WYREFRAYME User Experience Blog http://wyrefrayme.com User Experience Blog Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:52:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 UX Design #43 in Top 100 Jobs http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=405 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=405#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:52:39 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=405 CNN Money recently released their list of the top 100 jobs in the US for 2012. Coming in at #43 is User Experience Design. CNN Money ranked each job based on 4 pieces of criteria: Personal Satisfaction, Low Stress, Benefit to Society and Flexibility. Below is how UXD roles were scored:

  • Personal Satisfaction: B
  • Low Stress: B
  • Benefit to Society: C
  • Flexibility: B

I admit that I am a little biased since I am a User Experience Designer, so I would have rated each of those categories a little higher. I love getting to design great UX, so I would have given Personal Satisfaction an A and I would have given “Benefit to Society” at least a B. Come on, doesn’t every benefit from a better User Experience?! :)

Read the original article HERE.

[via CNN Money]

]]> http://wyrefrayme.com/?feed=rss2&p=405 0 Free Visio iPhone/iPad Stencils http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=386 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=386#comments Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:38:17 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=386 Earlier in the year I created some Visio 2010 iPhone/iPad stencils that I was planning on using for a project at work. I usually do all of my wireframes using Fireworks, but I thought it might be handy to have a secondary method to create my wireframes. After seeing several posts on other websites of people asking if anyone had any iOS Visio stencils to share, I thought I would go ahead and make my stencils available for download. Below is what is included with the download along with some of the features:

  • Zip file containing 4 visio stencils (iPhone/iPad stencils in portrait and landscape orientation
  • Each stencil includes multiple shapes including tab bars, table views and other iOS UI elements
  • The stencils can be used to create a “Clickable/Interactive”  wireframe in PDF format
  • 3 page user guide
  • Sample visio wireframes and PDF files

Below are a few tutorials/demos that show how to use the stencils:

I’d love to hear any comments, so if you download these, please leave me a message below! I will be updating these in the future, so stay tuned.

iPhone/iPad Visio 2012 Stencils
iPhone/iPad Visio 2012 Stencils
iPhone_iPad_Stencils_v1.0.zip
Version: 1.0
1.3 MiB
8200 Downloads
Details...
]]> http://wyrefrayme.com/?feed=rss2&p=386 0 Microsoft Implements Responsive Design http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=379 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=379#comments Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:43:02 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=379 Microsoft recently went live with a preview of their redesigned consumer and business website. In keeping with the new look of almost all of Microsoft’s new products, the Metro UI/Design is the basis of the new look. In addition to the Metro UI, another key feature is the use of responsive design. Unless you live under a rock, you are already fully aware that responsive design is one of the most talked about topics in the world of UX/UI. I tested the preview site by by viewing it on my iPhone. The site functioned very well and is an excellent example of why responsive design is such hot topic right now. Jump over and view the preview site for yourself.

]]> http://wyrefrayme.com/?feed=rss2&p=379 0 UX Careers Infographic http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=376 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=376#comments Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:51:04 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=376 Today I stumbled upon an interesting infographic titled, “A Guide to UX Careers” over at Visual.ly. It’s almost a year old, but still has some interesting information in it. Jump over to Visual.ly if you want to check it out.

[Via Visual.ly]

]]> http://wyrefrayme.com/?feed=rss2&p=376 0 Sharp + Frog Design = Feel UX http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=369 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=369#comments Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:20:56 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=369 Sharp and Frog Design have teamed up to create a new UI for Android devices. Dubbed the “Feel UX”, this new UI will initially be rolled out on Japanese phones. One of the main features of the new UI, is the ability to personalize the lock screen. This will allow easy access to items such as music, photos or other personal data.  It will be interesting to see how this latest version of a customized Android UI performs.

[Via Frog Design]

]]> http://wyrefrayme.com/?feed=rss2&p=369 0 Stanford HCI Course Begins May 28th http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=364 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=364#comments Sat, 26 May 2012 02:04:47 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=364 Earlier in the year, Stanford University announced that they would be offering a free on-line Human-Computer Interaction course. Unfortunately this course was delayed several months. I finally received an e-mail this week alerting me that the course will finally begin on May 28th. For those of you who are interested, you can still sign up at http://hci-class.org/.

