20 Dec, 2008
Building websites typically involves several participants, each specializing in specific tasks like project management, strategy, information architecture, programming, and of course design. But I’ve been thinking – aren’t almost all of the members of the project team responsible for designing the website? Why does someone have to be a Photoshop jockey to be considered a designer?
15 Nov, 2008
This is cool. Oblong Industries has developed an operating system, or “spatial operating environment,” called g-speak. If you’ve seen the Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg film, Minority Report, g-speak will look familiar. Check out this impressive demonstration:
g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.
Pretty amazing, huh? The visual impact of this human computer interaction is brilliant on film—visually stunning and dramatic. But, is this style of interface and interaction really the future of user interface design? I doubt it. Remember movies like Hackers, The Net or countless others where directors have attempted to dramatize mouse clicks and typing? Computer interaction usually falls short on screen. In Minority Report, typing and mouse gestures were replaced by pantomime and flying screens. Tom Cruise looked more like the conductor of a symphony orchestra than a geek parked in front of a PC. On film it works. In real life… save the drama for your mama.
Practically speaking, the Minority Report-style OS falls short. Can you imagine gloved cube dwellers pointing and waving their arms around at data for six to ten hours a day? Not to mention, the sheer size of the screens.
I anticipate that the mouse will likely be obsolete in the near future; highly interactive touch screens are already ubiquitous. I also predict that speech-recognition, eye-movement-detection and even the ability to control machines through thought will be the true interactions of the future. Sure, watching someone talk to, stare and blink at a computer won’t look great on film, but it will make our lives more efficient. And the technology that can make our lives/jobs more efficient through great interaction design will truly be the UI of the future.
13 Sep, 2008
Collaboration is great… to a point.
Too much collaboration can be detrimental to the success of a project. Whether you’ve been hired by a client to execute a website, a marketing campaign, paint a portrait or remodel a kitchen, too much input from your client will slow the process and likely eliminate any chance at delivering a great product in the end.
Consider the last time you hired an electrician to install or repair something in your home. The process probably worked something like this:
That’s pretty much it. Step two (the discovery phase) is really the only collaborative part of this process. A good electrician (or any contractor) will check in with the client to communicate their progress, but they are not asking for constant client approval as they execute the work. The client shouldn’t be standing in the kitchen second guessing which wires need to go where because they hired an expert to do the job. If you hire an electrician who is frequently asking your advice on wiring, amperage and voltage, you ought to reconsider whether you’ve really hired a competent electrician.
Remember – communication and collaboration are two different things! Keep the lines of communication open with your clients; tell them what you’re working on and why, but avoid seeking constant feedback and input. Soliciting client feedback too often will have them wondering who the expert really is, and you certainly do not want a client who thinks that they know more than you about the project you were hired to do. You are the expert.
To further illustrate how too much collaboration can detract from the end product check out this video that made the rounds recently. If you haven’t seen it, it’s an excellent example of how too much client collaboration (even the most well intentioned) can derail any project.
