So when the new WP7 phones came out and Microsoft provided the Windows Phone Style Guide it looked as if all the apps would be pretty samey and bland.
However I've seen some pretty cool apps and one that is being 'bigged up' all over the Internet is the Cocktail App so I downloaded a preview to check it out for myself. The great thing about this app is firstly it's aesthetically pleasing, it's very evident that a lot of work has been put into the graphics and none of it is tacky at all.
The other thing I liked was once u open up the app you get the core features in a minimalistic way but with enough information to play and explore within the app rather than being bombarded with cluttered information.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Forced Registration
I hate it when websites make you register before you can download their software even though it's OPEN SOURCE and FREE!
Nice Design - Gallery
A colleague of mine keeps a collection of screen shots of designs he thinks are nice/visually appealing/good. I thought I would start something similar.
This is a coffee website (bean about town) that was shown to me by the owner of Espresso Emporium for whom I am doing some free design work.
Visually it's very appealing, has a retro look. The page loads with an animation, which is fine however there doesn't seem to be the option to turn off the animation unless you click on one of the menu options.
It is very nice looking though.
This is a coffee website (bean about town) that was shown to me by the owner of Espresso Emporium for whom I am doing some free design work.
Visually it's very appealing, has a retro look. The page loads with an animation, which is fine however there doesn't seem to be the option to turn off the animation unless you click on one of the menu options.
It is very nice looking though.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Paths and Complexities
I am currently working on a project where we have to replicate the system in it's entirety into a newly defined architecture. Last week I was asked to work on a particular feature, having gone through this feature on the existing system I found it to be horrendous and I am not looking forward to replicating it.
Without going into too much detail, my biggest qualm is that it's very confusing, and as a developer I found it difficult to navigate round so how is an end user supposed to be able to. I get the 'they will learn/adjust' argument but from a usability and user experience perspective that's just not good enough.
Whatever happened to simplicity and elegance? I know the 3 click rule is seen as a bit of a UX myth but in this instance, I think it would be quite effective!
Without going into too much detail, my biggest qualm is that it's very confusing, and as a developer I found it difficult to navigate round so how is an end user supposed to be able to. I get the 'they will learn/adjust' argument but from a usability and user experience perspective that's just not good enough.
Whatever happened to simplicity and elegance? I know the 3 click rule is seen as a bit of a UX myth but in this instance, I think it would be quite effective!
Friday, 24 December 2010
User Experience for Developers
I have been banging on about users being savvied up on UX and Usability for years now. I am a firm believer that as a developer you should have at least some basic knowledge/experience in this area.
This article sums those points up nicely.
I also like this bit: "But sometimes you just need to cut the middleman and talk directly to the source" and I think Agile takes care of a lot of that.
This article sums those points up nicely.
I also like this bit: "But sometimes you just need to cut the middleman and talk directly to the source" and I think Agile takes care of a lot of that.
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Interesting Usability Links
The first one is about User Expectations with Mobile Apps.
The second is about Accessibility First - for a Better User Experience
The second is about Accessibility First - for a Better User Experience
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