They’re going to use other social networks to drive traffic back to their Google Plus.
That’s evil. And brilliant. And obvious.
Facebook, welcome to the open web.
As an experiment, I’ve decided to start Google Plus Hangout Tuesday, July 19 at 6pm PST. It’ll go until I run out of whiskey.
We’ll talk about anything and everything User Experience, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, not necessarily in that order. I know the room is limited to 10 people, but I wanted to see how many people showed up. It should be a hoot. I’m not the smartest User Experience professional out there (that’s for Jakob Nielsen, and he’ll tell ya :) ), but my opinions are my own.
The guest list is…
I promise it will be a Robert Scoble and Chris Brogan free zone.
I’m going to broadcast it to people that are part of my User Experience circle. To add me, visit my Google Plus profile.
If you want a Google Plus invite, ping me on my Twitter feed.
This is a five-part series written by Karen Fojas Lee, the owner of Nomad Chique. I thought it was so good this would be a good place to republish. Each part will publish on Wednesdays. Cheers.
Of course, this is my favorite part of the usability process and if I had a choice, I’d spend all my time in this phase! This is when we get to begin sketching out ideas based on all the information and criteria we’ve established for the website or web application.
Sitemap or Task Flow Diagrams
For websites, I usually begin sketching a clear picture of the sitemap. The sitemap is literally a visual diagram indicating each page of the site, and how users will be able to get to each page from the homepage. In doing this, we get an understanding of which pages need to be accessible from our Primary Navigation menus, Secondary Menus, and other Global navigation menus.
Sometimes I’ll receive an initial sitemap from the client in the info gathering process or“Identify the Problem” step in the form of an outline or basic flow chart. If that’s the case, then at this stage, I revisit that initial map and refine and formally construct my version of the sitemap.
I include special notes on each page about the purpose and focus of that page, and my recommendations for text content, images, video or other media that should appear on that page. This sitemap can also go through some refinement and revisions together with the client, depending on the complexity of the site.
If it’s a web application, then I would prepare a task flow diagram because normally the screens consist of dynamically generated content, rather than static content. Because it’s dynamic, we can only plan for the purpose of the page, key pieces of information that should be displayed there, what a user should be able to accomplish on the page, and in what order. For example, if I was creating a task flow diagram for a company directory application, I might need to map out the Search Screen, the Results Screen, and an Individual Profile Screen. After I make each individual task flow map, then I can weave them all together into a larger map to show how each set of screens are accessible from the main menus of the application.
Once we know what pages or screen types are needed in the user experience process, then we can begin to roughly sketch out the layouts. The intent is to show:
The key thing to remember when evaluating Wireframes: we are not looking at the visual graphical treatment. We are trying to determine how the page should be organized and what things we want the user to experience first, second, third, etc. based on its prominence within the page.
To keep the layouts looser and easier to critique, we keep wireframes unrefined and raw, perhaps sketching with a sharpie on notebook paper or using software like Visio, Powerpoint or Balsamiq. We’re getting our many ideas out onto paper so we can move things about, adjust, cross out, add on freely and try out multiple scenarios until we get to our strongest variation.
After we have a solid set of working wireframes, I can begin applying the visual design layer, the color and graphic designs for our new screens. This is essentially the artistic expression of the brand. In Round 1 of my process, I begin by choosing the homepage or the main screen or dashboard of the application, plus one secondary page. I explore various visual stylings as a set so that the client can see how the design translates to at least these 2 screens. Usually my packages include 3 distinct variations of these sets. From the 3 unique directions, the client can decide which direction they want to explore and develop further or which options they’d like to merge, and apply to the rest of the screens in Round 2.
Sometimes the client will choose to test these variations with his/her users to see how they respond and find out which ones best capture the brand aesthetic and attributes he/she trying to communicate. I find this to be a valuable part of the design process and can be as formal or informal as possible. In our field we say it’s best to “Test Early and Test Often” because there’s so much more room to make corrections and adjustments BEFORE the site is built, than AFTER.
Then we review the designs in Round 2 together to gather the client feedback for the last and final round of web page designs. We refine and make any last changes, and then prepare the layouts for delivery or testing.
Now we have created the visual language of our site!
Check back for the next step – “T” – Try out the solution. OR Test the alternatives.
