Ideas and Discoveries

In recent days, several mobile design-pattern resources have passed through the series of tubes which criss-cross my desk.

Friends, it's that time of year again. South by Southwest time. Here's where you'll find me at SXSW 2011.

“What designer has the most elaborate, the most complex, the most beautiful job in the world? It’s the user experience designer, a very special species indeed!”

Because mobile apps can be used anywhere and anytime, the potential environments and scenarios seem nearly infinite. When planning your app, rely on actual data and research whenever possible. Here are some stats to get you started.

A look at what’s under the feet of Parisians and New Yorkers.

Keynotopia is a sensational resource for using Keynote to prototype app designs.

The latest marketshare stats tell us how the smartphone market is evolving—and boy howdy, it’s all happening fast. How important are these numbers for designers an developers?

I had to chuckle as I was reviewing the speaker agreement for SXSW.

An overwhelming number of iPad users are wifi-only, and with good reason.

Great design, like any other creative pursuit, requires more than an understanding of the rules.

A touchscreen app can provide useful hints about how it works by using a real-world gizmo as its interface metaphor. But when that gizmo is just eye candy, those hints are just misdirection.

I’m swooning over this fontabulous cover by Frank Viva.

A proof-of-concept Android app shows how easily a hacker could steal your credit card info, underlining an important cultural distinction among platforms: security vs freedom.

Grab the slides and lowdown on my talk “Going Native: the Anthropology of Mobile Apps.”

Slides, notes, and video from my talks at the Design for Mobile (D4M) conference in Chicago.

Watch my recorded webcast about iPhone app design, or download the slides.

My tech headaches are your windfall. Join me for a do-over of last week’s free webcast.