Do we need to user test every week?

I was just informed by Lindsay, a great UI Designer I know, of the need of constant User Testing while developing. See here for the article. 

UX Experience . UX Design

I really love that the User Experience for the ux design website of the world is so 00's. The website finished in 2014, shame it isnt around any longer...

Adobe Acrobat Reader

This is the first User Experience Example on this blog! Enjoy

Opening Carousel for Adobe Acrobat Reader from Kathryn Hing on Vimeo.

Wolfsburg, get some new bus ads

Dear Wolfsburg, You are good at many things, but bus 201, really? HarDly BuSinesS ClasS. I stared at this, trying to decipher whether this was a joke... #teenagerphotoshop

Thailand Train Users

Dear Bangkok, Thailand, I love how you you help your users navigate their train journeys by simply giving exit numbers for their train stations. Sydney, when will our user experience be this seamless. Francie.

Dear Hong Kong

Hong Kong, I'll miss you, but oops. Seems like you forgot the home button. Better luck next time, Francie.

Prototyping Apps

Last August I was able to knab a position as a Service Design Intern in one of the largest Automotive makers in the world, and for the past year now, I have been working alongside 5 other team mates from various backgrounds; designers, strategists, business managers.

With a bachelor in Product design, I have been able to get the grounding for materials, how to build products and a general technical understanding of the world of things.

In my master I learnt how to sell products; the real world, beyond the product itself.

Throughout my time as a designer, I have been constantly flicking between the Adobe Suite; Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign as concrete blocks for many projects. Yet now, I want to better understand users, consumers, the people that use products. As we get global, I am changing with the times, and at work, I have been able to try out prototype apps. Lately, I have been trying out Sketch 3, Pop and Invision.

I have been documenting some of the experiences I have been having with services and products, and will be posting them up, here soon. Some frustrating, some, a bit more enthusiastic.

2015: going raw

It is the 23rd of December, and I am well settled in Dublin for Christmas. I am visiting a good friend and life companion C. She lives in Dublin, and I have been lucky enough to also drop in on other friends whilst I have been here.

Whilst I have been here, it is coming up to the new year, and I am about to reassess my life. I want a big change, and I think it is about time. The past few months have been upside down for me; spiritually I feel like I have found clarity on what my life is about which has lead me to change how I view relationships. I have also found a full time job, which is an absolute life changer and gives me stability for a longer short-time period.

I want to give myself a challenge and am going to try and go raw for a year.

Right now, I am an unstable vegetarian. I told myself I would eat meat on my birthday, and christmas, but during 'special occasions' I tend to splurge meaning I break my routine.

This means that as I prepare for a year of going raw, I need to put some restrictions in place. What will I allow myself to eat, and not eat, will I allow myself to break my diet/lifestyle and if so, when. How will I go about telling people.  When I travel or eat at someone's house, will I allow myself to eat meat/eggs/cheese/warm?

Complications Of course there will be complications when starting a diet like this. I am thinking mostly social, which will be considerable seeing that I eat with friends and housemates every day of the week. I think I should make some exceptions, but for the first two months, I am going to go all out, and be completely Raw, and then reassess after two months.

I think the first two will be the hardest, partly because it will be the coldest months of the year, and I will crave warm foods.

Right now, I am travelling a trip around Asia, and I am wanting to save up money for the trip. For the first three months of the year, the money I save from food, I will put towards the trip.

I have 8 days until I begin my new lifestyle, and I am going to slowly wean myself off meat and warm foods during this time. I will also think about what I am going to eat, and my restrictions list. I find that I tend to break my lifestyles when I go on holidays and travel, so this is going to be the most difficult.

I also absolutely love food, especially warm food. During my time in the Netherlands, and even Germany, I couldn't get over my friends only eating one warm meal a day. I told myself that they were crazy, and if I could, I would eat warm all the time!

At worst, it is only a year. I am serious about this, and 365 days isn't really that much.

Why on earth am I doing this?

