If people were rational then the feelings invoked by losing something or gaining something (of equal value) ought to be the same. We should feel as pleased that our friend has just given us $100 for our birthdays as we feel bad that we have lost $100 when we forgot to take it from an ATM machine.In
Not everything in life is within our control. Believing that it is can be a serious handicap to getting things done in design work and most of life. Learning how to handle the illusion of control will make it much easier to accept things that aren’t within your control and focus your efforts on area
People don’t often make their decisions by themselves with no input from others. We turn to family, friends, media, opinion makers, colleagues, etc. to get their input. This is particularly true of decisions which may impact on our happiness to a great extent.Why does this matter in a design context
Usability is a vital part of the user experience as a whole. It’s vital for UX design teams to be able to assess whether a system they’ve developed is “usable”. When we say “usable” what we normally mean is the “extent to which a system is simple and enjoyable to use”. Yet, as with all simple concep
First impressions count. So how do you make a good impression on the first time user of a mobile application? Through a mobile splash screen. Unfortunately, there are often conflicts between a client’s wants for the splash screen and best practices. If you can learn to manage these conflicts – you c
Helping your users find their way around your website is a vital part of delivering a strong user experience. It can be somewhat challenging to get this right. Well formulated labels, the textual element of navigation, can make navigation very easy and badly formulated labels can send your users els
Groupthink is dangerous to our objectivity. It prevents us from thinking for ourselves and making the best decisions. Designers need to be cautious about falling into the bandwagon bias trap but also be aware of how it can be exploited in their designs to improve user experiences and get users to ma
Mandatory lessonsMandatory lessons are lessons that contain questions, and will thus help you earn course points. We highly recommend answering all questions since that will reinforce your learning as well as count towards getting your Course Certificate. This very lesson item, for instance, is a ma
There are a lot of ways to structure freelance pricing and it’s important to get it right. Charge too little and you won’t make ends meet and you’ll be an employee again before you know it. Charge too much and you won’t get any business but how much is enough?Know Your Minimum RateBefore you go free
You’re done your research and what you’ve found is going to require some dramatic changes. But how do you deliver your users’ feedback to the people involved in the project? It’s likely that some of the changes people have asked for are some of the people working on the project’s sacred cows. So giv
If you’re finding that your mockups are becoming increasingly complex and no longer serving the purpose that you intend them for; it can be a good idea to go back to basics and revisit your process with an emphasis on simplicity and usability for mockups. Here are 5 tips to bring your mockups back t
A/B TestingA/B testing is where you test two variants of the same thing to see which your users prefer. So for example, you want to know if the wording on a page increases the number of sign-ups for your mailing list, you test the original copy against the new copy and see which works better. Or you
User feedback surveys are a great tool for UX pros to find out what a wider-audience thinks of their product. Author/Copyright holder: Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY-ND 2.0However, it can be tricky to know what kinds of question are going to get useful results when you
Want to improve the usability of your website but don’t have much in the way of time or budget to do it? Then we have 5 simple usability tips that are easy to implement and which won’t break the bank:Facial Alignment MattersYou can use the images of faces to highlight the most important content on a
Going into business for yourself is the dream of many a designer. Yet, when the day comes – it turns out that there are rather more options for the structure of their business than they had considered. It’s always best to discuss what corporate structure to use with an accountant or similar financia
With the rise of YouTube video has become a mandatory part of company’s sales and support strategies online. Yet, given that video is expensive to produce – it might be a good idea to consider some basic best practices before you record and launch your video offerings.Know The AudienceAuthor/Copyrig
We can’t all be UX professionals; if we were then no products would ever actually be made. People would be far too busy doing research to get around to design and development. That doesn’t mean that those involved in product creation wouldn’t benefit from some fairly basic UX skills. So we’ve put to
As you know, the Interaction Design Foundation, offers a lot of courses that you can take online. One thing we’re asked every now and again is; “how should I approach learning online to get the most from the experience?” So here are 5 tips to help you get more from online learning: Set a ScheduleAu
Developers are an essential part of delivering a great user experience. As more developers become aware of their ability to play a role in UX; the more they will need a little guidance on how to maximize their contribution. We’ve got 5 tips that might help:Focus on Maximum ImpactAuthor/Copyright hol
Is there anything that people hate more than a CAPTCHA; other than having to fill it in again when they get it wrong? It’s a question that web designers face every day. Yet, despite the genuine dislike of the CAPTCHA it’s still in use in all too many places online. Why CAPTCHA’s SuckThere are sever
