1 min
Close to 250 people from around the world gathered together for the third-annual ConveyUX conference. Visitors arrived from Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Korea, Mexico, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the USA. More than 30 presenters shared their knowledge and ideas in over 40 sessions throughout the three days
4 min
I’m so proud of so many things that it’s hard to know where to start. Mostly I am proud of every single Blink employee for really taking ownership of our company this year. Below are some of the fruits of our labor…
3 min
Designers know that using contrast is an effective way to direct attention to a specific design element. But what makes it so effective?
5 min
How do people find their way through applications? Generally, words and images carry much of the weight when it comes to path-finding in software. It doesn’t matter whether it is an enterprise-level desktop application, a consumer web site, or a mobile app — text and graphics play an important role in directing the user in performing tasks.
5 min
Crafting a useful, usable, and beautiful app takes a lot of work and a willingness to throw your designs out the window again and again until you get things right. Even if you get that far, there are usually at least five other apps out there that already do what yours does. Why is yours better? What sets it apart?
3 min
A recent NPR campaign asked Millennials to define themselves using single words — words like adventurer, optimist, eco-conscious, and activist were among the most popular ways we describe ourselves. These really resonate with me, and I can say without a doubt there is one thing Millennials care a lot about: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
4 min
A friend of mine recently called me up and asked if she should go to ConveyUX. She’s a Project Manager, but she does just enough user experience (UX) work to be dangerous. She feels she should hone her UX sword rather than chopping with it like a machete.
7 min
Here are more details about how we think about target users and their engagement with products to inform experience maps.
5 min
These days, diary studies can be much richer and more flexible by taking advantage of digital, connected technologies. At Blink we’re developing a suite of internal digital tools that help researchers and designers be more effective; one of these tools is our Digital Diary.
7 min
If you want to design the best experience for your users, you need to know their stories. Here at Blink we recently wrapped up a project that demonstrated how the “qualitative story” of user research and the “quantitative story” of SEO and analytics can be paired to produce powerful insights that provide the evidence you need to craft the right experience.
3 min
So how do we get together and collaborate on ideas when a project is top secret? When only one person at Blink knows what the client is working on, and only a handful of employees at the client’s company even know what it is?
2 min
Increasing engagement is a clear way to increased revenue, as well as brand awareness and loyalty. This has resulted in some truly awesome, fun, smart products. Unfortunately we’ve also seen a whole slew of others made in the hope that adding daily reminders and superfluous gamification elements will translate to success.
6 min
Working in User Experience consulting has been likened to being a Unicorn: You are a unique and rare creature who is empathetic, creative, constructive, fast, and effective. At Blink UX we are very selective regarding who we hire and are always on the lookout for top UX talent.
2 min
Everyone talks about the required hard skills it takes to succeed in the world of user experience. HTML5, a background in ethnographic research, and the ability to create prototypes—these are not trivial skills and are a must for any UX team. But nobody tells you the soft skills required to succeed on that same team. Until now.
3 min
At their core, wireframes are an efficient, iterative communication tool.
2 min
As a user researcher here at Blink UX, I’ve spent some time assessing and testing websites for the game industry. Game websites have a variety of audiences with unique goals, but the most notable ones are these:
1 min
Blink has worked with a variety of healthcare providers over the last several years to understand the users of their websites. The results of this work have been research-based recommendations and design solutions that address many common challenges. Today, we are publishing a whitepaper that summarizes the challenges providers face online, and how a research-based approach to user experience can help meet the needs of their patients and employees.
2 min
A list of usability findings can be difficult to parse: they are long, highlight negative aspects of your design, and no matter how diligently your team works, they never seem to disappear completely. Despite these facts, there is hope.
0 min
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you did a usability test of fruit? We did. Blink created this fun look at something near and dear to our hearts – usability testing. We hope you enjoy it!
5 min
I was asked recently what steps we take to make participants feel more comfortable with in-home interviews or observations. This article contains some practical tips about ways to build trust and rapport prior to and while interacting with participants in their homes. Why bother? Because raising comfort levels leads to better research observations, which is why we go out to people’s houses, condos, or apartments in the first place!
1 min
Understanding user expectations has enabled us to make detailed recommendations and help clients deliver great user experiences. From our research, here are two examples showing how expectations influence the user experience.
7 min
Blink once evaluated an in-flight email application for a client. It had already been in use as a beta and the client was aware of a few wrinkles in the UI. So it came as a shock when not a single participant in the study could figure out how to open an email in the application. All the while, a feedback option had been available.
5 min
Understanding and attending to the user experience, in addition to the end product, across platforms as a guiding focus for design, can encourage greater customer satisfaction and minimize user confusion.
3 min
Great websites guide users to content with elegance and ease, through usable information architecture and a pleasing visual design. But, user experience doesn’t stop there. Users spend more time engaging with your site’s content than using its navigation or admiring its style. Once on the right page, it’s the quality of writing that delivers the value.
