Archive for the ‘User Experience’ Category
Don’t hide the ingredients
I went to a nice cafeteria-style restaurant yesterday to get some lunch. I’ve been to this particular place before, but never ordered a sandwich there. That’s when I noticed something odd: The menu board only shows the names of their sandwiches, which aren’t very descriptive. Basically, there’s no way to figure out what’s in there […]
Filed under: Design, User Experience | Closed
Ancient history
In a lot of programs, you can sort lists by date. But when salesforce.com finally added a sort feature to their search screens, they did something pretty silly: the list shows the oldest items first. Granted, you can click the column header again to show the newest entries at the top, but this is a […]
Filed under: Usability, User Experience | Closed
Features that nobody uses
Ever notice those raised areas for “Diet”, “Decaf”, and other choices on a soft drink or coffee lid, or the places to check off the ingredients on a pizza box or burrito wrapper? Have you ever seen them marked with anything useful? It’s pretty amazing to me that despite seemingly zero value to staff and […]
Filed under: Design, User Experience | Closed
Too many choices
I booked a flight on the United Airlines site today. After confirming my travel times, I was presented with the option to pay for a seat with extra legroom. When I declined that, another screen appeared offering a “special deal” for upgrading to first class. On this second screen, I had to wade through a […]
Filed under: Design, Usability, User Experience | Closed
Line forms here
Last weekend, I went to buy some shirts at a fairly popular clothing store. When it was time to pay for my purchases, I went towards the cash registers. The checkout area was split into three rows, facing two different directions. Since every register had the same green light, I had no idea which ones […]
Filed under: Design, User Experience | Closed
Avoiding the membership tax
I belong to an art museum that has a fairly standard annual membership program. You pay an annual fee, and get free admission throughout the year, along with the usual discount in the gift shop, etc. But they have one practice that really irks me: whether you’re a member or not, you have to pay […]
Filed under: User Experience | Closed
I’m often surprised to see how stores and other businesses post their hours of operation. Usually this is a simple matter, e.g. “We’re open 10-8 Mon through Sat, and 12-6 on Sun”. Aside from the question of which day starts the week (I’m partial to Monday rather than Sunday), posting these hours on your front […]
Filed under: User Experience | Closed
Please try again
Apple is widely respected for the design and usability of its products. But even they slip up sometimes. Case in point: I was trying to help a friend order a printed photo book from iPhoto. Whenever we tried to create an Apple account and submit the order, it said “An error has occurred – Please […]
Filed under: Design, Usability, User Experience | Closed
Pressing your own buttons
A few years ago, I had a Lexmark laser printer that would periodically run into an error. Instead of resetting itself, a light came on that said “Press button”. Once you pressed the big reset button, it would start working again. I thought this was pretty silly, since if the system knows enough to tell […]
Filed under: Usability, User Experience | Closed
Sharp edges
In a brief glance at the items that I take along for an overnight trip, no fewer than 4 of them have sharp edges. Not just sort of sharp, but sharp enough to cut your hand or tear your travel bag if you put them in the wrong place. Some of these tubes and containers […]
Filed under: Design, User Experience | Closed
MicroExperience 
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