Presented at UX in the City 2016. The presentation covers why it’s so important to consider the ergonomics of a design, how we hold our devices, what our physical constraints are and how you can use this information to design digital experiences that not only look great, but feel great as well.
“Ergonomics & Manual Handling” is a 1-day training course specifically for those;
people responsible for performing manual handling activities and
the personnel who manage or conduct workplace risk assessments required by the Health and Safety Regulations on Manual Handling Operations.
Introduction
The course includes a thorough description of the Manual Handling Operations and the Ergonomics principles that that should be applied to reduce the risk of manual handling injury..
This approach not only delivers legal compliance, but will help reduce body-related sickness and absenteeism, lower healthcare costs, insurance premiums and compensation claims and improve the productivity of the workforce.
“Ergonomics & Manual Handling” is a 1-day training course specifically for those;
people responsible for performing manual handling activities and
the personnel who manage or conduct workplace risk assessments required by the Health and Safety Regulations on Manual Handling Operations.
Introduction
The course includes a thorough description of the Manual Handling Operations and the Ergonomics principles that that should be applied to reduce the risk of manual handling injury..
This approach not only delivers legal compliance, but will help reduce body-related sickness and absenteeism, lower healthcare costs, insurance premiums and compensation claims and improve the productivity of the workforce.
This PowerPoint by Atlantic Training gives a general overview of proper industrial ergonomics, as well as how to prevent workplace musculoskeletal disorders.
Ergonomics - occupational health and safetyIhsan Wassan
Outlines:
What is Ergonomics?
Why Ergonomics emerged?
Why ergonomics is important?
Types of Ergonomics
Objectives of Ergonomics
Effects of Ergonomics
Ergonomics Risk Factors
Preventing and Minimizing injuries
Anthropometry ?
Ergonomics principles
Ergonomics solutions
Advantages of Ergonomics
Conclusion
Moving from user centred thinking to system thinkingNeil Turner
User-centred thinking has done the design community proud. However, whilst its laser beam focus on the user is an undoubted strength, it does sometimes mean that the wider user eco-system is not always considered. I'm going to introduce system thinking (also known as service design). System thinking is a way to not only consider the user but the wider system in which a user interacts with a service or product. Think of it as user-centred design 2.0!
This is a presentation that I gave at a SynchHerts meetup (http://www.meetup.com/SyncHerts/) on 7th Aug 2014.
This PowerPoint by Atlantic Training gives a general overview of proper industrial ergonomics, as well as how to prevent workplace musculoskeletal disorders.
Ergonomics - occupational health and safetyIhsan Wassan
Outlines:
What is Ergonomics?
Why Ergonomics emerged?
Why ergonomics is important?
Types of Ergonomics
Objectives of Ergonomics
Effects of Ergonomics
Ergonomics Risk Factors
Preventing and Minimizing injuries
Anthropometry ?
Ergonomics principles
Ergonomics solutions
Advantages of Ergonomics
Conclusion
Moving from user centred thinking to system thinkingNeil Turner
User-centred thinking has done the design community proud. However, whilst its laser beam focus on the user is an undoubted strength, it does sometimes mean that the wider user eco-system is not always considered. I'm going to introduce system thinking (also known as service design). System thinking is a way to not only consider the user but the wider system in which a user interacts with a service or product. Think of it as user-centred design 2.0!
This is a presentation that I gave at a SynchHerts meetup (http://www.meetup.com/SyncHerts/) on 7th Aug 2014.
UCD from across the pond - A case study in remote UXNeil Turner
How do you design the UX for a complex website when you're based in the UK and the users, business stakeholders and the rest of the design team are in America? In this insightful case study you’ll find out what lessons I learnt from tackling this challenge in a recent role.
You’ll learn how to foster a collaborative remote team; how to use technology to carry out remote UX research, design and usability testing; and which UX tools and techniques are best suited to remote UX.
And what next? A case study in how to get the most out of your user researchNeil Turner
In this insightful case study Neil Turner, UX lead at TUI (Europe’s largest tour operator) will take a look at some of the ways that the TUI UX team distil, utilise and communicate user research findings to ensure that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet, and that throughout the design process they’re always designing with their target audience in mind.
How to design more ethically engaging experiences (UCD 2016)Neil Turner
Hi. My name is Neil, and I’m an addict. I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to technology, and you know what, I suspect that you are too. We’re all addicts now aren’t we? We’ve all become addicted to a very modern drug called technology.