Health
As I reach 25, I have come to the same conclusion as those older and wiser than me. A friend who is at the peak in his 30's recently told me he has to really watch what he eats these days. I chuckled, but just a few weeks later, I realise that I have been blessed with a body that functions well, and I should try and keep it that way! I haven't treated it wonderfully the past few years, but hopefully I will be getting it back on track next year. My older brother has also gone Vegan for health issues too, and I figure and experimenting with my body like this, can't be any worse than anything else I have done to it previously, hardly! I have shoved so much junk into my body, that eating fruits and vegetables from God's green earth can hardly be worse than anything else I have tried.

Sustainability
Always included in my bodily experiments, and this is no different. I'll also try and eat local when I can. I figure that it won't be too expensive seeing as I won't be buying a lot of what I buy at the moment. Trying to decrease my footprint where I can is part of why I have been a vegetarian. Trying to shrink my environmental impact. If you want to know more, you can send me an email.

Challenge
I need a challenge, and sure is a crazy one.

Getting in tune with my body
I want to see how my body reacts; my mind, emotions, intellectual productivity, sense of energy... I have been told by friends that they can tell when their body needs something. I haven't felt that, but I hope that by doing this, my body will begin to discover what it needs more naturally.

Weight
After giving up competitive rowing and moving to Germany, starting a 9-5 job, I can already see the effects on my body. Sitting at a desk all day surely is far from ideal. I want to minimise the effects of sitting idle all day, and do this before my body gets into the habit of work. I want my body to register raw with work, as I am just about to start work, and right now my body is starting to take note of the yearly rhythms as it adapts to working life.

More updates to come, I'll see how this turns out!

Seeping into the veins?

What do you do when you feel burnt out? The tiredness of the project laps over me, the unproductive hours.

and then the to-do lists comes in. Crisis aborted...

for now.

Designer wants a wife

DESIGNER.

NEEDS.

A.

WIFE.

Forget Farmer wants a wife, and the German spin off Baker wants a wife, I think we should create a television series entitled Designer needs a wife. What do you think? Wouldn’t it be a hit? Not only would it be more gender friendly and express the closing gap of sexes (Thank Goodness that this day has finally come), but also tap into the more alternative market.

Plus, there is an obvious yearning. I have talked to a large number of my designer girlfriends, and they all agree that there is a need… but perhaps I am talking to the wrong crowd here, those that are already converted, or perhaps I am talking to an audience of Headstrong feminists who are seething under their breath right now, thinking “we ain’t needing no men, na-ah!” In that case, I am truly sorry, but honestly! We need more alternatives to be watching television. Right now no one I know watches the TV, and that’s mostly because it is filled with tacky reality TV; Jersey Shore and Eurovision. I mean Jersey shore is OK for five minutes, and Eurovision is great for an evening, but we need more content! Can I get an Amen from the audience? Give the people what they want. I assume all of the TV stations have done their homework, and that the know what the people want. Apparently it is reality TV. Anyway, that is my thought of the hour…

Can you imagine what the show would be like? It would be amazing, not only would the content not need to be scripted, but they would have intelligent girls, which is what reality TV needs more of. Designers are great; they are radical, quick witted, and are great entertainment. Plus, we dress well too, which is a bonus. The contestants could create the videos themselves, and friends could add in illustrator and photoshop backgrounds, it would be trippy, and an educational experience for all.

I mean, I have seen a few eps. of Farmer wants a wife, and from what I understand a school mate even got married to a farmer from the show back in Sydney, but there is only so many scenes of milking cows and awkward conversations I can withhold. In the dutch version, I remember the ladies had to make a gift for the other contestants, they were hand made clay and photo montages of the contestant and the farmer... but can you imagine Designer needs a husband? Man, the hand made presents would be cool to the extreme, not to mention adding in a time limitation "Who can create a gift in 15 minutes". You'd come up with some pretty whacky ideas, but I am getting carried away with myself.

