Orian and I stayed at the Seaport Hotel in Boston a few weekends ago. After getting out of the shower I noticed that a portion of the mirror was somehow not fogged up! At first I thought it was a happy accident, but then I realized that couldn’t be and gasped at the genius of it. Orian had the idea of touching the fog-free area and discovered that, as he suspected, it was heated from behind.

Truly an amazing and unforgettable bathroom feature. I imagine this isn’t entirely inexpensive to maintain, but it completely transforms the experience for the guest. Beyond being extremely useful, it shows that the hotel understands my needs and wants to address a common and widely familiar problem that everyone just accepts. That they don’t says a lot about how seriously they take customer service. They deserve the recognition — and repeat business.

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• Photo of the day: Hand-written menu at Chanterelle
• 10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design — the presentation
• Photo of the day: Accommodating large parties
• I bought a MacBook Air!
• Text message your order to Amazon

I was baking at my parents’ apartment recently and pulled out their wax paper to line a cookie sheet. When I tore some off, I noticed a message pierced into the paper that read “TIME TO BUY CUT-RITE.” They use a different brand than I do so I had never seen this before. The paper was near the end of the roll.

This is a really simple but clever way of prompting the customer to go buy more of their product.

Typically it’s the empty cardboard box that triggers the need to replace it, at least for me. But this message, un-fancy and simply hole-punched, unavoidably right there on the paper itself, felt old-school and I smiled a bit.

But of course I didn’t go out and buy more. I just figured my folks would do it.

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• Photo of the day: Hand-written menu at Chanterelle
• Photo of the day: You Can’t Un-Shit a First Impression
• Photo of the day: Push to take toilet paper
• The User Experience Relationship
• My presentation at IA Summit 2009: “Evangelizing Yourself”

This big guy stands in the lobby of the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle. As I walked around it the other day, I noticed something curious about his ding-a-ling — it’s a different color than the rest of his body. Which means that more than a few people have been rubbing it as they pass by. The oils in people’s hands wear away the bronze.

The 20-foot sculpture was made by the world famous Fernando Botero and is one in a set of two pieces titled Adam and Eve. (Eve is on the other side of the lobby, and curiously none of her parts are worn down.)

When choosing the materials for your design, you need to consider how it will change over time. Perhaps given the high traffic area and general deviance of New Yorkers and New York tourists, Botero should have used a different metal that doesn’t so clearly expose its wear.

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• Photo of the day: Push to take toilet paper
• Photo of the day: Elevator madness
• The user experience of a staircase
• Photo of the day: Elevator button or fire alert?
• Photo of the day: Cigarette vending machine

When I’m in a strange, public place, the last thing I want to do is insert my hands anywhere. I went to the public restroom at the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle and finally got to use the Dyson Airblade hand dryer! Lots of people had mentioned it before, but this was my first time seeing it up close and personal.

Take a look at their website to see a Flash video of how it works.

Their description:

It’s the fastest hand dryer – and it’s hygienic too, cleaning the air before blowing it onto hands. And because it uses up to 80% less energy than warm air hand dryers, it costs less to run and is better for the environment.

The dryer is actually quite powerful and very loud. It really startled me when I tentatively inserted my hands and the air came out in full force. I wasn’t expecting it to be so aggressive.

The thing that really struck me though about the whole experience is that you need instructions to dry your hands. Since it’s a new device that people aren’t yet familiar with, they print the two-step process both on the hand dryer itself and on a sign hung above it.

1. Raise and lower hands slowly through the airflow.
2. Your hands will be dry in 12 seconds or less.

Firstly, “airflow” isn’t exactly a commonly used word. For the people who can’t figure out how to use this thing without instructions, will they even know what the airflow is?

And secondly, how can Dyson promise that your hands will be dry in 12 seconds or less? What if someone decides to count and prove them wrong? Furthermore, isn’t 12 seconds quite a long time to take drying your hands? I know paper isn’t environmentally friendly and it’s also costly, but dang it takes about four seconds tops to dry your hands with it. This is a 300% reduction in efficiency.

I think Dyson needs to keep working on those prototypes.

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That’s her response to the question, “Can I take you home?”

Found in the ladies’ room at Clery’s Bar in Boston, where the An Event Apart after party was held.

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• Photo of the day: Calorie Counts at Dunkin Donuts
• Photo of the day: Elevator button or fire alert?
• Photo of the day: The unfoggable mirror
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• Photo of the day: But if you teach me to organize…

When Orian was apartment hunting last month, he saw this sign in a vestibule and snapped a pic. A couple things amused him: 1) the three exclamation points, and 2) that the person wrote “be aware” instead of “beware” (something I might not have picked up on).

