Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Finger-Friendly Design

 Finger-Friendly Design: Ideal Mobile Touch Target Sizes
Smaller touch targets are harder for users to hit than larger ones. When you’re designing mobile interfaces, it’s best to make your targets big so that they’re easy for users to tap. By Smashing UX Design

Mission Transition

Life and nature are one big transition. The sun slowly rises to mark a new day and then slowly sets to mark the end of the day and the beginning of night. By Smashing UX Design

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Breaking Through the Glass : Designing Digital Experiences Beyond the Screen



As smartphones continue to cement their position as the digital hub of the consumer universe, and people engage with digital experiences across an increasingly diverse range of devices, the term "user experience" encompasses an ever-growing array of interfaces and contexts. By UX Magazine

Monday, February 20, 2012

5 Sketching Secrets of Leonardo Da Vinci

 
You can improve your sketching and paper prototyping by adopting some of the methods used Leonardo da Vinci in his sketch books.  Leonardo was a prolific sketcher, filling his journals with over 13,000 pages of notes and drawings.  These 5 sketching lessons will make you a better thinker. By Big Design

Leonardo's Kitchen Nightmare

Leonardo lookin suave

Some of Leonardo’s projects failed because of their execution. The strange tale of Leonardo’s “Kitchen Nightmare” plays out like a Shakespearean “comedy of errors” where a visionary designer’s experiments all work perfectly to extremely disastrous results. By Boxes and Arrows

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Taihoo Concept 2046

Taihoo Concept 2046

Designed to agree with the aesthetic needs of the Chinese youth culture, the Taihoo Concept 2046 by designer Huang Hao anticipates the personal transportation needs for the young people in the country and caters to their specific preferences and lifestyle. By Design Buzz

Creative cellphones that make communication easy for visually impaired

 Squibble cellphone 

With rapid advancements in mobile telephony in recent years, gadgets like cellphones have become an inseparable part of modern lives. But still a great number of visually impaired people around the world cannot reap the benefits of these modern tools. By Design Buzz

Electric Vehicle Charging System to make charging fun for travelers

One of the major deterrents for people looking to trade their gas guzzlers for EVs is that current EV charging systems along the highways are not reliable enough and users have to wait around with nothing to do while their vehicles charge. By Design Buzz

Solar Bus Stop uses induction charging to power electric public transport

Created specially keeping in mind the requirements of electricity run public transport in the Dutch city of Noord-Brabant, the ATC Solar Curve Bus Stop is an innovative and ambitious project. By Design Buzz

Lophii Bicycle gives penny farthings a fresh lease of life

 Lophii Bicycle

Inspired by the movement and proportions of the predatory lophiiformes species of fish and the form of the penny farthing bicycles that were immensely fashionable in the late 19th century, the Lophii is an urban commuter bike that has been created to introduce the element of fun for sightseeing groups and tourists. By Design Buzz

Spherical Car Concepts for a splendid ride

Roller Sphere

Spherical car concepts are one of the most futuristic, energy efficient and space smart designs that can carry several people at a time. Being space smart, these cars have less chance to be stuck in traffic for a long time. By Design Buzz

Wanna be a game changer?

Co.Design sits down with Wolff Olins CEO Karl Heiselman, who embarked on a study of game-changing companies and netted smart insights on how branding must change. By Co.Design

Andriod design

 

Good website calling out best practices when it comes to learning how to design exceptional Android apps. By Developer Android.com

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Designing the modern atlas

It is often the case in interaction design that the best solutions simply get out of the way, allowing the user to achieve their goal and get on with their life. With Google Maps, this is certainly the desired outcome. By Core77

A day made of glass, part 2

0corningdaygl.jpg

One year ago Corning, the upstate-New-York-based glass manufacturer, released a concept video called "A Day of Glass." Now Corning's at it again with "A Day of Glass 2." By Core77

Frog future or fiction

Good article regarding innovative ways and unexpected solutions for rethinking how wind power could be harnessed through leveraging existing infrastructure or incorporating it into new infrastructure. By Core77

A multi-tool for shutterbugs

0gerbersteady01.jpg

A multi-tool is a handy thing to have on a camping trip, particularly with tools for opening cans, removing bottlecaps, and cutting or manipulating materials. Manufacturer Gerber has also recognized that a crucial part of the experience, at least among today's younger set, will be recording the weekend goings-on for Monday morning upload to Facebook. By Core77

Zooka Bluetooth speaker

NEW-Zooka-1.jpg

Portland, OR-based design studio New isn't, um, new to the portable audio game: their portfolio includes work for the likes of Logitech and UltimateEars, among other high-profile clients. However, the "Zooka" bluetooth speaker marks Patrick Triato & co.'s first foray into the exciting (and, at times, lucrative) world of Kickstarted product design. By Core77

miniMe and the future of integrated health care

4-check-biometric-data-on-smart-surface-468px.jpg After over 40 years of pioneering work in the Life Science industry, a multidisciplinary design team at Ergonomidesign put together their take on the future for the Health Care industry. Their challenge was to envision the future and develop possible solutions for the world to test, use and reflect on. By Core77

Designing for failure

Planning for setbacks leads to successful behavior change. By Continuum

Design makes social change




Harry West, designer and CEO of Continuum, an innovation consultancy company with offices around the world, explains why commerce is a very powerful leverage when we speak about social innovation. For a designer, to improve just a little a product, for example a diaper for the chinese market, that will be used by millions, and make it cheaper too, is a first great step for a real social change. Same thing for financial products that in Latin America will be able to improve life of women, really.

