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Mint container consistency
There were some great comments on the unopenable mint container post. I wanted to share a few of them. Most people agreed that once someone learns the trick, the container is simple. Brent Logan downplayed the effort needed to learn how to use the mint tin, then came up with some great additional reasons why the [...]
Continue reading...Unopenable Mint Container
9. June 2008
A few weeks ago I bought some mints at Powell’s bookstore before a meeting. I didn’t want my breath to stink. As I was walking to the appointment, I struggled to get at the mints. It turned out this container required me to read the directions. See the unopenable mint container in action in this video: [...]
Continue reading...Designing the Obvious interview
26. May 2008
I enjoyed writing the series of posts about Designing the Obvious, the guide to creating sites and applications that keep both developer and user sane. My favorite part was reading what others thought about it in the comments. Three were randomly chosen to receive autographed copies: Aaron Hockley, Bram Pitoyo, and David Frey. I hope we [...]
Continue reading...Unnecessarily complex change machine
18. May 2008
John shows the above example of unnecessary complexity that he found in a San Francisco Muni station. To get $1.50 in change, you put one dollar into one machine to get a dollar coin, then another dollar in the other machine to get quarters. Then, I assume, there is a third machine that takes both types [...]
Continue reading...60 second Deadlines
7. May 2008
This post is part of a series about Designing the Obvious, a book about common sense Web application design. Learn more about this series. As long-time readers know, I love time-boxing tricks: POWER HOUR, 4 day work week, 7 day product. Working within artificial constraints can make things easier on you and simpler for your users/customers. Designing [...]
Continue reading...Band-Aids Only Hide Boo-boos
1. May 2008
This post is part of a series about Designing the Obvious, a book about common sense Web application design. Learn more about this series. When you cut your finger, you put a band-aid on. It doesn’t fix the cut, but it hides your wound from the world. In the face of an interface problem, the natural [...]
Continue reading...Get Mental (Models)
29. April 2008
This post is part of a series about Designing the Obvious, a book about common sense Web application design. Learn more about this series. If the term “mental model” is off-putting to you, I understand. It sounds starchy and academic. It also is a great name for what it is. Just like a model train can [...]
Continue reading...Create Forgiveness
25. April 2008
This post is part of a series about Designing the Obvious, a book about common sense Web application design. Learn more about this series. The simplest tools are the ones that don’t make you worry about breaking it. I once owned a shovel that routinely came out of its handle. Even on its good days it [...]
Continue reading...Kaizen
22. April 2008
This post is part of a series about Designing the Obvious, a book about common sense Web application design. Learn more about this series. I often find myself overwhelmed by the daunting task of completing a project, or fixing errors with an existing project. There’s so much to do that it feels useless to do anything. Toyota [...]
Continue reading...Nice-to-have Features Not So Kind
22. April 2008
This post is part of a series about Designing the Obvious, a book about common sense Web application design. Learn more about this series. Users like features, or at least that’s what they tell us. Users can also be confused or turned off by options. It’s the paradox of choice. Designing the Obvious says to build only [...]
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24. June 2008
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