June 2011
1 post
7 qualities of an effective experience (and...
“7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is a highly acclaimed book written for business leaders by Stephen Covey. In the book, Covey discusses what he calls a principle-centered approach to becoming an effective business leader or person in general. Covey’s principle-centered approach is comprised of seven habits which identify personal principles displayed by successful and effective...
March 2011
1 post
Storytelling for Richer Usability Tests
I recently read Storytelling for User Experience by Whitney Quesenbery & Kevin Brooks. While I enjoyed the book, it’s focus was primarily on how one uses the art of storytelling to communicate research findings, promote empathy and even sell design ideas to stakeholders. There was however, a great deal of focus within the book on how to listen. Seems simple enough right? You listen to...
January 2011
3 posts
Recent Articles from Jon Kolko at Fast Company
Jon Kolko recently wrote a series of three posts for Fast Company Design all discussing how to embrace design synthesis in your organization. They’re all a great read and I highly recommend taking the time to read them in succession.
The first article, How Do You Transform Good Research Into Great Innovations?, Jon presents three strategies move from your research into a more useful and...
1 tag
UX and startups, my talk at UX Camp DC 2011
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to drive down to DC and participate in this years UX Camp DC 2011. This was my first time attending a barcamp and also a first for attending this particular conference. Overall, I was very happy to have been a part of this event and was impressed with the content and energy of everyone in attendance.
The day started off with the creation of the topics and...
December 2010
1 post
Zack Naylor on Quora
My profile on Quora Zack Naylor
November 2010
2 posts
What User Centered Design is Good For - by Dan...
This is a well done, digestible presentation by Dan Saffer discussing design methodologies, their pros/cons and when each one can be used effectively.
What User-Centered Design is Good For
View more presentations from Dan Saffer.
2 tags
The Importance of Observation
As designers, we often come to the table with assumptions that we have all the tools and knowledge necessary to make sound recommendations for design solutions. Sometimes, we forget what it means to be a good designer. Observation is a valuable trait any ‘good’ designer practices with regularity. We observe human behavior, emotion, reactions, interactions and so on.
User centered...
October 2010
1 post
I'm speaking at Mobile Camp PGH
I was honored to be asked to speak at Mobile Camp PGH. The event will be held on October 30 at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
The speaker line-up should be a good one with Val Head, Alex Landefeld, David Hoerster, Chris Bannon, Kris Rockwell and myself.
The title of my talk:
Considerations for the Mobile Experience - Going from Desktop Web to Mobile Web.
The topic summary is here:
...
September 2010
2 posts
UX is bullsh*t?
OK, so I’m a bit late here (I’ve had a rather aggressive week thus far) but as I’m sure many of you are aware, Ryan Carson decided to post this tweet at the end of last week.
‘UX Professional’ is a bullshit job title. It’s just a way to over-charge naive clients. All web designers should be UX pros.
Aaaaand here, we, go.
I suppose it was only a matter of...
Hustle! →
Totally awesome video by Gary Vaynerchuk (thanks to Jason).
Click here to watch the video.
In this video Gary talks about how raw talent alone won’t cut it anymore. He goes on to say that raw talent alone against someone who doesn’t have natural talent but hustles their butt off will overcome. Furthermore, someone without those natural abilities can easily achieve greatness without...
August 2010
3 posts
WatchI was given the incredible honor of being able to present at this year’s Web Design Day.
My talk was “Helping Your Company Adopt a User-Centered Process”.
I will follow up with additional blog post(s) to summarize the event once I’ve got a chance to catch my breath from the remainder of this month. All in all though, fantastic day full of great presentations and...
7 Usability Legends →
I’d highly recommend reading the work and recommendations from these established usability professionals.
Follow my UX twitter list →
Still adding people as I go and will keep it as up to date as I can. These are my recommended accounts for UX folk if you’re interested.
July 2010
5 posts
Influencing Behavior Through Design
A few weekends ago, my fiancee` and I went to Kennywood. Growing up very close to the amusement park, I have been there at least once almost every year of my life.
One of my favorite rides has always been the Phantom’s Revenge (a rollercoaster formerly known as The Steel Phantom). In the line for said ride is typically a longer wait being that it is one of the parks most popular rides. In...
Startups and #UX by Whitney Hess →
Fantastic article by @whitneyhess about startups and the value of doing user-centered design/UX in that environment.
She interviews seasoned entrepreneurs, VC and startup team members to get their perspective.
Very well done and a highly recommended read.
“NOT designing for your users is like your waitress asking the chef what he feels...”
– Zack Naylor
No Flash? No Problem. Workshop
Refresh Pittsburgh and PITTMFUG is putting on a workshop with Jamie Kosoy (@jkosoy), Associate Technical Director at Big Spaceship.
The workshop will be Saturday July 31, 2010. 9:30am to 1:00pm.
Get more info here: http://www.refreshpittsburgh.org/workshop/
2 tags
I'm speaking at Web Design Day #WDD
I’m incredibly honored to be speaking at this year’s Pittsburgh Web Design Day! I will be giving a talk titled, “Helping Your Company Adopt a User-Centered Process”.
