“Interaction is a way of framing the relationship between people and objects designed for them—and thus a way of framing the activity of design.”
- Hugh Dubberly in this article (Which is excellent by the way. I recommend a read) Image from article.

I’m working on a little talk for HIVE and in doing so have written many pages and found myself thinking about what really goes into designing a product. Instead of composing a 10 page essay I thought I’d just put a few thoughts out there over a few posts and see what you guys think.

1. You have to define the Interaction Model

This seems obvious, but I often get blank stares when I bring this up. For me it’s the guiding light for the product design (visual, tech and otherwise) and is the result of many of the activities experience designers engage in.  It can come in any number of different forms, from something that reads like a style guide, to a few pages of prose, to a set of diagrams, to a wall filled with drawings, ux documents and statements. But it has to be made and it has to be understood by everyone.

If we as a design and build team aren’t on the same page about the interaction model and see the product same way in our heads how can we expect to create a product that resonates with users, works and is scalable.

So here is my attempt at a definition.

The product interaction model is made up of the product architecture, primary flow paths, set of design patterns and emotional tone; that consider how a user will understand the product in relation to what they are trying to do, how they relate it to other products both digital and physical, their mental model for it over time, the context of it’s use, and the business goals of subsequent phases of the product.

How would you add or change this? Do you have examples you would like to share?

There are these ugly little things that appear again and again in our lives (particularly in our digital lives) and I think it’s time to speak up.

Not only are they ugly they give you a negative jolt each time you encounter them and THEY NEED TO BE REDESIGNED. I’ll be calling them out as I find them in hopes that someone will hear our cries.

So, I was going through the beautiful, well designed flow of  Two of Us. Then I  clicked the button to record my smile and BOOM the Adobe Flash Player Settings module. Grrrr.

It looks scary. It’s as though it was designed to encourage folks to “Deny” it.

The experience I was in, is now over and I’m no longer thinking about sending my smile into the world I’m thinking about my computer hardware, web security, identity theft, stop signs, what is that eye ball supposed to mean?, what is Flash anyway?, am I supposed to know what Flash is?, do I have the expertise to decide if I should allow this, do I have an option?, what are the risks?, where will the question mark take me?, Is that safe?, I better just quit. I don’t feel like smiling anymore.

I can’t imagine that’s what the designer of this project had hoped for. I know because I’ve had to implement this once and it was very frustrating.

We all understand that it’s necessary to ask permission for this type of activity but what message are we sending when we pop this in front of them?

If this was designed better or better yet able to be skinned like Facebook and Twitter permission messages the product designers could send a message that yes, this action is something you should understand but we have vetted it and would like you to trust us. We  are doing everything we can to protect your privacy and keep you secure while allowing you to be part of this awesome site. You are safe, keep going. You can review what you have allowed at anytime from your account page.

So please Adobe, Redesign This.

In order to enter you are asked to watch multiple videos then perform a one question comprehension test in order to enter.  I feel like I’m in 3rd grade. Comprehension Test!

Does this seem like a bit much too you?  I was about to do it until I realized that the answer would be hidden somewhere within the four videos. Did I really want to watch all of them? How long are they?  Do I still get to enter if I get the answer wrong?

With further investigation I found that the videos were under 30 seconds each. That would have been nice to know.  I would have also enjoyed seeing that other people had participated and found value or at least enjoyed the exercise.

This campaign highlights a current challenge in digital marketing strategy. How much can we ask of users?  How much should we ask?  What trade-offs are we willing to make to attract and engage a more quality set of users or increase the value of the impression?

I do like the idea at it’s heart.  I enjoy the fact that a company is attempting to teach me something I may not know and provide a solution. What better way to sell something? The videos are actually entertaining even if the content is a bit suspect. And why shouldn’t we try to get users to actually pay attention?  I’m really interested to see what people actually typed into this little box.  Care to share HP?

Google keeps trying stuff. Wave, that social media thing I can’t remember, Google Docs.  Not all of it has worked but I like that there are smart people still trying to make my every day more efficient and effective.  I like that there are groups of people working on eliminate the daily frustrations that go with using software instead of coming up with something new I have to figure out how to integrate into my life. Don’t get me wrong I love new ideas, I have a few in the works and I’m addicted to trying new products out. My life is better with all of this new stuff. But I think if some of the basic activities of my day were streamlined I’d have better success utilizing the new stuff.

So I was extremely please to discover Fantastical a calender input program that integrates with all your Mac calenders.

The idea is brilliant. Throw away the old clunky methods of entering events into your calender and replace with an elegant time saving input program.

You must try it yourself but here is what I like about it.

1. Natural language input.

2. Enter all of the information into one field rather than the average 4 field steps of other calender programs.

3.  You can cut and paste into said field!!!

4. Beautiful interface design with fun and elegant visual feedback of actions.

5. Easy to access list view of all upcoming events and meetings.

6. Search

High five! to the creators flexibits.

Love their company description too.

Flexibits is Michael Simmons & Kent Sutherland

…and we create applications that are enjoyable and flexible. What do we mean by flexible? Making your Mac better. Making your life better. Removing frustration.

We’re users too, so we know what a good user experience should be. If you’re disappointed or frustrated with anything, please let us know. With many years of experience working on many popular apps, our hope is that our experience and passion is evident in everything we do.

Flexibits: Flexible bits.

Hooray for improvement instead of invention! Hooray for not giving up on the dream of seamless, enjoyable, natural computing!

ROY ROBSON SHOPFINDER

Stats:
Map: Google Maps
Content: Store Locations
Items: 100′s

Lessons:
1. Make choices to provide value to the most people.
2. Provide lists to compliment the map.
3. Small design elements make a big difference.

