eliss.

Found some nice stuff on Keenan C’s Lookwork page including this astrological map graphic. I’m now pressing ‘Share on Tumblr’ although I’m not entirely sure how this will show on my blog.

Week 1 2012 — Fiftytwo — #Lookwork

jxnblk:

Scorekeeper for the PlayBook

Really awesome flat UI with really nice interactions – unfortunately its for a tablet that no one actually owns.

This UI is outrageously nice! Just wish it was available to play around with on something I might own. 

Nike ‘Make It Count’ campaign posters

I tweeted about these the other day but didn’t get round to putting a picture up. The handwriting over the dynamic images conveys personality and energy, and works well with the Nike brand. 

Campaign by Wieden + Kennedy and AKQA

Further info on the campaign on the Creative Review blog

I’m really liking the iconography used for Google apps in the Google Chrome Web Store. The icons don’t seem to be being applied to the apps themselves just yet, only in the Web Store’s infinite scrolling grid display, but the UI / UX of the Web Store and Chrome in general is consistently excellent. 

Ceramic evening bags by Wei Wang

Considering a products social and cultural functional roles over basic functionality to create an elegant bag that celebrates the beauty of Chinese ceramics: Ceramic bag with Chinese crackle glaze pattern. 

On show at the Future Map 11 exhibition from 12 Jan 2012 in London, highlighting the best emerging talent in art and design. Other noteworthy work includes Mariya Kotova’s textile design work.

via Design Week

Arrivals for Foursquare by Dan W

A ticker-board style display showing all the recent check-ins from your friends. The information shown is limited to location and user profile image to counteract the fact that it is displaying personal information in a more public way. Very nicely done.

Read more

iamdanw:

(via Instagram)

Floreo series by Steve Harries

An ongoing still life photography project on the forms within plants and flowers

via Creative Review Photography Annual