It’s not our fault that we’re addicted to technology, we're only human after all. You see technology is just too damn addictive. And why is it so addictive? Because it’s been designed to be so by designers like you and me. It’s been designed to engage, to demand our attention, to draw us in and to slowly but surely get us hooked.
In this talk which was originally delivered at UCD 2016, I’m going to argue the case for why we as designers should be helping to break this cycle of addiction. Why we should be focusing on making a positive impact on peoples’ lives, rather than chasing ever greater usage of our products and designs. I’m going to show you how to create products that are more ethically engaging; that let people get on with their lives without becoming a slave to the machine!
What is ux design? A behind the scenes tourNeil Turner
What is UX design? In this presentation I look at what UX design is, and what a UX designer does by examining the 7 ages of a web page - from the idea to the live page.
Moving from task based to experience based designNeil Turner
In an increasingly multi-channel world it's important to look at the entire end to end experience that a customer receives, not just to focus on individual customer tasks, interactions and touch points. This presentation covers how to move from a task based design mind-set to an experience based design mind-set, along with some key tools and techniques for designing true multi-channel experiences and for mapping out the complete end to end customer journey.
The pursuit of tapiness - A case study in making tablet friendly websitesNeil Turner
How hard can it be to make a website tablet friendly? Hang about, exactly what do you mean by tablet friendly? Are we including mini tablets? What sort of usability quirks and foibles will tablet users put up with? How can something that sounds so simple prove to be so tricky to pin down, let along achieve?
Come with me on a journey through space and time as I discuss how TUI, Europe’s largest holiday tour operator set about making Thomson.co.uk and Firstchoice.co.uk more tablet friendly. I’ll discuss why designing a great experience for tablet users is so important, what it means to optimise a website for tablet and how we went about doing it. I’ll discuss how we identified the most important improvements to make and how we’re ensuring that future designs are always tablet friendly.
Using jobs-to-be-done to design better user experiences (UX Cambridge 2017)Neil Turner
"People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole." (Theodore Levitt, Harvard marketing professor). Jobs-to-be-done is one of those concepts that intuitively makes so much sense, and yet still isn’t that widely known or used. The idea that you should focus on the job that someone is trying to do, rather than just the means of achieving , is not a revolutionary one, but is nonetheless incredibly powerful and insightful. As Clay Christensen, one of the fellow architects of jobs-to-be-done, has said, "In hindsight the job to be done is usually as obvious as the air we breathe. Once they are known, what to improve (and not to improve) is just as obvious".
This interactive and hands-on workshop, from UX Cambridge 2017 covers how to use jobs-to-be-done to not only come up with innovative ideas, but to research and design better user experiences, regardless of whether someone is starting from a blank sheet, or improving an existing product or service.
It includes how to identify jobs-to-be-done, how to use job stories to help frame jobs-to-be-done and how to enhance personas, user journey maps and even user stories using jobs-to-be-done.
How to ditch meetings and play games insteadNeil Turner
Games? Aren’t games strictly for outside office hours? Not when it comes to user-centred design. Games are not only great fun, they’re also a fantastic way to approach a problem from a different angle and to get important requirements and information from users, stakeholders and team members, without it even seeming like hard work.
In this presentation I cover some simple design games that you’ll be able to apply straight away to your user-centred design projects. You’ll learn games for generating potential design ideas, for exploring ideas and for refining and evaluating designs with users.
A presentation covering moderated and unmoderated remote user testing. The presentation goes through the pros and cons for each technique; some of the remote user testing tools available and some hints and tips for carrying it out.
How to ditch meetings and start playing games (UX in the City - Manchester 2017)Neil Turner
Games? Aren’t they strictly for outside office hours? Not when it comes to design games they’re not. Design games are not only great fun, they’re also a fantastic alternative to dull and boring business meetings. Design games are a great way to engage people; to approach problems from a different angle; to build a shared understanding; to generate and explore ideas and to generally get lots of great work done without it even seeming like work in the first place.
These are the slides from my design games workshop at UX in the City - Manchester, May 2017.
10 ‘Quite interesting’ things every designer should know about peopleNeil Turner
How long can you expect to hold someone's attention? How much information can you expect people to remember? Here I look at 10 'quite interesting' things about people every UX designer should know.
