Interpreting today’s digital landscape and how it is transforming the human experience.
Whether it’s responsive design or stand-alone mobile web, companies are finally taking experiences on smaller screens seriously. By this point, we all know why it’s important to have mobile-friendly sites. Thanks to the incredible mobile Web and responsive design communities that have sprouted up in the past few years, we also know how to ensure the best implementation for any [...]
Join EffectiveUI at two upcoming events to explore how user-centered design and innovative technology strategies can revolutionize the way you interact with your customers online. The CITE (Consumerization of IT in the Enterprise) Conference & Expo is June 2-4 in San Francisco. This event is focused on the emerging issues, demands and opportunities surrounding the infusion of consumer technologies into [...]
For many years now, developers and software companies have pushed for the Agile mindset and methodology to build and deploy software. One of the shifts in thinking required by Agile is the concept of short bursts of feature development that lead to potentially shippable software. In most organizations I’ve worked with, this requirement has been interpreted as: “We should be [...]
We’ve all been there: you’re at a party, speaking to someone new. You ask their name, maybe what they do for work. They mumble a response, hesitate to make eye contact, constantly scanning the room for someone more important to speak to. Once found, they give you a comic-book smile, a perfunctory handshake, mumble something else, and walk away. It’s [...]
In my last post I wrote about the current debate between rich versus flat usability design. When examined within the wider context of design history, it can be seen that this debate is part of an ongoing and necessary cycle that encompasses not only UI, but architectural, graphic and industrial design. To illustrate, I’ll explore a few examples from early [...]
If you have much exposure to the Apple ecosystem, you’ve probably heard of the HIG, or “Human Interface Guidelines.” This document outlines recommendations and standards for constructing apps that work according to “platform conventions” on either iOS or Mac OS X. As designers, developers, or business decision makers, it can sometimes be tempting to view the HIG as a set [...]
EffectiveUI has recently completed development on the new Water For People Re-Imagine Reporting application. This online reporting platform offers a new way for philanthropic organizations to manage data and prove their efficacy to stakeholders. As the technical lead on this project, I’d like to share some of my experiences, in particular how the Liferay portal platform contributed to the project’s [...]
At one of our recent Making Mobile Meaningful events, I hosted a breakout session to help attendees understand the options for mobile development, and the pros and cons of each. When deciding how content will be delivered to your users on mobile devices, there are several development options to consider. Let’s start by taking a quick look at the platforms [...]
For about a year now, debate has been raging in the design community regarding the virtues of a “flat” design aesthetic versus a “rich” design style that makes greater use of bevels, reflections, drop shadows, gradients, textures, etc. This second design style is often incorrectly equated with skeuomorphism and attributed to Apple, while “flat” design has been more recently popularized [...]
By now, South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) is a distant memory – a week is forever on the internets. All of us tech entreprenerds are safely back in our warehouse offices drinking our favorite single origin coffees. And for those of you who didn’t make it this year, it seems that the general consensus is that South By is so [...]
