Category Archives: Innovation
Not Choosing Sides: Customer Experiences vs. User Experiences
Ok, we’re all humans. It is a label that encompasses us all. But in experience research and design we rarely, if ever, create for or try to understand the human. It’s usually the different types of humans we’re interested in. Because once we understand who they are, we can list and prioritise these groups of… Read more
Don’t let the old stop the new!
A little while ago Michelle wrote on this blog how bad usability nearly turned her to crime and I am sure she is not alone. However, good insight-driven UX can also prevent crime. Take music streaming. I don’t know whether you have noticed but the music industry has become quiet lately. What a change from… Read more
Innovation? Fast follow that Uber taxi instead!
It has finally happened. Uber made it to Cambridge. Some, like myself, were looking forward to this. Others like Cambridge’s taxi firms, cannot have been, but the arrival of Uber in Cambridge cannot have been a surprise to established taxi firms and that bugs me a little bit. Why? Because existing taxi firms seem to… Read more
Grow Up!
As someone on the front end of UX projects, I spend a lot of time talking with clients and prospects about their specific project. I’ve grown into this role because I really do enjoy meeting new people, hearing about new technology and helping advise companies on service design. I can tell you that selling UX… Read more
The Internet of Things – Who Cares?
I have always found the term, the “Internet-of-Things” a bit of a misnomer. What does it actually mean? Are things going on the internet and if so why? What is the counterpart of this term? The “Internet-of-People”? Surely IoT is just connectivity added to Things in order to, hopefully, enhance their functionality. This is, in… Read more
Interactive experience: The new TV paradigm
For those of us that aren’t completely cynical about the Olympic movement, the Olympic games in Rio represented a celebration of the best athletes in the world. I was particularly excited about these Olympics because I was honoured to count my friend Erica Wiebe among those athletes (Wrestling 75kg, women’s freestyle). And of course, I… Read more
How Combining UX With Interior Design Creates Smart Work Spaces
What comes to mind when you hear or see the term “UX” (User Experience)? How about “Who is a user and what experience are we talking about?” Although most cases in UX are related to technology and human computer interactions, a higher level of experience brings us back to one of the founding professions in… Read more
Why organizations can learn about team performance from neuropsychology
The field of UX is intimately concerned with how people think, feel and act, and how to leverage those behaviours to create a better user experience. It should be no surprise that the bedrock of UX practices is science and neuropsychology. Hemispheric Specialization Defined I am fascinated with “hemispheric specialization”. It is a fancy name for… Read more
Journey Mapping My Commute to Work
An Authentically Torontonian Example of Journey Mapping Last week, I participated in ‘Experience Mapping’, a course offered as part of Akendi’s UX Training and Certification program. The course covered the theory, principles and research methodologies behind experience mapping – an innovation technique used to gain better understanding of a user’s overall experience and identify areas… Read more
The Trials of Boaty McBoatface: Achieving balance between customers, users and business
At the time of writing this blog I am facing a real dilemma, nay even an existential crisis. I am torn between addressing two pressing and hyper-relevant events that will forever go down in history as defining moments of our age. Do I write about: Boaty McBoatface or Tesla Model 3? I am wracked… Read more
3 Design Trends on the Rise in 2016
There are a few interesting design trends we’re keeping our eyes on this year. With spring fast approaching, this seems like a nice time to step back and examine the visual elements that are gaining popularity in the digital space. 1. Unexpected Colour Bold and unexpected colour choices have been on the rise in all… Read more
Library Science and User Experience? Makes Sense?
I’m a librarian and I work in the user experience, (UX), field. From time to time when I tell people that I’m a librarian and I work in UX I see raised eyebrows, heads that turn slightly to one side, brows that furrow. Unfortunately, I’ve also seen looks of dismissal. Sometimes I’m asked what connection… Read more
How to Engage Remote Work Teams
When I first joined Akendi, I had never experienced working with a remote team via Skype. I had used Skype to keep in touch with friends and family in other cities and countries, but never before for workplace meetings and conversations. Prior to Akendi, my project conversations and meetings were always face to face, but… Read more
Using the Wickens’ Model When Designing
Human cognition is an incredibly complex task that to this day is not completely understood. When designing a product or service, it’s difficult to keep in mind the complex processing that humans undergo as they encounter, not just your system, but also the world around them as they use the system. This is where models… Read more
Experience Thinking™ Maturity: 5 strategies to de-risk the experience
Predicting how many teams figure out their product requirements has been following a distinct pattern over the years for me. Many times when I find myself in a sales situation, the conversation arrives at how the organization’s team has designed and, prior to that, figured out, what the product should be or do. In short,… Read more
The UX of Star Wars
In the lead-up to the new Star Wars movie, Star Wars the Force Awakens, I have been re-watching the existing Star Wars movies. Partly to acquaint my wife with them so that she can share in my enthusiasm, and partly to… why lie? I don’t need a reason to watch Star Wars. As I watched… Read more
THE IPAD PRO – A VERY CONFUSED DEVICE
So being a bit of an (massive) Apple fan-girl, I was unbelievably excited when the new iPad Pro arrived in our office at the end of last week. There’s something about that simple white box and imagery that just calls to you and tells you that greatness lies within. I was a bit late when… Read more
Why Philips Needs a CXO
A large part of my career was spent at Philips and as a Dutchman. I was, and still am, proud of this Global Dutch company. At one point it was the last large consumer electronics giant still standing outside of Asia. Great new innovations such as the compact cassette (enabling Sony’s Walkman) and the compact disc… Read more
Getting Ready for Blockchain
If you remember the movie Flight Club, or watched the TV series Mr. Robot, a common theme is the destruction of the financial system by eliminating all the transaction data, physical and electronic. Although extremely difficult, it is theoretically possible for such a scenario to occur. The problem is that regardless of the level of… Read more
IoT613 – It’s a wrap!
As you may have heard, on September 24th and 25th, Akendi presented the inaugural IoT613 conference in collaboration with CapCHI and Design 1st. The conference, held at MakerSpace North in Ottawa, was a huge success boasting sold out audiences for both days of the event. Akendi’s teams from Ottawa, Toronto and the UK were there… Read more