CategoryDesign Patterns

March 1, 2013 — Probably the most famous interface in sci-fi is gestural — the precog scrubber interface in Minority Report. This is one of the most memorable things in a movie that is crowded with future technologies, and it is one of the most referenced interfaces in cinematic history. By using it, detective John Anderton rushes to the scene of a future crime to prevent it and arrest the would-be perpetrator. Read more…

February 1, 2013 — In this article, Greg Nudelman uses the analogy of a real-world amusement park carousel to explain what makes for an authentically mobile user experience. Also, find the design, the complete source code and a downloadable mini-app, which you can use today to add an enjoyable and effective carousel to your own app on phones and tablets. Read more…

August 10, 2012 — Designing for device orientation brings various challenges and requires careful thinking. The experience must be as unobtrusive and transparent as possible, and we must understand the context of use for this functionality. Read more…

July 12, 2012 — Mobile users and mobile usage are growing. With more users doing more on mobile, the spotlight is on how to improve the individual elements that together create the mobile user experience. Read more…

July 5, 2012 — Despite a great deal of mobile innovation, many creators of financial apps still copy their interface patterns from the desktop Web, even though these patterns are not as well suited to the mobile space. Small screens, custom controls, divided attention and fat fingers demand different thinking when designing for mobile. Read more…

June 13, 2012 — Emergency car shopping is no fun. This past month was the second time I had to shop for a car in a short timeframe without advance warning. Like most informed shoppers, I went online to get a feel for my options, armed with knowledge of what I was looking for: apart from safety, gas mileage and reliability, it had to comfortably seat six and not require me to take out a second mortgage. Read more…

June 1, 2012 — When iOS started to gain momentum, soon after the first iPhone launched, many businesses started to pay attention to apps. The number of apps for iOS grew exponentially, and every company, big and small, rushed to create their own app to support their business. Read more…

April 10, 2012 — After taking a look at Craigslist mobile, it became obvious we could all benefit from some best practices around mobile search, sort and filter UI design. In this article Theresa Neil and Rich Malley explore a dozen different ways to surface and refine the data your customers want. Read more…

November 10, 2011 — The country selector. It’s there when you create an account for a new Web service, check out of an e-commerce store or sign up for a conference. The normal design? A drop-down list with all of the available countries. Read more…

October 6, 2011 — The way mobile devices are being used is changing all the time, and users are increasingly expecting exceptional experiences from the applications they use. In this post, Tim R. Todish brings us guidelines to help you create a great experience in your mobile application. Read more…