User Interface Designers: Create Crude Prototypes in 15 Minutes
PopApp is a really simple tool, for iPhone and Android, that lets you:
- Draw-out your idea for an app
- Take photos of those drawings, and
- Stitch them together.
The result is a crude prototype and lets you see and feel how your app might look and work.
We use it often (with final screens that our mobile designer has created in Photoshop) in user testing: before we write a single line of code, get a sense of how users might interact with the app, what they might find confusing, etc.
Consider Text Messaging: Sign Up, Notifications, and More
Ding! You've received a text message. I dare you to try to ignore it! It's almost impossible.
For many consumers (including younger ones), text messaging is vastly preferred over other channels (including voice and email). Think about how many text messages the average teenager sends in a day. (Take a look at this - can you guess which phone number belongs to the teenager!?)
On several client projects, we've used Twilio to integrate text messaging into a user experience, such as:
- For instant, on-the-spot sign up: "Text hello to 818-555-1212". User gets a response: "Thanks for signing up! Get started now: http://www.acme.com/abc123"
- For relevant, time-sensitive notifications: "We just sent you a new lead - take a look: http://www.awesomeleadgenerator.com/abc123"
- For customer service: "Your car is ready to be picked up. Thanks!"
- For customer-to-business communications. Consumer texts a restaurant - "running late - will be arriving at 1PM"
Like email, we expect text messaging to be a productive customer communication channel for many years to come. And, like email, its utility will exceed far beyond most expectations.
How can you improve your app or business with text messaging?
User Experience Consultant
Looking for a User Experience Consultant? We'll transform your ideas into concrete product designs. We'll help you develop your product strategy, create detailed prototypes, and more. See iterationgroup.com
Human Faces Can Increase Conversion Rates
- In the Netflix example, above, you can see a happy family staring in the direction of the sign up form. Nextflix has been using this since at least October 2007 (per an old presentation of ours). Folks tend to look where other people are looking.
- This phenomenon was further proven in this study (baby example above). You can see the eye-tracking results when the baby was facing forward and when the baby was facing the text.
- 37 Signals (popular app company) did some pretty extensive testing of human faces. They A/B tested a whole bunch of different faces, and, for their product offering, the guy above was the winning landing page (probably because he's relatable to the target audience).