Summary of the 12th MEX: sensory interfaces, context aware UX, new form factors & better user research
By Marek Pawlowski Mobile as the new old For me, this was the first MEX where ‘mobile’ – understood as a device alone – started to feel traditional and old. From the outset in 2005, the heart of the MEX community has always been in the mobile technology industry, but it feels like we’re evolving [...]
MEX Sessions: Sofia Svanteson on inspiring team creativity in UX design
Summary Sofia Svanteson returned to MEX in December 2009 to share ideas on the creative process for digital user experience. Sofia is a pioneer in digital creativity, having worked with Razorfish in the early days of the dotcom era, before founding her own agency – Ocean Observations – one of the first and most acclaimed [...]
Digital sustainability & sustaining digital
The timescales of sustainable living and daily decision making are very different. Risks of exhausting energy supplies, raw materials and climate change seem far off and, understandably, struggle to hold attention against more immediate matters of daily work schedules, monthly payments and annual birthdays. It is human nature to satisfy the immediate desire for the [...]
News from MEX
The MEX initiative has never been busier. Here’s an update on all the latest happenings in mobile user experience. 2 weeks to MEX Final prep is underway for the 12th international MEX in London on 26th – 27th March. It is our best yet. Take a look at the full agenda to see what we’ve [...]
My first Mobile World Congress
When the flight attendant requested that all electronic equipment be switched off, it was like that scene from Mad Max where Mel Gibson is asked to leave all his weapons at the door. Five minutes later, when the last OLED screen dimmed to black, we were ready to take off for Barcelona and the Mobile [...]
Bringing customisation closer to the customer
There was a time when handset manufacturers and network operators talked of delivering personalisation right down to the level of individual customers. For manufacturers, it meant ever more diverse products targeting smaller segments, the economics enabled by standardising the underlying hardware and software platforms, allowing many different industrial design permutations without the usual costs associated [...]
Translating the language of mobility
‘My tomorrow began today’, and through my ‘digital sixth sense’, I have ‘experienced success’. Thankfully, that ‘tomorrow is sponsored by Intel’ and now, well, now I can ‘explore more’. Time, however, is running short, as I am scheduled for a ‘playful mobile celebration’, which will bring me closer to my dance partner (Nokia, in case [...]
Watching a brand move
Alcatel TCL is a brand on the move at Mobile World Congress. Dwarfed by competitors such as Nokia and Samsung on most metrics – unit sales and revenues – it is taking a refreshingly creative approach to finding a niche where it can be meaningful to customers. This move is partly about function – its [...]
MEX Sessions: Ed Maklouf on natural interfaces
Summary Ed Maklouf’s May 2011 talk at MEX provided insight into how humans use sound and how these principles can help shape alternative forms of digital interface. Maklouf’s talk draws on his studies into communications, linguistics, group communication and semantics at Stanford and his hands-on experience of launching start-ups Taxi2 and Siine. The next MEX [...]
UX insights, live from Mobile World Congress
The mobile industry is gathering in Barcelona for its annual look in the mirror. Starting on Monday 25th February, look out for our series of reports on technologies which create real change in mobile user experience. Check mobileuserexperience.com frequently or follow @mexfeed. Marek Pawlowski (+44 7767 622957 or @marekpawlowski) and Andrew Muir Wood (+44 7779 [...]
