Design Critique: Products for People

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Episodes

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Our show encourages usable designs for a better customer experience in products and services. Each episode is different, with the only constant being our demand that UX design make our lives better and provide long term value. If you care about design's impact on our modern quality of life, give us a listen. You will hear: * Critiques of products & services we've used thoroughly, * Interviews with people whose work or books we admire, and * Discussions of design methods we use in our own user experience research and design careers.

Episodes

DC85 Critique: Sustainable Shaving Tools

In which Tim Keirnan and Mike Beasley discuss vintage shaving tool designs, featuring the safety razor and straight razor. Shaving with these old methods has many advantages, including: * Closer shaves that last longer before the dreaded 5 o'clock shadow appears * Improved skin condition due to premium creams and soaps used * Lower cost of ownership (unless you start collecting gear as a hobby) * Sustainable technology compared with disposable plastic-dominated, modern, overpriced crap * Better ...

Nov 24, 2011•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast

DC84 Panel: The State of the Internet User Experience, 2011

Recorded live at Internet User Experience 2011 on October 11th, it's the panel session "The State of the Internet User Experience" starring Marti Gukeisen Dave Mitropoulos-Rundus Dante Murphy Susan Weinschenk and Tim Keirnan as the moderator. Learn more about the panelists at http://www.iue2011.com/presentation_stateofux.html Thanks to all four panelists for allowing Design Critique to distribute this recording....

Oct 31, 2011•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast

DC82b Critique: Logitech Customer Service

In this followup to episode DC82a , Tim describes the conclusion of his interaction with Logitech Customer Support. Unlike the MINI/BMW car maker attitude towards service after a sale, Logitech proves itself exceptionally good at listening to a complaint about a defective product and fixing it quickly without hassle. If only more companies took their customer experience after the sale as seriously as Logitech does! Service after the sale is as important as the product design itself. Indeed, it I...

Oct 23, 2011•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast

DC83 Longitudinal Review: 2009 MINI Cooper

The longitudinal review of Tim's 2009 MINI Cooper is here! A car so unreliable that he had to get rid of it after only 2.5 years. Automotive human factors engineer Ken Mayer (cohost from our earlier Saturn SC2 car critique ) returns to help Tim on this very detailed critique of the second generation MINI Cooper, a stunning mix of greatness and disaster (the car, we mean, not this critique). If you love cars, you'll love this episode. We put the long in longitudinal product reviews! Basically, th...

Sep 13, 2011•2 hr 35 min•Transcript available on Metacast

DC82 Longitudinal Review: Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2

Tim critiques the Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 portable speaker system for iPods, iPhones, and other sound-making gadgets. The Pure-Fi Anywhere was Logitech's sequel to the highly successful mm50, which Tim and Alan reviewed way back in episode DC39 . This longitudinal review covers two years of experience using this product, including the new user interface, the industrial design that both delights and disappoints, the improved sound quality of the bass response, and a problem with the battery t...

Aug 31, 2011•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast

DC81: 6th Anniversary Episode with Dr. Susan Weinschenk on 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

Sixth Anniversary Edition! Dr. Susan Weinschenk joins Tim Keirnan for a discussion of her latest book, 100 Things Every Designer Should Know About People . Not just a collection of opinons, 100 Things... presents up-to-date research on the fundamentals that uderpin our work as UX professionals, while exposing several popular myths and misconceptions along the way. Thanks for listening for six years! I'm proud of what Tom Brinck and I started back in the summer of 2005, and appreciate any and all...

Jul 29, 2011•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast

DC80: Calculating ROI for Usability at Ford Motor Company with Chad Esselink

Time for another wordcast episode, this time on ROI. Chad Esselink from the Ford Motor Company joins Tim Keirnan for a discussion on calculating return on investment for UX projects and forming a usability team. While at Ford, Chad used case studies backed with return on investment calculations to get buy-in from his superiors to create the Creative Design & Usability team. We all think we know about usability's ability to cut costs, but Chad tells us that increased throughput is just as importa...

Jul 01, 2011•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast

DC79 Interview: Author Giles Colborne on Simple and Usable: Web, Mobile, and Interaction Design

Author Giles Colborne from CX Partners joins Tim Keirnan for a discussion about his book Simple And Usable: Web, Mobile and Interaction Design . To quote the back cover: "Simplicity is a discipline that can be learned. This book shows you how with humor, powerful examples, quotes, and case studies. You'll learn to strip away complexity by organizing, removing, hiding, and displacing. And you'll discover how to create focused, elegant user experiences that people will love." Here is Giles' websit...

Apr 29, 2011•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast

DC78 Interview: UPA Body of Knowledge Project with Carol Smith

Tim interviews Carol Smith about the Usability Professionals Association's body of knowledge project. Carol led Michigan UPA members in a body of knowledge work day hosted at the offices of Tec-Ed, Inc., in Ann Arbor on Saturday, March 26, 2011. If you would like to assist us in developing the UPA body of knowledge for our profession, contact Carol at project at usabilitybok.org (substitute the @ symbol for " at ", no spaces before or after) See the body of knowledge project at http://www.usabil...

Apr 01, 2011•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast