UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
August//23//2019
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.https://www.nngroup.com/articles/eyetracking-setup/
Eyetracking Setup. One of the fundamental methods utilized to gather quantitative feedback is of course eyetracking studies (alongside others such as metrics, clustering qualitative comments, desirability studies, tree testing, card sorting, a/b testing). This article from the Nielsen Norman Group details thoroughly how to prepare one of these studies, from the materials required, the space arrangement, all the way to definition of what is being tested and tracked. Very informative. Highlight of the article includes:
“Task sheets are another detail that can sometimes cause problems in eyetracking studies. When participants look down at a task sheet, they’re turning away from the eyetracker. When possible, it’s nice to have the task instructions delivered either verbally or through the eyetracking software itself. In the past, we’ve found that referencing task sheets can break the calibration, but we did not have a problem with it in this study: when people looked back up at the screen to perform their task, the tracker was able to refind and track their eyes. Be aware that this capability may differ depending on the tracker you use.”
2.https://theblog.adobe.com/best-practices-for-prototyping-keyboard-accessibility/
Prototyping Keyboard Accessibility. Something I like to devote attention to is accessibility. It’s imperative that Design solutions are inclusive and encompassing of the variety of audiences and users that exist in the world. This article is filled with insight into the considerations centered on Keyboard shortcuts, including strategy to make them visible/known to users, but also avoiding conflicts with Browsers and Screen Readers. Fascinating read. Highlight of the article includes:
“Designer, coach, and responsible innovation advocate Per Axbom says that shortcuts can be a fun and inclusive way to improve the options for interacting with your service. He warns, however, that just making people aware of the shortcuts available may be your biggest challenge. “Always make it easy to bring up a cheat sheet with all available shortcuts,” Per suggests. “A common practice is to have the ”?”-key as a shortcut for this. If the user is logged in, you should also consider allowing them to change the shortcuts within the same area.” Per also recommends considering a quick guided tour during onboarding when keyboard shortcuts are presented, with the option to change them. “Don’t forget to also show shortcuts in menus and tooltips,” he cautions. “If people don’t know about them, they won’t be used.””
3.https://thenextweb.com/podium/2019/08/23/if-medical-wearables-want-to-save-lives-they-should-be-invisible/
Medical Wearables. Interesting article from The Next Web, focused on the topic of Wearables, particularly around healthcare and devices that monitor your well being. This topic is particularly interesting, since technology can have a monumental impact on improving how we track and predict health issues. Very interesting considerations from the author, ones worth reading, which he also peppers with insightful examples, namely the cases of the fitbit or the Apple Watch. Highlight of the article includes:
“The best wearable healthcare devices tend to be passive, with most of the monitoring happening in the background. You don’t need to turn something on and off, position it in a certain spot, or let it know what you’re doing — you just wear it, and it collects and analyzes the data without you knowing. It takes roughly seven seconds to make a first impression. When it comes to medical wearables, those seven seconds are all about design. And they can mean the difference between a product that gets the chance to save lives and one that gets left by the wayside.”
