Trends

In a blog post by Robert Fabricant (Jan 7, 2013) he calls User Experience “The new Black” borrowing the term from the fashion industry. ( see http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/user-experience-incorporated.html ).

Through popularity and imitation Gangnam Style videos, created by PSY the South Korean Internet sensation, became a viral phenomena. In much the same way, many current UX patterns have gained popularity through sharing and imitation. Do you understand what are the psychological foundations of social sharing and how do things “go viral”? Mass copying and imitation of some patterns can lead to the belief in a “Best Practice” even when the pattern is proved faulty. What are the trends that we have had to fight against, and what trends do we want take off like a cheesy horse dance.

Do you remember the Dan Akroyd series of sketches on the original Saturday Night Live (SNL) where he played a character named "Leonard Pinth Garnell" and introduced us to various forms of BAD performances? Leonard Pinth-Garnell

We came across a default action on a travel website that made us think about "Bad Defaults" and why user interfaces need to have "Smart" defaults.

The capacity of the human brain to process information has remained the same—even as the number of types of users for software-based Internet connected devices has increased at an exponential rate. The field of psychology, especially cognitive psychology has, among other things, focused on understanding the processes by which we store information, make decisions, and communicate with others. Understanding the research and the theories of cognitive psychology can help information architects to create better user experiences.