Simplicity? Complexity? PersuasionThe ‘C’ word can send shivers down the spine of a UX consultant. I’m not being crass; I’m talking about complexity of course! From the work of Don Norman we know that actually simplicity is complicated. By mapping design to behaviour we can maximise the user experience, an element of that is making sure they aren’t overwhelmed.
Encouraging Customer Loyalty- Winning Hits and Joined up CRMOne of the biggest challenges facing online businesses today is getting customers to stay loyal to them. It is easy enough to generate numerous first time hits through an ad campaign or promotion, but the cost of doing so often outweighs what users spend on their first visit. Many statistics show that returning and long-time customers are of more value to your business than first time ones, due to both increased sales and reduced costs. Therefore the key to sustainable revenue is to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business.
iHobo vs iMutt: Charities in the iPhone eraCharities, like most organisations in the world, are trying to jump on the iPhone wagon to reach a wider audience and to spread the word about each of the causes they support. Although many charities have created an iPhone app, only a few apps have transcended to a greater audience due to its uniqueness and the way they exploit the capabilities this device offers.
Invisible DesignDesign is a very complex subject and it has many definitions but one I particularly like is ‘to plan and fashion artistically or skillfully’ (dictionary.com). Design is a highly skillful activity and requires dedication and creativity. Good design is a process and one that is made up of many elements. It is the successful combination of elements that deliver a great design that make it compelling, engaging and ultimately, invisible.
“Do we need to push?”: A proposed framework for persuasion in ecommerce designTo many online retailers, the holy grail of behavioural change would be engaging more customers in deciding to purchase! In a UCD ecommerce process what persuasive elements do we include and at what time? How do we “persuade and not force”? Exactly how hard do we push potential customers? This article proposes a potential framework for designing persuasive techniques into the design of an ecommerce website in order to maximise revenue and create great user experiences!
Eight Tips for designing donation web pages – Part IIIn part one we talked about the ‘heartstrings’; how to engage the user’s emotions and persuade them to help your cause. This part will focus on the ‘purse strings’; how to persuade people to translate this desire to help into an online donation.
Eight tips for designing donation web pages – Part IPersuasion is a subtle art, but an understanding of the psychology of donation can help reap great benefits for your cause. This two-part article explores human nature, caring for and helping others, and how we can use these ideas to design websites which turn viewers into donors. Eight tips for achieving this are embedded within the text and summarized at the end of part two. Part one will focus on emotion…
Designing simple tools for complex messagesRecently every news article seems to refer to budget cuts as a result of the global financial meltdown. I have read 20 different articles and still do not feel like I fully understand the problem. How can I begin to understand such a complicated subject? How can the internet help me understand? Tools allow us to understand a subject through exploration and rehearsal without any risk if we go wrong. We all know the best way to learn something is to do it yourself! This engaged risk-free learning, I believe, is the secret strength of online tools. They persuade learning through a subtle and passive process.
