Mar 30

Top 10 Tools for Designing Intelligent User Interfaces

Posted by: in Design.

Building intelligent user interfaces is not about tools, it’s about processes. In my experience, the best tools are the ones that encourage me to think and encourage me to design iteratively. My goal is to build between 5 and 20 low fidelity concepts, test them on real people and use the feedback to improve on the design.

I use the following “tools” everyday without fail, and I could not run my business without them.  I’ve listed the most important  tools first.

WARNING: If you are here looking for the latest in cool technology, this is not the place for you.

  1. Use your brain!A brain. Preferably your own, or one that belongs to someone who works for you.  Get away from the computer and think.  Take a walk outside, the fresh air and change of scenery can be inspiring.  The hipster design tools don’t separate you from your competition, your brain does.  Use it, use it well.
  2. A stack of paper A stack of paper. Drawing on paper is definitely the fastest way for me to get ideas out of my head and into the hands of our clients. I use dot-grid paper you can download for free from our site.
  3. Thick Sharpie Brand MarkersA thick marker. Sharpie brand, or similar.  Fine tipped pens and pencils encourage you to dig into details which aren’t important at the conceptual stage.  The broad strokes of a thick marker force you to think about the big picture.
  4. A trash can full of scrapped wireframesA trash can. Recycling is better.   It’s ok to sketch an idea that doesn’t work.  Drawing is often inspiration in itself.  Draw ‘em and Toss ‘em until you get it just right.
  5. Design Books. It’s like thinking, but lazier.  Read the ideas and patterns of others critically and see what you can learn from them.  It’s obvious, but I know lots of designers who just hate reading.
  6. People. Real people who live and breathe.  The kind who will be honest and tell you what they really think, even if it hurts.  People in your target demographic who would actually be using the product you are designing.  That is the best source of quality feedback.

The remaining 4 tools are software.  I like these products because they encourage you to do the 6 items above.   You can use these products without the above tools, but the returns leave a lot to be desired.

  1. Basecamp LogoBasecamp. For communicating ideas effectively with clients.  Great design requires consistent feedback and Basecamp provides a great platform for that.
  2. Silverback LogoSilverback. For recording sessions with real people and extracting feedback.
  3. Omnigraffle LogoOmnigraffle. For outlining processes and making slightly prettier wireframes after you’ve completed your paper-and-marker designs.
  4. Google Analytics LogoGoogle Analytics. For measuring the results of a completed design.  This is great for extracting feedback from massive amounts of real people.

What tools do you use that I haven’t mentioned here? Leave a comment below.

About Josh Walsh

Josh Walsh is a Managing Partner at Designing Interactive. He's also an award winning designer, author and speaker on the topics of User Experience Design, User Interface Design and Usability Research. You can follow him on twitter at: @joshwalsh

7 Comments »

  1. Joe Fiorini

    You mention “design books” as a critical tool. Which would you recommend?

    March 31, 2010

  2. Josh Walsh

    @Joe – Some of the better design books I’ve read recently include:

    Sketching User Interfaces: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design by: Bill Buxton

    The Design of Everyday Things by: Don Norman

    Subject to Change: Creating Great Products & Services for an Uncertain World by: David Verba

    Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug

    About Face 3 – The essentials of Interaction Design by: Alan Cooper

    Communicating Design: Developing Website Documentation for Design and Planning by: Dan Brown

    A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making by: Carolyn Chandler

    March 31, 2010

  3. Joe Fiorini

    I’ve started The Non-Designers Design Book recently. Very good so far! It’s definitely more introductory, but I’m not a designer! You can find it on Amazon

    Another one I haven’t read but have heard good things about is Brian Hogan’s Design for Developers from Pragmatic Programmers.

    March 31, 2010

  4. Søren

    Hei Josh,

    thanks for the list. I was just about to print it out for our intern as you saved me from putting it together for myself. A print.css might’ve made the experience that tiny bit better :)

    Here’s two books I’ve read that I’d recommend wholeheartedly for a designer:

    designing for interaction by Dan Saffer
    A practical Guide to Designing for the Web by Mark Boulton (available for free at http://designingfortheweb.co.uk/)

    On a sidenote: I’ve had the Design of Everyday Things on my desk for quite a while now, but the way the book is layouted puts me off every time I open it..

    April 12, 2010

  5. Josh Walsh

    Soren – A print stylesheet is on the ToDo list.

    I’ve never read Dan Saffer’s book, I’ll check it out.

    I’ll echo the Mark Boulton book, and pretty much anything he publishes on his blog at the same time.

    The layout of the Don Norman book is really dated, but there’s some fascinating UX philosophy in there. It’s really interesting to see how his philosophy is changing as he gets older. Watch his TED talk from last year to see what I mean.

    April 12, 2010

  6. Søren

    Dan Saffer’s book is a good starting point with nice and easy explanations of a couple of fundamental interaction laws and/or basics.

    I’ve watched the TED talk actually and I agree, it’s pretty good. I’ll get to the book sooner or later, just as I’ll read the two Tuftes that are sitting next to it..

    By the way, http://jasonsantamaria.com/reading/ has another (if extensive) list of books on design and related areas. Not everything on that list is stellar, I’ve found, but if you have $$ and time to spend, it’s better than browsing amazon for ideas.

    April 12, 2010

  7. Tess Elliott

    Am an MFA trained artist who is learning to do more work in the commercial world and my style uses a lot of old images for an old look. A quick flip through some of my Dover Clip Art books is always an idea generator. I design a lot for kids and they love the old style books that I and my parents grew up with, not to mention the greats of English illustration. It’s not a matter of just ripping off old images, clip art books can really help you come up with detailed images that can have a wonderful edgy feel, too. These days, a lot of us are forced to straddle other markets to survive.

    August 10, 2010

Search

Related Posts

Popular Posts

Topics