It’s easy to come up with examples of digital badges that don’t work, or are simply too silly to be serious tools for engagement. It’s […]
Mistaken Identity: How Do We Design for This Edge Case?
I have an ongoing problem. As an earlier adopter of Gmail, I have the “original” firstname.lastname versions of the gmail.com address for both my maiden […]
A Little Personality Can Improve the UX of Forms
Designing effective forms is a tough but critical UX challenge. You’ve got to collect all the necessary information in a way that’s intuitive to the […]
The Behavioral Economics of Airline Loyalty Programs
As a frequent flyer, I know how easy it can be to get caught up in a loyalty program. You could blame it on the […]
How Is a Good Insight Like a Patent?
I got interested in genetic testing for fitness a while back, but haven’t pulled the trigger on anything yet (besides 23 and Me, a few […]
Self-Congratulatory UX Better Back It Up: A Starbucks Whiff
Conversational tone can help make a digital experience more user-friendly and fun. A lot of designers and content developers choose to give their programs a […]
Does Making It Easy Mean Designing for the Lowest Common Denominator?
After I posted about seemingly obvious information not necessarily being obvious to the people we design for, someone reached out to me on Twitter to challenge my […]
Case Study: Nothing Is Obvious
It’s easy to assume that some facts are self-evident when we create a product or experience. Even if logically we accept that nothing is obvious, […]
Behind the Screens: Aligning Operations And Digital Tools
In The Wizard of Oz, the Great and Powerful Oz ended up being an illusion controlled by Professor Marvel, a skilled performer hidden behind a […]
Design Gone Awry: When Autonomy Nudges Fail
Supporting people’s sense of autonomy is a key principle for designing engaging experiences. Designers can sometimes nudge users into taking specific actions by painting those […]