 

]]> http://wyrefrayme.com/?feed=rss2&p=364 0 Leap Motion Gesture Control http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=354 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=354#comments Sat, 26 May 2012 01:48:40 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=354 Earlier this week, Leap Motion unveiled their Gesture Control technology. This goal of this device it to allow you to interact with your computer via gestures, similar to the Microsoft Kinect. What sets the Leap apart is that it is able to track hundreds of thousands of points at a time. As a result, the gesture tracking is incredibly accurate. It can track all ten of your finger tips at a time, or it can track the slightest movement in one finger tip.

The Leap Motion device is a small rectangular piece of hardware that will sit in front of your existing monitor. Leap is also currently in talks with several hardware manufacturers to get this technology built into laptops and other devices. After watching the demo video on several websites, I admit that I am incredibly impressed with how fluid this technology seems to be. Another factor that seems incredible to  me is the price. Currently the Leap Motion is on pre-order for just $69.99. For that price, I am tempted to place my order so I can experiment with this thing in person.

With Microsoft releasing Kinect for PCs and now the Leap Motion Gesture Control device entering the market, it seems as we are heading quickly to interacting with our devices Minority Report/Tony Stark style sooner rather than later. I’m not sure about you, but I’m getting excited :)

Check out the demo below to see the Leap Motion in action.

 
[Via Leap Motion]

]]> http://wyrefrayme.com/?feed=rss2&p=354 0 Adobe CS6 Released Today http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=346 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=346#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:16:00 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=346 There probably isn’t a User Experience Designer out there today that doesn’t touch at least one of the Adobe tools on a daily basis. Adobe officially released Adobe CS6 and the “Creative Cloud” today. The software will be available in approximately 30 days and is ready for pre-order. Adobe Photoshop received several key updates, including a new graphics engine called “Mercury”, a new “Dark” UI and the ability to edit video.  Illustrator also received “Dark UI” update and few key additions in functionality that allow you to easily create patterns and apply gradients to strokes. My personal favorite Adobe application, Fireworks, also received a few updates, but I will be covering these in a future post.

One of the biggest changes this year for Adobe is the “Creative Cloud” subscription service. This service provides the option to pay for the Adobe Suite monthly, rather than the traditional pricing model. Prices for a one year commitment start at $49 a month, while month-to-month subscriptions will cost $79 a month. It will be interesting to see how users react to this new pricing model.

You can catch the official launch at today 10 am Pacific Time.

]]> http://wyrefrayme.com/?feed=rss2&p=346 0 Microsoft Office 15 UI Leaked http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=335 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=335#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:30:11 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=335 Screen shots of the updated UI for the upcoming Microsoft Office 15 have been obtained by The Verge. The new UI has a very clean minimal look that incorporates the Metro UI style that the company is rolling out for Windows 8. By default, Microsoft’s ribbon is collapsed and the suite is being developed to run as a full screen app. In addition, the use of text and typography is being heavily incorporated as opposed to icons. This is still an early build and the UI will likely include some additional changes, but overall I like the direction that Microsoft is going. Jump on over to the Verge to view the full gallery of screen shots.

[Via TheVerge]

]]> http://wyrefrayme.com/?feed=rss2&p=335 0 Two New Books http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=316 http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=316#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:22:19 +0000 Troy Broas http://wyrefrayme.com/?p=316 Last week I ordered two books that grabbed my interest as I was browsing on Amazon. The first one arrived yesterday and is titled, “Sketching User Experiences, The Workbook” . The second book is titled, “Communicating the User Experience: A Practical Guide for Creating Useful UX Documentation”. These books address topics that in my opinion are key skills in the role of UX Designers. I plan on diving into the Sketching workbook today and hopefully when I get home from work, I will find the other book waiting for me on my doorstep. Stay tuned for full reviews of both books.

 

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