09.22.2009
Elizabeth Mauer - Former Staffer /
Design Research /
Human Factors /
Industrial Design /
Trends /
User Research
As a human factors practitioner, I completely and whole-heartedly support talking to users as an integral part of the product design process. I think it’s the best way to make sure a product is useful, usable, and desirable (the holy trinity, in my book).
However, I’m not living under a rock. I know these days companies have tighter budgets and even tighter timelines. The pressure is on more so than ever to produce products that will sell while spending the least amount of money developing them. Product teams are looking at their budgets and trying to trim off anything they can do without. Many times it’s easy and tempting for user research to be left out to save money and time in the development process…
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09.08.2009
Elizabeth Mauer - Former Staffer /
Usability
As user interface designers, how often do we consider the effect of a selected typeface on our UIs? Probably not enough. Of course we all remember to select a typeface that is legible on computer screens and things like that, but do we really look at it in detail? I can’t say I have recently. Until something made me think of it the other night…
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07.24.2009
Elizabeth Mauer - Former Staffer /
Consumer Products /
Industrial Design
It’s no secret at HumanCentric that I love animals. I regularly bring in my own dog to hang out while I work, and I usually have a foster dog that tags along as well. Thank goodness HumanCentric is a dog-friendly workplace.
So given my love for animals and my love for beautifully-designed products, I was so excited to stumble upon this company: Wetnöz. They were featured in the summer 2009 issue of Innovation magazine. How great are their products? I completely agree with their company’s vision: that people spend lots of time selecting furniture and accessories to beautify their homes, and that should include pet products.
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06.29.2009
Elizabeth Mauer - Former Staffer /
Design Research /
Ergonomics /
User Research
Once upon a time, I convinced myself that I could learn to rip out my old floors and install new ones.
I grew up very traditionally where girls vacuumed (boring) and boys got to work with power tools (fun). So I never learned the ins and outs of what I generally call “being handy with tools.” I figured I could learn, though. Since they sell power tools to the general population at many home improvement stores, how hard can it be to use them? (Especially if the store’s motto is, “You can do it, we can help.”)
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