UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
April//14//2023
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Designing Notifications. Very relevant and pertinent article from Farnk Spillers published on the Interaction Design Foundation website, focused as title indicates, on devising, strategizing and implementing a consistent and thorough approach when it comes to notifications. Having gone through this process in the past I can attest to its relevance, as there are different types of notifications the user can be faced with, including Event-Triggered Ones, OS-Triggered Ones, Self-Triggered Ones, to name but a few. This article, which also leverages the writings of Clement Kao, brings to relevance topics such as Identifying the Intent and Value of the Notification, Designing the Content of the Message, Type of Notification, amongst other aspects that Designers and their Product Teams should take into consideration when edifying a Product Strategy. Read and save. Highlight of the article includes:
“Notification design can no longer be considered a neutral UI and treated like any other design problem. Digital wellness is a growing attempt mainly by device manufacturers to address the growing concerns around mental health issues or stress triggered by mobile interactions, content and notifications. “Giving users control” used to be an essential usability guideline. Today, it is sorely needed in notification design.”
2.
Software Defined Vehicle of the Future. A fascinating article from The Next Web and author Thomas Macaulay on the topic of the integration of software into the automotive ecosystem, and what that actually entails from an experience perspective. While the article looks in particular to the company ARM, as an example of an organization that is revolutionizing this experience, it also details specific aspects of what that actually entails, including microcomputer performance aspects, intelligent cruise control systems, and also where autonomous driving research is headed. Well worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“The transition to EVs has coincided with an expansion of autonomous features. While level 5 cars haven’t arrived as quickly as advertised, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), from lane detection to park assist, have become commonplace. As a result, the applications for Arm’s architectures are proliferating. “The more autonomous functionality we drive into cars, the more exponential the compute demands are,” says Laudick. “And if you look at some of the data systems that people are looking at putting in cars in five years’ time, they’re really high-end.” At present, Arm powers everything from processors that Dream Chip Technologies applies to radar to smart electronic fuses that Elmos uses to supply stable power. As the use cases expand, so does the demand for chips — and the rules that surround them.”
3.
Designing Effective User Onboarding Experiences. Another relevant and interesting article from author Suzanne Scacca on the topic of designing effective user onboarding flows. Having gone through multiple exercises of doing that myself, across different products and industries, this is something Designers and their Product Design journey co-pilots should play close attention to. It impacts not only first and repeated utilizations, but also trickles to user and client engagement, longevity of experiences and of course, conversion rates in cases of transactional products. Ms. Scacca provides pertinent suggestions throughout the article, including Typography recommendations, Interaction aspects, Integration opportunities, to name but a few. Worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“A user onboarding form is a great way to get users into your app without the need for a sales rep or customer service associate to contact them. Adding integrations will allow you to streamline the onboarding and engagement process even more.”
