Six ‘COVID-19’ Related E-Commerce UX Improvements to Make
Source: Baymard Institute | Edward Scott
The current COVID-19 crisis is affecting all of us, both in private and professionally. Our sympathy goes to everyone affected by this crisis.
A consequence of countries, cities, and physical retail stores temporarily closing down is that a lot of that physical retail spending has now moved online instead. We get reports that several e-commerce industries currently are up 10–40% over normal sales levels, while online groceries and household essentials have unsurprisingly exploded.
Yes, websites really are starting to look more similar
Source: The Conversation | Sam Gore
Over the past few years, articles and blog posts have started to ask some version of the same question: “Why are all websites starting to look the same?”
These posts usually point out some common design elements, from large images with superimposed text, to hamburger menus, which are those three horizontal lines that, when clicked, reveal a list of page options to choose from.
My colleagues Bardia Doosti, David Crandall, Norman Su and I were studying the history of the web when we started to notice these posts cropping up. None of the authors had done any sort of empirical study, though. It was more of a hunch they had.
Gen Z is reinventing social media marketing
Source: Vogue Business | Lucy Maguire
As Gen Z consumers show unique online behaviour, brands should evolve their marketing strategies and reconsider platforms to reach younger audiences.
Gen Z is online, and what worked for brands reaching customers on digital platforms in the past doesn’t reflect what they need for the future.
Young people aged 16 to 24 spent an average of seven hours per day online in 2019, three of which were spent exclusively on social media, according to GlobalWebIndex. But in markets like the US, growth on platforms like Twitter, Snapchat and Facebook is slowing, while newcomer TikTok grew rapidly in 2019. And it’s not just a case of shifting marketing spend to new sites: brands now rely on influencer partnerships, paid posts and adverts between videos on YouTube. But to reach Gen Z in the online communities they engage with, unidirectional paid posts from an influencer might not work.
High-design Healthcare Is Getting the Millennial Branding Treatment
Source: AIGA Eye on Design | Liz Stinson
As healthcare becomes more customer-centric, so does its branding.
Going to the doctor has always required a level of visual patience. Forms need second reads; digital interfaces require rebooting; clip art logos must be tolerated. We’ve been trained to expect it—the healthcare industry has never been particularly design-minded, almost, it seems, as a point of pride.
But lately, things have started to change. Trendy wordmarks are replacing staid logos. Drab waiting rooms have given way to spaces filled with mid-century furniture and Memphis-inspired decor meant to put patients at ease, as if they’re in a friend’s living room, or better yet, a cool coffee shop.
Activate This ‘Bracelet of Silence,’ and Alexa Can’t Eavesdrop
Source: New York Times | Kashmir Hill
Microphones and cameras lurk everywhere. You may want to slip on some privacy armor.
Last year, Ben Zhao decided to buy an Alexa-enabled Echo speaker for his Chicago home. Mr. Zhao just wanted a digital assistant to play music, but his wife, Heather Zheng, was not enthused. “She freaked out,” he said.
Ms. Zheng characterized her reaction differently. First she objected to having the device in their house, she said. Then, when Mr. Zhao put the Echo in a work space they shared, she made her position perfectly clear:“I said, ‘I don’t want that in the office. Please unplug it. I know the microphone is constantly on.’”
Mr. Zhao and Ms. Zheng are computer science professors at the University of Chicago, and they decided to channel their disagreement into something productive. With the help of an assistant professor, Pedro Lopes, they designed a piece of digital armor: a “bracelet of silence” that will jam the Echo or any other microphones in the vicinity from listening in on the wearer’s conversations.
Teens are hacking Instagram into a modern-day eBay
Source: Input Mag | Mia Sato
Entrepreneurial kids have figured out the future of the thrift shop: Instagram comments.
Carly Shipman, who hails from the suburbs of Chicago, lives the typical life of a high schooler. She goes to class every day, then to track practice in the afternoon. In between, there’s homework, watching movies, and browsing TikTok. And like millions of Gen Z kids, she spends a lot of time on Instagram.
But unlike other teenagers, opening the Instagram app is like clocking into work for Shipman. Before she goes to school, she takes outfit pictures when there’s good natural light in her room. During her free period, she replies to customers and updates them on orders. After school, she packages products and prints shipping labels, or goes to Goodwill to buy merchandise she thinks her customers will like.
The Influencer Election Is Here
Source: Wired | Kate Knibbs
Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign #spon may be cringeworthy but it’s also only the beginning.
“Hello Mr. Salad,” the Instagram message from presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg begins. “Can you post this meme to make me seem cool for the upcoming Democratic primary?” A screenshot of this message was posted on Instagram this week by KaleSalad, a meme account with 3.5 million followers—and, as of now, an official allegiance with the wealthiest Democratic contender for commander in chief. (“Yes, this is really #sponsored by @mikebloomberg,” its caption reads.) It wasn’t the only message of its kind; dozens of other high-profile meme accounts posted similar images.
Shifting Our Team Goals to be UX Outcomes
Source: uie | Jared M Spool
It’s common, when the new year rolls around, for teams to think about their goals. What can we hope to accomplish over the next year that will show growth and improvement over the previous year’s efforts?
There are several ways to come up with goals. For example, the leadership of a UX team might pick goals for increasing what their team accomplished during the previous year. They could count their team’s activities, such as the usability tests they conducted or wireframes they delivered. Their new 12-month goal would be to accomplish more of those activities.
Glow-in-the-dark skatepark created inside Triennale Milano by Koo Jeong A
Source: Dezeen | Amy Frearson
A gallery inside the Triennale Milano museum is transformed into a fluorescent skateboarding venue in this installation by South Korean artist Koo Jeong A.
Koo Jeong A has installed a full-size skatepark inside the Triennale Milano's ground-floor galleria and it is free for the public to use.
Kobe Bryant Will Always Be Remembered in the Halls of Staples Center
Source: The Ringer | Paolo Uggetti
WWearing a black-and-gold “KB” pin over his heart and Kobe sneakers on his feet, Frank Vogel stepped into the Staples Center auxiliary press room on Friday night ahead of the Lakers’ game against the Trail Blazers. Since Sunday, when a helicopter crash took the lives of nine people including Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, Vogel had become the front-facing member of the franchise, speaking for everyone who mourned in the shadows. Friday’s game, the Lakers’ first since the tragedy, meant yet another time he had to try to bring perspective to an emotional week.