Short answer: No. Long answer: No, but… React is a library written with javascript. You could be blindly following React tutorials without knowing lick of javascript and end up using javascript anyway without even knowing it. Due to popularity of React, many beginning front-end developers delve right into React without knowing any other language. That’s […]
Author Archives: admin
Fun with React
I’m a big Cure fan.So, I had some fun with React App here:http://ykdd.com/#/project/daily-cure
Is it the camera or the photographer?
Do expensive cameras make you a better photographer? Does the camera really matter? Do equipments matter?
Do you really look good in those shoes?
You may have seen those floor mirrors at shoe stores that’s just big enough to show the shoes and few inches above it. In the past, I thought these were pretty silly and argued that people shouldn’t be making purchase decisions based on what they see in this type of mirror.Think about it. It doesn’t […]
Communication is only as good as what is being communicated
We celebrate the power of communication. We hail the capabilities that we have created as the most ingenious human creation. Ever since the Gutenberg press humans have accelerated the spread of knowledge, right or wrong notwithstanding. Network technology made this even faster. Communication is good. But, it is only as good as what is being […]
What Users Say vs. What They Mean
Constant and ferocious change of technology, platform, delivery, and expectations continue to pose different set of challenges for designers, developers, and UX experts. However, what we take away from usability testing remains constant; as a UX professional, we need to know how to filter, translate, and interpret test results.
What Makes User Experience Pleasant?
There are many ways to achieve pleasant user experience as there are ways to make it unpleasant. We can achieve the former by minimizing the latter. In another words, by eliminating the unpleasant experience, we can automatically gain pleasant without even trying.
Thoughts on Google Material Design
First off, I am a fan of Google’s Material Design. I have extensively studied their guidelines and have been following its evolution since Google made guidelines public. Lot of my preachings over the years are, in fact, inspired by Material’s principles.
Are you still “clicking here?”
Back when the rotary telephone was the bleeding edge technology, say in 1890’s or so, it probably wasn’t unusual to say things like “put your finger in that hole, rotate to the right all the way, and repeat…” Then it probably evolved to something like “Dial these numbers.” Now we just say “Call me.”
User Centered Design vs. Ego Centered Design
Why print designers need to realign their thought process and mentality to become effective application designers.
Be Battery Free – AC powered Apple Trackpad
My Apple trackpad never leaves my desk. It always stays within few inches in front of my iMac. Therefore, its silly to have it battery powered. I also like to practice what I preach.
Lost in Translation
Google Effects on Memory
This scientific research paper is a quick read. The reading, however, is interrupted in few places by the actual numeric data from the research which appear quite cryptic. But you can skip over the numeric data and still come away with a clear understanding of what the research is about and its findings. The paper […]
User Interface is a Joke
Meaningless and Overused Words in Design
SIMPLE, CLEAN, MODERN “The goal is to create simple, clean, and modern design blah, blah, blah…” How many times have you heard that phrase at the kick off meetings? As if that’s some sort of a differentiator. It isn’t.
Law of the Conservation of Complexity
Larry Tesler’s Law of the Conservation of Complexity states that every application has set amount of inherent complexity that cannot be reduced or increased. Complexity is constant. The only question is who will handle the complexity? End users or developer/designers?
Problem with Over Predicting UX
The iPad’s volume control is calibrated so that when you keep the down button pressed for more than a split second, it immediately switches to mute. Why?
The Novelty Curve
Think back to when television was first invented. I bet no one back then thought that having to get up from your seat to adjust the volume or switch channel was an inconvenience. This is what I like to call the ‘technology honeymoon phase.’
Unicorn Designers Are Real
For the longest time I have marketed myself as designer-developer, developer-designer, UI/UX Developer & Designer, Front-End Developer/Designer, or some combinations of those words. I wasn’t quite sure what to call myself.
What vs. Why
Let’s imagine you walked into McDonald’s and saw a post-retirement aged man working the cash register or wiping the tables. What would you think? Would you think that he has made foolish choices when he was younger and didn’t save enough? Would you conclude that he works there because he desperately needed the money? What […]
Translating the Language of Software for Humans
I have finally summarized in few short words the ultimate purpose and the goal of a UX professional. It’s translating the software language into human friendly conceptual model. It may come across as somewhat philosophical but it isn’t. It literally means what it says. For my job, I am constantly converting what the software does […]
Number of Clicks vs. Quality of Clicks
Reducing the number of clicks (I will use the word ‘click’ to represent both click and tap of touch devices) at any cost is one of the stickiest web design mantra handed down from the old school of thought. Less click is generally a good thing, but blindly reducing the number of clicks does not […]
Web Design: What to Learn First
Over the years the all encompassing term ‘web designer’ is replaced by number of more specific-sounding names; User Interface (UI) Designer, User Experience (UX) Designer, Front-End Designer, or Interaction Designer to name a few. Depending on where you work, some of these terms may actually be tied to a specific role unique from one another. […]
Design – Art with Constraints
Be creative, be different! This is the one phrase that mostly sums up everything design students are taught at schools as well as what is expected of designers in the society. If you work in the art and entertainment industry, it’s easy to experiment with things that are shockingly different, cool, and exciting. Creativity can […]
Make Boring Interesting
“If I could work on something more exciting, I can kick some ass as a designer. Things I work on now is just too boring”. I’ve heard many designers say things along those lines many, many times. They’re the ones who think those ho-hum projects don’t deserve their best efforts. Those who think this way […]
True Inspirations
The ‘Experience’ in User Experience is a cumulative outcome of many different practices working in harmony. Everything from aesthetics, technology, psychology, and economics play an important role in creating the experience. User experience isn’t a characteristic unique to web. User experience is an attribute of every man-made creation that comes in contact with a human […]
Become a confident designer
UX/UI designers are not artists who merely make things pretty. They are problem solvers of various domains. User experience designers need to have keen knowledge of visual arts, psychology, business agenda, cognitive science as well as various web technologies. User experience professionals are also mind readers. They need to anticipate what users will do next. […]
We all are nightmare clients
The most difficult thing about being a designer is not the designing itself. It’s dealing with clients. I’m sure we all at one time or another have worked with nightmare clients. They are indecisive. They don’t know what they want. They change their mind all the time. Most designers don’t have a clue why clients […]
Inside the DSLR
Beautiful animation of Canon 10D
Designing from the past
It’s been said that there is “nothing new under the sun.” It’s a somewhat depressing statement. It’s essentially saying that anything and everything happening or being created now has happened or have been created before. It basically means “You’re not special. It’s all been done before.” Assuming the bleak statement is true, what’s a creative […]
Book Book Technology – Apple Parody
Writing for Web Application
Almost all UX experts agree brevity is the key when writing for web application. Short and brief language is essential for quick organizational comprehension as well as improved captivation. Brevity is especially important when the language in question is used for navigational or actionable purposes.
