Blog

Beyond BFSG-Compliance – UX Research for Increased Digital Accessibility

Alessandra Rodrigues Eismann
Alessandra Rodrigues Eismann
November 29th, 2024

A person in a wheelchair using her computer, a colorful pattern can be seen on the screen, 3D clay illustration.

As a result of the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG), companies will increasingly have to deal with the issue of accessibility in the coming months and years. Even though compliance with the accessibility requirements of the BFSG is an important first step towards digital accessibility, it is not enough to uncover all accessibility problems. UX research is a great tool to identify exactly those issues that are not covered by mere WCAG compliance. read more…

How to design better error messages

Daniel Gassenferth
October 31st, 2024

A minimalist 3D digital clay illustrationA comprehensive guide to optimizing the user experience

Error messages are often a neglected element of the user interface that only comes to mind in an emergency. Yet they have a decisive influence on the user experience: a well-designed error message can reassure the user and lead to a solution, while a poorly worded message can cause frustration and, in the worst case, lead to the user abandoning the application.

In this article, we show you how you can make error messages a positive, solution-oriented part of the user experience. read more…

Fiction meets fact: exploring human-machine convergence in today’s film culture

Christoph Endres, Isabella Hermann, Frederic Frieß
September 24th, 2024

This blog post provides a summary of our i-com article published in August 2024 (Volume 23 Issue 2). The article analyses human-computer interaction (HCI) in science fiction films and shows how collaboration between humans and machines has developed over the last 100 years. It always makes reference to current real technologies. There are also interesting film and series recommendations. read more…

My internship at Centigrade: Absence note project

Maria Shabanova
August 31st, 2024

My name is Maria Shabanova and I did my internship at Centigrade in July 2024 in the UX Design department. I was given the task of creating an AI assistant with OpenAI (GPT-4). Centigrade works a lot with LeanScope AI and has created the possibility to create AI assistants, many of which are already in use. My task was to create a prompt (instruction) for an assistant. I was supported in this by Jonas Enck, who supervised me during my internship together with Luzie Seeliger and Thomas Immich. This is a diary that documents my progress and the creation of the assistant.

read more…

Some like it Bot: The creation of our Voice & Tone AI Assistant

Catharina Kelle
Catharina Kelle
July 31st, 2024

What has happened so far: Our Voice & Tone Guide

Some time ago, I reported in a blog article on how we developed our own Voice & Tone as part of our Centigrade Rebranding Journey and recorded it in a Voice & Tone Guide.

Let me briefly recap why a brand actually needs its own Voice & Tone:

“So that we don’t have to rethink how we want to formulate it in line with the brand every time we receive an error message, there is a methodology for this. And that is the systematic development of Voice & Tone. In a Voice & Tone Guide, we record how we formulate which content to ensure that we communicate in line with our brand values and address our users at the right linguistic level in every situation.”

You can read the entire article here:

Blog article “The Branding Tool for UX Writers: The Voice & Tone Guide

 

read more…

How to playfully convince customers of the need for user research – “You don’t know your User” the interactive user research game

Marvin Mader
Marvin Mader
May 17th, 2024

Lupe mit Fragezeichen Illustration

Even in 2024, there are still companies that believe they don’t need user research to develop new digital products because “we know our customers and know best what they need”. Most user researchers have probably come across this or similar statements and have pulled their hair out over them. Such assertions often lead to lengthy discussions and it takes a great deal of persuasion to convince sceptics of the necessity and positive impact of user research. Couldn’t it be easier? Instead of going round in circles with the usual arguments, it’s time to playfully familiarise the critics with the problem of the lack of user research. Studies show that learning through play is not only effective for children [1][2]. This is precisely why we developed the interactive user research game “You Don’t Know Your User”. By skilfully applying various user research methods, such as interviews or observations, participants learn in an entertaining way how user research can contribute to a deeper understanding of users’ real needs.


read more…

How AI is revolutionising product development: An interview by Rainer Gibbert with Thomas Immich

Rainer Gibbert
May 3rd, 2024

For product managers and CX/UX designers, understanding their target group is essential in order to develop products and services that really resonate.

Personas, fictional characters that represent real users, are indispensable tools here. They make it possible to give the rather abstract target group a face, recognise their likes and dislikes and tailor everything from product development to marketing and communication to the specific needs of the users.

However, creating personas can be a challenge. It is often time-consuming and resource-intensive, as data must first be collected and clustered, target group-specific characteristics identified and then translated into vivid persona descriptions.

This is where LeanScope AI,, a new AI-supported tool, promises to change the game. read more…

AI Personas: Empathy-Amplifier or false pretences?

Thomas Immich
Thomas Immich
April 18th, 2024

Unlike Amazon Echo and Meta, ChatGPT is highly disruptive. But why is that? ChatGPT was the fastest to reach 100 million users and has no dependencies on other technologies. ChatGPT has also offered surprisingly little “ethical slippery slope” so far. But the main reason, according to Sam Altman himself, seems to be ChatGPT’s fantastic UX. Good news for all UX professionals.

 

„If I had to choose a point in time when AI became truly disruptive, I would choose the release of ChatGPT. However, it wasn’t the underlying AI models that made the difference, but the user-friendliness of the application!“ – Sam Altman, CEO OpenAI, Lex Fridman Podcast

read more…

Our AI assistant for sustainable UX design: a look behind the scenes of development

Alica Anschütz, Kevin Gaffga, Simone Hüning
March 28th, 2024

Sustainable UX Design App Illustration

In today’s world, sustainability is more present than ever, while at the same time we are using more and more technology in our everyday lives. In the best case scenario, we combine these things. Unfortunately, most UX designers lack the theoretical knowledge to do this, which is where our media project comes in. We have developed an assistant realised with artificial intelligence. As a web application, this helps users to consider sustainability directly in LeanScope AI and to comply with the associated laws and guidelines. With Leanscope AI, CX and UX professionals can easily generate proto-personas, enrich them with UX research data and then even chat and brainstorm ideas with these personas. This makes it possible to gain a deeper understanding of the target group. The tool was developed in close cooperation with Centigrade. read more…

When designers are lost for words in times of AI and midjourney

Aline Barré
Aline Barré
February 14th, 2024

Art Room Illustration

A picture is worth a thousand words. But what words are needed to describe a picture?

We used to push pixels and spend hours on tutorials to learn many complex design tools. At some point during our studies, we decided on a specific topic and specialized in order to find a job on the market later on. I, for example, decided on visual design in the big UX design bubble. But since Midjourney and co. have moved into my everyday life, I can suddenly imitate almost any design and art style with words, without ever having invested an hour in the manual technique or even having opened a single conventional design tool. That’s impressive at first, but then also terrifying.

If, as a designer, I can suddenly access any style without having to learn it, the question arises as to which skillset we need to strengthen in the future in order to avoid becoming replaceable. A year ago, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be saying this. But as things stand, I would say that we urgently need to work on our vocabulary. read more…

Can AI increase our empathy towards users?

Carla Biegert
January 31st, 2024

KI Love Illustration

„What do successful User Experience professionals have in common? Empathy. “ – Kathryn Whitenton, Nielsen Norman Group [1]

Empathy is one of the most common buzzwords in the UX industry, it is assumed to be an important skill and – according to an employee of the Nielsen Norman Group – apparently even distinguishes good from bad UX professionals. But what does it actually mean to be empathetic and what impact could an AI-based tool have on it? read more…

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