Long distance UX relationships - How to deliver great UX when working with of...Neil Turner
How do you deliver great UX when the development team is not only in a different office, but on a different continent altogether? This lightning talk presentation outlines some invaluable advice for UX designers working with off shore development teams.
Best Practice For UX Deliverables - Eventhandler, London, 05 March 2014Anna Dahlström
TAKE THIS WORKSHOP ONLINE & GET 20% OFF WITH CODE 'SLIDESHARE'
https://school.uxfika.co/p/best-practice-for-ux-deliverables/?product_id=325265&coupon_code=SLIDESHARE
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Slides from my 'Best practice for UX deliverables' workshop that I ran for Eventhandler in London on the 05th of March 2014.
http://www.eventhandler.co.uk/events/uxnightclass-uxdeliverables3
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Please note that for copyright reasons & client privacy the examples in this presentation are slightly different than from the workshop. The examples included are for reference only in terms of what I talked through in the 'Good examples' section.
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ABSTRACT
Whilst the work we do is not meant to be hanged on a wall for people to admire, nor is meant to be put in a drawer and forgotten about. Just as we make the products and services we design easy to use, the UX of UX is about communicating your thinking in a way that ensures that what you've defined is easy to understand for the reader. It's about adapting the work you do to the project in question and finding the right balance of making people want to look through your work whilst not spending unnecessary time on making it pretty.
Who is it for?
This workshop is suitable for anyone starting out in UX, or who's worked with it for a while but is looking to improve the way they present their work.
What you'll learn
In this hands on workshop we'll walk through real life examples of why the UX of UX deliverables matter. We'll cover how who the reader is effects the way we should present our work, both on paper and verbally, and how to ensure that the work you do adds value. Coming out of the workshop you'll have practical examples and hands on experience with:
// How to adapt and sell your UX deliverable to the reader (from clients, your team, in house and outsourced developers)
// Guiding principles for creating good UX deliverables (both low and high fidelity)
// Best practice for presentations, personas, user journeys, flows, sitemaps, wireframes and other documents
// Simple, low effort but big impact tools for improving the visual presentation of your UX deliverables
This presentation shares the journey I’ve been on, from trying to shape and influence a user’s path, to creating sandbox environments in which people can play and amaze us!
______
Designers are trained to guide users toward predetermined outcomes, but is there a better use of this persuasive psychology? What happens if we focus less on influencing desired behaviors and focus more on designing ‘sandboxes’: open-ended, generative systems? And how might we go about designing these spaces? It’s still “psychology applied to design”, but in a much more challenging and rewarding way!
In this talk, I’ll share the journey I’ve been on, from trying to shape and influence a user’s path, to creating these sandbox environments. You’ll learn why systems such as Twitter, Pinterest, and Minecraft are so maddeningly addictive, and what principles we can use to create similar experiences. We’ll look at education and the work of Maria Montessori, who wrote extensively about how to create learning environments that encourage exploration and discovery. And we’ll look at game design, considering all the varieties of games, especially those carefully designed to encourage play — a marked contrast with progression games designed to move you through a series of ever-increasing challenges, each converging upon the same solution. Finally, we’ll look at web applications, and I’ll share how this thinking might influence your work, from how you respond to new feature requests to how you design for behavior change in a more mature way.
These days almost anyone can create a wireframe. So what does it take to go beyond boxes and arrows and produce work to be proud of?
In this recent talk given at UX Crunch, London I share insights into areas I encourage my team to explore to help them produce even more fantastic work.
An Introduction to Wearable Computers given on Thursday December 11th 2014 by Mark Billinghurst. Presented to people from CitiGroup and so case studies were from the financial sector.
Presented at SCREENS 2013 in Toronto.
Details at fitc.ca/screens
InteraXon is bringing wearable technology and EEG – technology until only recently available in medical labs – to the consumer space with Muse: a flexible light 6 sensor brain sensing headband and software platform.
Peek underneath the hood of a brain-sensing device like Muse, and you’ll find an innovate process for evaluating, validating and executing user experience into the product design.
In this talk InteraXon CPO and co-founder Trevor Coleman will discuss how his company’s technology is also changing (and challenging) UX and product design conventions. Why this is mission critical to address consumer needs; and how this builds a superior quality product in a still emerging market.
When you’re creating the future of technology you can’t work using outdated methodologies. Peek underneath the hood of Muse, and you’ll find not just the next generation of user interfaces but a cutting edge approach to determining what that exactly is.
