Communicate and Collaborate for Successful Design
December 20, 2011 by Erik Levitch
Design isn’t easy. Without a set of tools to handle collaboration and communication, the design process will always feel stifled and ineffective.
This undeniable truth became apparent during the “Design Collaboration & Communication” course I attended last month. There, the students heard that communication breakdowns usually occur because of process, not design. Think back to a time when a project went in a million different directions: there was no vision, lack of buy-in and a lot of frustration.
What could have been done differently? Let’s review some common scenarios most designers have experienced and some tips from the class on how to avoid them.
Scenario 1: The Concept Debacle
It’s been a week and a half, and the whole team (client, engineer, etc.) is eager to see progress on the new web application. The producer sets up a meeting and the design team works diligently to develop an amazing deck. After the presentation, the feedback isn’t quite as expected; the client noted features that were missing, the engineer pointed out cases that weren’t considered and everyone is left bewildered and frustrated. What went wrong?
Erik Levitch User Experience Designer
Read more from the User Experience category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.
A Summer Project That Shook Up Human-Computer Interaction
October 27, 2009 by Erik Levitch
Some days ago, I stumbled upon an ambitious summer project that tried to redefine the way we interact with computers. The project, entitled 10GUI, takes a hard look at the inherent limitations of the mouse and the windowed desktop while looking forward for a possible solution. We've all seen how touch-screen technology has transformed the way we interact with kiosks and mobile phones, but how can we harness this type of technology for the desktop?
The Problem
I’ve watched countless videos on the potential of touch-screen and many of them do not address the hardcore 8-hour-a-day use scenario. Take a look at demos for Microsoft Surface, for example, and it becomes clear that this type of implementation isn't practical for everyday use. Imagine having to keep your arm extended toward a screen for hours while trying to create a design in Photoshop...yeah, that won't work. However, in the case of Microsoft Surface, they are using multi-touch technology to allow more complex interactions on the screen. The ability to use two hands at once goes beyond the limitations of the mouse, but is this the answer?
Erik Levitch User Experience Designer
Read more from the User Experience category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.