As I nibbled a granola bar yesterday morning I read of Kurt Vonnegut’s death. “I knew I’d outlast him,” I thought.

I read Breakfast of Champions as a boy at the insistence of my friend Chuck. He nearly demanded I read the book and I’d long since learned that if Chuck recommended a book from his parents’ progressive library I had better give it a read.

That was it for me.

Eventually Chuck’s enthusiasm for Vonnegut waned a bit but I never did tire of reading about Kilgore Trout, Ice-Nine and player pianos. I don’t keep track of such things but I believe I’ve read all his novels—Galapagos and Bluebeard rank among my favorites.

I suppose I spent a small corner of my life romping about with Vonnegut, vicariously, through his characters. So here’s to the witty old curmudgeon—thanks for the read, Kurt.

They say usability is like oxygen - you never notice it until it’s missing.

What it Is. What it Does.

In web design, usability refers to the relative ease of use of the site. Is the interface intuitive to someone unfamiliar with the company, product, or terminology? Can information be found quickly with a minimum number of clicks?

Usability testing is a qualitative method of identifying design-wise what works and what doesn’t through typical user behavior. Whether your site is live or in development, implementing strategies derived from usability test data can positively affect the success of your site, and ultimately your brand.

Who to Test

You’ll get the best results by testing subjects with and without knowledge of your company or industry, and with a range of web experience, from neophyte to tech-savvy. That’s not to say your test group needs to be huge. Usability expert Jakob Nielsen says that testing five users will uncover 85 percent of a site’s usability issues.

Mining for Data

Usability testing can take many forms. A common and successful method employs tracking mouse movement and videotaping test subjects as they complete a variety of tasks from locating the site itself when provided only the company name, to navigating through the site to find specific information.

Mind the Data

The data is then analyzed with video and mouse movements displayed split screen. It becomes easy to identify areas that are counterintuitive through mouse movement, facial expression, body language, or even verbal clues such as “I’m lost.�?

If your site is particularly complex or information-rich, after the initial issues are fixed consider doing a second round of testing. Often additional areas for improvement are identified once the initial stumbling blocks are removed.

Get Results

After observing unorthodox, yet common search habits in testing, we made minor changes to one non-profit’s site that increased traffic by a factor of 100.

Usability testing also revealed the need to reposition elements within the interface. The simple move increased hit rates ten-fold to an area vital to their site’s target goals and objectives.

Everyone processes information differently, and the goal for any site is a simple, common sense interface that’s easy to use and understand. Usability testing identifies whether you have met that goal and enables you to make changes to better meet your customers’ needs—always a benefit.

For more information on how to achieve measurable results with your marketing dollars see Great 2007 Marketing Idea No. 1: Paper and Purls.

Changing the Face of TV

The new Apple TV may revolutionize what we watch on television and when.

For about $300, Apple TV wirelessly syncs your iTunes library from any computer in the house and broadcasts the content through your television or home theater system.

For people with an iTunes library filled with music, podcasts, video podcasts (vodcasts), television shows, movies and photos, this means you can enjoy all your digital media in HDTV widescreen from the comfort of your living room.

Burgeoning Content

Many podcasts, vodcasts and major network television shows are available for free download, and some major studio releases can now be purchased through iTunes Music Store. Look for more big budget as well as independent movies and television shows to become available in the future.

And best of all, Apple TV allows you to watch a veritable smorgasbord of media whenever you want to watch it.

For now, it won’t replace your DVR or cable box, but as more content becomes available, it may develop into a must-have component for your home theater system.

See Apple TV specs for more information.

Fitness by Design
(click image for detail views)

Designed by Nendo of Japan, the climbing wall at the Illoiha Fitness Club reflects its stylish milieu, Tokyo’s Omotesand�? fashion district.

The image of people scaling the wall in full office attire with no harness further underscores the whimsical nature of the wall—an added editorial juxtaposition.

For more on this fanciful fitness wall read Nendo’s take here.

via: Yanko Design

Packaging is a part of modern life. This article, an insight into the design of a consumer package for satellite radio provider XM, includes many aspects of a typical package development process. In the interest of time, we’ll skip research, diagnostic and technical methodology phases and concentrate on the basic iterative process steps in this article.

Contracted as a co-branded piece with equipment manufacturer, Delphi, the XM package is designed to contain a variety of product configurations while meeting the requirements of multiple retailers.

Thumbnails
(above: click for larger view)

The first stage of the package design process is broad idea generation with an eye toward reasonable possibility through the use of quick sketches called thumbnails—essentially a Brainstorm session on paper.

Even in this early ideation phase, function and manufacturing objectives established in earlier logistic explorations are at the forefront of the design rationale.

A plump and friendly ovate design—suitable for both pegged and stand-alone shelf display—captured the team’s attention. It features an interchangeable outer shroud designed to accommodate variable messaging and XM product differentiation.

Rough Refinements
(above: click for larger view)

Of the 32 initial thumbnails, five are selected for tighter “rough�? conceptual sketches. The rough design stage serves several purposes. Roughs allow the customer to collaborate in a conceptual dialog with both Brainstorm and their own internal team.

In addition, roughs allow the design team to further reconcile a host of issues—from substrate selection to detail and aesthetic considerations. Increasingly the form is discussed with a heightened sensitivity to relative manufacturing requirements and capabilities.

Although computer-generated designs are great for visualization, introducing them too early in the development process can consume allotted resources and generate fewer options. Furthermore, their finished look can ignite concerns about exhausting budgets without the benefit of conceptual buy-in.

Design Control Drawings (DCD)
(above: click for larger view)

DCD drawings are to final fit and finish what roughs are to concepts. In this case, the forms are expressed as orthographic projections, i.e., front, right side and plan (top) views.

The primary intent of this phase is to convey relative proportions and relationships between forms within the package, i.e., to “control�? the design. A rough and wispy hand drawn line could mean anything to a packaging engineer. Conversely, detailed and dimensioned schematics begin to define a working reality.

Of course, many issues were addressed during the XM DCD phase: Drop test considerations, proper cavity allowance for nested accessories, marrying the outer shroud with the stand-alone clamshell, substrate selection and opacity levels, inherent multi-part clamshell tooling considerations, etc.

Rapid Prototyped 3D Model
(above)

Project participants hailed from several continents. So, to help bridge geographic and language-based barriers, we produced a quick 3D model based on data and dimensioning extrapolated from the vector-based DCD drawings. The model proved a useful discussion tool in describing general functions of the package.

Aesthetic and Messaging
(above: click for more initial design examples)

Although this article primarily explores the physical form development of a package, the aesthetic process is important enough to warrant an article of its own.

Some aspects of messaging development begin as early as the thumbnail stage. However, on many levels, full graphic exploration doesn’t begin until a form factor direction is set. At retail, messaging and brand continuity are crucial.

A Finished Package
(above: click for larger view)

Although concessions were made along the way, the completed two-part package is remarkably similar to the original concept design in form and function.

Click here for more about Brainstorm.