Perhaps I am being too traditional – you’re probably thinking ‘Girl, you don’t need no man’, I mean which working woman really needs a man these days anyway. Well I’m not sure if I speak only for myself or whether I am going through a quarter life crisis, but I am going to put it out there and say that it is pretty natural to assume that you will end up with a dashingly intelligent man. Many of us are so extreme that we need someone to bring us back down to earth... But with all of us women trying to pursue a career, part of me just thinks – I am just so happy where I am, there really is no need for a man. Hanging out with a bunch of single designer girls doesn’t help either… but when you go back home and all of your friends are getting married, it hits you. A friend said it was the symptoms of a wedding, perhaps he is right, but when I walked into the pet store yesterday, I was struck by the number of couples that were around. Anyway, I have heard that I am quite the matchmaker. Two friends of mine that I set up 7 years ago just got married, so I think I have a knack for it. That’s it! I am going to put a call out tonight for single males and females tonight, network them, and the film it. Perhaps I will make a start up from it! An App maybe? The possibilities are endless!

For all of those lovely ladies out there, the Laundromat is definitely a great place to start conversations. I had never been in one before, and stumbled into one last night on my way home from dinner as I thought it would be interesting to research what really goes on in there, and all that was sitting there were about 15 young males.

In any case, even if the TV networks don’t hit me up after writing this blog post, I am going to set up a camera at my local Laundromat. I promise you, that is where all the action is.

image originally found here

An observation of the Dutch in Delft.

A compilation of observations that I have acquired in the past 2 years with my time alongside my dutch friends, most things are dutch friendly, but a few are city specific.

1. The dutch are a tall society, there’s no denying that. It’s said that those from Groningen are the world’s giants. There! I said it.
2. There is a very strong student society & fraternity culture
3. Typical frat hair is longer on the sides, slicked through with gel and topped off with a backward cap.
4. Christmas dinners or Kerstdiners happen in February, April, or even July… not december
5. Sinterklaas presents are the most important of the year, and from an outsiders perspective seem to be more heavily thought out and detailed, more so than anything that could be bought for a beloved
6. Bikes are ridden everywhere, no joke
7. The dutch are always weather ready
8. If there’s cheese at the table and someone will pulls out what looks like a tiny cake cutter, don’t be alarmed, it’s a cheese slicer, or kaas schaaf
9. A student house can have anywhere between 3 and (at extremes) 21 people
10. They just love to dress up on special occasions (see point 4)
11. ‘Going Dutch’ I’ve never seen a society so engaged in splitting costs, see Wiebetaalwat.nl & eetlijst.com if you don’t believe me.
12. Sinter Klaas, who although sounds like santa claus, isnt, comes once per year and gives presents to kids. I mean, you’ve fooled me, I really did think he was Santa Claus.
13. TH of D? Ask a Dutchman to say “ Three thin thieves thought a thousand thoughts. Now if three thin thieves thought a thousand thoughts how many thoughts did each thief think?” and guaranteed they will pronounce the vast majority of “th” ‘s  as a “d”
14. There is a strange man called black pete or zwaart piet who is Sinta Klaus’ companion (see point 12), and helps transport bad children to Spain. I’m not sure why such a rainy country sees this as a bad thing. Perhaps kids think they will get fat from too much tapas, beats me.
15. Crème trousers are a thing, ain’t no one gonna tell me different. This will often be seen sported with a brown leather belt.
16. Bright pants are a thing (maroon seems to be quite in this year, 2013-2014)
17. The amazing christmas treats, Papernoten are available from August
18. Sandwiches.
19. Dutchmen love to party!!! By partying, I mean fist pumping in the air
20. The national delicacies include speculaas, Applestroop, stroopwaffels, poffertjes, filet americain and schuddebuikjes, all of which I approve of.
21. Hagelslag. It’s like 100s and 1000s for 20+ year olds, the fancy version.
22. Dutch have a close relationship with their families
23. Everyone drinks coffee, 4 times a day, 8 days a week.
24. I just need to emphasise, sandwiches are a dutchman’s best friend
25. Leo’s is the place to be on a week day during lunch (see point 25)
26. ‘It’s fine, honestly! …as long as it doesn’t effect me’
27. Men don’t dance in clubs. Punt (exception of point 19)
28. I have never seen so many want-to-be DJs
29. Duchmans love their gel
30. Dutchmen have intense umbrella ready for the rain
31. The rainpants, oh the rainpants
32. The more serious a business meeting, the more gel (see point 30)
33. Ingetogen they can be very restrained in their emotions ingetogen
34. 5 minutes too late deserves an SMS asking where you are (I must admit, I have come a long way in my organisational skills thanks to this)
35. Efficiency is the key
36. Do you have a planning for this? Every project seems to have to have a drawn out planning, this is very different from Australian tertiary education where we just bumble along with assignments
37. It is amazing what you see on the back of bikes. Can you ride no hands? Can you also be holding another bike? Can you also be carrying a couch on the back of your bike? You must be dutch
38. Dutch are pained by the way international students ride on the bike paths
39. Rowing & Hockey are the national sports
40. Koningsdag, or kings day is a national holiday where everyone dresses in orange, finds a boat and sails down the canals.
41. I’ve never seen so much orange in my life (see point 42)
42. Can I have mayonaise with that?
43. Hot chips are served in something that suggests to me that it should have ice cream in it judging by its shape, however I must admit, the cone sure is handy.
44. The meats department at the supermarket sports a whole lot of blended sausage liver meats, perfect for a dutchmen’s favourite meal (see point 18).
45. Kokos brood, an amazing coconut cheese delight that only the dutch could have thought of
46. It will take time, but once a dutchie (I have effectionately decided to call them this) lets you into their home, you’re good friends “friends fo life yo”
47.  
48.  
49. It takes time, but at some point you will realise how much you will miss this country.

