Media: Technology Review Interviews Tim Brown of IDEO

Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, describes the interplay between technology and design as he sees it - as a means to change the way people live and work.

Best practical tip: 'There are too many examples still of people trying to force content and experiences that were really developed for one type of experience through a different kind of interface. It’s not just about the scale of the screen or the size of it, but it’s even the length of time that we’re willing to interact with things. ...in the mobile world, what people tend to use the mobile devices for is to fit little chunks of things in between everything else they're doing.'

My favourite of his more general observations: 'TR: What kind of people do the best design?
BROWN: Well, I can tell you what doesn't work — and that is to have a whole bunch of people who are deep in their own technical domain but have no interest in engaging with the others. Then you end up with this "siloing" effect, but it's the joins between different disciplines where all the difficult stuff happens.'

Associated Link: Technology Review: Master of Design (one-time registration required)

All change at the top for System Concepts
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 3 July 2009
 
Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

Life in UCD immortalised in fiction: you couldn't make it up
Source: UN, 2 July 2009
 
Sarah Herman's fictitious book on life in a user-centred design company has hit the shelves and The Guardian's book pages...

Interfaces Magazine - Issue 79: The Education Issue
Source: Interaction Group, 1 July 2009
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

Two new Behavioural research Tools from Noldus
Source: UN, 30 June 2009
 
Tool updates make on-site behavioural data collection easier.

Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
Source: MIT Technology Review, 29 June 2009
 
New software tracks a user's behavior by monitoring everyday sounds.

Top Six Don’ts for Usability Testing
Source: FutureNow Inc., 27 June 2009
 
Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

Usability: ‘Lovely software. But I can’t work it’
Source: FT.com, 26 June 2009
 
In a recent survey by Global Graphics, 77 per cent of office workers estimate they lose up to one hour a week because business software is difficult to use.

And what do you do?
Source: Dexo Design, 25 June 2009
 
How do you describe your job role? Here are the results of a recent 'Preferred UX/UI Title' Poll.

Most Doctors cite Usability as critical to Electronic Health Record Adoption
Source: TMCNet, 24 June 2009
 
It's all about 'meaningful use'.

Glossy monitors look good but can hurt
Source: QUT, 23 June 2009
 
A new advisory cites research which suggests high gloss monitors make users sit awkwardly.