Source: teespring.com/uxnotui
I think that the T-shirt illustrated above is well designed. It is a very simple design that (if taken conceptually at face value) effectively carries across a message in a graphic that is not at all overwhelming. I also appreciate that it very clearly illustrates a message that has been a struggle from time to time to represent to different clients outside of User Experience and Human-Computer Interaction.
For this week, I feel inspired by Jakob Nielsen’s ten heuristics for user interface design. As I am designing the ISRC web pages assignment, I am finding that keeping these heuristics and guidelines in mind ensures that the website will intuitively cater to a wide range of users.
The heuristics include:
I came across this icon set for iOS8 and thought it looked neat and clean. I like that the icons are flat and also that they seem to look like they have a sketch feel while not too playful. They have a little bit of a playful and fun feeling to them but are also neat and straight enough that I could easily see them being incorporated into some designs. I like that they are black and white, making it relatively easy to add in whatever colors one might have associated with their particular brand. I also like how most of the designs are vey simple and do not necessarily incorporate elements that might clutter the space or distract the audience from the meaning being put across via the design.
This week, since learning about scale and identity systems, the design pictured above for “Creation Visual Merchandising” by Cindy Forster caught my eye. I really like the visual appeal that the design has and also the way it fits appropriately (scales) to each one of the different media on which it is printed/ illustrated. The pieces fit together well and can be grouped as having a similar design language by only applying a set of about 2-3 colors.
Optimizing UI icons for faster recognition
For this week’s inspiration, I point to an article written by “Alla Kholmatova” in 2013 talking about different factors to consider around “Optimizing UI icons for faster recognition”
She touches on semiotic theory and structure of signs, iconic vs symbolic signs and visual styles and speed of recognition. She also touches on other factors such as the consistency of applied language and concludes with some guidelines for ‘faster’ icons or icon sets.
I think the former Arc90 people page was very functional and provided great utility. Once could see all the faces of the team at a glance but also had the ability to filter through the faces by use of color-coding to represent the team’s different functional areas.
Add content here…
The design of some of the pages on hellomonday.com uses grids in a very nice, unobtrusive way. In the captures screen example above, I can see an overall two column grid in use providing a very subtle separation between the visual design depicted on the tablet and the description of the content layering above that. A user can view both aspects while still within the same general space/ screen real-estate. One gets a quick overview and can then choose to click and get additional details on the content.
I like the way grids have been utilized in the design of the website below. They are particularly able to present what seems like a lot of information at a glance, just on the one page. The use of the grids makes me feel like I can get a quick overview and see a lot of information which I can then click on a follow in case I want the details, as opposed to feeling overwhelmed with all the information presented on the page. I also like the interactivity implemented where the tiles within the different grids become active when one hovers over them.
I like this infographic that puts some of the concepts we learn about color and the color wheel all on one page. This can be a useful tool when designing and considering color interactions, contrast, etc.
http://assets03.blog.usabilla.com/wp-content/uploads/color-wheel-poster.jpg
graphic design reflections 