What is an E-Waste?
Sources of E-Waste
Effects of E-Waste
Important method of E-Waste
Dismantling,Upgrating,materials recovery
Advantages of E-waste
Growth Rates of E-waste
Devices: Mouse
Computer Mouse
Types of Computer Mice
Wireless Mouse
Parts of Computer Mouse
Button,Mouse wheel
What are the Uses of Mouse
Advantages of Mouse
Example Craft
Presentation: Mouse Car
Steps
Conclusion
WORKSHOP: Making the World Easier with Interaction DesignCheryl Platz
An updated version of an Intro to Interaction Design workshop I've taught intermittently since 2012. Intended age level is middle to high school age students, but is also appropriate for adults curious about the field.
The first portion (excluding the optional heuristic review) can be taught, though tight, in approximately 90 minutes. With the optional second portion, allocate a minimum of 2 hours. More time allows for better discussion and perhaps expansion of the sketching into some flows. See the back of the deck for additional instructor notes.
Recommended materials:
Printer paper (~5 sheets per student minimum)
Pencils and erasers
I have delivered this workshop to over 500 students:
Amazon GirlsWhoCode Camp - 2015
Microsoft DigiGirlz Camp (Redmond) - 2012, 2013, 2014
UW's Dawgbytes Camp - 2012
For a blog post about the pilot sessions in 2012, as well as some examples from student sketches, see http://blog.cherylplatz.com/?p=181
To inquire about booking me to teach this workshop in your environment, email cheryl@cherylplatz.com.
Remote design sprints - Lessons from a brave new remote world.pptxNeil Turner
Design sprints are a fantastic way for teams to rapidly explore a challenge, to come up with some potential solutions and to test these with users.
However, the classic 5-day design sprint assumes that everyone is in the same room. What if this isn’t possible? In this informative presentation you’ll learn 10 key lessons from 2 remote design sprints.
You’ll find what worked, what didn’t work, when it makes sense to run a remote design sprint and come away with enough knowledge to run your own one.
Continuous discovery – holy grail, or poisoned chalice?Neil Turner
Continuous discovery sounds brilliant in theory. How can speaking to users on a weekly basis possibly not be a good thing for Agile teams to do? However, in practice continuous discovery can cause teams more harm than good if they don’t approach it in the right way.
In this presentation you’ll learn what continuous discovery is, what some of the common pitfalls are, and how teams can avoid them.
Continuous discovery sounds brilliant in theory. How can speaking to users on a weekly basis possibly not be a good thing for Agile teams to do?
However, in practice continuous discovery can cause teams more harm than good if they don’t approach it in the right way.
In this talk from UX Scotland 2023 you’ll learn what continuous discovery is, what some of the common pitfalls are, and how teams can avoid them.
Remote design sprints - Lessons from a brave new remote world (Agile Manchest...Neil Turner
Design sprints are a fantastic way for teams to rapidly explore a challenge, to come up with some potential solutions and to test these with users.
However, the classic 5-day design sprint assumes that everyone is in the same room. What if this isn’t possible? In this informative presentation from Agile Manchester 2023 you'll learn about 10 key lessons from 2 remote design sprints.
You’ll find what worked, what didn’t work, when it makes sense to run a remote design sprint and come away with enough knowledge to run your own one.
How to grow your growth mindset superpowerNeil Turner
Having a growth mindset is not only important for your own learning and development, it can even be good for your overall wellbeing. This presentation covers what a growth mindset is, why having one is so important and some tips for gaining and growing your own growth mindset superpower.
How to choose the right UCD collaboration style.pptxNeil Turner
User-centred design is a team sport involving lots of different players, from designers and researchers to engineers and product managers.
Collaboration is critical, but all too often the wrong style of collaboration is utilised.
In this presentation from UCD Gathering 2022 you will find out how to determine and use the most effective collaboration style for a particular task, regardless of whether you're working without someone remotely, or face-to-face.
Running remote workhops that don't suck slidesNeil Turner
Remote workshops can suck. Really suck. But it doesn't have to be like this. Find out how to run remote workshops that not only don't suck, but are productive, engaging and perhaps even a little bit fun.
