Shyamala's Blog

From the eyes of a User Experience Evangelist

shyamala — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 07:48:19 +0000

So friends, after a long time, from my hectic and busy work schedule I am back to start my series of blog again. This time focus area would be interaction design, visual design, UX and a lot more.

Life has been pretty hectic with back to back conferences, workshops in addition to my regular work which hardly gave me time write something, though I always wanted to. Many people were disappointed and asked me why did I stopped writing and I told but it wasn’t a full stop, just a break for sometime.

So friends, I am back with a bang!!! Keep watching this space for UX stuffs coming your way.

Mobile Accessibility – Challenges and Best Practices

shyamala — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 07:19:43 +0000

Video recording of one of my talks in Meta Refresh 2013

What do UX designers need to know about Augmented Reality?

shyamala — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 02:28:28 +0000

View Question on Quora

Contact Lenses Could Be The Future Of Augmented Reality – do you really see this as the future?

shyamala — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 02:26:01 +0000

The future of augmented reality isn't on a smartphone screen or on a pair of cumbersome glasses. The future is a contact lens. This is the statement I recently read somewhere. Just wondering, do you really see contact lenses as future of Augmented Reality? Also how would it blend with the most talked about term "accessibility"?

View Question on Quora

Mobile UI and Usability Guide

shyamala — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:38:09 +0000

I gave a webinar on “Mobile UI and Usability Guide” which gave an overview of the Cross Platform Mobile User Interface and describes its essential parts. It covered UI Guidelines, Visual Design Guidelines and Best Practices to design consistent application across different platforms mentioned below.
iPhone
Android
BlackBerry
Symbian

Accessibility and UCD

shyamala — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 10:04:10 +0000

Accessibility and ucd from Shyamala Prayaga

Android Design

shyamala — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 09:56:14 +0000

Android Design from Shyamala Prayaga

Are there any comparisons between the pixel size of mouse arrows and fingers as pointing devices?

shyamala — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 11:21:38 +0000

The difference between a finger on a touch screen and a mouse pointer is quite significant, but is there any research or statistics about the actual scale difference between the two? Obviously on average, because fingers come in all shapes and sizes.

View Question on Quora

In terms of usability, what differences, if any, are there between flat and skeuomorphic buttons?

shyamala — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 11:20:05 +0000

For instance, do users recognize buttons faster if they implement drop shadows and gradients?

View Question on Quora

Why has India failed to produce tech giants like Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter etc.?

shyamala — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:18:59 +0000

Answer by Burhanuddin Pithawala:

Great answers, all of them. But somewhere I feel, we are too busy, too busy finding causes (if I don’t call them excuse). India is full of Great companies – take a look around – the numbers are not many, but they are there. The fact that such companies exist – means that it’s possible to create them, being in India or not, doesn’t matter.

A purposeful life needs an axis or hinge to which it is firmly fixed and yet around which it can freely revolve. As I see it, this axis or hinge is but a certain abstract idealism or belief in the value of the human spirit and the virtue of human endeavor and achievement.

We Indians need to be convinced of our strength. While once addressing young people CV Raman (I hope you know him) once said:

"I can assert without fear of contradiction that the quality of the Indian mind is equal to the quality of any Teutonic, Nordic or Anglo-saxon mind. What we lack is perhaps courage, what we lack is perhaps driving force which takes one anywhere. We have, I think, developed an inferiority complex. I think what is needed in India today is the destruction of that defeatist spirit. We need a spirit of victory, a spirit that would carry us to our rightful place under the sun, a spirit which will recognize that we, as inheritors of a proud civilization, are entitled to a rightful place on this planet. If that indomitable spirit were to arise, nothing can hold us from achieving our rightful destiny."

View Answer on Quora