UX Design Mantra
Pretty design is not a substitute for flawed logic. Good design is telling users what to do. Great design is knowing what user is about to do. Best error message is no message at all. Design is a solution not beautification. What works for them may not work for you. Learn from yesterday, work hard […]
You suck at design. Deal with it.
A designer by definition is one who is responsible for, well.., designing. It is the designer who comes up with solutions to a design problem. A designer tackles design problems with artistic intuition, creative process and career specific knowledge that other members of the organization may lack.
Do you ENJOY paying annual fees?
A graphic designer’s oversight? Or do the rich really enjoy paying fees? I wouldn’t know because I’m not rich enough to ENJOY paying annual fees anyway.
Smart consistency vs. Foolish consistency
The words ‘simple’ and consistent’ is thrown around all the time in design and web development circles. Clients, stakeholders, designers, architects and developers alike all over love to blurt these words thinking they are some sort of silver bullet to designing. Some simply feel they need to say it because they’ve heard other people say […]
Be a Sustainable Superhero – 3 Easy things you can do
Green technology, sustainable technology, or sustainable designs are some of the buzzwords of our time. What does it exactly mean? At the core of it, it’s an attempt to eliminate negative environmental impact and waste prevention through design. It all sounds grand. To many of us it sounds like something that only scientists, government or […]
Single Brain UI Design & Development
Many UI professionals – typically in smaller to mid-sized organizations – are responsible for both visual design as well as front-end development. In such set-up, a UI designer/developer works directly with back-end programmers usually with the same code base and in the same environment. The handing over of files between teams and the need for […]
Looking at average Joe’s interweb
Not that long ago, when the general public was just getting to know the internet, the imagery, text, spinning globe, and flashing colors shown through a big fat CRT monitor was collectively referred to as the internet. To an average person, the computer or the internet is what you see on the monitor. Ever seen […]
Recommended Books for UX Professionals and Designers
Like many people in my line of profession, I have overlapping duties: part UI developer, part visual designer, and part UX/usability consultant. Because front-end code, front-end design, and user experience are all tightly connected and must work in harmony. The designer in me directs me to make things cool and trendy, the UX expert in […]
What Users Say vs. What They Really Mean
In the course of my career I’ve been fortunate enough to have attended numerous usability test sessions. I had chances to observe many varieties from the most entertaining to the gawdawful boring, a fifty-something man operating a mouse with both of his hands to a tech-savvy who checks the view source.
In search for a Super Consumer
What was once called the “Information Superhighway” has become “Information Wasteland”. We’re now experiencing severe information overload to a point where the information itself ceases to be beneficial and becomes the source of confusion for many people. Anything about everything is supported or opposed mostly without clear authoritative source and is accessible to everybody who […]
WordPress Twentythirteen
It’s been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. Yes it has. Been too busy with work. Haven’t had energy left to touch my own stuff. But I’m finally updating the site with WP Twentythirteen. It has responsive structure built right into the theme. And it’s […]
Thunderbolt and Lightning. Very, very frightning…
Thunderbolt When the Thunderbolt was made exclusive to Macs, Apple ditched USB 3.0. Good marketing call but bad for the end users. Apple really should’ve kept both interfaces.
iPhone 5 – See what you can do with it
The world’s tallest phone. Checkout the guitar app!
Is Flash Dead?
Yes. We all knew it was coming. Now Adobe themselves has given up. → Adobe gives up on mobile Flash.
Oh my, what’s up at Apple…
I really couldn’t care less about the fact that the new iPhone that Apple introduced three months late wasn’t an iPhone5. However, as a web designer, I do seem to notice somethings more than others. Things like how they present new products on their website, design, layout, etc. If you visited apple.com today, you’ll see […]
Why are camera lenses so expensive?
Have you wondered why camera lenses are so expensive? Aren’t they just pieces of glass? Pros and amateurs alike are often baffled by the prohibitive cost of high performance lenses which can easily cost several times more than the camera itself. Here’s a video that briefly takes you through the lens manufacturing process at Canon. […]
Using Google Web Fonts
Google Web Fonts API now makes it even easier to use web fonts on websites. The days of choosing between Arial or Verdana are long gone. Hundreds of available Google Web Fonts are totally free and open source. The interface is simple and intuitive.
Staples Home Robbery TV Ad
Like everything else TV ads have their share of hits and misses. There are commercials we love because they are entertaining to watch. And there are ones that are just annoying or utterly tasteless. One of the worst examples this years is Staple’s “Home Robbery” TV commercial. It boggles the mind how something so obviously […]