Dealing with design debt (UCD Gathering)Neil Turner
Technical debt is a well-known problem when taking an agile software development approach, but what about design debt? Taking an iterative approach can all too often lead to design debt in the form of UI inconsistencies, half-finished designs, fragmented user experiences and unresolved usability issues. This case study from UCD Gathering 2020 covers:
- What is design debt and why does it build up?
- How to minimise design debt building up
- How to identify and prioritise current design debt
- Strategies for dealing with design debt
UX life hacks - How to work smarter and get more done (UX in the City 2019)Neil Turner
Get more done in less time. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But what if I told you that by using the power of UX life hacks - invaluable hints, tips and tricks for working smarter - you can?
In this session from UX in the City 2019, you’ll learn some UX life hacks that I’ve built up over 15 years of working in UX.
Confessions of a former UCD devotee – How I managed to kick the UCD habit and...Neil Turner
Repeat after me. "Thou shalt always consider the user above all others. Thou shalt centre thy design around user needs and seek user feedback at every pass".
User-centred design (UCD) is still very much the established dogma within the UX community. The idea that everything we do should be centred around the user. That user insights, feedback and participation should be sought wherever possible. But what if user-centred design is a false prophet? What if it's not really the answer to all our UX hopes and dreams?
In this talk originally delivered at UX Cambridge 2015 I will take you through my own story of UCD love and then disillusionment. Of how I went from a UCD evangelist and devotee to embracing a new dogma - lean UX. I will share with you what caused my change of heart and hopefully open your eyes to the limitations - and sometimes even dangers - of UCD. Come hear my tale and find out why I've not only come to embrace lean UX over UCD, but implore others to do the same.
A short 5 min lightning talk looking at desire paths, and why they are of interest to UX designers. A desire path (also known as a desire line or social trail) is a path developed by erosion caused by footfall. The path usually represents the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and destination. The key to the desire path is not just that it’s a path which one person or a group has made but that it’s done against the will of some authority which would have us go another, rather less convenient way.
Transforming Brand Perception and Boosting Profitabilityaaryangarg12
In today's digital era, the dynamics of brand perception, consumer behavior, and profitability have been profoundly reshaped by the synergy of branding, social media, and website design. This research paper investigates the transformative power of these elements in influencing how individuals perceive brands and products and how this transformation can be harnessed to drive sales and profitability for businesses.
Through an exploration of brand psychology and consumer behavior, this study sheds light on the intricate ways in which effective branding strategies, strategic social media engagement, and user-centric website design contribute to altering consumers' perceptions. We delve into the principles that underlie successful brand transformations, examining how visual identity, messaging, and storytelling can captivate and resonate with target audiences.
Methodologically, this research employs a comprehensive approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses. Real-world case studies illustrate the impact of branding, social media campaigns, and website redesigns on consumer perception, sales figures, and profitability. We assess the various metrics, including brand awareness, customer engagement, conversion rates, and revenue growth, to measure the effectiveness of these strategies.
The results underscore the pivotal role of cohesive branding, social media influence, and website usability in shaping positive brand perceptions, influencing consumer decisions, and ultimately bolstering sales and profitability. This paper provides actionable insights and strategic recommendations for businesses seeking to leverage branding, social media, and website design as potent tools to enhance their market position and financial success.
Hello everyone! I am thrilled to present my latest portfolio on LinkedIn, marking the culmination of my architectural journey thus far. Over the span of five years, I've been fortunate to acquire a wealth of knowledge under the guidance of esteemed professors and industry mentors. From rigorous academic pursuits to practical engagements, each experience has contributed to my growth and refinement as an architecture student. This portfolio not only showcases my projects but also underscores my attention to detail and to innovative architecture as a profession.
Expert Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Drafting ServicesResDraft
Whether you’re looking to create a guest house, a rental unit, or a private retreat, our experienced team will design a space that complements your existing home and maximizes your investment. We provide personalized, comprehensive expert accessory dwelling unit (ADU)drafting solutions tailored to your needs, ensuring a seamless process from concept to completion.
Book Formatting: Quality Control Checks for DesignersConfidence Ago
This presentation was made to help designers who work in publishing houses or format books for printing ensure quality.
Quality control is vital to every industry. This is why every department in a company need create a method they use in ensuring quality. This, perhaps, will not only improve the quality of products and bring errors to the barest minimum, but take it to a near perfect finish.
It is beyond a moot point that a good book will somewhat be judged by its cover, but the content of the book remains king. No matter how beautiful the cover, if the quality of writing or presentation is off, that will be a reason for readers not to come back to the book or recommend it.
