Multi-sensory UIs need multi-sensory designers
Until recently, design focus has been primarily on screen-based experiences. But there is a growing distemper with this ‘pictures under glass’ mentality. More meaningful, human interactions can be achieved when additional senses are engaged. Altho…
100 years of slate-itude
The silhouette of mobile devices has firmly homogenised around the anonymous rectangle. Our fond memories of clamshells, spring-loaded sliders and rotary lipstick mobiles are starting to fade. Will there ever be a time when we can get excited …
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, w…
Spotify for 3D designs
Everyone’s favourite futuristic technology, 3D printing, finally looks like it could become a mainstream reality. Fabulonia, an Estonian start-up exhibiting at MWC this year, thinks so and has created a service to help designers and brands sell th…
Sensor overload
I’ve just been speaking to the guys at InvenSense about some of the sensors that they’re working on. This prototype watch makes Nike’s fuelband look like a bangle. It monitors a finer level of motion and orientation along with ambient conditio…
Pinch: a lovely little multi-device interaction
Sony’s MWC booth features a number of prize winners from their recent multi screen competition. One of my favourites was a simple gestural method of connecting multiple screens called Pinch. You just pinch the screens together, which draws a s…
Emotional connections between products and services
Many consumer device manufacturers are shifting towards an integrated product-service approach. But it seems to me that all the excitement about the business model can sometimes diminish the quality of the user experience. A couple of the companie…
A failure of insight?
An abundance of research tools and techniques enables design teams to understand the most complex of consumer needs. Yet so many apps and devices on the market today are difficult to use or just plain undesirable. How do user-insights become so di…