Deanna McCusker http://deannamccusker.com/wordpress User Experience Design Mon, 04 Feb 2013 04:08:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Just try to click that link! http://deannamccusker.com/wordpress/just-try-to-click-that-link/ http://deannamccusker.com/wordpress/just-try-to-click-that-link/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 03:18:26 +0000 admin http://deannamccusker.com/wordpress/?p=704 A colleague of mine pointed out this fun little usability gaff on the WhiteHouse.gov Petitions website.  Apparently, in order to sign a petition on this website, you must first create an account.  Why you ask?  Well, they have an answer for you.  Just hover over “Why?” just above the Create an Account button.

WhiteHouse Gov Why

    Wow, that’s great.  Except, it doesn’t really explain why – just reiterates that you must create an account.  But maybe the Terms of Participation explains.  But as soon as I move my cursor – oops, the popup window disappears.  You can’t actually click on the links inside the popup!  Try it yourself here.

    Is this just a failure to test out the interface?  Or is it a cleverly disguised way to appear to provide information without actually doing so?  You decide…

    ]]> http://deannamccusker.com/wordpress/just-try-to-click-that-link/feed/ 0 Wow! Use your mobile device when it’s 30 below! http://deannamccusker.com/wordpress/mobile-gloves/ http://deannamccusker.com/wordpress/mobile-gloves/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2013 01:21:18 +0000 admin http://deannamccusker.com/wordpress/?p=550
    It’s always fun when popular products spawn whole new categories of must have items.  This year we saw slim sleeves for the Mac Air, ever smaller purses designed specifically for tablets, and my personal favorite – gloves with contact pads for use with a touch device.

    What a great idea!  My husband promptly bought me a pair for Christmas and I promptly donned them the next day to drive to the mall to return other, not so innovative gifts.

    • Design Lesson #1 – test the new feature with all use cases.  The contact pads had to be positioned precisely to work.  And gestures like zooming in, which generally use the side of the thumb and forefinger didn’t work well at all.
    • Design Lesson #2 – don’t forget to keep the other great features of low-tech gloves like non-slip palm surfaces.  It was hard to drive with these gloves because I couldn’t get a good grip on the steering wheel.  Even worse, it was impossible to grasp my sleek iPhone.

     

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