Category: Design

The design process, or examples of design.

play nice & make friends with human language

I recently posted about some nice dialog box language I came across and I saw some more today. I’d much rather click on a “Ooh, That Sounds like Fun!” button than one that reads “Register!” That cutesy language, however, might be at the limit for how far it can go without obfuscating the actual purpose of clicking.


The screenshot is from the new Twitter client Tweetie. I debated whether or not I should take the time to post about this nice dialog box but later on in the day I was inspired to whilst attempting to place a reserve on a library item.


I fully realize that I’m being picky and that I’m hyper-aware of this issue, but even though the OPAC asked me to please fill in “ALL” of the info, it almost-but-not-quite-felt like MCL was reprimanding me for not filling something in. It felt more like their choice of message was a lost opportunity to use the situation to make a friend or ally.

Here’s my 3 minute redo which isn’t perfect but does add a nice UX element: an arrow indicating where action is needed.

NOTE

I love using the Multnomah County Library system. After not being able to place a hold on the above item at all, I chatted with a librarian on L-Net and they told me that the MCL copies were missing and then told me how to get it via Interlibrary Loan.

play nice & make friends with human language

I recently posted about some nice dialog box language I came across and I saw some more today. I’d much rather click on a “Ooh, That Sounds like Fun!” button than one that reads “Register!” That cutesy language, however, might be at the limit for how far it can go without obfuscating the actual purpose of clicking.

tweetie_register
The screenshot is from the new Twitter client Tweetie. I debated whether or not I should take the time to post about this nice dialog box but later on in the day I was inspired to whilst attempting to place a reserve on a library item.

MCL OPAC language
I fully realize that I’m being picky and that I’m hyper-aware of this issue, but even though the OPAC asked me to please fill in “ALL” of the info, it almost-but-not-quite-felt like MCL was reprimanding me for not filling something in. It felt more like their choice of message was a lost opportunity to use the situation to make a friend or ally.

Here’s my 3 minute redo which isn’t perfect but does add a nice UX element: an arrow indicating where action is needed.

multnomah-county-library-_all-locations-copy

NOTE

I love using the Multnomah County Library system. After not being able to place a hold on the above item at all, I chatted with a librarian on L-Net and they told me that the MCL copies were missing and then told me how to get it via Interlibrary Loan.

lithuanian library websites look nice

I don’t speak or read Lithuanian and you probably don’t either. Good thing that nice design transcends language. Take a look at these beautiful sites.

The first image is the homepage of a big Lithuanian library wiki called Grazi tu Mano.

litwiki

And *this!* This is the start page for a library run Alternate Reality Game called Paskutinis valdovas which makes me really wish I was able to read Lithuanian. The start of the game is a note left for the story’s main character by a girl in the library.

litarg

What an inspiration!

i redesigned itunes and it looks better

Apple has a bunch of really talented software designers and UX people on staff. This being the case, I’m not really sure how the iPhone screen in iTunes got to be so jumbled looking. The text is justified in one strange place (orange line) while there are so many other opportunities to clean up the layout (pink lines).

I know this is a very small thing, but why not fix something so easy? Here’s what 5 minutes in Photoshop netted.

itunes

This isn’t going to solve the world’s problems, but it looks at least a little nicer, right?

Thank you for looking at my self-indulgent exercise.

P+ bike system: quick lesson in flexibility


Yes, I like riding bikes but that’s not the only reason I’m posting about this bike rack. This clever system functions not only as a bike rack, but also a wayfinding mechanism and bench. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for examples of flexible infrastructure and this is a great one. I wonder if the P shape design element is meant to indicate PARK.



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