I always like to throw some "hypotheticals" into an interview for a UX designer, and here's a couple I sometimes use: "You have two choices: Lead a high profile design project with a huge budget that has a low chance…
Category: My Quora answers
Geek, Movies, My Quora answers
How many times would James Bond have died if he had not been incredibly lucky?
LOTS of times. A sample (incomplete) list: From Russia With Love: Red Grant was watching Bond at the gypsy compound and Bond would have been stabbed in the back during the fight if Grant hadn't shot the anonymous attacker. Goldfinger:…
My Quora answers, UX 101, UX Articles
When creating web and mobile application UIs, what is better: "Flat Design" or "Skeuomorphic Design"?
It depends. Yes, I know, that's a cop-out, but not really… There are benefits and drawbacks to both, and what your are designing and who you are designing for is just as important as the design "style" ("Flat" or "skeuomorphic")…
My Quora answers, UX 101, UX Articles
Should companies with in-house UX teams evaluate their own work or engage external UX consultants to do so?
Bringing in an external consultant to evaluate a team's work is a BAD idea, for several reasons. First off, the consultant can be the best UX professional in the world who makes the most cogent points possible… but he or…
My Quora answers, UX 101, UX Articles
What are best practices for participatory design sessions?
Participatory design is a great way to have an engaging conversation with users about a particular task or situation. The main thing to remember about participatory design is this obvious point: Users aren't designers. During the design session they are…
My Quora answers
What makes you able to call yourself a professional? My thoughts…
I define it this: You are a professional if/when you do your job no matter what the personal or professional circumstances. Is your company going through a massive layoff? Do you have a personal issue with one of your coworkers…
My Quora answers, UX Articles
What is the next frontier in mobile UX/UI design?
Three things that are going to be a big focus for mobile UX/UI designers in the years to come: Voice Interaction: Accessing information from your mobile device or the cloud through speech is here now, but we "turn it on"…
My Quora answers, UX 101, UX Articles
What user experience means to me, and how I approach the design process
I may sound like Pollyanna, but to me user experience design is a way to make the world a better place. OK, so it's not like we UX folk are curing cancer, or finding new sources of energy, or stopping…
My Quora answers, UX Articles
What are the big topics in mobile user interface design discussions in 2013?
Web vs. native apps. Still. While the majority of companies are pretty firmly in the "native app" space, there are still debates and discussions taking place around HTML 5 and it's capabilities. The problem is, HTML 5 can't do everything…
My Quora answers, UX Articles
What are the different design approaches/UX considerations between designing an iPad app and an iPhone app?
First, and most obviously, you need to consider the constraints of both platforms. The primary constraint when you are designing an iPhone app is screen size. You have a smaller "canvas" to work with, and that constraint means that you…
My Quora answers, TV
What happened to James Hurley?
He became a beef and chicken importer/exporter in Shreveport, Louisiana. OK, no… he didn't do THAT, but the only answer we can say with any degree of certainty is he left Twin Peaks to "see the world." And why wouldn't…
My Quora answers, UX Articles
Why has the general interface of operating systems evolved but the cursor has remained relatively unchanged?
Joseph Dickerson Because the cursor just works. When a user is typing, he or she needs an indication as to where the next letter or character will display. The cursor does a fantastic job of providing that "system status" with…
My Quora answers, UX Articles
What are pleasant ways to move the user through a technical support request, if they are not very tech savvy?
Joseph Dickerson Combine visuals with text in a balanced and useful way. If users have to find a product to solve a problem, then have images of the products along with the names and provide a filter to quickly "shorten"…
My Quora answers, UX 101, UX Articles
What does a lead UX designer do?
Hate to pull this old chestnut out, again, but I must…. it depends. There is no one definitive definition of "lead UX designer." In some companies he or she may "own" the entire design of a product or a domain,…
My Quora answers, UX Articles
What is the most astonishing fact about design or innovation you ever heard?
That little things can make a big (sometimes VERY big) difference. Two examples: Example one: Jared Spool wrote a great often-cited essay about the $300 million dollar button, which I will summarize: A major online e-retailer (I suspect Amazon) redesigned…
Apple, My Quora answers
Why didn’t Apple make a Leather Smart Cover for the iPad Mini?
I’d say it was a combination of aesthetics and functionality. Aesthetically, the iPad mini doesn’t NEED a cover, because its small and light. A cover would protect the screen, but… It would “thicken” the device and (in my opinion, and…