Dennis Media Factory

Ethnio : Recruiting for User Research

Finally! Been looking for this tool for ages, since hearing it mentioned in a SXSW talk a few years ago. Allows you to intercept users of your website and ask them questions. 

Framer - Prototyping Tool

userflow:

A prototyping tool for animation and interaction on desktop and mobile. Framer can help you to quickly build interactions and animations.

Built for designers and integrates with Photoshop. Great alternative to Quartz Composer, Flash or Keynote.

One for the list. 

Metrics for tablet ads

As expected, not too much useful came out of Adobe’s DPS conference but this is a good place to start for advertising metrics for tablet editions.  

10 Articles like Snowfall

What it says on the tin. Worth revisiting given Pitchfork are really pressing ahead with their feature designs.   

Adobe’s Subscription Model & Why Platform Owners Should Care

This is a smart piece on Adobe’s switch to a subscription model for Creative Suite; there’s a nice illustration of how it allows a more efficient flow of value between consumer and producer. It’s worth thinking about the points raised for a much broader variety of software, and indeed, content.  

New projector allows games to break the boundaries of TV

Terrible Verge headline about “lounge projectors” - but just watch that video. Amazing. 

UX Recorder, another iOS screen recording utility

Another bit of software for using the iOS device itself to capture data from user test sessions.

Magitest, an iOS testing SDK

Embed the SDK, get the device to capture data, with no need for bulky camera rigs. Sounds excellent, particularly as it means people are more likely to feel at ease with the device and use it a natural way. A review.

Deloitte's 2013 UK media consumer survey

Aims to provide a “reality check” on how four generations of British people are consuming media. Solid for numbers on tablets, readership, viewership etc. 

The Russians Used a Pencil: iPhone Stamp for UI Sketching

russianpencil:

Recently I’ve been sketching some UI concepts for an iPhone app in my Field Notes notebook. I typically start by drawing a rectangle that crudely approximates the real life size of an iPhone screen, but I figured there might be a better solution that keeps the spirit of the quick and dirty UI…

Such a great idea - rubber stamp for making iPhone UX sketches…

Designing pages when each article is the homepage

Good overview of trends in web design to deal with the increasing centrality of the article page - each one needs to work like a homepage in terms of offering readers an onward path, but it also needs to be a good reading experience.   

Building Facebook Home with Quartz Composer

Linked on Daring Fireball yesterday, this is a set of videos (and Quora/Branch stuff) showing how to build Facebook Home’s interface with Quartz Composer. Prototyping interfaces is one of those areas where the tools all have clear pros and cons - QC is what the Facebook team use, and given the fluidity of what they can build quickly, you can see why.  

And then there’s this empty pretense that these innovations make the world “better.” This is a dangerous word. Like: “If we’re not making the world better, then why are we doing this at all?” Now, I don’t want to claim that this attitude is hypocritical. Because when you say a thing like that at South By: “Oh, we’re here to make the world better” — you haven’t even reached the level of hypocrisy. You’re stuck at the level of childish naivete.

Text of SXSW2013 closing remarks by Bruce Sterling | Beyond The Beyond | Wired.com (via solle)

Some Simple Models for User Context

Following on the from the last post, another good method for giving your UX process a richer, more nuanced view of your users. 

Designing For The Multifaceted User

Sounds very dry, but what I liked about this article is it fully outlines a process for a user-centric design phase that’s not too bogged down in personas. Reminds me of the excellent SXSW 2012 talk, “Avoiding Bullshit Personas.”