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https://kennbivins.com creative thinker and do-er Mon, 01 Sep 2014 16:39:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Designing For Smartwatches: Tips and Tricks https://kennbivins.com/designing-for-smartwatches/ https://kennbivins.com/designing-for-smartwatches/#respond Mon, 01 Sep 2014 16:39:51 +0000 https://byra.vamtam.com/?p=6748 Wearables present challenges unlike other design projects. Function is a primary concern, as is size with what will be one of the smallest screens designers have ever worked with. The key is creating a design that is visually pleasing but is user-friendly and provides a functional experience. Here are 10 things to consider as you...

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Wearables present challenges unlike other design projects. Function is a primary concern, as is size with what will be one of the smallest screens designers have ever worked with. The key is creating a design that is visually pleasing but is user-friendly and provides a functional experience. Here are 10 things to consider as you design for a wearable interface (with examples other designers are already imagining).

Think Minimal Design

One of the biggest trends in design in general is perfect for wearables – minimalism. The very same design practices you use for websites or even minimal-style print or packaging design are perfect for wearable and watch-type devices. (Here we are mostly talking about watches because of the visual design element they present.)

Everything from color to typography to imagery should be simple, straightforward and easy to read at small sizes. Use some of the concepts from flat design as well to add to the minimal style, such as bright color, high contrast and elimination of design embellishments.

Use Vibration

Wearables come with features that you may not have designed for in the past. Vibration is one of these. Simple buzz or movements can be an ideal way to design an interaction when it comes to something that a user will have against the skin.

But you need to think carefully about how these interactions work. Vibrations should be soft and happen in a way that is obvious but will not be uncomfortable or scare the user when they happen. Vibration-style interactions also need to happen infrequently. If a watch buzzes every minute, the user will quickly become frustrated and abandon the product.

Voice Controls are Essential

While we have talked about designing for tap and touch interaction for a while because of smartphones, now the conversation will shift to voice activated controls. Think about it this way, with a screen that small, who is going to want to tap it? Voice is easier.

When designing the interactions of your app or website that will appear on a watch-style device, such as the Apple Watch, voice should be a top consideration. Voice is an essential part of the Apple design, for example, with Siri as a native app that activates and waits for a command every time you raise your wrist. This feature provides a convenience factor that you must take into consideration.

Type Needs to be Simple

Repeat after me: Sans serif. When it comes to type on wearable devices, that is all you need to know. It may sound boring, but a simple sans serif with a uniform stroke width is one of the easiest and most readable options.

Avoid typefaces that are ultra light or condensed because the light coming through the watch face may not be enough to ensure readability. Conversely, be careful with super thick, black or bold styles. Stick to a typeface with a moderate stroke with and somewhat wide letterforms. (Helvetica is an ideal, albeit overused, option.)

Colors Need to Have High Contrast

Every color on a small screen needs meaning. Part of this meaning will come in the form of contrast and making elements easier to read.

Colors can be used to represent tappable elements that demand interaction or as a backdrop for a text command. The key is sharp contrast. Consider the environment in which these devices will be used – in sunlight, in dark rooms – and design so that every letter is easy to read in any condition.

Avoid pastels or colors with low saturation. Bright hues and highly saturated colors will work best. Pair these with white or black type for optimum readability.

Make It Easy

Every wearable device will be a little different. Consider the interface and physical components for each as you design. The Apple Watch comes with a “digital crown,” a wheel that can zoom or scroll through information on the screen.

The design should work with all the physical parts that a device includes. It should be easy to look at and more importantly easy to use. Function should be intuitive.

Visuals Should Mirror Design In Other Places

The visual plan for a watch screen should mirror the design interface of other devices. Yes, the screen will be limited and interactions will focus on a single action, but the overall aesthetic should have a similar look and feel.

It goes back to the popularity of minimalistic design. It’s a technique that works on both types of devices. The same is true with many principles of flat design. For this reason, these trends will continue to stick around and become key factors for designers creating for these tiny screens.

Make It Cool and Trendy

This may not sound like a big deal, but wearables are something that users connect to their identities. Not only does the actual device need to have a certain look and feel, but the interface needs to match that style.

The information on the screen has to be as nice as the device itself. With the Apple Watch, the interface is super-simple, has clean lines and very few bells and whistles. The interface for watch apps should use the same model, so that the information on the screen looks like it actually belongs there.

One Visual Thought Per Screen

Every pixel matters in a way that is hard to explain. There just is not enough room on a watch-sized screen to include every element from a desktop or mobile design. So think about what you don’t need.

These screens can range in size from 320 pixels square to 128 pixels square. This is too small to just shrink the design; you have to fully change it for a wearable device. Use this concept: One visual thought per screen.

