Steve Jan » Usability

Everything is a Remix

admin — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 16:56:32 +0000

Creativity isn’t magic. Part three of this four-part series explores how innovations truly happen.

Everything is a Remix Part 3 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Nokia N9

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:08:47 +0000

In this video, Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia’s SVP of Design, announces Nokia N9.

It only takes a swipe to get to what you want with the Nokia N9, and it all floats beautifully on the large, curved display. Stay in touch with people, news and events. And browse the web. Quickly. Get around with free maps and navigation. And take great pictures with the 8MP camera. The Nokia N9 makes it all smooth, effortless and gorgeously stylish.

Projeqt CMS

admin — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:54:15 +0000

Much has been said over the past few years about the future of publishing and content on the web. Terms like “transmedia storytelling” and “cross-platform publishing” are tossed around like giant balls of cotton candy — delicious, fluffy but, ultimately, without much substance. And while certain platforms have made multimedia storytelling possible for publishers and visual artists, none offers a truly holistic proposition.

This week, the launch of projeqt offers hope for a platform that does it all and then some. Dubbed a “creative storytelling platform,” it’s Tumblr meets Slideshare meets Cargo Collective — only a more flexible Tumblr, a sleeker Slideshare and spanning more media than Cargo Collective. And if this isn’t enough of a treat, it’s also device-agnostic — built entirely in HTML5 for cross-platform compatibility and specifically optimized for iPad and iPhone, projeqt is part publishing CMS, part portfolio-builder, part something else entirely.

Projeqt CMS Tutorial from projeqt on Vimeo.

A/B testing using Visual Website Optimizer

admin — Sat, 28 May 2011 15:47:19 +0000

Ascertaining what aspects of your web page appeals to your visitors and which do not can be a very tricky business. Now that there are so many competitors available in even the smallest niches online, converting traffic into business is key to success. You just can’t wing it by going with your gut alone.

Website optimization is more of an art than science. You will need tools, techniques and some patience to tweak & re-tweak things until everything is just about right. Today we’ll take a look at how Visual Website Optimizer can help you optimize your website using A/B and multivariate tests.

Kinect Projects – The first 5 months

admin — Sun, 08 May 2011 13:40:52 +0000

Since the release of Kinect in November 2010, there have been thousands of projects created by independent developers, artists, and researchers around the world. This is a short montage of a few of the projects that I have enjoyed. In order of appearance:

Don Norman: The three ways that good design makes you happy

admin — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 19:09:23 +0000

In this talk, design critic Don Norman turns his incisive eye toward beauty, fun, pleasure and emotion, as he looks at design that makes people happy. He names the three emotional cues that a well-designed product must hit to succeed.

Firefox 4 for Android

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:52:23 +0000

Firefox 4 for Android offers a new look that hides the browser controls when not in use and offers thousands of ways to customize the features, functionality and appearance of add-ons through the browser.

The Morrow Project and Futurism at Intel

admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:26:21 +0000

Brian David Johnson is a futurist and future caster at Intel Corporation. In his video, he outlines the importance of future research and speaks about “The Morrow-Project” from Intel were the four bestselling authors Douglas Rushkoff, Ray Hammond, Scarlett Thomas and Markus Heitz created short stories about the technology of tomorrow.

David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization

admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:11:15 +0000

David McCandless turns complex data sets (like worldwide military spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates) into beautiful, simple diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections. Good design, he suggests, is the best way to navigate information glut — and it may just change the way we see the world.

Mathieu Lehanneur demos science-inspired design

admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:06:39 +0000

Naming science as his chief inspiration, Mathieu Lehanneur shows a selection of his ingenious designs — an interactive noise-neutralizing ball, an antibiotic course in one layered pill, asthma treatment that reminds kids to take it, a living air filter, a living-room fish farm and more.