15 minutes
We set design objectives for creating engaging products that will keep a user’s attention, encourage task completion, and be enjoyable to use. However, of those objectives, we find “enjoyable to use” the hardest to design for and measure. This is in large part because humans perceive experiences differently – what one person thinks is clever and clear, someone else may see as complex and opaque.
13 minutes
For years I’d heard references to the Winchester House—a mansion built over many years by an eccentric heiress without any master build plan. It is well-known for its oddities such as as doors and stairs that go nowhere and windows overlooking other rooms. A couple of years ago on a Blink project I wound up staying less than a mile away from the famed mansion. Of course I had to go!
18 minutes
If you are a college student considering a design degree—or any degree, for that matter—you’re probably stressed, scared, and unsure about your career path.
14 minutes
When I attended the 2015 SeaVR conference in Bellevue, Washington, I had a lot of great conversations with the virtual reality (VR) community about the importance of using hardware and software design to optimize the virtual reality user experience. During our interactions, I noticed that many in the community shared some of the same UX questions. I answer those questions in this post.
16 minutes
At Blink UX we perform qualitative research to inform the design of digital products. Focus groups are a familiar form of qualitative consumer research. But while the focus group has a place in our research methods toolkit, we rarely pull it out. Why is that?
13 minutes
Now that the benefits have been covered, let’s talk about the nuts and bolts of running an effective research debrief meeting with your clients. A little smart prep work can save a lot of time and effort when analyzing/reporting research results, especially when your time and budget is limited.
16 minutes
It was a Tuesday at 11:00 am and we just got off a kickoff call with a new client. We stared at each other and knew what had to happen: I needed to be on a plane the next day to cross the country to conduct customer interviews on Thursday.
11 minutes
One of the important aspects of customer research is talking about the observations with clients afterwards—what worked well, what didn’t, as well as “ah-ha” moments that generate lively discussions and ultimately innovation.
13 minutes
Many leaders in tech industries are now investing multiple billions of dollars into bringing consumer-level VR to market. Facebook bought Oculus, a forerunner for consumer-level head mounted display (HMD) hardware. Samsung, HTC, Microsoft, and Google are also investing heavily.
16 minutes
Why would Apple seemingly limit what could be developed for the browser? In theory, to push developers towards developing native iOS apps. Thus, yet another shot was fired in the web app vs. native app discussion.
14 minutes
Farmers and those involved in agribusiness have historically been early adopters of technology to help increase yield, reduce time, and save costs. Going all the way back to 1793 and Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin we see farmers using design thinking for new solutions to wide and common problems.
12 minutes
Last week, Jeff Alpen, Blink’s Client Engagement guru, asked me if I could quickly pull together some existing research for one of our clients.
12 minutes
Usability studies are great for identifying issues that prevent users from getting things done, however our goals for user research often encompass trying to gain insight into what users understand about the overall structure and layout of a system. Recently I used mind mapping in a body of work around mobile navigation and found it was an effective and helpful research tool.
17 minutes
I spoke with six active digital music listeners about how they typically consume music. These six participants were then asked to look into Apple Music and provide feedback on their overall impressions of the service and its features after using it in the session.
11 minutes
It’s highly probable that I’m part of the last generation that remembers walking into a music store and purchasing a physical thing that plays music. Whether that’s vinyl, cassette tapes, or CDs, these tangible relationships we had with music are quickly fading away.
11 minutes
Recently, I did something I hadn’t tried before: I was “reading” a book in two separate formats on two different devices.
11 minutes
It isn’t uncommon for clients to attempt to cut costs by bringing recruiting for a research project in-house. However, we’ve seen time and again why avoiding professional recruiting ends up costing more in the long run. Here are some reasons why we (strongly) recommend against this approach.
19 minutes
At Blink we practice evidence-driven design. That means that the design recommendations and decisions we make are grounded in solid data and sound reasoning. But what counts as good evidence? What are the data and reasoning that stand behind a well-motivated design decision?
15 minutes
This week I had the honor of giving the commencement address for the 2015 University of Washington’s Human-Centered Design and Engineering Department graduation ceremony.
14 minutes
How do you provide value quickly to your client or to your product team? How do you confidently argue for findings and steer designs when you are new to that industry’s domain? Below I share a few tips from Sarah Barrett, a few colleagues, and myself.
12 minutes
My vision for Blink is to make a difference in the world through our work and our people.
12 minutes
In just over two months I’m tying the knot. I’ve always considered myself a perfectionist and highly organized, which is why I opted to do all the planning myself and not hire a coordinator. Food, music, venue, photography, décor, invitations, that’s all me.
15 minutes
The onboarding process is a critical step in setting your users up for success with your product, but there are a number of considerations and hard decisions to be made when you are designing your onboarding to define how best to get your users familiar with your product and its value.
14 minutes
We’re extremely proud and excited to announce that Karen Clark Cole is a finalist for this year’s Pacific Northwest Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award.
