15 minutes
The fine art of creating experience maps
Here are more details about how we think about target users and their engagement with products to inform experience maps.
Articles
13 minutes
Dear (Digital) Diary: A Powerful Tool in User Research
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.
16 minutes
UX and SEO — A love story
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.
8 minutes
Personal Health Metrics and Good UX: Partners in Healthcare
When coupled with a good user experience, personal health apps and data can inspire positive behavioral or lifestyle changes.
11 minutes
Creativity, Collaboration & Confidentiality
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?
13 minutes
The UX of Stitch Fix: A Perfect Fit
Stitch Fix is a personal shopping service for women that has been gaining popularity lately. I couldn’t help but compare my Stitch Fix experience to other services that also attempt to serve me recommended content – i.e., Netflix, Spotify, Amazon.
10 minutes
Designing for Disengagement: The Art of Disappearing Technology
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.
15 minutes
Why UberX is Blowing My UX Mind
Which brings me to UberX. I’ve been using this service a lot lately, both for work and personal transportation, and it’s blowing me away from a UX standpoint.
14 minutes
On Being Like a Unicorn: How to Become a UX Designer Extraordinaire
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.
14 minutes
Why the Toughest Conversations Matter Most
Karen Clark Cole, CEO and co-founder of Blink UX, holds closely to the 7 Fierce Principles in her work and life. In fact, she has them posted on her office wall. I asked her some questions about how she applies them.
11 minutes
Which Soft Skills are Essential for UX Pros?
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.
11 minutes
4 Reasons Why I Love Working at Blink UX
Blink UX is a user experience research and design firm specializing in digital products. What really differentiates Blink UX is our research: All of our client and project recommendations are based on actual end-user observational data.
11 minutes
Preparing for Takeoff: 5 Steps to Better Airline Apps
Some airline apps can truly help make travel a breeze, and others are a bit more turbulent. So what differentiates a great app from a mediocre one? Here are my five tips for success.
10 minutes
WPO Names Blink Fastest Growing Woman-Led Company
Recently, Karen Clark Cole and Blink UX were named to the Women Presidents’ Organization’s 7th Annual 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies award list. I sat down with Karen to learn more about her involvement with WPO and what it meant to her to win this award.
12 minutes
Agile Development – Meet Your New Friend, Old-School Architecture
We are often asked by potential clients if we “do Agile.” Being part of an outside firm, fitting into a client’s agile process can be a curious and interesting challenge given the variety of ways we see agile methodologies applied.
11 minutes
Choosing the Right Level of Fidelity for Your Wireframes
At their core, wireframes are an efficient, iterative communication tool.
11 minutes
Six Evidence-Driven Best Practices for Game Websites
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:
10 minutes
Why We Rebuilt Our Usability Lab Technology for Better UX
We take pride in helping our clients design and build exceptional user experiences. So it comes as no surprise that we would want to do the same thing with our usability labs – ensure the user experience for our clients is seamless, innovative, and effective by keeping “technology” out of their way.
10 minutes
Blink Joins Tronie Foundation's Mission To End Trafficking
For the past several months, Blink has been working with a truly exceptional and inspiring woman named Rani Hong, co-founder and president of the Tronie Foundation, an international non-profit organization dedicated to end modern day slavery and human trafficking.
10 minutes
28,000 Sounders Fans Enjoy New Loyalty Program & Website
We were thrilled when the Sounders approached Blink to help them design their new MatchPass loyalty program in late 2012. There were three major components to the project: 1. Conduct primary end-user research to learn what fans wanted in a Sounders loyalty program and 2. Design an intuitive and engaging website and 3. Conduct usability testing for the MatchPass website prototype.
9 minutes
Improving the User Experience of Healthcare Provider Websites
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.
10 minutes
Beyond Scope & Severity: A Better Way to Prioritize Usability Issues
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.
8 minutes
Usability Testing of Fruit
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!
14 minutes
How to Build Rapport Before & After Conducting In-Home User Research
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!