Introduction

“Form Follows Function (FFF)” – You can think for hours about these three words and for their explanation quite some words are necessary, for it is a frequently misunderstood design principle.

Texts are important parts of most user interfaces, be it, e.g., as form field labels or longer help texts. This article is aimed at providing a common introduction to the topic „choosing the right font”. It contains some hints an pointers that simplify the search for the right typeface.

To our great delight and surprise, our animated Facility Manager Prototype and respective Blog article was used as demonstration and reference material at UXCamp Europe 2011. In regard of the apparent interest in the topic this article picks up the issue yet again, focusing on scientific considerations of the past years.
Indeed, animations have become an integral part in today’s modern applications, especially the iPhone and Co. Having this said, it astonishes that scientific efforts are still in fledgling stages and that the few existing approaches vaguely draw upon techniques and rules used for cartoon movies. At the same time however, choosing the wrong animation will literally paralyze a User Interface.

The first part of the article dealt with potential causes for wrong expectations regarding usability, that lead to perceptions of “usability as a product” that can be acquired right off the shelf and then implemented into a user interface. This part describes how the UX designer can cope with these challenges in order to create realistic expectations and conduct a successful UX design project.

Sometimes, prospective clients request user experience designers to “bring along some ideas” for a first meeting. The thought behind such a request can, e.g., be the desire to get some inspiration regarding the look of user interfaces, which is legitimate.

The problems start when the request is made with the expectation for the user experience designer to bring along ready-made solutions that can more or less directly be used to optimize an existing user interface – a “usability catalog” from which the client can choose the right solution, which can then be provided without much delay.

This article deals with the question why this kind of “off the shelf usability” does not exist and which causes can potentially lead to these expectations.

User interfaces should provide great user experiences in order to be successful. Organizations often make use of the services of external agencies, such as Centigrade, to support them with the creation of outstanding user experiences. In the long run, however, it should be the goal to create the soil, on which successful UX design projects can thrive, within an organization. This does not necessarily mean that an organization must do all UX related activities on its own without relying on outside help – there should, however, be an organization-wide awareness and appreciation of UX and basic knowledge and capabilities should exist in-house. The following article describes some aspects that should be taken into account when trying to create such a “UX culture” within an organization.