2012: The Year of Questionable Upgrades
A 2012 retrospective on software upgrades that made products worse, and why shipping change for its own sake erodes trust users already gave you.
• 9 min read
Missing the Micro
Windows 8 got the big vision right and the small interactions wrong. Why micro-interactions decide whether people actually like using your product.
• 5 min read
Facebook Timeline as the New QWERTY?
Was Facebook Timeline designed to be inefficient on purpose? A 2012 argument about interfaces that optimize for engagement rather than the user.
• 4 min read
The Importance of Alignment when Showing Data
Checking the weather revealed how badly alignment can break a data display. A small example of why visual structure is not decoration at all.
• 4 min read
Personal vs. Interpersonal Interaction Design (IxD)
Designing for one person alone is a different problem from designing for people interacting with each other. Why that distinction changes decisions.
• 4 min read
Just Build the Thing
Web projects burn enormous time in discussion before anything exists. Why building a rough version early beats another round of meetings about it.
• 4 min read
UX Design: Sometimes You Need to Start Before You are Ready
Waiting until the picture is clear in your head is a good way to never start. On designing your way to clarity instead of waiting for it to arrive.
• 3 min read
Great UX Design is Never Done
UX design does not have a finish line. Why the honeycomb model matters, and how treating launch as the end of the work guarantees a worse product.
• 4 min read
There is No "YOU" in UX
Most creative work lets you leave your mark on it. UX design does not, and understanding why changes how you evaluate every decision you make.
• 3 min read
Bad Design IRL: Anatomy of Bad UX Design
A refrigerator taught me more about bad interface design than most software does. Anatomy of a real-world UX failure and why the pattern repeats.
• 3 min read