The future of healthcare design


Five takeaways from the Mayo Clinic Conference. By Continuum

A Fold-Up Helmet Designed For Easy Storage Doesn’t Store Easily

A Fold-Up Helmet Designed For Easy Storage Doesn’t Store Easily
Engineer Philippe Arrouart and designer Patrick Jouffret, of the French agency 360, say that the main reason people don’t wear bike helmets is because they’re annoying to carry around. Really? By Co.Design

Architects Propose “Bibs” To Shield NYC From Global Warming’s Floods

Architects Propose “Bibs” To Shield NYC From Global Warming’s Floods

Global warming will make New York spectacularly vulnerable to flooding. Some researchers even suggest that in 200 years, Manhattan could look like Venice. By Co.Design

Foursquare Solves A Basic UI Problem That Eludes Google Maps And Yelp



Google Maps and Yelp are great for searching for things that are close to where you are now. But what about searching other areas? By Co.Design

Will iPads Replace Textbooks? Not So Fast [Infographic]

Once you do the math, textbooks don't seem so crazily expensive after all. By Co.Design

Finally, A Key Ring That Won’t Kill Your Fingertips

Free Key is a cinch to crack open--and it won't break your nails. By Co.Design

Meet Jerry Manock, Apple’s Very First Designer



Before Jonathan Ive and even Hartmut Esslinger, there was Jerry Manock, the world’s first iDesigner. Manock, a 66-year-old product designer and lecturer at the University of Vermont, joined Apple Computer as a design consultant in 1977 and is credited with designing the case of the original Apple II, one of history’s first successful, mass-produced personal computers, among other products. By Co.Design

Why “Infographic Thinking” Is The Future, Not A Fad

Francesco Franchi: On Visual Storytelling and New Languages in Journalism from Gestalten on Vimeo.

Francesco Franchi, a master of information design, describes how "infographic thinking" goes beyond pretty pictures, and creates an entirely different sort of reading experience that encourages critical thought. By Co.Design
Rimino, A Radical Concept For The Future Of Mobile Computing

Rimino, A Radical Concept For The Future Of Mobile Computing. By Co.Design

4 Elements That Make A Good User Experience Into Something Great

Helen Walters reports from the inaugural Interaction Design Awards, and finds that the best interfaces leave tech behind and address larger systems of interaction. By Co.Design

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Two halves of one mind

When Nokia and Microsoft designed the Nokia Lumia 800, there was no clash of cultures – more a shared vision based on purity and simplicity.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Why Burying Sign Up Buttons Helps Get More Sign Ups



If you remove the sign up button from the homepage on the following site, will signups increase or decrease? By Zurb

Vinod Khosla's 5 Second Memory Test



Khosla uses the 5 second rule on the initial pitches from entrepreneurs and on pitches their companies give to prospective customers after he invests in them. By Zurb

You're Not A Designer If...

What actually goes into the field of User Experience Design: graphic design, psychology, communication design, user research, sociology, usability...? By Zurb

Why Design Methods Matter

Getting stuck thinking about process is an easy trap for designers to fall into. Sure you'll solve problems, but without effective methods, those results will be … well, uninspiring. By Zurb

Steve Jobs: People With Passion Change the World



What Jobs is talking about here is being truly passionate about your work, for your craft. Investing yourself in your ideas when no one else will, when there might not be any financial rewards. By Zurb

An iPhone app for on-screen prototyping



Nicholas Zambetti has updated LiveView to support the iPad. If you’re a developer looking to create pixel-perfect iPad creations this is a no-brainer must-have. Look for landscape support coming soon! By IDEO

Monday, February 06, 2012

Samsung Hike lets you capture 3D video via hand gestures alone

In the modern world, cellphones have become an integral part of our personalities and whether a person is a complete couch potato or avid camper/rock climber/backpacker, having a cellphone close at hand is a basic need. By Design Buzz

Super smart earphones


Way back when earphones were first introduced, the general public was made to believe that their lives were going to be simplified forever and listening to music would be as simple as plugging the phones into the Walkman and pressing the play button. By Design Buzz

Mindhalo headset

 MINDHALO headset

The Hong Kong Polytechnic and California based company NeuroSky have come up with a new brainwave reading technology. By Design Buzz

Flex your chatter with flexible display cellphone concepts


Flexible displays for cellphones are something that most of us have read about. However, we do not completely understand what they are. But who cares? By Design Buzz

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Airbnb Turns Boring Facts Into Masterful Marketing

With Infographic, Airbnb Turns Boring Facts Into Masterful Marketing

The company has experienced meteoric growth over the last year, fueled by global expansion. And they're good at telling the story. By Co.Design

No Joke: With Lumia, Nokia Crushes The iPhone

No Joke: With Lumia, Nokia Crushes The iPhone

In both physical and UI design, the struggling Finnish manufacturer delivers a solid rival to the reigning smartphone. By Co.Design

Could A Rebranding Help Give Teachers The Prestige They Deserve?

Could A Rebranding Help Give Teachers The Prestige They Deserve?

The Brooklyn-based design studio Hyperakt schools teachers on honing their image through branding. By Co.Design

Nike Invents A “Shoe” For Athletes With Prosthetic Limbs

Nike Invents A “Shoe” For Athletes With Prosthetic Limbs

The company's innovation lab worked with marathoner Sarah Reinertsen to fill a market that's ordinarily too small to attract serious R&D. By Co.Design

The Best Of The Best

The winners solve a number of problems in new ways, from Ford's smart dashboards to Sifteo's novel games to a system to help make cell phones easier for the elderly. By Co.Design

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Creative Uses for QR Codes

QR code business card

Using creative and remarkable QR codes you can grow your sales and attract more fans. Just put yourselves in shoes of your target audience and you’ll by far understand what you want to get. By Speckyboy