I am leaving the last two blank. Perhaps there are things that I am still to learn.

Artist + Engineer = Designer ?

From Artist, to Designer to Engineer. Where is the line? "the success of art is intrinsic to the art, where as the success of failure of design the ability to achieve some other goal". Listening to the podcast UXIntern with Guest host Jesse James Garrett, it has got met thinking, is a designer just an creatsive-engineer?

I'm am struggling through this podcast.

But at the end, Garrett gave young designers three pieces of advice:
*Don't stay in one place one time
*Try consultancy work
*Maintain a variety of projects

Slowly ticking these three things off, and as i start my final thesis, I plan on definitely focusing on the third point.

I'd highly recommend Wesley's podcast to any designer, or anyone interested in the field!

Dear Eglantine

This is Eglantine, she was a the faithful pet of one of my best friends, C during most of 2012. When I went to visit C for Christmas in 2013, I was blessed enough to make her acquaintance, however whilst I was verging on my 24th birthday, Eglantine was lingering on her last days. As we left for the swimming pool late one afternoon Eglantine came running over to us squealing affectionately. We patter her and said goodbye and trotted off to the pool.

A few hours later, we returned refreshed and relaxed with no Eglantine in sight. Walking past the garage, we saw the family pet hanging from the roof, blood slowly dripping out of her neck into a pool in a bucket on the floor.

As a part-time vegetarian ( I allow myself a hefty amount of meat on my birthday and at Christmas), I gagged a little in my throat seeing the bundle of joy that only a few hours earlier bid us goodbye on our travels down the road to the swimming pool.

However looking back on this experience a few years later, I am thankful that my french family raised their own meat and after butchering the dear pig, were also able to make use of each piece of the animal. In the future, I wouldn't mind raising my own cattle and herd of swines to eat with my family a few times per year.

I care about maintaining a sustainable earth for me and my family, and therefore have been looking into various initiatives that I could take part of to show my passion for sustainability. I have a few websites and companies under my sleeve that I have fallen upon in recent months. One of which is ShareNl, a social business that is in contact with all sharing economy businesses within the Netherlands including the likes of Peerby, Konnectid, Snappy and my favourite Shareyourmeal (or Thuisafgehaald in Dutch).

I got in contact with Jessica from Sharenl to talk about future collaboration possibilities.

Apart from this, I have started listening to some rocking podcasts this year, and am compiling a list of great innovation, sustainability and other podcasts...

