Archive for July 2007
CNN.com, designs from 2001 – 2007
CNN.com launched their new design this month and has received positive feedback from the industry as well as users.
A representative at CNN quoted “We’ve tried to keep the new site clean, easy to use, and performance centric. We really hope you agree when you see features like our integrated stories (all story elements on one page… yeah!), and our new flash in-page video player, so people on Macs can now enjoy our video without plug-ins. And in July, we’ll be bringing you live breaking news video – all for free.”
Here are some of the past designs from 2001 – 2007 and below you can find an article that talk about ‘web 2.0izing’ of CNN.com
User quote: “Impressive design; I’ve been loving CNN’s international on-screen look recently as well. Far better than the British channels’ big red shouty BREAKING news bars.” Full article: “CNN.com To Launch Web 2.0 Re-design This Weekend“
iPhone – No manuals required
Quoted on Seeking Alpha – “No manual is no problem. My 14-year-old son Robert picked up the phone and could use nearly every function immediately with no instructions. So could my 11-year-old David. The iPhone feels incredibly intuitive and obvious to use, which is a huge testament to its usability and the technology inside it.”
I wander when we can start using most of our other devices without manuals.
You can read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Cell Phone for Baby Boomers – Easy to use
The Jitterbug cell phone for baby boomers takes the complexity out of a cell phone by removing many of the features. Jitterbug concentrated on both the physical (industrial) design and the user interface.
For example, the physical design of the phone introduces a soft rubber cup around the earpiece that doesn’t just make the phone more comfortable but also blocks ambient noise, making the phone easier to use for the hearing-impaired.
The graphical user interface eliminates icons or menus and offers series of simple questions to the users. Users can simply answer using the big bold YES and NO buttons on the handset. For example, in the screen below phone offers the user to listen to their messages, the action required by the user is either YES or NO by clicking those buttons.
Overall Jitterbug is another good example of a company that designed a product by keeping the user in mind.
Take a look at their demo and you will notice that each feature is introduced by the words “Easy to use”, or visit their website.
