August 2008
Viewing 4 Posts
Aug 22, 2008

Staying Current with a Portfolio Site

Website designers tend to be obsessed with redesigning their own websites all the time. It's nothing unusual - we're just trying to stay current, not necessarily with web trends, but more our own design style. After all, our websites *are* us virtually, so it's important that they reflect who we are and what our design preferences are.

Aug 22, 2008

The Art of Presentation

I've seen and done a lot of presentations in my five+ years in the "user experience" industry and I get it. After teaching lectures to all sorts of students and then teaching at Apple to external developers and internal employees, you learn a few key things that most everyone is missing.

Aug 26, 2008

Customization and Design Integrity

I was thinking about some of the fundamental differences between Microsoft and Apple (and there are many) and thought of a nifty analogy. One of the basic differences between the two platforms is that Windows is a completely customizable OS, especially popular with tech nerds who want to fiddle with everything. On the flip side, Apple doesn't allow for a lot of customization, often in fact making it super difficult to do anything other than what they prescribe. To the Microsoft techies, this is a giant con and the complaints we hear are often to the tune of "I don't like Apple because I can't do X or can't use Y."

Aug 30, 2008

Transparent Technology

Some people may claim that Microsoft is a tech company that focuses on technology that's never been done before. I might agree. Apple's core value is "innovation" but to me, it's innovation on the user experience front. We've seen touch-screens before, but not like the iPhone. We've seen personal computers before, but not like the iMac. In their case, Apple spends its time tweaking existing technologies to make it so easy for the user that it's like magic. "It just works," is the common sentiment on Apple products.