I have a hard time believing the sign is really needed given how big and chunky the door handle is — but something tells me it wouldn’t be posted there if several people hadn’t smacked their faces walking right into it.

I guess they keep that glass sparkling clean!

What are some amusing glass warnings you’ve seen lately?

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• Photo of the day: Please don’t touch, lick, stroke or mount the exhibits
• Photo of the day: 12 Gay Street
• Photo of the day: Keep dog’s away
• Photo of the day: No breastfeeding
• Photo of the day: Hand-written menu at Chanterelle

Meg Fowler is a freelance writer and editor for print and the web, for corporate and independent clients. She is also the co-organizer, fundraiser, copywriter for Social Media for Social Change (SM4SC), an organization that leverages the power of social media to raise awareness for worthy causes. Follow her on Twitter @megfowler.

Meg Fowler’s heroes are…

Matthew Knell, social media manager, teacher

and

Gradon Tripp, fundraiser, social media consultant

How long have you known of your heroes and have you ever met?
I “met” both Matthew and Gradon on Twitter in earlyish ‘08. I met them both properly in October ‘08, though I met Gradon first when he came to get me at Logan. I was in Boston for the very first SM4SC event, as far as anyone else really knew at that point. Of course, I was also completely gonzo for Gradon. That was a nice side benefit to the trip.

How have your heroes had such a profound impact on your life?
Well, before SM4SC was ever even a thing, Matt and Gradon were both fabulous friends to me over email/chat, all the way from NYC and Boston, respectively. After Gradon came up with the idea for Social Media for Social Change in Summer ‘08, we joined forces to make it a reality (along with PR dynamo Rebecca Corliss and the amazing community that developed around the vision.) At that point, I think our relationships became cast in stone. I have been continually impressed, amazed and moved by the effort and passion these two have put into this cause ever since. Both Matt and Gradon have a desire to see social media tools used for something more than just sharing links and celebrating Apple product launches. They believe that nonprofits of all stripes can use these platforms to facilitate greater awareness of issues, grow their communities, and raise funds more effectively — and change the world in the process. At this point, SM4SC has held two major events in Boston and NYC, along with several smaller events in NYC, and a couple online giving initiatives. We’ve got SocialChangeCamp coming up this fall, too, and a zillion other plans. I can’t believe how wonderfully all of it has turned out.

And beyond all that good stuff, Gradon and I had a connection that turned into love in the months before we met. I was so nervous to meet him for the first time that day at Logan, even though we’d spent enough money on phone calls to keep Canadian telecom executives in yachts for years. But within five minutes, we knew we’d made the right choice. Now — with several more visits back and forth, of course — we’re making plans for me to move in January to Boston to be with him permanently. I’d say all of that is pretty profound.

How do you gain knowledge and inspiration from your heroes?
Matt comes to the table with an incredible knowledge of technology/social media tools/marketing/branding, as well as a tremendous ability to foster community. He’s the guy everyone knows and loves, but he backs up that ability to connect with a crazy brain that never stops working. I am continually inspired by his passion for SM4SC, for people, and for doing good things in his community — and any other community, really. He’s also my go-to problem solver. Matt knows more stuff about stuff on his worst day than I’ve managed to pick up in years.

Gradon is also a connector — he gets people excited to be a part of things, and can relate to pretty much anyone. He’s fantastic with social media tools, but I think his most important skill is his ability to make people feel heard and understood — something that comes in remarkably handy when you’re dealing in the non-profit sphere. Beyond that, he is in love with design and music like few other people I have ever met. You can’t help but get excited about the sights and sounds of the world around you when you’re experiencing them along with him.

What is one piece of wisdom your heroes have been quoted as saying that has stuck with you the most?
Gotta quote Matt here: “People first, everything else second.” Could there be a better way to live?

Thank you Meg for sharing your heroes with us!

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Lately I’ve been noticing a problem with my dishwasher, so I thought I’d ask Twitter:

Not surprisingly, I got a lot of great advice. Here’s what the oracle had to say:

I think I may have fixed the problem, but I’ll have to wait until I have another full load to run to test it out.

Thanks to everyone who weighed in!

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• Photo of the day: Whirlpool dishwasher utensil tray
• TwitterBerry was mean to me
• Photo of the day: Cigarette vending machine
• Redesigning the boxee experience
• I bought a MacBook Air!

Today Twitter launched a redesign of the Following and Followers pages.

