The Netflix app user interface will allow members to organize their materials by personal preferences, genres, new arrivals and individual instant queues.  Members will also be able to access their Netflix content from both 3G and Wi-Fi networks, though Wi-Fi will provide faster and more reliable streaming and downloads. So after you have finished downloading music, checking email, and Facebook stalking, you can always watch a movie on your iPhone—if you even have the time left.

Thinking with wireframes: they are more than just an inert tool

First and foremost Evans claims that wireframes are thinking devices because they are the setting “for the exploration of a given problem space” (UX Magazine). Evans asserts that UX designers often view the development process as purely problem solving rather than an explorative process that both poses and solves problems based on user contexts and needs.  “I use my sketches and wireframes as means to make explorative moves and assess the consequences of those moves” says Evans.  Thus, the wireframe is not just an artifact but really a framework that provides designers the space to think through and iterate their UI designs, simultaneously facilitating their problem solving and creative capacities.   By viewing the wireframe as a partner in a dynamic process instead of a static, inanimate tool, designers “will find they have the opportunity to more successfully create great user experiences.”

This take on wireframes being a kind collaborative partner in the user interface design and development process is compelling and brings a fresh outlook to the wireframing method as a whole.  If designers can learn to see wireframes in this new way then perhaps they will also feel more inspired in their work. After all new perspectives often engender reinvigorated creative flows and ideas and that is what a living thought process is all about.

This new method of searching for information is predictive in nature which is on some level indicative of a loss of user control; results based on prediction put the power of selection into the hands of the user interface provider and not the user. The fact that Google selects search results before you have even finished typing (not to mention eliminates the finality of pushing the search button yourself) blurs the boundaries between user and interface in terms of who is in command. For a search engine this is harmless but as our insatiable need for speed and real-time activity barrels forward into the future, the concept of prediction will play a larger and larger role if interface designs continue to trend towards prophetic real-time features. How will this affect user attitudes and trends?  Will users give up autonomy in favor of speed?  Only time can answer these queries, but a good prediction is that whatever the future holds for real-time web capacities, Google will likely be on the cutting edge.

If the media and advertising industry is digitalizing itself then obviously interface design concepts like usability, user experience design etc. will play a central role in the implementation of new digital business practices.  Companies will need online advertising and commerce to be as efficient as possible while maintaining an element of authenticity and desirability known from the traditional print environment.  Thus, the market for those specializing in UX and usability design will be wide open and full of opportunity.  This will likely lead to innovations in the UX and usability design fields as the cutthroat world of digital business will force designers to gain the competitive edge not just in creativity and productivity as usual, but also in measurable impact, such as online conversion rates.  Hence one may well argue that a growing digital media industry could mean a creative renaissance for the usability and UX industry as well.

After enduring the hardships of the global economic crisis of 2008, media and advertising companies seem once again optimistic about the future of media, communication, and sales. According to a survey from Booz & Company, however, the global financial crisis is not the main contributing factor to the recent shakeup in the media and advertising industry.  The digital revolution and new consumer habits have forced media companies to reevaluate the way they do business (ibusiness.de “Medienbranche: Ein Drittel des Umsatzes 2015 mit Digitalen Medien”).  70 percent of respondents in the media and advertising industry consider the development of new business and distribution models to be paramount to future success and 50 percent claim that investing in new digital business models is of the highest priority (Booz & Company). This means that companies will be looking for ways to transition from print to digital media, as the Booz & Company survey indicated that 40 percent of respondents feel that print media is negatively affecting their company (particularly financially).  In fact, Booz & Company predict that by the year 2015, one third of sales in the media and advertising industry will be generated by the digital revolution.

According to Joseph C Lawrence’s article “Five reasons why user experience thinking is essential” there are five important “UX mantras” that every designer should keep in mind when designing a user interface (as paraphrased below):

1.    UX design is about the users: Keeping the users at the center of your interface design will allow you to create websites and applications that aren’t just characterized by functionality, but also by individuality based on what users want and need beyond the structure of a site—sometimes a basic, functional structure is too boring.
2.    UX design requires testing: UX testing will help you learn not only how users interact with your site, but also how they want to interact with your site.  Thus, you will be able to analyze the feedback and make the changes necessary to infuse your interface design with individuality.
3.    UX design is psychological in nature: Websites are dynamic and intertwined with almost every interaction in our daily lives whether it is socializing, traveling, or shopping etc. Since the web is now such an integral part of the way people live personally and professionally, interface designs must now be more than a collection of pages and data—they must be designed understanding the psychology of what motivates people to perform the interactions facilitated by websites and applications.  UX design allows designers to gather this vital information.
4.    UX design is a harmonizing force: UX design can tie together all of the diverging goals of web users and designers in order to create a unique and usable interface design.  Understanding how users use an application and what users want gives designers and other stakeholders the information required so they can tailor their business goals and methods to the needs of the user without jeopardizing their own enterprise.
5.    UX design is an interdisciplinary method: The dynamic and integrated nature of today’s websites and apps requires web developers to understand not only computer software and programming but also an assortment of other fields: psychology, business, and marketing to name a few.  UX design transcends into all of these fields because users are human and humans are by nature interdisciplinary.

Using Lawrence’s “UX mantras” can help you keep your focus on the users which will ultimately distinguish your site from others that are similar, increasing your interface design’s popularity and success.  The better you understand your users and their needs, the more seamless the process of using your website or application becomes for them. This makes users happy and they will want to use your site above others because it is designed to understand what they want and respond to their needs.