The line-up for this year’s event is stellar with a depth of talent and knowledge.
Registration is now open and tickets are going crazy fast, be sure to register right away!
Click Here to Learn More...
June 2010
6 posts
2 tags
UX Sandwich - Finding good UX in unexpected places
So this past weekend was filled with traveling for me, which of course included much time in cars and airports. At one point my fiancée` and I were hungry and decided to grab a bite to eat at a sandwich shop in Atlanta airport. We ordered our sandwiches and sat down to eat. After finishing each order, in the wrapper we noticed something neither of us had seen before:
In the sandwich wrapper was...
UX Myths #ux →
via (@userfocus
» Pros and Cons of Remote Usability Testing Johnny... →
Great article discussing remote usability testing and on site (lab or otherwise) usability testing. Great points and considerations for both but I particularly like the considerations mentioned about the context of the usability testing.
The Problem with Great Ideas - BusinessWeek →
Article by Bill Buxton talking about design and innovation in business.
A/B Testing: The difference one line can make -... →
Brief article on how Campaign Monitor used A/B Testing to determine the best Call to Action for their survey.
The "How, What, Why" framework for Experience... →
Incredibly interesting article about an approach to understanding experiences. Author RJ Owen created a framework for understanding interaction with any interface/system. This makes a lot of sense to me.
May 2010
2 posts
Seeing the Future Synesthetic | design mind →
Incredibly interesting article discussing the phenomenon known as synesthesia and how it can not only impact experiences we can and likely will design for, but also the impact it can have on education.
#ux Shades of Grey: Wireframes as Thinking Device →
Will Evans shares the ‘lifecycle’ of his wireframes and talks about his process for using wireframes as a means for creating discussion about design, rather than treating it solely as an artifact thereof.
April 2010
5 posts
#UX See For Yourself: About the Power of Observing... →
Fantastic article by Whitney Hess on observation.
Five Tips For Making Ideas Happen - Smashing... →
Project - Grow it out; 4.15.10
That’s right
Although I know it doesn’t quite show the length that well, you still get the idea.
LukeW | Web App Masters: Design Lessons from 350... →
March 2010
6 posts
The Ten Commandments Of User Experience | Blog |... →
#UX
Love Me Long Time – Jeffrey Zeldman Presents The... →
Jeffrey Zeldman uses web stats to contest Jakob Nielsen’s newest alertbox claiming that users only read 20% of the words on a page.
» Low-Hanging Fruit and Penny Stocks Johnny... →
Design Outside the Box - Carnegie Mellon... →
Business, Technology & Design; Harold Hambrose at...
So last week I had the pleasure of attending one of many free lectures at CMU. This time it was Alumni Harold Hambrose. I have to start by saying that he was one of the most intelligent designers I’ve ever had the fortune to see speak in person. More importantly, I learned quite a bit in the hour or so long lecture/discussion he gave.
The premise of his discussion was Business, Technology...
February 2010
9 posts
Project - Grow it out; 2.28.10
So, been a while for an update on Project Grow it out, but we’ll keep it short and sweet, work style photo.
2 tags
52 Weeks of UX - Deliverables vs. Delivery →
Stop Making Design Recommendations, but What...
Last month there was an article on Johnny Holland by Jared Spool discussing why, as a UX designer, you should refrain from making design recommendations.
To summarize, the article suggests moving our approach/design philosophy away from making recommendations for change on design and instead push towards a subtle difference of ‘experimenting’ with design options. As Jared points out,...
“If you even dream of beating me you’d better wake up and apologize.”
– Muhammad Ali
Project - Grow it out; 2.12.10
Week 5
So I’ve been kinda quiet lately, but….Project Grow it out continues. Been working like a motha— but, it’s all good.
Hustle.
“It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”
– Muhammad Ali
“The degree of faith people put in Google’s top result makes Catholics look like...”
– Neven Mrgan’s tumbl: Things people try to log into
Bingo, Neven. It blows my mind too.
The thing to remember is that, to a lot of people, Google search is all but magical in its ability to give them relevant results. There’s no such thing as a query. There’s no search algorithm. There’s just a box...
Project - Grow it out; 2.5.10
Week 4
Yea so, uh….been pretty slow with the ‘tumbles’ this week. Crazy busy at Lockerz so lots of awesome stuff coming down the pike!
Alas, I will stay true to project Grow it out.
(photo taken Friday night while still working and definitely riding the Ballmer Peak)
Flow Over Feature →
When designing products or services, consider the flow of the process, not just the individual parts. #UX
January 2010
24 posts
Project - Grow it out; 1.29.10
Week 3
So, I feel as though my hair is growing much faster than average. I’m staying strong so far, plus, I kinda dig the natural superman curl that’s going on.
The 3 Qs for Great Experience Design (by Jared... →
Very good article discussing research done by Jared Spool about what makes teams that produce great UX, well….successful.
Especially like the points make in “Q2”.