October 2011
3 posts
Great Forrester Article on Customer Experience... →
A really nice summary of what constitutes a good customer experience strategy (or user experience strategy, if you will). Timely. I will be using this at work asap.
What the heck is orthographic sketching? →
Really great post on sketching the design process over on Core 77. Kind of makes me want to go back to school and become and industrial designer. The author (Paul Backett at Ziba design) suggests some interesting techniques, including design themes (think, Mood Boards Lite) and orthographic sketching, which I’ve never heard of before, but seems to produce some pretty lovely renderings.
March 2011
2 posts
User Exposure Hours
Interesting article from Jared Spool this week. He’s claiming that quality designs directly correlate to the number of hours the team spends watching users: “Over the years, there has been plenty of debate over how many participants are enough for a study. It turns out we were looking in the wrong direction. When you focus on the hours of exposure, the number of participants disappears...
I dare you all, test your strength: Open a book. →
December 2010
5 posts
“None of the answers I gave were precise. Quite a few of them were guesses or...”
– Really great writeup from Indi Young on her own experience as a survey respondent for the Census Bureau. Entertaining, insightful, and thought-provoking.
Read the whole thing here: Who Can Believe the U.S. Unemployment Figures?
My virtual seminar is tomorrow. →
Hi everyone,
It’s a bit last minute, but I wanted to let you all know that I’m resting my vocal chords cords and drinking lots of tea with honey in preparation for my UIE virtual seminar tomorrow, Lean Methods for the UX Team of One. It’s tomorrow at 1:30pm ET.
If you’re interested in getting in on the action, here’s a promo code that you can use when you register....
November 2010
1 post
June 2010
2 posts
“[A proposal from Scott Brown over at Wired:] A Facebook app we’ll call the...”
– Scott Brown on Facebook Friendonomics
(Thanks to Jen for the link, which — yes, I admit it! — sums up my feelings about Facebook perfectly.)
living in: the breakfast club →
Oh man. Somebody figured out my secret fashion agenda.
May 2010
1 post
Want: HYPERACTIVITYPOGRAPHY FROM A TO Z →
Via How About Orange
April 2010
3 posts
Booze Barchart
I just added some thoughts for things to do at the beginning of each project over on the AP site, and immediately heard this great idea from David Gartner: celebrate project milestones with a bottle of Scotch. I’d occured to me that you could flip this on its head and celebrate the failures instead. A cool byproduct: the bottles turn into life-sized bar charts of project successess and...
ideal bookshelves →
I love this. Illustrator Jane Mount does these illustrations of her friend’s bookshelves. This friend reads the kind of stuff I like to read. Good taste, friend.
I discovered this a few days ago and keep coming back to it. Basically, they’re just little sketches of books on a bookshelf, but which books are put together forms a neat little picture of the person who reads them.
I...
March 2010
1 post
Instructions for Becoming a Sketcher
I just posted some probably-too-personal reflections on learning to sketch over on the AP newsletter. If you’re the type of person who’s likes the gooey insides, check em out.
February 2010
5 posts
The Camera LOVES Ya Baby! →
Great primer on how to use your camera, for photography rubes like me. via How About Orange.
WatchMy new puppy. I’m hardcore in love.
Am I the only one who thinks this emoticon looks like a gnome squatting to poo in the forest? Or maybe a waffle cone? Anything but a heart.
January 2010
1 post
69 Love Songs, Illustrated. →
I feel like this blog is the playground where my old self gets together for a playdate with my new self. 69 Love Songs makes me feel like I’m 22 in Brooklyn all over again. And vizporn makes me feel like I’m 32 in SF.
How sweet, and yet bittersweet.
December 2009
4 posts
Tipsy notes to myself...
… jotted down at the book talk last night. I should combine beer and social/professional outings more often. It’s good for the creative juices!
#1 Attention directly correlates to how it will (or won’t) impact the person listening. #2 5-10 minutes is a safe demarcation point. Make sure you have an interesing point every 5-10 mins. #3 The mark of a professional: His mic goes out....
Workplace Poetry
Very rarely in life is being Comprehensive an asset.
(From Scott Berkun’s book talk at Adaptive Path last night)
Persimmon!
I just ate my first one. I’m ashamed to say that I had to look up how to do it. I felt confident that this was something I might be able to tackle once I read the following:
“Cut into any shape you desire and eat by inserting a bite sized piece into mouth, chewing and then swallowing when safe to do so.”