Karen Fojas Lee is the owner and creative director at Nomad Chique – a boutique visual design consultancy that specializes in both consumer and B-to-B websites, information portals, transaction-based portals, and Web applications. It offers businesses high-end, custom Web designs and solutions using the latest technology and usability design practices that user experience design has to offer.
I’ll keep this short — the one feature Google Plus Circles is missing is weighting.
Here’s why:
Their current algorithm contributes to the Scoble Effect — Someone “big in Europe Half Moon Bay” posts something on there, and people keep commenting…and commenting…and commenting. That post stays to the very top, and my friends (who are not exactly few on Google Plus because some of them are among the digirati) are being pushed down. Even Scoble’s calling it a virus.
The most important people in my life are not Robert Scoble and Chris Brogan.
Because everyone wants tons of followers on Google Plus because of their follower model (like Twitter, not Facebook), and the low signal to noise ratio compared to Twitter, they’re going out of their way to comment on posts by people like Robert Scoble. Google Buzz had the same problem, which is why Facebook follows a different notification model.
Well, now that I can group friends, I should be able to weight how important some of the friends’ news is. For example, if I weighted my personal friends at 25 percent higher than everyone else, I should see their posts first above a Scoble or Solis.
What if you could control your own algorithm? Now, that would be cool. That would be Googlesque. More importantly, it would not be Facebook.
All it would take is a one slider — this group is more important versus less important to my feed. That’s all.
The filtering to the left is good, but it’s not enough — we should be able to create our own alogrithms. We filter in our mind, why can’t we see better streams here?
Have you read Linked? Do you get excited whenever Twitter releases a new feature? Do you use Facebook and LinkedIn for professional purposes? Do you enjoy creating social products? Do you enjoy working in an iterative, collaborative environment?
If the answers are yes and you want to change the world for jobseekers, you need to join the Jobvite Product Team.
Jobvite is looking for a Contract Interaction Designer who can improve our already groundbreaking products within the recruitment market. You must be excited about the user experience process, and love collaborating with Product Managers to build bleeding edge products in the social recruiting space. You must also understand Facebook, Twitter and the social ecosystem, and can bring that vision for next generation social product to Jobvite. You must love talking to recruiters, collaborating on product ideas, working with developers to create great user experiences.
You get extra credit points if you like designing the product in wireframes and can complete visual designs in production level comps!
Candidates should have at least 5 years of successful interaction design experience developing consumer web applications, with experience integrating with social platforms. The ideal candidate will have the ability to work with Product Managers to create well-designed solutions. Experience working with Agile; we are constantly iterating and work fast to stay one step ahead of the development team.
Technically, the only difference between an installed app and a website is that the app has access to more of your device’s hardware. Platonically, from a human-need perspective, they’re the exact same thing: A collection of tools and information that lets you do something.
- It’s a particular garden or destination.
- You have to learn that it exists.
- You have to understand what functionality it offers or what tasks it lets you accomplish.
- You have to know how to navigate to it.
- You have to learn how to use it.
- You have to establish a relationship with it: by downloading, creating an account; paying for it.
- You have to remember it the next time you want to use it.
This is a five-part series written by Karen Fojas Lee, the owner of Nomad Chique. I thought it was so good this would be a good place to republish. Each part will publish on Wednesdays. Cheers.
Part II of the IDEATE Design Loop is “D”.
The next step is to formalize these thoughts into a document that brings together the answers of WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and WHY we are creating, the key problems to be solved AND a few other things like:
Once created, reviewed, and discussed, this Design Brief becomes the guideline for everyone on the entire project team, not only the user experience designer but also key stakeholders within the client company, technical & development partners, writers and other creative partners.
Next week, we get to “E”xplore….Stay tuned for Part III of the IDEATE Design Loop.
Karen Fojas Lee is the owner and creative director at Nomad Chique – a boutique visual design consultancy that specializes in both consumer and B-to-B websites, information portals, transaction-based portals, and Web applications. It offers businesses high-end, custom Web designs and solutions using the latest technology and usability design practices that user experience design has to offer.
Glad iMovie Pro works so well for them.
Patrick Neeman is Director of User Experience at Jobvite, a social recruiting platform and runs both the UX Drinking Game and Startup Drinking Game | More | Contact
If you're a UX Designer in San Francisco, ping me at Twitter. I want to add you to a list I have there.