So, this presentation points designers to some important things that may be missed by an editor that they could eventually discover and call the attention of the editor.
7 Alternatives to Bullet Points in PowerPointAlvis Oh
So you tried all the ways to beautify your bullet points on your pitch deck but it just got way uglier. These points are supposed to be memorable and leave a lasting impression on your audience. With these tips, you'll no longer have to spend so much time thinking how you should present your pointers.
2. What is ergonomics?
Why is ergonomics important to UX?
How do we hold our mobile devices?
11 Mobile UX ergonomics rules of thumb
3. Ergonomics, also know as
comfort design is the
study of designing
equipment and devices
that fit the human body
and its cognitive abilities.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_factors_and_ergonomics
(Wikipedia)
4. Ergonomics = Designing products that fit the human body
(rather than the other way around)
5. An example of bad ergonomics - The last fork left in my cutlery draw
(because it’s so damn uncomfortable to use)
6. In the early days of computers ergonomics wasn’t really considered.
Users had to work around the computer…
7. And this was still largely true of early PCs which restricted input to keyboards
8. The Mac introduced the mouse to compliment the keyboard.
But users were still deskbound.
9. Ergonomics started to become important for early mobile devices.
But input was largely by stylus, not fingers and thumbs.
10. The iPhone changed everything.
It popularised the now ubiquitous full touch screen UI.
11. Now touchscreens are everywhere.
Users are physically interacting with UIs more and more.
23. 90% 10% 60% 40%
Sources: http://alistapart.com/article/how-we-hold-our-gadgets | http://alistapart.com/article/how-we-hold-our-gadgetsSmart phones and tablets are held vertically most of the time
34. Source: https://i-msdn.sec.s-msft.com/dynimg/IC689376.jpg
(11 px) (19 px) (26 px) (34 px) (42 px)
Tap target size vs accuracy
% missed taps
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
1 in 30 taps (3%)
will miss the target
1 in 100 (1%) 1 in 200 (0.5%)
Target size 3 mm 5 mm 7 mm 9 mm 11 mm
The bigger the tap target the higher the accuracy – funny that…
(as discovered by Microsoft)
35. 44px x 44px
(12mm x 12 mm)
30px x
44px
(8mm x
12 mm)
44px x 30px
(12mm x 8mm)
Minimum touch target
Absolute minimum touch
target (if you must)
At least 8px (2mm) spacing
Source: http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1085
So don’t make touch targets too small, or too close together…
38. Anthropometry involves
the systematic
measurement of the
physical properties of the
human body, primarily
dimensional descriptors of
body size and shape
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropometry
(Wikipedia)
39. 97.5% tile 50% tile 2.5% tile
Designing to fit the 97.5% tile to the 2.5% tile ensure
that 95% can comfortably use a product
40. Design for more challenging scenarios
e.g. walking down the street (don’t try this at home!)
47. “The real problem with the
interface is that it is an
interface. Interfaces get in the
way. I don’t want to focus my
energies on an interface. I
want to focus on the job… I
don’t want to think of myself
as using a computer, I want to
think of myself as doing my
job.”
Donald Norman
55. • People will frequently change how they hold a device
depending on what they’re doing
• Orientation will change depending on the task, but it’s usually
portrait
• Place common controls together and in easy to reach areas
• Don’t place important information where it might be obscured
• Design for fat fingers and thumbs
56. • Maximise tap targets and design for big gestures
• Design with challenging scenarios in mind
• Make everything bigger than it would be on desktop
• The less interface there is, the better
• Prototype designs as soon as possible
• Test, test, then test some more…
57. How we hold our gadgets (A List Apart)
http://alistapart.com/article/how-we-hold-our-gadgets
How Do Users Really Hold Mobile Devices? (UX Matters)
www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2013/02/how-do-users-really-hold-mobile-devices.php
Finger-Friendly Design: Ideal Mobile Touchscreen Target Sizes (Smashing Magazine)
www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/02/21/finger-friendly-design-ideal-mobile-
touchscreen-target-sizes/
The best interface is no interface (Cooper)
www.cooper.com/journal/2012/08/the-best-interface-is-no-interface
Making mLearning Usable: How we use mobile devices (Steven Hoober)
http://shoobe01.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/making-mlearning-usable-how-we-use.html
I’m going to be introducing you to ergonomics
More specifically ergonomics in terms of designing touch interfaces for mobile devices
I’m going to be talking about how we hold and interact our mobile devices
And how you can use this information to create ergonomically sound mobile designs
So what is Ergonomics?
