User Centric Design delivers results to the Nokia Asha Full-Touch Devices

Just 3 months after its launch, the Nokia Asha 305 is the best selling device in India.

I recently worked as the UX Design Lead for the Nokia App Store in the new Asha Full-Touch devices. It is very rewarding to see that the User Centric Design approach used by the design groups involved in this program is paying off so rapidly and that the product is getting an amazing acceptance in the markets it was specifically designed for.

The Asha 305 is one of the recently launched Series40 Full-Touch Devices, a price-conscious full touch alternative designed for young users in Emerging Markets.



The success of the Asha Full-Touch line of products has brought 2 new devices to market: Asha 308 and 309.

Below is the official Nokia video for the Nokia Asha 309.

UX Design for the Nokia Store on S40 Full-touch "Asha" devices

In my current role at Nokia, I had the pleasure to work as the UX Design Lead for the Nokia Store on the recently launched Series40 Full-Touch Devices (Asha 305, 306 and 311); a price-conscious full touch alternative designed for young users in emerging markets. My UX Design effort also included the EA Games Gift, a promotional initiative between Electronic Arts and Nokia that has become a pivotal tool in the launch of these and many other Series40 phones.

Below is the official Nokia video for the Nokia Asha 311.



Other phones recently launched with the EA Games Gift are the non-touch Nokia 110, 112 and Asha 202, 203 to mention just a few.

Data Visualization - UN Global Pulse Mobile Survey

Not long ago I designed a visualization using data from the UN Global Pulse Mobile Survey. This visualization represents the Impact of the global economic crisis in 5 countries and its population Sentiment and Forecast.

Although we were dealing with different data types, the objective was to clearly represent –at a first glance– the sentiment and forecast for each country based on 5 questions related to:

• Country Economy
• Household Needs
• The Challenges
• Quality of Life
• The Future

Two types of linear gauges were used to represent the data.
For question 1 and 2 the gauges were divided in 4 sections based on predefined answers.

For questions 3, 4 and 5 the gauges illustrate a positive/negative sentiment based on the answers . Due to the variety in the answers, a common denominator was found in the sentiment, rather than in specific answers.

In addition, each question uses a tag cloud (weighted list) where we can clearly identify the most popular sentiment in each of the countries involved in the survey.


View the complete visualization here.

Provide the Option of Visiting the Standard Site from a Mobile Version – Notes on User Experience

We all know that mobile versions of web sites should be minimalistic, efficient, action driven; in many cases a lighter version of a standard website.

But sometimes, users may want to access the standard site from their mobile devices if they are looking for specific information or if they are familiar with the standard website. This is more common with the proliferation of better mobile devices and more efficient, inexpensive data services.

What many mobile versions are failing to do is to provide a link to visit the standard site causing great frustration to the user.

What to do:

Give your mobile visitors the option of visiting the standard site, even if it’s just through a link in the footer. And from your standard site, you could give them the option to come back to the mobile site, making this link available on detected mobile devices.

Learn how Innovo Ideas can help improve your user's experience ›› 

Status Lights, Usability and Accessibility – Notes on User Experience

Not long ago I was reviewing the usability of a client’s application, including a “status list”; the first thing that caught my attention was the amount of status available and the illegibility of the 'lights' identifying the status.

Having researched colour vision deficiency in the past, it was very obvious to me that these status indicators were not only impractical, but also they were not complying with accessibility best practices and laws (the famous Section 508).

The colour selection was random and unplanned and the visual treatment was not helping either. The design was trying to add some volume to the 'status lights' with light and shadow, making the colour even more confusing. Finally, the page was too busy, using more lights than a Christmas tree.

After discussing this with the client, he confessed an embarrassing situation while presenting the software to a potential client; someone in the audience pointed out that he couldn’t see the 'status' that he was talking about.

What to do:
Thinking about Usability and Accessibility doesn't mean compromising on the result, but including these requirements in the design process.

First of all, always keep in mind that colour-only is not a good identifier. We all perceive colour in different ways and many people may have serious difficulties to understand your message. Forget the ‘traffic light’ concept. Although we are used to the message, this is not the most user-friendly approach.

Review the colours you are using and test different values/hues to achieve a clear contrast in the absence of colour.

Use a combination of colour and symbols to identify your status indicators.

Finally, reduce the clutter.

• Do you really need all these status indicators? 
• Can the status list be simplified to have a cleaner screen?
• Do you really need a status indicator when everything is OK?
  After all, when driving, you don’t have a green-blinking light in your car dashboard indicating that everything is OK.

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Expected format and client side scripting – Notes on User Experience

Users, including ourselves, have to deal with web forms almost every day. The task can be tedious and even frustrating, especially when a simple task comes with an instruction booklet.

It is common to find a simple Telephone Number field with a set of instructions attached to it: “Please don’t use spaces, dashes or brackets”… “Use brackets, don’t use spaces”… “Area code in brackets, no spaces”.

Yes, the database expects a clear format and this is very important, but the user shouldn’t have to pay for it.

All forms and specific fields should be designed taking a user-friendly approach, utilizing client side scripting to format the data, no matter how the user inputs the information.

Using the telephone example, the user should be allowed to input dashes, spaces, brackets; the script will strip these characters sending only the information needed.
Other alternative is to use a multi-field format with properly labeled and sized fields, and scripting to allow the user to continuously type the information by jumping from one field to the next one once the field is completed.

As a last note, don’t wait until the user fills the complete form to provide feedback, immediate validation is necessary to offer a positive user experience.

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“You Are Here” Indicators – Notes on User Experience

I was recently presented with a web application for evaluation and I was surprised to see that what we think as a "Usability Basic Principle" was poorly executed. The use of “You Are Here” indicators.

It is important to let the users know at all times where they are. A user may lose track while browsing through your website or using your application and unless they know where they are, they will abandon the task and leave your site… frustrated!

What to do:

• Display a Clear Page Title – Use the highest visual hierarchy for the title in your content and always present it in the same place.
  
  
• Indicate the Location in the Navigation – Highlight/differentiate in the Menu and Sub-menus where the user is.

Other ways to let the user know their location in your site: 

• Use Breadcrumbs – Breadcrumbs are a powerful navigation tool that also help communicate where users are in relationship with the rest of the site/application and the path they took to get where they are now.
  
  
• Use Progress Indicators – Let users know their progress during a process or while filling a multiple-page form.

Learn how Innovo Ideas can help improve your user's experience ››