ELCA Web and Multimedia Development Blog

Tips and other useful ideas

The Death of the QR Code [VIDEO]

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Len Mason

While I was in Austin attending SXSWi, I couldn’t help but notice the ubiquitous use of QR Codes. I mean, they were EVERYWHERE. On flyers, on posters, on stickers, on T-Shirts, on wall paintings, on EVERYTHING. It was, without a doubt, the most popular technology.

Credit: WIRED

But it didn’t work.

Sure, if you stood long enough, and held your phone still enough, you might get a good photo and be rewarded with the link. But most times, you just don’t have the time to spend. And QR Codes on T-shirts? Forget it. Unless you want to ask the person to hold their shirt to get rid of the wrinkles and folds, it’s not gonna happen.

And for a guy to ask a girl to make her shirt taut so he can hold a camera at her shirt for a long period of time, is just a bad idea. Free meal coupon, or not.

But now there is a new player on the horizon of image links…. that actually uses images. Enter Aurasma. Billed as Augmented Reality (AR) technology, Aurasma, created by enterprise software company Autonomy, can change a photo into video or presumably anything else you’d like that image to link to. And it does it right in the camera view. This obviously is steps ahead of the QR Code, and some might argue a completely different technology. But for what we want QR Codes to do, Aurasma just might be a better tool.

What are your thoughts? Is the QR Code dead? Have you had a poor experience with a QR Code? Tell us in the comments.

 

Designing for Baby Boomers – Is There a Difference? – 2011 SXSW Notes

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Len Mason

In a session titled, “Your Mom Has an iPad – How to Design for Baby Boomers,” Lead User Experience Architect at Effective UI, John McRee presented his take on some research results from AARP and Microsoft showing patterns of likes and dislikes. Here are the highlights:

  1. Boomers like to learn new technologies and share their knowledge. If you create a Website or app that can be mastered quickly, there is a great chance that Boomers will share your creation with others.
  2. Boomers want technology to be safer. We are all familiar with the need for security. But with this means is designing in a way that encourages people to explore deeper into the site. Using breadcrumbs is an example of “safe” design.
  3. Boomers want technology to be easier to use. Boomers like consistency in their navigation and app behavior and in site/app nomenclature.
  4. Boomers see technology as a tool. Tools usually have one use. You cannot just keep adding features to the same app. Maybe you are better off creating a new app for that feature.
  5. Boomers expect technology to adapt to them. Augmented Reality (AR) and Voice Commands are examples of technologies that make Technology more accessible.

As you look at this list, you may see many that you agree with, regardless of your age. You may see some with which you may only slightly agree. My preferences differ slightly with numbers Two and Four. But what is important to remember, and why this list is helpful, is that we are not designing for ourselves.

What do you think of this list? Is it accurate? What would you add?

Slides to this presentation can be seen here.

 

Check Your Pageload Times

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Len Mason

Today I found a great tool for checking your website load time. Googlelabs has created “Page Speed,” and I have found it to be very handy. Not only does it give you a page speed rating from 1 to 100, but it tells you what you can do to speed up your load time. It breaks these suggestions up in to high, medium and low priority.

Why should you care about load times? Besides the obvious inconvenience to your readers, your load time affects your SEO (Search Engine Optimization). In other words, sites like Yahoo! and Google use load times to determine ranking.

Have you found any other cool tools to help optimize your site?

Common Pitfalls for iPad developers – 2011 SXSWi Notes

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Len Mason

Continuing my recap of sessions I attended while at SXSWi, I wanted to address the iPad, the new tool from Apple. I say new, because as ubiquitous as it seems to be, it has only been around for a year. As with any new device, it takes a while for developers to get used to their new “canvas.” They have a set idea based on past experiences with other smaller devices, as to how design should take place on the iPad. Also, they look to the new device as the answer to problems they had been having with past devices.

But the canvas the iPad offers developers is much more than just more space. It is a new experience.

Speaker Josh Clark gave a great presentation and pointed out common mistakes or pitfalls that iPad developers can make when designing for the iPad.

I think this will benefit not just designers and developers but those of you looking to hire a developer. Read these pitfalls and know what to expect from your developer.

  1. Greedy Pixel Syndrome. This is the irresistible urge to  use every pixel on the screen. It’s tempting for developers coming from an iPhone design background to want to go hog-wild! We need to strive for thoughtfulness and art. Don’t feel you have to present all the content at the same time. Let it unfold. Complexity is okay. Just make it uncomplicated. There is a question/answer relationship we need to build with the app user. This means they click, you reveal. Then they click, and you reveal more. This works much better than displaying all the info at once on the screen. While this may be poor design for websites, it is an excellent strategy for tablet design.
  2. Frankeninterface.  This was Josh’s way of addressing metaphor clutter. Metaphor, as you may know, as it applies to design, is the bridge we use between analog (what is familiar) and digital (what is new). So, a drawing app may have pictures of different colored crayons that you instinctively “pick up” to begin drawing with. This metaphor is not just eye candy… it must work the way people expect it to. Clutter occurs when you have too many metaphors at once. If you are going with the drawing tablet metaphor, don’t introduce another metaphor on top of that. Some of you will understand this problem from your experience with website design. But don’t get so literal that you are trapped by analog limitations. Don’t abandon the digital advantages. The eReaders that use a page-turn animation when you want to go to the next page, are a perfect example. There is no need to see the page actually turn. It is a waste. As Jer Thorp, contributing writer for Wired UK, tweeted: “Why does an e-book reader need a page flip animation? It’s like having a fake needle on a CD or like horse s#!t coming out of the back of a car.”

These are just two of his points. The rest were more detailed and geared for the developer, but I think you can see that we need to expand our ideas of what a tablet is and what it can be used for. And what it should not be used for.

Do you have an iPad or other tablet project coming up? What do you think of these pitfalls? Please comment below.