Category : Prototyping

In the last few months here at Kristian Andersen + Associates, we have become increasingly more involved in iPhone application user experience/user interface design. Our existing experience with UX/UI design for the web was a great jumping-off point, plus we're all day-one iPhone users and are virtually tethered to them right throughout the day.

Our most recent app engagement began in the usual way, collaborating with the client on multiple rounds of wireframes and process maps, dialing in the inner workings and structure of the app itself. When we started to move forward into the initial visual prototypes the ideas for the navigation and overall aesthetic came fast, but we quickly realized something just didn't 'feel' right. It didn't take long before we realized why and just…

Lately we've been talking a lot about the elements of a successful design project. We thought it would be interesting, and helpful to other readers, to hear a bit more about other folk's successes and how they were achieved. Tell us about the client, the challenge, and the solution.

"Of the world’s total population of 6.5 billion, 5.8 billion people, or 90%, have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted; in fact, nearly half do not have regular access to food, clean water, or shelter.” – Design for the other 90%

These are startling statistics, despite the more socially aware we become each day. How then, can design become a dynamic force in saving and transforming lives, at home and around the world?

Recently I went to see my family in Ecuador. Even though I was excited and eager to get back to my country, I was already beginning to contemplate the design challenges that I would face when I…

At KA+A, we have a saying: "The best way to envision the future, is to see a picture of it." In the UX Design world, this applies primarily to the innovation of products and services. Paragraphs, spreadsheets, napkins, and whiteboards are a good place to start, but they reach the limit of their effectiveness pretty quickly. Not only are the aforementioned mediums less than ideal for communicating with third parties (e.g. investors, upper level management…), they also make it difficult to identify the opportunities and problems that exist below the surface of an idea or concept (no matter how good of an idea or concept it is).

Enter hi-fidelity, immersive prototypes. When utilized early in the design and development cycle, they…

Define Daily (04): Process Flows, Wireframes, Prototypes
KA+A uses process flows, wireframes, and prototypes in our Interactive and User Experience engagements. This trio can often get confused, but generally speaking, the differences are as follows:

• Process flows are diagrams created to walk through the sequence of interactions a user will have with a particular web site, demo, or application. They visualize the paths, actions, and results that are generated when a user interacts with a system.
• Wireframes are a collection of loosely rendered and rapidly modifiable screen layouts, that guide the layout and placement of interface elements. Think of it as an architect's blue print.
• A prototype is a fully designed visual representation of the finished product. It can be static (i.e. images)