The Perfect Toilet

Here's a thought. I have been in the Netherlands for the past year and a half. When I first arrived, I was taken aback by the Dutch toilet System. Let's look at the anatomy of a the toilet. The curvature of the bowl is shallow, meaning that any hershey goo that proceeds to fall from your backside will not give backsplash. I began to find this quite pleasant, however it can also leave smells that would otherwise be better covered up by our old friend, water. In any case, I think the dutch's idea of a porcelain throne is one that I have come to appreciate. Arriving back from Japan a few weeks ago, I have realised what Australia is missing. The perfect toilet. What if we were able to merge the bowl from a Dutch toilet, with the technology of a Japanese toilet. I am thinking... pure bliss.

BEIJING

I have been wanting to write this post since I first arrived in Beijing, so that I could get my true first thoughts down on paper before they had changed too much.

Seven years ago, I travelled through China with a family friend and her family. We were in China for 3 weeks, and were shepherded through all the major tourist attractions that China has to offer, including many in Beijing. In saying this, I didn’t get to appreciate many non-touristy parts of Chinese life, and went away feeling like most 15 year olds would after a trip to China. Seven years later, when conversations of China come up, all that this conjures up in my mind, is memories of dense populations, a lack of proper hygiene, and the air pollution that fills the sky at any time of day.

Therefore when a good friend suggested that I come visit, I must admit that I have been somewhat hesitant to come back. However her persistence in the matter has paid off, and I arrived in Beijing approximately 24 hours ago and plan to stay for approximately 4 days before heading back home to Delft.

Passing by as a stopover on my way home, I have spent the last two weeks in Japan. Now Japan is a decidedly civilised community and if I were to put them on a scale of international etiquette and manners, they would be scoring somewhere in the high 9s, close to a 10. On entering a restaurant you will be undoubtedly be greeted with the typical Irasshaimase! (Welcome!), and bow when you leave. People of every social class wear a suit to work, from businessmen, to chefs, to builders. Their ability to hold their poise when in a sticky situation is incredible, and I take my hat off to the Japanese for their genuine hospitality skills into their country.

Leaving Japan, and entering China was a large culture shock for my body, as I left a place that follows rules as part of their daily life; politeness can go so far as to apologise before even bumping into someone, to a country where rules just don’t exist.

Arriving in Beijing was hard. I will admit it. The nature of China’s corruption can be seen everywhere, where people do as they please on a daily basis. My first experiences began in the airport, where we were lead from one booth to another as we had lost our bags at the airport. From here, we had to enter the baggage carrousels through the exit (which isn’t even possible in Australia), and collect our bags from an alternative meeting point.

I don’t want to complain about China, far from it, and it may just be the cultural shock I was experiencing at the time, however the cultural differences were difficult to deal with at first. The loud nature of the Chinese compared to that of the Japanese was admittedly challenging at first.

I was on the verge of tears upon meeting my friend, and I will ashamedly admit that the first words I muttered to her were ‘I hate Beijing’. The chaos and disorganised nature of the city, coupled with the air pollution were the biggest welcoming mat, however after 24 hours, I am starting to think that Beijing is growing on me.

I have only met ridiculously ambitious and interesting people in this city, full of stories, and who love to chat. I feel like they are constantly on the move, thinking, living.

Coming from Chinese heritage, I am always embarrassed to admit that I don’t actually speak Chinese, and my Chinese cooking skills are far from perfect. However, on arriving here, I am met by dozens of expats who are fluent in the Mandarin language, and who can (I am scared to ask) probably cook much better than me. I realise how little I know about my heritage, and how much the Chinese culture has to offer.

Not only culturally, but as a country currently developing faster than any other, there is always so much room to develop business ideas and create side projects, with resources available at the touch of your fingerprints. Not here even one day, I feel as though there is an entrepreneurial spirit within the city that is really drawing me in.

I ask myself where I want to be in the future, and I am hesitant to type this down, but I would love to come and live in Beijing, study Mandarin, and find a job here after I graduate.