by Colin on March 24, 2010
One of our proudest accomplishments last year was completing a tool in partnership with the “Center for Suicide Prevention Research and Studies” at Lincoln University. Funded by The Fort Leonard Institute, the Peer Advising System (PAS) is a tool that helps military personnel recognize potential warning signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suicidal ideation in their peers.
Designed to be used in the field, the program allows individuals to quickly describe their concerns about a friend or family member. Using an algorithm based on a meta analysis of existing literature of behavioral indicators of PTSD, the program returns an assessment summary suggesting actions steps to the user.
As the software development subcontractors for the project, our task was to develop an easy-to-use interface and workflow, then implement the expert system strategies necessary to provide accurate recommendations.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Colin on January 11, 2010
I’m not a natural runner, but I’ve gotten in the habit of jogging 2-3 miles around the track three times a week. It keeps me healthy and — once I got over the initial pain — it has become addictive.
Still, I’m no Ironman (no, not the superhero).
After a mile or two, my body wants to call it quits. I start shuffling my legs instead of taking long, efficient strides. My head sags. My feet begin flailing outward. My breathing becomes irregular and my back hunches up.
No, I’m not having a stroke — I’m just tired.
When my body is exhausted, I’ve found that I need to pay special attention to my form. Too easily, my tired body becomes a clumsy body. Clumsy movements are inefficient, and only tire me out more quickly.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Colin on December 3, 2009
Hans Rosling thoroughly impressed me in his TED talk from about two years ago aptly titled “Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen“.
I’ve never seen someone so excited by data. I was excited too, since Rosling does more than just slap some graphs on a slide. He tells a story with the data.
Rosling explains:
Statistics has to go together with other information and with experience. That’s when it’s useful…People are not stupid. They will understand statistics and they will use it, if it’s made available in relevant and interesting ways.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Colin on November 10, 2009
Pretty much every website administrator and marketing guru uses quantitative analytic tools to optimize their website. Apps like Clicky, Mint, and Google Analytics provide great reports on user navigation trends, popular links, visitor demographics and more.
But that’s only half the story.
It’s vital to remember that a user’s experience on your site is more than the sum of their clicks. Ideally, we’d all have the chance to sit in the same room as our users, watching their every move then interviewing them about their experience. But besides being somewhat creepy, such one-on-one assessment is rarely practical.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Colin on September 1, 2009
As a designer in search of the perfect user experience, I’m used to employing quantitative measures to capture user patterns and preferences. Information about popular links, click-thru rates, average time spent on particular pages, traffic sources and browser specs (usually collected by Google Analytics) give me a sense of what our users are doing and how they do it.
Last week, I got a chance to journey beyond my computer screen and help lead a focus group testing a project in development, the Peer Advising System (PAS). After some brief instructions, our potential users were let loose to explore the application. And I got to watch.
Read the rest of this entry »
by wade on June 25, 2009
Here at Idea Works we love it when people are thinking outside the box so when we heard about the Open Architecture Network’s 2009 Classroom Design challenge we were thrilled. According to the Open Architecture Network’s website:
The Open Architecture Challenge is an open, international design competition hosted once every two years on the Open Architecture Network. It reaches beyond the traditional bounds of architecture by challenging architects and designers to partner with the broader public to address architectural inequities affecting the health, prosperity and well-being of under-served communities.
This years challenge was designing a classroom that met the unique needs of the future. While the submission deadline has already passed, we are still quite excited about seeing the results that come from increased collaboration. The most exciting part of challenges like these are that students and teachers across the globe can let the world know what they need to meet the unique needs of the 21st century classroom. By working together we can certainly create a better future for us all.
by Matt on May 4, 2009
Example: Tables v. Design
Most people who work with or around websites or web applications are aware of the mantra “Tables shouldn’t be used in design,” but I don’t think all of them understand why. To explain, I’d point you to a practical example: http://www.csszengarden.com/
The css Zen Garden is a great way to look at the power of separating content from design. Every page in the collection uses the same simple HTML page but achieves very different organization and style using simple CSS.
This wouldn’t be possible if you didn’t separate your design from your content. Using tables for layout exactly breaks this rule. A giant table that wraps your content to achieve three columns commits your page to a life of three columns with no hope of changing. (It should go without saying that tables have their place and their use…for building tables.)
Definitions: Markup, Style and Layout
It’s important to have clear definitions about the three components of web design. Some others may vary slightly, but I like to think of them this way.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Colin on April 3, 2009
My one complaint against machine-made goods is precisely this: that they too often hide their light under a bushel of “design”. Think how decent alarm clocks might be if they were just as plain and well-made outside as they often are inside!
If we insist on the ornamental we are not making the best of our system of manufacture, we are not getting the things that system makes best.
The truth is that a thing fit for its purpose is necessarily pleasant to use and also beautiful (i.e. seen as being in itself delightful to the understanding). I think an artist is not a person who makes things beautiful, but simply one who deliberately makes things as well as he can — whether he is a clock-maker or picture-painter; because machine-made things are very much better when no “designer” has had anything to do with them — when they are just plain serviceable things. I think that if you look after goodness and truth, beauty will take care of itself.
- British typeface designer Eric Gill in his recent interview with MyFonts
by Colin on January 15, 2009
by Colin on December 29, 2008
Even after 14 hours driving along the icy interstates over the holidays, I never quite figured out the car radio in minivan we borrowed from my in-laws.
As far as I could tell, the main features were an annoying display of animated graphics, bright neon lights that made it impossible to read the labels of the buttons and no off button.
It took me about two hours to figure out how to switch stations, then I decided to play a CD (yes, I still own CDs) and all hell broke loose. By the end of my trip, I still didn’t know what 80% of the controls did.
Is this the best we can do? Is anyone designing car radios that don’t look like navigation controls for a spaceship?
« Previous Entries
