Design

World Usability Day in Colombia 2011

For the second consecutive year, World Usability Day will be held in Bogota on 11th November at the Escuela Colombia de Ingeniería Julio Garavito. The event, that since 2005 is held simultaneously in over 40 countries, is calling designers, engineers, advertisers, and digital media producers to promote and share knowledge about product design and more user-friendly, and usable interfaces for people.

This year we will have the participation of Whitney Hess (from USA) who will present the design principles and philosophy of the user experience, Javier Velasco (from Chile) who will discuss the relationship between usability and social networks, and Santiago Bustelo (from Argentina) who address the issue of Interaction Design.

The Colombian Community of Usability, usarte.org, (organizers of event), has invited to Zemoga and other important agencies to be part of the forum: Usability and User experiencies: challenges, methodologies and practices at digital agencies in Colombia, to talk about the importance of this topics in his company and for sharing his experience.
International Web Site: www.worldusabilityday.org
National Web Site: www.diadelausabilidad.com.co
 

Where’s My Illuminated Kindle?

by Sven Larsen (@zemoga)

The last time I asked Jeff Bezos a question, he turned around and released a sub $100 Kindle (still waiting for that charity announcement, Jeff). So I thought I might ask him another one. Where’s my Illuminated Kindle?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m as excited as anyone about last week’s Kindle announcements. I’m usually one of those guys who holds off a few months and doesn’t buy the first release of a new device. But the Amazon Fire is so cool that I might just gamble a couple of hundred bucks to check it out. I especially want to get a closer look at the new Silk browser. Sounds amazing.

But here’s the thing. Amazon tells me I can get 18 million movies, TV shows, songs magazines and books on the Fire. And I’m sure the latest episode of MAD MEN or a streaming version of REAL STEEL will look great on the device. But what about my book reading experience. Is it going to be as dull and boring as my current Kindle experience?

As Seth Godin recently noted in a recent post for the Domino Project blog, people buy books for many reasons apart from just the words they contain. The physical joy of seeing a beautifully designed object is something we all share and books can be some of the most wonderful and creatively designed objects out there. Historical tomes like the Guttenberg Bible or the Book of Kells are as culturally significant as works of art as they are as publications or receptacles for ideas. And classic book covers can become iconic, emblematic not just of the work  but of shared experiences and memory surrounding the work. Don’t believe me? Is there anyone who went to high school in the United States who doesn’t recognize this image?

But what happens when I read a book on the Kindle? Well apparently the first thing that happens now, if I’m reading on anything other than a Fire is I see an advertisement. If I don’t want that particular viewing experience I need to pay a $40 premium. Not in love with that idea Jeff but I understand your trying to keep the device as cheap as possible. I haven’t seen a Kindle version e-book on a Fire tablet yet (strangely absent from the debut product shots) but I’m guessing that it replicates the current reading experience. And that is really unambitious.

When the iPad debuted, one of the apps that had everyone raving was  the “Alice” app developed by Atomic Antelope. The Huffington Post said that it “reinvented reading” and that traditional publishers would need to step up their game when it came to their digital offerings. And the traditional publishers responded with deafening silence. Sure there are some cool kids books apps for the iPad. But publishers have gone for the low hanging fruit, giving you Kindle e-books of popular bestsellers and business books. The only envelopes they’ve been pushing are filled with requests to Oprah to start up her book club again.

But I know you see the potential in the Fire, Jeff. I know you see that it’s a cheap and easy way for users to experience the same kind of unique content consumption that got folks so excited about the iPad in the same place. That’s why you’ve signed a deal with DC Comics to make 100 of their image crammed superhero books exclusive to the Fire.

So work with the publishers out there. Talk to Dorling Kindersley and Taschen and Phaidon and all the other amazing publishers who make their living by creating stunning visual works. Show me the true potential of your groundbreaking device.

Give me this:

 

 Not this:

Give me the same experience that the best of the book publishing tradition can offer me. Give me an illuminated Kindle!

Anybody else want one?

 

A Good Defense Is The Best Defense

by Daniel V. Licht (@thedvl)

The art of self-defense should be taught to all designers.

All of them.

Everyone is out to get you …

EVERYONE!

No one likes your work. It’s crap. They all know it, even the nice ones (they’re just lying to you).

SHHHHhhhhhhhh …

Come closer, I have a secret to tell you.

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Transparent Design

by Dan Licht (@thedvl)

Have you ever eaten in a restaurant where you can see the kitchen? Better yet, have you eaten in a restaurant that’s design revolves around you being able watch how your food is prepared? Ever seen the origin of that yummy grass-fed steak on the menu, or the dairy your yummy Humboldt fog comes from? This is a trend these days what with the whole slow food, know-where-it-grows movements. And people seem keen to know where their food is coming from and how it is being prepared. Now, you are probably wondering what the hell this all has to do with design? Well I’m here to say we should be starting our own, slow-design know-where-it’s-designed movement … who’s with me?

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Sketches: When Abstract Concepts Start Becoming Tangible Ideas

by Fabian Garzon (@dem3nte)

I have been working in the creative space for quite long time now, and I have worked on many different types of projects and in executing a very different range of roles and I always find myself fascinated with the work executed in sketch format. I’m not only talking about creative deliverables but also technical sketching and notes.

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Defining Interests: The Creative Process

PICT5072 Defining Interests: The Creative Process

by Michael Chapey

If I had to define where my interests are, I would say that they lie on the artsier side of things. That’s why I’m interning here at Zemoga. Here, they brainstorm, design, and create. I too want to be involved in some kind of creative process when I’m all growed up.

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Video Games Make You Sexy

CC Attribution http://www.flickr.com/photos/nontelodiromai/4062256168/

by Daniel V. Licht (@thedvl)

Play too much and you will get fat. Gamers have high rates of depression. Only losers with no social skills play them. Get inspired by amazing interfaces. View the designs that are shaping our everyday lives. Only two of those statements are true (IMHO). The rest are stereotypes. And I’m not about to play to stereotypes (this time).

 

Size Matters

photo 2 small Size Matters

A Z-Talk by Felipe Torres, as reported by Alejandra Molano

Size matters. At least when you talk about user interface design, size plays a really important role. It’s all about user experience, and when it is well taken into account, size makes it a lot easier.

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