I was working in Fireworks recently, and I remembered the Bauhaus font. It’s a wonderful typeface you may see on vinyl records and TV shows in the late 1970′s or early 80′s.
In this design, I used the large type as a vector mask for the photo. The background image is a sunset photo of Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, US.
Once in a while I redesign a user interface simply to explore what it might be like for a company to make a few changes. After a few frustrating moments on the Fandango web site, I decided to create ‘million dollar buttons.’ I call them million dollar buttons because I have a hunch that if Fandango were to make these changes to their movie times page, they’d make an extra million bucks.
I’m sure a graphic designer could make much nicer looking buttons. But, my point is that users would have an improved user experience, and they would be more likely to click through to purchase tickets. Jared Spool and Luke Wroblewski have written about the $300 Million Button, and it still amazes me how small design changes could have a big impact.
Please share your thoughts on these design changes.
epicurious.com video where Eben Freeman provides instruction for a nice summer cocktail.
Perhaps all UX professionals should think of themselves as mixologists, combining the right tools and technical ingredients to get the right outcome for the right person.
Every year I use the Vehicle Registration Renewal site provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Every year I get frustrated and wonder “When are they going to redesign this system?” After I completed my renewal, I shifted my attention over to the PA Turnpike’s EZ Pass site where I wanted to update some of my information. I could not remember my login, so I visited this page to regain access to my account. (Forget about calling the service center for assistance. They’re not open on weekends.)
With my transponder in hand, I failed to retrieve my information. I was rather frustrated. I don’t have time during the week to deal with this crap. I suppose that many of us experience busy schedules and feel like sometimes there is not a minute to spare.
When I get frustrated with a web site, I sometimes redesign parts of it so I can work through my frustration and try to understand what elements could hinder a user from accomplishing their goals on a site. I change a few design elements and wonder if those changes would benefit the huge number people who use the site everyday. Please take a look at this side-by-side view of the bottom half of the form and share your thoughts.
This is my version of the form. It changes several elements and explores a few concepts:
1. Form input overlay — I placed the transponder number input field in the context of the string of numbers which appear on the transponder. My bet is that the user will find and input their numbers faster.
Do you feel that users will naturally click on the input field and enter the numbers from their transponder?
2. Form input background color — I’ve changed the background color of the form element and I’ve given it the appearance of an inset. By bet is that the user will find the form fields more quickly than in design B.
3. Continue button — I used a different button label because the ‘Reset Account’ label is somewhat scary. I bet users will not pause and wonder what would happen if they click on the button.
This is the current design of the lower part of the page. As you can see, it needs some work.
Perhaps. Maybe not — If the PA Turnpike folks can gain any insight from this post, then I haven’t wasted our time. My hope is they’ll see some value in these concepts and at least research their efficacy.
In general, I feel our governments need to do a much better job at service design. We need show our governments ways to improve the user experience and have a positive impact on the lives for people in their respective communities. In my case, it’s the state of PA.
Do you feel we have a civic responsibility as UX professionals to redesign our government systems?
@panah mentioned Solar Roadways. I commend the Department of Transportation and the engineers at Solar Roadways for their effort to transform the transportation network. In this video we see the combination of solar technology with information systems. Safety and messaging — smart application. I wonder if advertising will be off limits for roadway systems.
In May, one of the most under-appreciated company blogs @ComcastVoices published this video of the xfinity myRemote prototype. This is a very impressive prototype and an excellent example of a major corporation giving a sneek peek at a beta product. Many people missed this point…
Amid the ridicule in comments on YouTube, @ComcastVoices mentioned “It is browser based, so long as your laptop is running a compatible browser Xfinity Remote should work” and “The Xfinity Remote will work on both the iPod Touch and iPhone. In fact it’ll work on any device that is IP enabled and running a compatible browser.” Scott McNulty @blankbaby mentioned “…this Xfinity Remote shown here is browser based, so when it is available it should work on your DROID, iPhone, or other smartphone with a compatible browser.”
I took the liberty of highlighting a few items above to focus on two points:
When people saw the video on YouTube, they commented and reacted in a really interesting way. They took their mental models of the current TV remote control and openly criticized Comcast. Since they haven’t actually used anything like the myRemote on iPad before, they relied upon their history of experience and made some uninformed comments. They just couldn’t see themselves using a device the size of the iPad during their TV-watching experience.
Some of the supporting comments were from people who could easily see themselves using an iPad to control the TV experience and interact with friends. Several people asked when the myRemote system would be available. @ComcastVoices has yet to answer.
I’m looking forward to the release of myRemote. Since I often watch TV with a laptop, it would be great to have another method of controlling my media player/cable box. While I’m having conversations on Twitter or via IM, I could exchange thoughts and possibly change the way I work. I view the iPad as a device that might be perfect for my living room.
My guess is that Comcast is close to launching the myRemote (if it hasn’t been released already– they do limited roll-outs). It will be a great experience on the iPad. However, I’d love to see Roberts demo it on an iPhone or DROID.