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]]> https://kennbivins.com/designing-for-smartwatches/feed/ 0 Contemporary Art Installations – Circa 1920 https://kennbivins.com/contemporary-art-installations/ https://kennbivins.com/contemporary-art-installations/#respond Sat, 22 Mar 2014 20:56:53 +0000 https://byra.vamtam.com/?p=300 Robbie Williams will go head-to-head with Olympic athlete Usain Bolt at the 2018 Soccer Aid charity game. The Rock DJ singer will serve as the captain of the England team, while Olympic sprinter Bolt will head up the World squad in the latest edition of the charity tournament, which Robbie co-founded in 2006. "I am...

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Robbie Williams will go head-to-head with Olympic athlete Usain Bolt at the 2018 Soccer Aid charity game.

The Rock DJ singer will serve as the captain of the England team, while Olympic sprinter Bolt will head up the World squad in the latest edition of the charity tournament, which Robbie co-founded in 2006. "I am buzzing that Soccer Aid for Unicef is back," Robbie said in a statement. "Reclaiming the title for England this year is going to taste so much sweeter with Usain leading the Soccer Aid World XI. I can't wait to lead out the England team on Sunday 10th June at Old Trafford in what really is a game like no other. With your support, we will help children in danger around the world." Retired athletics star Bolt, who will be playing his first official soccer match, said his team will be unbeatable and that he already has a special celebration planned for when he scores.
"It is my dream to make it as a professional footballer, so to be able to step out onto the pitch at Old Trafford in June, and play against some of football's biggest legends is going to be remarkable," he said. "I enjoy the thrill of competition in front of a crowd, so Robbie and his England team better watch out as I won’t be going easy on them!"

Robbie and Usain, who have recorded an advert for the competition, will be joined by celebrities and soccer legends which have yet to be announced.

The match will take place at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England on 10 June (18) and will be broadcast live on ITV in the U.K. All profits from ticket sales and viewer donations will be given to United Nations Childrens' Fund (UNICEF) UK, for which Robbie serves as an ambassador.

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]]> https://kennbivins.com/contemporary-art-installations/feed/ 0 3 Easy Website Tweaks to Convert More Visitors https://kennbivins.com/3-easy-website-tweaks-to-convert-more-visitors/ https://kennbivins.com/3-easy-website-tweaks-to-convert-more-visitors/#respond Sat, 07 Sep 2013 14:03:47 +0000 https://byra.vamtam.com/?p=303 Not all marketers have the time and resources to go through a full website redesign process. Here are a few simple but proven techniques that you can implement today and optimize your website’s conversion rate. Call to Action Button Color This is one of the most important elements of your website. The “Call to Action”...

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Not all marketers have the time and resources to go through a full website redesign process. Here are a few simple but proven techniques that you can implement today and optimize your website’s conversion rate.

Call to Action Button Color

This is one of the most important elements of your website. The “Call to Action” button is the button that guides your visitors to the desired business goal, like signing up for a trial, downloading a whitepaper or contacting sales.

There is no real best practice about using a specific color across all sites and businesses. If someone tells you there is, don’t trust them. CTA buttons are like road signs that tell people which is the right way to go. As such the most important thing to have in mind is that they need to be in contrast with their surrounding. A good way to determine contrasting colors is to use a color wheel. For example, if you have a background that is in the “Blues” spectrum the corresponding color for the button should be from the “Reds” spectrum.

Another thing to remember is that no matter how logical a color change might look, always A/B test any changes to validate your assumption.

Pop-ups

For many years there was a certain stigma to using pop-ups on your website because it was thought that they ruined user experience. But with the proliferation of A/B testing and the ability to validate efficiency, more and more companies are starting to revive pop-ups as means to increase conversion rates.

The key to success with pop-ups is context. Forget about homepage pop-ups. Wait until your visitors have browsed a bit, so you can determine their intention.

Communicate Value on Sign Up Forms

The sign up form is the hardest and most important hurdle you need to take your visitors over, so you need to get it right.

You can always experiment with removing form fields, but this way you are capturing less important business information which will limit the segmentation options for post-registration initiatives like email marketing or sales follow up.

That’s why a more suitable tactic is to increase the desire of people to sign up.

For a newsletter form this can be done by adding a summary of all the useful resources you will receive if you leave your email.

For forms that ask the visitors for more information, like trial forms, you need to put a bit more work in. Things to consider adding, in addition to the benefit of signing up, are social proof like testimonials and things that address anxiety concerns.

Following those three simple techniques can get you closer to meeting your marketing goals. But remember, always test new things against current versions to make sure there is an improvement.

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