Amir Doris article: “Game Design UX Best Practices” discusses the best practices for designing game UX, which can be applied to other types of UX design as well. Like with other designs, Dori emphasizes understanding your users. You have to know
who your users are, what they want, and how they will use the product. In my experience, we can create profiles and backstories for our user to understand what demographic to cater to. He also states that we should provide feedback. Users
need to know when they are doing something right or wrong. Feedback is an essential part of the UX and can come in different forms such as visual cues, sound effects, or haptic feedback. This article pointed out aspects of game design that
I have never noticed, but more automatically done as the user. For example, he points at that tapping the dim background should close the popup as if tapping “cancel”, unless it is a store popup— then only closing via “X” will close the store.
I can learn from these practices and apply them to my own work and meet the needs of my users.
Visual Thinking Analysis
Fig.1 - Neha Kamal, 2023.
This image is interesting because it is a dish not commonly known by most people. It is called biryani, an Indian recipe that is layered with rice, meat, vegetables and spices like saffron. This picture specifically though, was made by my mother
(thats her hand in the frame). Her cooking is influenced by South Indian cuisine, Kerala to be exact. Biryani is usually cooking over a flame, but my mother just put it in the oven.
It relates to the topic of my archive or collection because it is Indian food that I have taken a picture of. My collection is personal to me because I have grown up eating Indian food and am lucky enough to have my parents and family members
pass down recipes from Kerala.
Fig.2 - Danica Quan, 2022.
This image seems to be about a small dog, could potentially be a puppy, in a kiddie pool. I can assume that this was taken in the summer or spring because of the pool. There is fencing behind the pool so this could also be in a backyard. I
think the dog is holding still because a treat has been placed on his or her head. I am assuming this because my own dog does the same thing.
One of the most interesting aspects of this image is how cute the dog is. I look at this photo and wonder whose dog is in the picture. Is that a floatie next to the dog? Is the pool just for the dog to cool down or can people sit in it
too?
Visual Thinking Strategies Research
This article presents ten photographs and suggests ways that teachers can use them to help students develop critical thinking skills. This strategy could be good for educators who are interested in incorporating visual media into their curriculum
and looking for ways to engage students in discussions about meaning and interpretation. It is also a skill that everyone should practice to dig deeper in life. I specifically thought the three open-ended questions were good ways to lead someone
to an answer without telling them the answer. I thought it was cool how they applied to it to the schools curriculum by switching the subject matter in the question.
Overall, it seem like a useful resource for educator who are looking
for ways to integrate visual media into their curriculum and help students develop analysis skills. It is also fun to pretend to be a detective sometimes.
STARSHINE MOUNTAIN : I think this website is one of my favorite portfolios I have seen for animation. Everything is mostly hand-drawn and conveys her talent through
the user interaction elements.
Best Practices for Modal/Overlays/Dialog Windows
The article "Best Practices for Modals, Overlays, Dialog Windows" provides guidelines for designing and implementing effective modals, overlays, and dialog windows in user interface design. The author suggests that modals should be used sparingly,
have clear and concise content, provide appropriate actions, be dismissible, and have good accessibility.
This article can serve as a reference for UX designers when they are designing similar elements in the future. By following
the guidelines outlined in the article, UX designers can create modals, overlays, and dialog windows that are effective, accessible, and user-friendly. I think modals can be good way to grab the user’s attention, but they interrupt the user
flow.
Best Practices for Form Design
In “Best Practices for Form Design”, an article by Salim Ansari, he lays out some tips and tricks on creating user-friendly forms, an essential aspect of UX design. Forms play a crucial role in collecting user information and facilitating website
interactions, so having an effective form design can greatly impact a users experience. The article dives into how people process information and make decisions. For example, he states that the best position for placing a form label is above
an input field because users are not forced to look separately at the label and input field; doing this decreases the number of eye fixations. We want to keep the form simple with minimal errors.
Though the article emphasizes that
we should avoid all unnecessary questions and minimize visual noise, there are moments when we should prioritize providing more details. For example, if your form asks for sensitive information, make sure to explain, why you need them by providing
a support text close to the input field. With no explanation, they are likely to abandon the form. Another case of providing additional information would be when we need to explain any input or formatting requirements such as case sensitivity,
number of characters, etc. By following the practices outlined in the article, designers can improve the overall experience and ensure that the forms are easy to use.
