Who are you really trying to delight?

Any UXer knows that part of the job in user experience is to delight the end-user.

Step 1. Create a usable interface and flow.
Step 2. Delight the user.

It sounds pretty simple on paper but it’s fraught with pitfalls over the course of a project. The biggest problem I see time and time again is that the project team forgets who they’re supposed to delight. They delight themselves with sparkly gimmicks that add no real value and then pat themselves on the back when they succeed (in delighting themselves). By the time the end-user weighs in, the team is dispersed into new projects and all too often insulated from criticism. read more

Frequency: Tell me how often you do it and I’ll reveal your expertise level

Designing for a touch screen kiosk ≠ designing for a touch screen phone/tablet

Hey! This isn’t that kind of blog.

Last week, we discussed location issues in touch screen kiosk design. This week we’ll talk about how frequency of use impacts the user’s needs. read more

Location, Location, Location: Where is your touch screen?

Designing for a touch screen kiosk ≠ designing for a touch screen phone/tablet

Just because a kiosk has a touchscreen, do not mistake it for an over-sized smart phone or tablet. The user experience and usability issues are vastly different. This is the first in a series of articles discussing the user persona differences you need to keep in mind when designing for a kiosk interface versus a mobile interface. read more

8 Must-Have Features for A Killer Social Media Aggregator

I did some sleuthing around the internet and it seems that several development companies are working on a content management solution (CMS) for social media. The idea is that you can input your dynamic content and the CMS will post the items not only to your website but also to your social media pages as well. Awesome!