Analysis:

First thing I like is that they made a choice. They have stores around the world but they chose to focus the initial map display on the area with the most stores, probably the most customers too; hence helping the majority of the folks get what they need quicker. The choice is also successful in communicating to it’s core audience that they have a ton of stores and one is bound to be near you.  They do have stores in Iran and Uganda but would the experience benefit from showing a map of the world?  How would they show pins when the distribution is so unequal?  They easily mitigate the problem of Iranians not seeing a their stores on first view by bringing the Shopfinder front and center. It is always best practice to provide a list to supplement the map experience. In this case the availability of the list allowed them to make a choice to focus the map on a certain part of the world.

Also of note:
You can quickly zoom in and out with a scroll of the mouse.
The pins contrast well on the map and the white outline allows them to be stacked and overlapping and still be clickable.
I love the full screen view of the map.

Selecting “Choose country” opens the list and the list stays open. There are enough moving parts in a map interface. Try to reduce rollovers and other moving functions. Simple click to open click to close is refreshing and so nice to use.  This interaction model is repeated when interacting with the pins.

Also of note:  Get directions takes to Google Maps. I think it’s ok to not try to do everything within your map interface. Take it to the level that brings value to your company and the visitor then go ahead and send them to Google (or other map program). They will be familiar with it and probably have data saved like their address eliminating a number of clicks and steps.

Selecting a country refreshes the page bringing you a new map focused on the country you selected. I like the page refresh avoiding the tempting “zoom in/out and move the map in some crazy animation” instinct.

Once there we are given another list that reflects the information on the map.

You can also change the country without going back. Nice.

Select a city get a list of the stores. Although it should zoom in to the selected city but it doesn’t.

Over all I think this is a super successful map design.  What do you think?

I’ll post more as I find them.

This new prototype builder looks extremely promising. The details of the experience are impressive and the design is beautiful to work in. Can’t wait to try it out with my next project.

You decide to be a Budweiser bottle for Halloween. You think, “I should really get into the head of Budweiser. Really study up on the brand voice, observe it’s customers, dive deep into the underworld of Bud.”

So you “Like” Budweiser on Facebook.

Fast forward to mid-November. Your costume was a success.You were even able to keep perfect beads of condensation flowing down your neck all night and still get a few phone numbers from girls that “don’t really drink beer” but might make an exception for you. That was fun.

Continuing to get marketing messaging for a beer you don’t even drink in your Facebook stream, not so fun.

So you bop over to the page and look for the “Unlike” button.

It takes you 5 mins of looking around. You didn’t find it where it was when you “Liked” it. You look on your profile. You look in your settings. Nothing! You go back to the page and carefully walk your eyes down every piece of text on the page and finally there it is, right next to “Create a Page for My Business” What?!? Why?

You’ve just been victim of a Dark Pattern.

Site designers place the functionality or information they want you to find front and center, then move it once you have completed the desirable behavior so you are less likely to undo said desirable behavior or re-find  information that does not support  the business’s plans for you.

So slimy

Now I get that it would be unsavory to have a big “Unlike” button at the top of the page but may I suggest a couple palatable solutions.

1. Provide an “Unlike” button for each item in my Like list.  As you can see the one place where you can find a full list of your Likes has no management capabilities.

2.  Add the Unlike button or link to the group of other functions available on the page. This just makes sense.

I could be wrong maybe this was just an oversight, but I don’t think so.

What really bothers me is every time a site does something like this….

1. Users  lose confidence in themselves. Most people will blame themselves for the inability to complete a task on-line. When people feel less confident, they stop trying to learn and we need users to grow with us so we can continue to grow the web.

2. We lose the trust of users. If users consistently feel they are being tricked and don’t understand, they will become more selective about what they do and how quickly they will do it. This makes our jobs a lot harder.

3. The site metrics are skewed. Good data is only as good as the data its self. If I’ve got 2k people that “Like” me only because they can’t figure out how to not “Like” me, the metrics of the entire program are thrown off.

If you haven’t checked out the Dark Patterns wiki be sure you do. I’m sure none of you are doing these things but just in-case

threespot wins the award for best UX job description I have read in some time.

Because our process at Threespot is fundamentally collaborative, Senior UX Leads must be able to work independently, as well as part of a team. They work closely with other members of the UX group, Project Managers, Art Directors, and Technical Leads in creating and maintaining the project vision. Senior UX Leads work directly for the Director of User Experience, with ultimate supervision by the Chief Creative Officer.

requirements

• 5-7 years of experience in a UX Lead or related role (agency setting a plus).
• Experience with direct user research, including usability testing and critical inquiry.
• Experience working for 12 consecutive months or more on one dedicated client, project, or product.
• A background in, or working knowledge of Human Factors.

responsibilities

• Facilitates discovery meetings (including kickoff, brand discussions, audience discovery, and definition of business and project objectives).
• Conducts stakeholder interviews, brainstorming sessions, and features and functionality workshops.
• Owns Threespot strategy deliverables, including: audience personas, creative brief, Interactive Development Strategy (IDS), competitive and landscape analyses, and concept documentation.
• Develops strategies for marketing, communications, and outreach, encompassing search engine optimization, email marketing strategy, social marketing, and blog outreach.
• Develops concept documents, defines features and functionality, and creates necessary documentation—including information architecture, content strategy, and wireframes.

measures of success

• Final product meets business, user, and technical needs.
• Thrilled client.
• Internal team satisfaction.

Nicely done threespot. I’ll be following your agency, looking for the great work that is bound to be blossoming from there.