By default the Expanded view is displayed, but you can switch to the List view in the top left:

It’ll still show you 20 people per page, but without the location and last tweet sent.

On the right side of each username are two buttons: a Follow button and an Actions dropdown, which contains options to @ Mention, Direct Message, Follow/Unfollow, and Block/Unblock.

The Following page is very similar to the Followers page, but instead the Follow button is replaced by a Settings button to turn on/off notifications sent to your phone.

That’s pretty much the extent of it.

Improvements I would make:

• Previous/Next buttons at the top of the page
• Display of what page # you’re on (e.g., page 2 of 25)
• Display of the # range you’re looking at (e.g., Followers 30-49)
• On both the Followers and Following pages (but particularly for the Following page), display the Unfollow button in the same spot as the Follow button instead of hiding it in the Actions dropdown
• On the Following page, change the Settings label to Notifications, and put it in the Actions dropdown
• Mention and Direct Message buttons should open up a textbox at the top of the page instead of redirecting you to the homepage

That’s all I got for now. What other design and experience improvements would you like to see made to these pages?

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• Twitter changes its email notifications
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The best way to learn a new language is to go to a country where it’s spoken and immerse yourself in the confusion. Soon the unfamiliar will become familiar, and before you know it you’ll be fluent.

If you’re interested in getting to know more about user experience, I recommend doing the same. You may choose to simply understand the terminology, or become conversant. You might later decide to tackle some of the more complex concepts.

There are many steps to the process, but I am starting with Resources because I believe you need a great arsenal before kicking off any journey. In future posts I’ll discuss:

• Guiding Principles
• Process
• Tools
• Transitioning from other careers
• Practice Landscape

…as well as any other topics that come up along the way.

I have organized the resources below in what I perceive to be lightest to deepest engagement — publications and blogs, books, local events, organizations, mailing lists, webinars, workshops, conferences, and schooling.

DISCLAIMER: These are my personal recommendations, and plenty of people will disagree with me on many points, I’m sure. But this is what has worked for me — the people/places/events/organizations that have kept my interest throughout my schooling and career — and where I believe anyone who wants to immerse themselves in user experience should start their journey. Please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments.

UX Books

UX Primer

• The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
• Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug

Design Thinking

• Sketching User Experiences by Bill Buxton
• Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things by Don Norman
• The Inmates Are Running the Asylum by Alan Cooper

Strategy

• Subject To Change by Peter Merholz, Todd Wilkens, Brandon Schauer, and David Verba

Process

• The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett
• About Face 3 by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, and David Cronin
• A Project Guide to UX Design by Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler

Principles

• Designing for the Social Web by Joshua Porter
• Designing Interfaces by Jenifer Tidwell
• Designing Visual Interfaces by Kevin Mullet
• Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (the Polar Bear book) by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville
• Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web by Christina Wodtke and Austin Govella
• Designing Web Navigation by James Kalbach
• Web Form Design by Luke Wroblewski

Activities

• Usability Engineering by Jakob Nielsen
• Handbook of Usability Testing by Jeffrey Rubin and Dana Chisnell
• Observing the User Experience by Mike Kuniavsky

Documentation

• Communicating Design by Dan Brown

Extra Credit

• Set Phasers on Stun: And Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error by S. M. Casey

UX Blogs

• Konigi by Michael Angeles

  Tips, tools and techniques for being a better user experience designer

• Disambiguity by Leisa Reichelt

  The ins and outs of designing a product with an existing, and passionate, community

• EverydayUX by Alex Rainert

  A fresh look at the world around us through UX-tinted glasses

• Graphpaper by Christopher Fahey

  Critical analysis of some of the toughest issues facing UX designers today

• inspireUX by Catriona Cornett

  Cubical-wall worthy quotations from a variety of practitioners on how and why to create positive user experiences

• Bokardo – Social Design by Joshua Porter

  For everything you need to consider when designing socially-focused stuff

• Logic + Emotion by David Armano

  Reusable visualizations and valuable synthesis at the intersection of user experience design, marketing and business

• Putting People First by Experientia

  A great resource for all things UX from around the globe

• Brain Sparks by User Interface Engineering (UIE)

  Inside the brilliant minds of user research pioneer Jared Spool and his team

• Design for Service by Jeff Howard

  Insights into all the ways companies need to be communicating with their customers, outside of their websites

• UX Booth by Redd Horrocks, Matthew Kammerer, David Leggett, and Andrew Maier

  A group blog written by up-and-coming designers and developers with fresh perspectives on user experience design. They represent the next generation of our community

