Part 1 Is there a smart and graceful way to transition into a product manager role? Chris Baum and Jeff Lash talk about the differences between product management and design and increasing your influence.
Big Ideas
Achieving simplicity is not that simple when you are dealing with complex modern device design. Rob Tannen mused on lazy shortcuts, artificial constraints and Maeda’s crusade on the complex.
Simplicity: The Distribution of Complexity
It’s true: even simple projects get messy. Christina Wodtke comes clean on Swiss Army knives, the writing on the wall, and the untidy glory of the Boxes and Arrows redesign contest.
Are We There Yet?
When navigating a complex system—be it a website or a large
transport network—it’s easy to get lost. Ross Howard points out how
subtle signifiers can make a big difference.
Ambient Signifiers
How I Learned to Stop Getting Lost and Love Tokyo Rail
We know a product has a lifecycle, but does the language we use for that product also have a lifecycle? From TiVo to the Internet Superhighway, Rice shows us how the metaphors we use have an evoluation all their own.
Using Adoption Metaphors to Increase Customer Acceptance
Information-seeking behavior varies from situation to situation. Donna Maurer explores different ways in which users look for information and offers tactics for accommodating them.
Four Modes of Seeking Information and How to Design for Them
Holiday lists, to-do lists, grocery lists. With the end of the year come the holidays, and holidays are usually a time for … that’s right … making lists. Take a look into the process (and obsessions) of list-making from our staff.
Check It Twice: The B&A Staff Reveals the Way They Make Lists
When Christina first approached me four years ago, it was to be a writer for this new secret project of hers. This was to be a place to share and learn and not be encumbered by the baggage of academic language or obscurity. This was to be a place of practice, craft, and open arms as we sought to find our home in the greater universe of the user experience realm.