September 2017 | The dark and light sides of software
We probably all agree that software is incredible – a powerful tool for design, for systems, and for, well, seemingly anything a person could dream up. But, all those lines of code have a catch: software becomes unfathomably complex very quickly, and messy too, so we end up building “systems that are beyond our ability to intellectually manage.” The state of Washington, for example, was impacted by a minor software error that took down the 911 network for the entire state for several hours. Only one number needed to be changed in the code to remedy it, but it took hours to figure out what caused the outage in the first place. As the article argues, we’d better get this fixed before autonomous vehicles hit the road.
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SOFTWARE GLITCHES
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DO YOU UX FOR GOOD?
As an antidote to article one up there, I’m pointing you toward a few great things coming down the UX pipe. People are using UX to, among other things, clarify banking fees, increase awareness of deforestation and rainforest devastation, and introduce the physical pain of parting with money into the plastic swiping-tapping-inserting action that makes digital money so easy to spend.
Footnote: I apologize in advance for many animations on this page. (I get dizzy when multiple animations – or even one! – run in my field of vision while I’m trying to read. Anyone else? Just me? You’re probably one of those lucky people who can read in a moving vehicle, too.)
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CAN YOU DRAW THESE LOGOS?
Though I’m a visual learner, I don’t have a high level of brand engagement, so I failed at this logo recollection test. Maybe you’ll do better. (I got pretty close on Target, Apple, and Starbucks. That probably says a lot about my shopping habits…and the simplicity of Target’s logo.)
What we’ve all known in our hearts is true: clean design increases the chances that someone will stay on your webpage. “A designer’s job is often to defend a minimal design with all these organizational intruders that want to add their stuff to the front page.” Exactly. Keep fighting the good fight, my design friends.
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LOWER THAT BOUNCE RATE
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CHOCOLATE
Apparently, the hottest thing in cookie-baking is the pan bang. Never heard of it? Nor had I, but it’s time to dust off the food scale, heat up your oven, and whack your half-baked cookies repeatedly on the counter. This “pan-bang” gives you a cookie ringed with seismic activity, at once crunchy and gooey. Let me know how yours turn out.
In other chocolate news, did you know ruby chocolate is a thing? If you taste it, report back to me. I’m so curious.