When is time a useful metric?

By Dr. Alex Dewitt,
Senior Research Consultant
at fhios.

Why measure time?
When conducting user experience studies, it is useful to measure certain aspects of the products performance, such as number of errors and level of user satisfaction. Time is a metric which seems like a no brainer because it is absolute, easy to measure, and easy to interpret. [...]

When to separate visual and interaction design

By Dr. Alex Dewitt,
Senior Research Consultant
at fhios.
When we design a system (or product, or interface), there are multiple facets to consider;

What task the user wants to complete – journey analysis
What data will be input, processed, and output
How the user will interact with [...]

Shortlist for Marketing Design Awards –Design Use

Packaging

boxer for McDonald’s
Cowan London for Heinz
jones knowles ritchie for Premier Foods
Lewis Moberly for Waitrose.
Taxi Studio for Willie’s World-Class Cacao

Customer Communications

John Brown for Virgin Group
Pauffley for SSL International
Pauffley for Deutsche Bank
True North for National Portrait Gallery

Brand Experience

Imagination Ltd for Samsung Electronics
Jack Morton Worldwide for Ericsson
Shelton Fleming Associates Ltd for Ministry of [...]

Shortlist for Marketing Design Awards – Product Sector

Automotive, Marine, Aerospace

Blue Marlin for Shell
Fitch for Goodyear Dunlop
TRO for BMW

FMCG

1HQ for Nestle Rowntree
Blue Marlin for Shell
Coley Porter Bell for Dylon

Home Shopping & Retail

Checkland Kindleysides for Timberland European Services
Landor Associates for Pick n Pay
Shelton Fleming Associates Ltd for Ministry of Defence/The Army

Media and Entertainment

23red for [...]

The top debate in the News today: to charge or not to charge?

By Jonathan Outlaw,
Business Development Executive
at fhios.
As newspaper groups announce alarming losses, publishers are under increasing pressure to make their digital offerings pay without alienating their vast online audiences.
The internet has transformed the way readers engage with news. By migrating online, newspaper publishers have been able to exploit the dynamics of the web, building new audiences [...]

Is it really the end of printed media?

Vibe the American music and entertainment magazine, set-up by record producer Quincy Jones will be closing for good. Although Jones is in the process of buying the magazine back to keep the online side going.
The magazine which reduced its frequency to 10 issues per year also had to cut its paid circulation by a quarter.
Jones later [...]

New interaction paradigms

By Dr. Alex Dewitt,
Senior Research Consultant
at fhios.
Microsoft has recently unveiled its ‘Project Natal’ – a controller-less system for the Xbox 360. The concept is based on advanced technology with creates a 3D map of objects in front of a camera. Human tracking algorithms are then able to interpret the movements of points on this map. [...]