Published in Hello Team·Feb 25, 2020When will you DECIDE?Hey team, When pilots approach a runway to land, there’s a clear decision point. At around 200ft altitude, you need to be able to see the runway to continue the approach. If not, then you must immediately ascend and try the landing again. This decision point is so important that…Aviation2 min read
Published in Hello Team·Aug 20, 2019The $20 kitchen timer that made it to spaceThis is a first of a series of regular emails I started sending out to my design team at Inviqa to help spark curiosity. I’ll keep posting them as they go out in my Medium publication Hello Team. Hello team, A few weeks ago I was watching a video from…Space2 min read
Published in Webcredible, part of Inviqa·Jan 4, 2019Why Smart Meters won’t help you save money (and what might help instead)A few weeks ago on the train, an advert caught my eye: Sounds impressive, right? In fact the website of Smart Energy GB, the industry body tasked with coordinating the roll out of smart electricity & gas meters in the UK, has in the past made exciting claims like: On…Smart Home6 min read
May 9, 2018Doormats: a comparative studyBased on a talk I gave at the Boring Conference VIII, 5 May 2018 at Conway Hall, London. — It all started with an accident. One day, coming back from work, I got into the lift in my block of flats, and got off at the wrong floor. How did this happen? Our building has two identical lifts. …Housing8 min read
Published in Webcredible, part of Inviqa·May 3, 2018How are people actually using voice interfaces?What do people do with Alexa in their living room? How do they speak to Siri in their car? Voice interactions are harder for researchers to observe than many other interfaces. They often happen in private spaces, at unpredictable times and might only last a few seconds. At a recent…Amazon Echo4 min read
Published in Webcredible, part of Inviqa·Apr 13, 2018Is there a bright side to dark patterns?I want to take you for a trip to the dark side. More specifically, the evil world of “dark patterns” — things you can put in your design to trick and manipulate users. For example, trying to instil a fake sense of urgency — like this offer that seems to…UX4 min read
Jan 3, 2016What I learnt from building my own low-cost smart home systemOver the last year, we’ve been living the future of home automation in our household. It all started last Christmas, when I bought one of these remote-controlled sockets so I can easily switch on and off the christmas tree lights. I quickly found out that a few people had already…Smart Home4 min read
May 13, 2015Review of the new Santander Cycles official appOne good headline feature, lots of missed opportunities & basic design mistakes … Before we start, a full disclosure When the London Cycle Hire scheme launched in 2010, I launched one of the first 3rd party iPhone apps around cycle hire, which I’ve been developing and maintaining ever since. …Cycling8 min read
Mar 18, 2015Why cyclists will love the Apple WatchHint: it’s not just about fitness tracking — Photo: Ed Yourdon via Flickr/Creative Commons Apple have spoken a lot about the Apple Watch fitness tracking capabilities. However, most of us who ride a bike every day aren’t fitness fanatics and couldn’t give a toss about our average cycling pace and calories burnt. Fortunately, there are a few other…Cycling3 min read
Published in Webcredible, part of Inviqa·Oct 3, 2014How to write survey questions that don’t suckHave you ever given up answering an online survey because it frustrated you with irrelevant questions. — Here’s how to make sure your survey respondents don’t give up too. While leading UX projects, I sometimes have to plan online surveys (or persuade people not to run an online survey when I think that it won’t produce any helpful results). So when I come across a website or email that prompts me to take a survey, I’ll often click on…5 min read