Blades and Razors / Razors and Blades
Back in the 1890’s the Gillete Safety Razor Company, now a part of Proctor and Gamble, created a new business model commonly known as a Blades and Razors model. They invented a razor with a replaceable blade, so that the expensive shaver would not need replacing as often as it had. The main shaver would last a long time, and the smaller razor blades would be replaced rather than sharpened.
The pricing model was new. They began selling the shavers at low prices, actually losing money on each one they sold. The blades were sold with high profit margins. In the long run, they were highly profitable.
The video game business has used this same model for years. Microsoft sold Xbox 360’s at a loss knowing that they would sell millions of games at huge profits. Continue →
Is Blue Still The Best Color For Links?
I set out to write a post which proves that blue links are not more user friendly than links of other colors. It is a topic all web designers have wrestled with at some point. Many of us, including myself, believe that links of any color can be equally usable as long as they:
- Are of contrasting color from the body text;
- Are underlined;
- Change color when visited;
However, when I began researching this article it became clear that the scientific evidence was against me. Articles, old and new, clearly prove that users find links significantly faster when they are blue, underlined and change purple after being visited. Continue →
How to Label Submit Buttons
Submit button labels are often neglected as part of form design. Clear actionable text on these buttons is key to a person understanding what happens when they click on it.
HTML uses “submit” as it’s default text, which isn’t ideal in any situation. We often find ourselves labeling buttons badly, just because it’s become standard to do so.
Best Practices When Labeling Buttons
- Shorter is better. I should be able to, in a glimpse, understand what action will be taken on the form data I’ve just filled out. Continue →
Timeless Interfaces, and how to Replace Them
Since the invention of the modern calculator, one particular product has dominated the business market. The HP 12C financial calculator. Many manufacturers, notably Texas Instruments, have tried to innovate on this model and modernize it without tremendous success.
The HP 12C has gone through several design iterations without adding additional features. It’s functionality was scoped well in the beginning, and it’s designers held firm against the inclusion of new features. The interface is timeless.
Why is Apple discouraging interface consistency?
If you haven’t heard by now, there is quite a battle going on between Google and Apple. Apple has refused to include the Google Voice application in the App Store, along with similar apps by other parties. The FCC is now investigating.
Apple claims that Google’s application would negatively impact the users experience with the iPhone’s native telephony and sms applications.
This is interesting. Google’s application is visually & behaviorally consistent with the native applications. It makes sense that Google’s application would be easier to use because of this consistency. Google’s application has some pretty basic functionality…
- To make phone calls by dialing numbers or choosing a contact from the address book
- To send/receive SMS messages
- To check voicemail
These features overlap entirely with Apple’s native interfaces. In my opinion, Google’s application would be most usable by making it feel consistent. To make it feel seamless. Continue →
37signals new announcement panel is too intrusive
I’m a bit perplexed with the way 37signals has implemented their new announcement feature inside of Basecamp. As developers it is important that we communicate changes to our applications with our users. It shows that we are attentive and dedicated to fixing problems.
While it is important that the people using our software read these announcements, we should realize that it’s not the most important part of their experience. The new announcement system in Basecamp is intrusive. It’s popped-up in your face as the first thing you see. You are forced to address it before you can continue.
My Favorite Pomodoro Timers
The Pomodoro Technique is a simple system for helping you stay focused throughout the work day.
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that can be used for any kind of task. For many people, time is an enemy. The anxiety triggered by “the ticking clock”, especially when a deadline is involved, leads to ineffective work and study habits which in turn lead to procrastination.
The aim of the Pomodoro Technique is to use time as a valuable ally in accomplishing what we want to do in the way we want to do it, and to enable us to continually improve the way we work or study.
The difference between User Research and Usability Testing?
User research studies and usability testing are two fundamental phases of an interaction design process. When I’m out at conferences or meetup groups talking about my process, I often hear people confusing the two terms. So, what are these phases?
Simply put, the biggest difference is when they are used in the process.
Continue →
Asymptotic Perfection
Remember way back to high school when our algebra teachers would send us home to graph asymptotes? (Ah, those were the days) In case you don’t remember what an asymptote is, it is essentially any math equation in which it’s result will continually approach a value, without ever reaching that value. My software development process follows this same phenomenon. Continue →
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Latest Comments
- Nate Klaiber → “ The design industry is plagued with the misconception that product manuals are evil. These designers believe that your product should be intuitive enough to use without a manual. While there is a certain truth to this, there are many viable reasons for product manuals to be used. There needs to be a certain…”
- Joe Fiorini → “ The design industry is plagued with the misconception that product manuals are evil. These designers believe that your product should be intuitive enough to use without a manual. While there is a certain truth to this, there are many viable reasons for product manuals to be used. There needs to be a certain…”
- Roger F Carver → “ The Google Charts API is an excellent way to add high quality charting to your web application. We first started working with the API as part of the Simpli5 dashboard development, and were quite impressed with its functionality and ease of use. Wrapper classes were developed and added to our Sandstone Application Framework to make…”
- Nate Klaiber → “ The “I agree” checkbox has become an interface standard on registration forms. “I agree to the terms and conditions.” While it’s purpose is generally understood by the consumer, it is a key source of frustration for people registering for accounts. eBay's Registration, as an example Why it’s overlooked: Checkboxes are small, particularly ones which aren’t grouped…”
- Josh Walsh → “ Most of the value you gain from a usability testing session comes from the analysis after the session is complete. I have been involved in a few sessions recently where no formal analysis has been conducted. I believe this is a mistake. Traditionally, the analysis portion of a usability session takes quite a long…”