This is what Wikipedia has to say
It’s the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, rather than the other way around
You probably associate the term with desk set-ups and physical things
I like to think about ergonomics as the art of designing things that fit the human body, rather than the other way around
So why is ergonomics important?
This is my cutlery draw at home
And this is always the last fork left in the draw. Why?
Because it’s horribly uncomfortable to use
I’m always reminded of this fork when I think about the importance of ergonomics because good design is not just about creating things that are useful, usable and beautiful, but comfortable too
Ergonomics is important for a lot of things, from desk set-up, to designing dashboards and jet fighters
But it’s never really been a consideration when it comes to designing digital interfaces
The ergonomics has always been someone else’s job, or simply wasn’t considered at all
In the very early days of punch cards and then terminals input was very limited
The user had to work around the computer, not the other way around
Then came the personal computer revolution
But input was still almost exclusively through a keyword
The original Mac was the first mainstream personal computer with a mouse
Of course the mouse has been around since the 1960s, but it was the Mac that brought it into the mainstream
Suddenly the interface wasn’t just about a keyboard, but a mouse as well
But computers were still something we sat down to use at a desk
And ergonomics was still something that related to the keyboard, the mouse, and the desk set-up
Then came more portable computers like the Palm PDA
These came with a stylus as we were still very attached to our mouse like interactions
Ergonomics certainly came into play but as a stylus was used interaction was still quite predictable
Then everything changed when the iPhone came about in 2007
Of course the iPhone wasn’t the first Smartphone, or the first touchscreen phone
But arguably more than anything else it popularised the full screen touch interface that pretty much every Smartphone and Tablet now utilises
Now designers had to really think about designing for these things (hold up hands and fingers)
And physical touch interfaces are now everywhere, from smart watches to touch enabled laptops
Ergonomics has now become a very key consideration for interface design
Not just creating interfaces that are usable and beautiful, but comfortable to use too
And in our increasingly digital world we are using mobile and touch screen devices more and more
(spot the one guy not on their phone)
How many times on average do you think that someone looks at their mobile?
There’s a lolly pop available for everyone that guesses correctly
According to a 2015 study at the Uni of Lincoln which logged smartphone use using an app
So with mobiles being used so much, and so often it’s pretty important that interfaces are comfortable to use
An interface that is not very comfortable to use is bad enough once or twice a day, times that by 10 and you have a real problem
Predominately mobile, could be tablet or even desktop
If you go out and observe people using mobile devices
You find lots of different ways that people use their mobiles and tablets
The beauty of mobile devices is that they’re er mobile
They can be used at home, at work and out and about
Someone might be using their mobile whilst waiting for a bus
Or a particular bug bear of mine while riding their bike
Or even in the bedroom
Apparently 1 in 9 Americans have used their mobile during sex
And as you might guess how you hold your mobile is going to differ depending on whether you’re waiting for the bus, on your bike or having a bit of rumpy pumpy
In 2013 Steven Hoober did just that and carried out over 1300 observations of people using their Smartphone
He found the following three main grips
One handed, two handed with fingers and two handed with thumbs
Mind that this was a few years ago when mobiles were perhaps a bit smaller, so it’s likely that two handed use is now more common
And how we hold a device impacts where on the screen we can comfortably touch
And even though about 90% of people are right-handed, left handed use is quite high
Makes sense as people often doing something with their dominant hand e.g. holding coffee
A separate study in 2014 found that 88% of iPad use is whilst seated
Usually propped up on table or holding with two hands
Unsurprisingly people will change how they hold a mobile device depending on what they’re doing
And as we’ll see it also depends on the sort of device they’re using
And this is tricky, because it makes it harder to predict how someone will be interacting with your mobile design
But the good news is that you can make some educated guesses
Firstly that they are likely to be holding the device vertically, rather than horizontally
A study a few years ago by Steven Hoober found that we use mobiles vertically about 90% of the time
In a different study Hoober and Patti Shank found that tablets are used vertically about 60% of the time
So we can say that whilst orientation might change depending on task e.g. view a video or photos
Usually people hold their device vertically
And for this 90% of the time, how do people hold their device vertically?
