Smashing UX Design — Rian van der Merwe

Author: Rian van der Merwe

Rian is passionate about designing and building software that people love to use. After spending several years working in Silicon Valley, he is currently Director of User Experience at South African consultancy Flow Interactive. He also blogs and tweets regularly about User Experience and Product Management.

Website: Elezea

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A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

March 12th, 2012
120 Comments

I spend a lot of time buying and testing iPad apps for kids. To be more specific, I lovingly do this for a certain two-year-old girl who is currently on a very successful #OccupyiPad mission in my house. Through extensive observational research, I’ve discovered what works and doesn’t work for ...

Designer Myopia: How To Stop Designing For Ourselves

February 14th, 2012
26 Comments

Have you ever looked at a bizarre building design and wondered, “What were the architects thinking?” Or have you simply felt frustrated by a building that made you uncomfortable, or felt anger when a beautiful old building was razed and replaced with a contemporary eyesore? You might be forgiven for thinking ...

The Data-Pixel Approach To Improving User Experience

November 15th, 2011
40 Comments

There are many ways to skin a redesign (I think that’s how the saying goes). On a philosophical level, I agree with those who advocate for realigning, not redesigning, but these are mere words when you’re staring a design problem in the face with no idea where to start. This ...

Building Better Software Through Collaboration: Whose Job Is It, Anyway?

September 6th, 2011
11 Comments

In part one of this series, we looked at the consequences of designing and developing software in isolated environments. Some people work in lonely silos where no process exists, while others work in functional silos where too much (or the wrong) process makes innovation and progress difficult. So, how do we ...

Breaking Down Silos, Part 1: The Consequences Of Working In Isolation

August 30th, 2011
33 Comments

If you’ve ever worked at a company of any size, you’ve experienced it. Isolation. Some people love it: the determination that comes from being a lone ranger, boldly going where no one has gone before. Others hate it: the despair that comes from slaving over a design only to see ...