A forgotten UX need: Selection by exclusion

Time to read: 3 minutes Today I was advertised a lovely-looking wine subscription box. Seems genuinely smart, as it asks you flsvour preference questions, like “the evening is winding down, are you most likely to reach for a platter of cheese, a sponge cake, or macarons?”. But. Like many other services like it, it does not account for managing selections […] continue reading »

Google Home or Amazon Echo?

Time to read: 4 minutes In our house, we have six little conversational interface audio boxes.  What do we use them for, and which one is better? Here’s what I’ve discovered about Google’s Google home mini, and Amazon’s Echo (standard and dot, we have both kinds). Jokes I think that nine out of ten requests we make of all the […] continue reading »

How to win at UX

Time to read: 5 minutes UX is trendy, and we should all rejoice… Except UXers often work to unrealistic expectations, (“make this product user-friendly in 8 weeks”) try to solve non-existent problems (“build that team a dashboard with metrics XYZ”), and are seldom allowed time to do real research or work as a team (“we don’t have time for that, […] continue reading »

How BA failed at maths, humanity, and service design

Time to read: 5 minutes I’ve been on FOUR BA flights since 27th December 2016. This only matters because the last one was a VERY different experience from the first three. The first two were First Class (we used avios, sit back down), and awesome. On my last and fourth one, however, I discovered BA’s new policy of not serving […] continue reading »

heuristics of giving and receiving gifts

Time to read: 6 minutes I love giving gifts. I also love receiving them. Over the years, I have discovered a few basic rules about gifts. Good gifts. Both the giving and receiving. December is upon us, so I am sharing them in case someone finds them helpful. Getting the right thing, seeing the reaction of surprise, delight and happiness. […] continue reading »

war of the museums: British Museum vs Royal Academy

Time to read: 9 minutes This is, of course, an unfair fight. The British Museum has long brought a knife to a gun fight. A tradition in history, documenting, archiving, and an obvious affinity for achaeology must have served them well from the 1800s… But when it comes to designing exhibits, in 2014, I think they could use some help. […] continue reading »