These graphics show the tap areas depending on the hold
Green is most comfortable to tap, unless you have exceeding large hands the red is hard to impossible to tap
And as mobile devices get larger the red area increases (show own mobile)
This is probably why we’re likely to see more two handed use as mobiles get larger
You should place frequently used controls in this easy to reach area
You should also place them together to avoid having to reach all over the device
We can see that Facebook do this for their mobile app
For a friend the common controls are in the middle and bottom of the screen where they are relatively easy to reach
Going back to our different grips we can see that hand placement also affects what is visible on the screen
For example the one hand grip obscures the bottom right of the screen
So even if we don’t know how a device is being held it’s important not to obscure important information
For example, notifications or key information
Another thing you’ll see if you observe people using their mobiles
Is that most of the time (70%) it’s with a thumb, not a finger
Which is not very surprising when we go back to consider the main grips used
So design for fat fingers and thumbs
Because if you design a nice big touch target, then it will be easier to tap
Microsoft carried out some research to see how easy it was to tap targets of increasing sizes
Unsurprisingly it’s much harder to accurately hit small targets
At 3 mm up to 1 in 5 taps were missed and 1 in 30 missed at 5 mm
So your minimum should really be 44px by 44px
Although if you really need to, you can get away with a narrower or shorter target
You should also have at least 8px of spacing between targets (unless very large)
The bigger the touch target the better
Mail app for iPhone is a nice example of maximise tap targets and supporting big gestures
Can tap anywhere in message
Can also swipe to perform actions and to bring up side menu
We’ve been talking about finger and thumb sizes
Anthropometry is an important part of ergonomics
It’s basically the measurement of people and their body size and shape
It’s used to ensure that a design fits a large percentage of the population
What you can do is design something that fits most people e.g. 95% of the population
So if a design is comfortable for someone at the 97.5% and someone at the 2.5%, it should fit the rest
Which is why it’s often more useful to focus on making a design comfortable for the more challenging users
For example this sort of a scenario
If you can create a mobile design that can be used one handed whilst walking down the street, it should be usable for most other scenarios
Which brings me to another rule of thumb
Design with challenging users and scenarios in mind e.g. mobility impared
Like designing to fit 95% of the population, if you can create a design that is comfortable and usable for challenging users and scenarios, it should work well for the rest
And when we’re designing for challenging users we should consider eyesight as well as dexterity
Important aspect of ergonomics is also being able to see a screen at holding distance
Remember that a mobile might not always be very steady in the hand e.g. in motion
Bigger text, bigger buttons, bigger controls
Your base font should really be a minimum of 16px
Your line height should be at least 200%
Is it a tap, swipe, button press?
It’s no interaction at all…
This is a great quote from Don Norman, who is one of the forefathers of usability and UX and indeed coined the UX term
You see the less interface there is, the less ergonomics you have to consider
So try to keep taps and interactions to a minimum
Think about things like notifications and alerts
How can you utilise mobile capabilities like GPS and a camera to cut down interactions?
How can you second guess the user so that they can leave their mobile device in their back pocket?
If you’re interested in this I can recommend the book – The best interface is no interface by Golden Krishna
I’ll provide a link to an article about this at the end of the presentation
So you have a design
You’re pretty happy with it
You’ve followed good mobile UX design practice
But how do you know if the ergonomics are any good?
Prototype it…
For example Jeff Hawkins, one of the inventors of the Palm Pilot initially walked around with a wooden mock-up of the device to test the concept
You can also of course quickly test paper prototypes, or quick mock-ups using one of the many mobile prototyping tools out there
So my penultimate and most important rule of the thumb is to test designs
Try to test with a range of people, devices and scenarios
Also try to test realistic scenarios and environment
For a mobile device you want to get out of the usability lab for testing
Of course the only way to tell if a design works is to test it
These are often referred to as field trials within ergonomics
So my penultimate and most important rule of the thumb is to test designs
Try to test with a range of people, devices and scenarios
Also try to test realistic scenarios and environment
For a mobile device you want to get out of the usability lab for testing
So here once again are my 10 rules of thumb for good mobile UX ergonomics
If you want to find out more here are some articles I recommend
I’ll keep this slide up for a while in case you want to take a photo
And this is an excellent book to read
Designing for touch by Josh Clark
Thank you once again for coming along
I’ll upload the slides over the next few days to both my website and to slideshare