usedcars.com redesign
Introduction
This blog post contains several examples of the User Experience Design work I've done during my time at Dealix/UsedCars.com
When I started at Dealix three years ago this is what the UsedCars.com site looked like:
Old UsedCars.com Homepage
Goals of the redesign were:
- Reduce bounce rates
- Increase engagement
- Design with the Consumer in mind
- Increase conversion
When we re-launched the site the Homepage looked like this:
UsedCars.com Homepage - redesign
Results:
- Bounce rates reduced - 50% reduction in bounce
- Engagement increased - from 1 minute to 6 minutes
- Conversion increased - 2% increase
Over time the Homepage has evolved to meet the needs of our users and to continue to achieve our original goals.
UsedCars.com Homepage - updated
Labels: design, updates
Things I Learned at Adobe
People often ask me about the most important thing I learned from working in User Experience Design at Adobe. Six years working under the Big Red 'A' was such a rich and unforgettable time in my life. It's impossible to narrow it down to learning just one thing.
I can however, make a short list (in no particular order):
1. Lighten up and have fun.
We worked really hard at Adobe and we played hard too. I truly believe that you can't be creative in a serious and conservative atmosphere. I lived this everyday at Adobe and instilled this belief in my direct reports as well.
How did we instill lightness in our daily work? By doing things like organizing pancake breakfasts, art shows and snack breaks to name a few. One day during the middle of an intense week working on Acrobat I took my team to the outside balcony of the East Tower 15th floor and we blew bubbles. It only took ten minutes, but when we walked back into our offices we felt rejuvenated and -- well -- lighter. We were ready to face the major design challenges of Acrobat with a fresh perspective.
Design is serious business. The work we do is important. But we do it best when we lighten up.
Making pancakes for the UX Design Team in the Adobe East Tower with John Russell
I'll add more to this list at another time so stay tuned!
Labels: adobe, user experience
being creative: does your design space matter?
When I started at Dealix last spring one of the first things I wrestled with was not having acreative space. At that point in my life I shared the belief that you didn't really need a bunch of tools or a certain environment to be creative -- you just needed good ideas. In other words, I was fairly convinced that a work environment didn't really lend much to my design process. I was so wrong!
Upon arriving at Dealix, after almost two years at Yahoo!, I was struck by how quiet and subdued the environment was. I felt like I was working in a library and I really missed being surrounded by purple! But you see, Dealix had never had a User Experience person on board before I joined. I doubt if anyone had ever really thought about needing a "space to create". But I soon realized that that's exactly what Dealix and I needed!
the conference room
Long story short, my Manager gave me a conference room to work with and a budget of about $700. I moved the boring old corporate furniture out and put in new furniture from IKEA. I kept one wall covered with white boards and left the other main wall completely blank. I bought a high table so that people could comfortably stand around it to look at mock-ups etc. There are also chairs and a couch in the space as well as a bookshelf/wall unit for storage.
Now you're probably wondering how the new space affected my creativity - right? I'll write about that in my next post.
my new creative space
another view
Labels: creative space, creativity
you can't think of everything
Just as some designers get stuck in the beginning stages of design with the "blank canvas" syndrome, I've noticed that many designers also get held up by the "I have to think of everything" sickness. I've been plagued by this one myself. You're afraid to release a design and mark it as Final because (gasp) what if you didn't think of everything? What if you didn't consider all of the user states? etc.
Well, I'm here to tell you that the world won't end if you miss something here or there. Of course, you want to be a conscientious and thorough designer. But -- you also want to be a productive one right? So just move ahead. Get that design in front of some Product folks and Engineers. They'll let you know if you missed something :)
Labels: design process
UX Week 2008 Rocked!
a sticky note love seat featured at UX Week 2008
Last week I spent some time at the Adaptive Path
UX Week Conference in San Francisco. I learned SO much while I was there and met a lot of great Experience Design folks. Some of the highlights:
- Don Norman who kicked off the week and talked about UX in general.
The Neo-futurists from Chicago.
TCHO - a new chocolate company in San Francisco who let us beta test their chocolate.
This was the second Adaptive Path conference I've attended. I must say, these people know how to put on a conference. They really understand that we're attending a user experience conference so they pay attention to details.
Location: UX Week 2008 was at the Palace Hotel. A beautiful spot. A wonderful user experience. Beautiful surroundings. Good food. Wonderful service. Attention to detail.
Events/Program: Not your usual conference stuff. UX Week offered several great hands-on workshops as well as some fun and pertinent entertainment (a performance by the Neo-futurists). One of the workshops I attended was called "How to Be A Sticky Note Ninja". (More on that in another blog post).
Adaptive Path employees. Approachable (they don't walk around like arrogant designers with a capital "D" on their chests). Friendly. Helpful. Interesting.
My rating of the conference: Thumbs up!
Labels: adaptive path, experience, user experience, ux
feeling prolific
wow! i haven't updated this blog in awhile. i've been working so hard i haven't had time to think about writing about design. just to be clear, i've been thinking about design -- just haven't been writing about it.
i've been thinking and acting quickly. it's actually been kind of fun. no time to second-guess my design decisions. design and move on to the next feature or project.
maybe it's a good thing -- to not
over-think the user experience... but then again, i don't want to overlook something important. so before i actually move a design forward i take a second look (after i've walked away from the design for a bit). fresh eyes and all that.
anyway, this design pace has been good. it's working for me. what works for you?
Labels: design, process, user experience
what is this thing?
have you noticed that some websites are using this little do-hickey thing in form fields now? i first noticed it on Blogger (see below). at this point i'm voting against them. the do-hickeys are so tiny you can barely see them. and when you do notice them, they kinda look like dust specs on your laptop screen. isn't a cursor enough?
examples of the do-hickey on Blogger
