There's Not an App for That

Mobile User Experience Design for Life

1st Edition - September 14, 2014
Authors: Simon Robinson, Gary Marsden, Matt Jones
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 4 1 6 6 9 1 - 2
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 4 1 6 6 9 9 - 8

There’s Not an App for That will make your work stand out from the crowd. It walks you through mobile experiences, and teaches you to evaluate current UX approaches, enabling… Read more

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There’s Not an App for That will make your work stand out from the crowd. It walks you through mobile experiences, and teaches you to evaluate current UX approaches, enabling you to think outside of the screen and beyond the conventional. You’ll review diverse aspects of mobile UX: the screens, the experience, how apps are used, and why they’re used. You’ll find special sections on "challenging your approach", as well as a series of questions you can use to critique and evaluate your own designs. Whether the authors are discussing real-world products in conjunction with suggested improvements, showcasing how existing technologies can be put together in unconventional ways, or even evaluating "far out" mobile experiences of the future, you’ll find plenty of practical pointers and action items to help you in your day-to-day work.

Dedication
Preface
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Photo Credits
Chapter 1. Introduction
- Ecstasy
- Angst
- Losing ourselves
- Rebellion not retreat
- Life under a lid
- Future, now
- Resources
Chapter 2. Problem 1
- Introduction
- Built as bodies, built for materials
- Breaking the glass: Visions of what might be possible
- Rising to the challenge
- Resources
Chapter 3. Opportunity 1.1
- Introduction
- Multisensory interaction
- Material properties impact interaction
- Going beyond “good for us”
- Takeaways
- Resources
Chapter 4. Opportunity 1.2
- Introduction
- Touching fabric and touching the screen
- Wearables that respond to wear
- Intimate interfaces
- Pret-a-porter
- Resources
Chapter 5. Opportunity 1.3
- Introduction
- Designing for how our bodies move
- Effortful design
- Are you designing for cyborgs or centaurs?
- Moving on
- Resources
Chapter 6. Opportunity 1.4
- Introduction
- Modalities and multimodality
- Tangibles: Getting physical
- Emerging interface materials
- Resources
Chapter 7. Problem 2
- Introduction
- What is “heads down”?
- How did this happen?
- Face on
- So what’s to be done?
- Resources
Chapter 8. Opportunity 2.1
- Introduction
- Surely heads-up displays are the answer?
- Is speech the answer?
- Why do we need to think of alternatives to these exciting technologies?
- Resources
Chapter 9. Opportunity 2.2
- Introduction
- Weaning off heads down: Glanceable displays
- Apps that bite back
- Beyond the instant
- Direct manipulation and the power of the wand metaphor
- When heads down works
- Facing up to reality
- Resources
Chapter 10. Problem 3
- Introduction
- Ordered chaos
- So what’s to be done?
- Resources
Chapter 11. Opportunity 3.1
- Introduction
- Designing for messy organization
- Designing for messy interaction
- Designing for mess media
- Mess and creativity
- Using clutter in the world
- Tidying up
- Resources
Chapter 12. Opportunity 3.2
- The thrill of not being sure
- Illustrating the value of uncertainty: Navigation without navigating
- Finding your own way
- Resources
Chapter 13. Problem 4
- Introduction
- Together moments
- Performance at the periphery
- Leaning in
- Out of the shadows and onto the stage
- Resources
Chapter 14. Opportunity 4.1
- Introduction
- Designing to encourage people to use their mobiles together
- Designing as if mobiles were public rather than private devices
- Supporting role to leading actor
- Resources
Chapter 15. Opportunity 4.2
- Introduction
- Small screen, large screen
- Self-expression and embarrassment
- Writing your own script
- Resources
Chapter 16. Problem 5
- Introduction
- Distancing us
- Becoming mindful
- Resources
Chapter 17. Opportunity 5.1
- Introduction
- Modes of interaction
- Space
- Identity: Who we are
- An app for that
- Solving the problem without apps
- Resources
Chapter 18. Opportunity 5.2
- Introduction
- Getting rid of apps 1: Building a just-in-time scheme
- Getting rid of apps 2: Back to people again
- Resources
Chapter 19. Opportunity 6
- Introduction
- Challenges
- Opportunities
- Designing for sharing
- Designing to accommodate literacy levels
- Designing platforms that empower
- Designing to make a big difference
- The road ahead
- Resources
Chapter 20. Bringing Things Together
- The way forward
- No time like the present
- Beyond phones and apps
- Pathways to the future
- Resources
Index

Simon Robinson

Simon Robinson is a researcher in the Future Interaction Technology Lab at Swansea University. His work so far has focused on mobile technologies that allow people to immerse themselves in the places, people and events around them, rather than just in their mobile devices. His research - much of which has been part of the thinking behind this book - has been featured in New Scientist magazine, on CBC Radio, and in other international media venues; and, has also been published in many international academic conferences and journals. In the past few years his emphasis has turned toward developing similarly face-on user experiences for resource-constrained communities in regions such as South Africa and India. Simon is an avid rock climber, and loves the fact that climbing doesn’t need a touchscreen to be thoroughly enjoyable.

More at simon.robinson.ac

Affiliations and expertise

Swansea University, UK

Gary Marsden

Gary Marsden was a professor of computer science at the University of Cape Town, pioneer and passionate advocate of HCI for development, and community builder. He became internationally known for his work in mobile interface design, design, and ICT for development (ICT4D) – for which he was a recipient of the ACM SIGCHI’s Social Impact Award in 2007. He went to great lengths to show how mobile technologies were revolutionizing how developing countries were advancing apace. In doing so, he raised the profile of what developing world actually meant. Gary died suddenly of a heart attack on December 27, 2013, and is survived by his wife Gil and his two children, Holly and Jake.

Affiliations and expertise

University of Cape Town, South Africa

Matt Jones

Matt Jones is a professor and Head of Department of Computer Science, Swansea University. His research work focuses on human-centered computing with particular emphasis on mobile and ubiquitous computing and resource-constrained communities in regions such as India and South Africa. His work in these contexts has been recognized by an IBM Faculty Award and, from 2014, by a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. Matt has had many active collaborations and interactions with industry, NGO and Governmental stakeholders including Microsoft Research, Nokia Research and IBM Research. In his spare time he tries to live life face-on with his energetic family, and enjoys nothing more than an exhilarating early morning cycle ride to the glorious beaches of the Gower.

Affiliations and expertise

Swansea University, UK

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There's Not an App for That

Mobile User Experience Design for Life

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Simon Robinson

Gary Marsden

Matt Jones