UX Groundswell — All end-user advocates welcome here

Commitment and sudden design insights

April 24, 2010

A few nights ago, as I slept, my brain teased out part of a design problem that I recently committed myself to solving. The design insight with which I was left reaffirms my instinct that I am on to something unique, and it inspires me to keep pushing my idea forward. Then, today, as I [...]

Richard Saul Wurman & the Five Hat Racks

April 23, 2010

Richard Saul Wurman was one of the three keynote speakers at this year’s IA Summit. Although the anticipation of his keynote turned out to be a little more exciting than the keynote itself (which, seriously, happens in life all of the time), I still think I am pretty lucky to have been in a room [...]

So, IA Summit 2011…how can I help?

April 23, 2010

Have you ever experienced a moment when you realized that your actions and behaviors are finally starting to match up with all of the talking and planning that you do? The realization that although you already have some serious skin in the game, proof is served up that you are making headway towards your goals? [...]

Transparent New York

April 22, 2010

If you know me, then chances are you probably already know how I feel about Manhattan. It’s the one place where my cells shift into place and I feel like I am home. There are many reasons why I love New York, but speaking as an information architect, New York never fails to provide an [...]

Why we don’t always see the whole picture

April 21, 2010

Last night, I was reading books with my daughter before her bedtime. One that she picked is a Hide-and-Seek book, in which we are introduced to a scene, and then asked to find an element within the scene. Here is one of the pictures. So, I’ll pose to you the simple question the book posed [...]

The Flexibility/Usability Tradeoff

April 21, 2010

Let’s face it…we’ve all been there: We buy a product because of glowing recommendations from tech reviewers, but as we begin to use it, we find that the huge range of options and settings makes the product difficult (if not impossible) to use. A few weeks ago, a vignette on the show “Modern Family” played [...]

Starbucks Coffee Information Wheel

March 25, 2010

I love how being on vacation forces a new type of awareness about one’s surroundings. A simple trip today to the local Starbucks here in Tampa presented me with a little bit of serendipity (beyond my daily dose of espresso); an Information Wheel with details about their coffees from around the world. As an Information [...]

On Writing: Being prolific and productive

March 19, 2010

I recently came across a 1989 New York Times article by Annie Dillard, entitled “Write Till You Drop”: One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the [...]

Information Design in Pre-school

March 19, 2010

I am fascinated by the topics of childhood learning and development; particularly the ideas surrounding childhood discovery and wonder. As a user researcher, information architect and parent, I find it compelling to understand how new data is first introduced to children so as to shape their awareness, and then further facilitated to promote their understanding [...]

Changing Design Frameworks with “Reframing Cubes”

March 15, 2010

When does a hat serve as a mode of transportation? When is a teapot a clever a hiding place? In Tim Burton’s new film Alice in Wonderland, it seems that every few minutes some “commonplace” artifact like a flower, hat, or teapot suddenly takes on whimsical new properties. In doing so, the familiar item is [...]

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