UX Publications

• Boxes and Arrows

  Journal dedicated to discussing, improving and promoting the work of the information architecture community

• interactions

  Magazine including timely articles, stories, and content related to the interactions between experiences, people, and technology, published by the Association for Computing Machinery

• UXmatters

  Insights and inspiration for the user experience community written by many distinguished practitioners

• Core77

  Industrial Design content and community site – articles, discussions, interviews and resources

Local Events

• UX Book Club
• IxDA chapters
• UPA chapters
• IAI Local Groups
• SIGCHI chapters
• User Experience Meetups
• Information Architecture Meetups
• Lots more events listed at UXnet.org

Organizations

• Information Architecture Institute (IAI)
• Interaction Design Association (IxDA)
• Usability Professionals Association (UPA)
• User Experience Network (UXnet)
• Special Interest Group – Computer Human Interaction (ACM/SIGCHI)

Mailing lists

• IxDA mailing list
• IAI mailing list
• NYCCHI mailing list
• SIGCHI in other cities

Webinars

• UIE’s Virtual Seminars

  A monthly series of online seminars giving you the chance to hear the latest perspectives in the world of design from the field’s premier experts.
  $129 each. 90 minutes.

• Rosenfeld Media’s Future Practice Webinars

  The cutting edge of contemporary user experience research and design methods and practices.
  $99 each. 60 minutes.

• Adaptive Path’s Virtual Seminars

  $129 each. 75 minutes.

• Smart Experience online material

Workshops

• UIE Roadshow

  In this full-day, in-depth seminar you’ll discover the key experience-design factors, analyze your team’s strengths and weaknesses, create an experience vision, and learn the role of delight.

• AdaptivePath’s UX Intensive

  This four-day workshop series is for experienced professionals wanting to take their practice to the next level.

• Cooper U

  A practical collection of courses that help product team members improve their effectiveness from early planning all the way through implementation.

Conferences

Inspirational

• Good Experience Live (GEL)

  A conference and community exploring good experience in all its forms — in business, art, society, technology, and life.

• IDEA Conference

  The world’s foremost thinkers and practitioners sharing the big ideas that inspire, along with practical solutions for the ways people’s lives and systems are converging to affect society.

• Adaptive Path’s Managing Experience (Mx)

  Thought leaders from major corporations show you how smart and visionary management will help you successfully compete in a difficult economy.

Practical

• UIE’s User Interface Conference

  Examining the biggest issues in the world of web design, information architecture, and usability.

• NN/g’s Usability Week

  A three-day usability camp, a three-day intensive session on interaction design, and several specialized, day-long tutorials on core usability topics. Come for as few or as many days as you want.

• UPA

  Tutorials, workshops, Experienced Practitioners program, then two and a half days packed with presentations, Idea Markets, and opportunities to network with other user experience professionals.

Mixed

• IxDA Interaction Conference

  Three days of inspirational and tactical sessions geared at anyone who practices Interaction Design, as well as a day of pre-conference workshops.

• IA Summit

  The premier gathering place for information architects and other user experience professionals. Two days of pre-conference sessions, two keynotes and over 50 presentations.

• Adaptive Path’s UX Week

  A mix of inspiring talks from recognized thought leaders and hands-on workshops delivering takeaway skills, this event delivers for user experience professionals at all levels — directors, managers, and practitioners.

• UIE’s Web App Summit

  The four-day Summit includes two days of intensive full-day workshops and two more days of featured presentations from world-renown experts, to give you fresh perspectives and new insights on today’s web app design challenges.

• UX Australia

  3-day user experience design conference, with inspiring and practical presentations, covering a range of topics about how to design great experiences for people.

• UX London

  A unique three-day event combining inspirational talks with in-depth workshops presented by some of the industry’s biggest names.

Academic

• ACM’s CHI

  The premier international conference for the field of human-computer interaction.

Schooling

Human Computer Interaction

• Human Computer Interaction Institute

  at Carnegie Mellon University
  (where I received a bachelor’s and master’s degree)

• Master of Science in Information – HCI Specialization

  at University of Michigan

• Full list of HCI degree programs

Interaction Design

• Master of Design in Interaction Design

  at Carnegie Mellon University

• Master of Fine Arts in Interaction Design

  at School of Visual Arts
  (starting fall 2009)

• Undergraduate minor in Interaction Design

  at Savannah College of Art and Design

Misc

• Interactive Telecommunications Program

  at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts

• Institute of Design

  at Illinois Institute of Technology

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