- From wikihow’s “How to Eat a Persimmon”
Behold!
...
1 tag
Is there nothing kraft paper can't do? →
I’ve been working a lot with kraft paper at work in the last year. Now here are some ideas for holiday uses at home. Courtesy of Apartment Therapy San Francisco.
November 2009
3 posts
1 tag
Minihan's Mantras
Just came across Bryan Minihan’s thoughtful list of “mantras” for life in the UX trenches. This came from a discussion over on the IXDA discussion list about the firing of a disgruntled and vocal designer at American Airlines. I love these insights because they so clearly come from hard-won experience. You are wise, Mr. Minihan.
Always assume, despite all evidence to the...
1 tag
Big Art →
Interesting compendium of massive, hyperrealistic sculptures of people. Why do I find this so mesmerizing? It’s like a feather tickling me in one of my tickliest spots: the fascination of the human experience. Via Webdesigner Depot
1 tag
Lessons From Failure
I wrote a cathartic article for the Adaptive Path newsletter a few weeks ago wherein I gazed deep into my own navel and tried to make sense of some recent challenging project experiences. I’m reproducing the article here because this blog is the Official Record of Humiliation and Growth, Leah Buley style. (Also, because Chris is sick of looking at pictures of my coworkers making dumb...
October 2009
3 posts
Thank you, Apple
Almost CCed the wrong person today on a totally stupid and embarrassing email. I had a half second of panic as I watched mail sending… sending… sending, and then, salvation! I clicked on the Airport icon and turned off the Internets. How I love macs.
Still married
More wedding photos added. The love never ends!
September 2009
1 post
August 2009
5 posts
Sigh. →
Super 8 - 1974 from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.
I know it’s 1974 and full of oil embargos and watergate and disco, but I wish I lived in this world.
One Hour Design Competition at Core77
This is awesome:
We’re inviting designers to create the most number of ideation sketches, on any subject, in 60 minutes.
My only gripe is that they’re not really giving you a specific problem to solve: “If you love shoes, sketch ‘em. If you’re feelin’ it for cars, we want to see those. If you’re into cellphones, gadgets, gizmos, fashion, or...
July 2009
1 post
UX Week Discount
Hi folks,
Just wanted to pass along news about a deal on UX Week, now through July 5th. I thought some of you might be interested.
xo Leah
UX Week Special Extended Through Sunday, July 12th
In honor of Independence Day we’re offering UX Week registration for $1,776 through July 12th (regular price $2,495) Use the code FOLB and get an additional 15% off that. Go! Register! UX Week is...
June 2009
1 post
March 2009
3 posts
3 tags
What tools do you use to sketch?
I wrote an article a few weeks ago for the Adaptive Path newsletter about the tools I use for design-related sketching.
Imagine my delight to see other people now sharing their favorite sketching tools. Some cool additions to the toolkit:
Manga pens (from Jackson Fox)
11x17 graph paper (from Beck Tench)
Exacto knife qua pencil sharpener (from Michael Angeles)
Beck Tench also has a tip I...
Off to SXSW tomorrow and IA Summit next week. Drop me a line if you’ll be at either one. Let the conference season begin!
February 2009
2 posts
1 tag
Burndowns and Flareups in Agile Design
Warning to my sisters and my aunties: this is about work. Feel free to read past. User experience aficionados, read on… It’s a rare and special moment when life hands you a new first. I had one just a few weeks ago, when I found myself on my first panel discussion. It was at a gathering of software product managers who use Scrum, an Agile software development approach. Here’s...
NYC Nostalgia →
More lego cleverness here. I’ve also been listening to this song a lot lately, which just makes me ache with stupid nostalgia. How I miss New York.
January 2009
2 posts
Bird Mask & Cape Set →
How awesome is this bird costume? It makes me wish that I had a little pint-sized friend to dress in one. Or that it came in adult sizes.
Things I wish my clothes could do... →
This is an inspiring wish list from design blogger (and my big sister) Jen Buley. To think I’ve been undermining my own wardrobe with low expectations for so many years. All I’ve ever asked it to do is make me look thinner.
December 2008
2 posts
Caught red handed
The Crime
I was in an old post office in central Indiana today snapping these pictures with my phone when a mustachioed man approached me and said in a stern voice, “Excuse me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, and shuffled a few feet over, assuming I was blocking him. “No, EXCUSE ME,” he said. “I’ve been watching you. It is illegal to take...