What makes some designs good and others bad? Why do some designs work while others don’t? Posts in this category offer thoughtful design critiques of modern digital interfaces, with commentary inspired by Don Norman’s “The Design of Everyday Things.”
Introduction The AirPods Pro 2’s hearing health features can help people with mild to moderate hearing loss hear their surroundings (voices, music, and sounds) more clearly. Users can complete a clinically validated hearing test and access hearing health metrics on their iPhone, and the AirPods Pro 2 will adjust the audio output based on their […]
Assistive Technology: AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Health Features Read More »
The NuMuv Grip-Aid is an assistive tool that can be used to relieve discomfort associated with grip. By inserting an object into the egg-shaped silicone frame, the NuMuv Grip-Aid provides a larger grip area for objects with small or narrow surfaces. It is most commonly used with utensils, writing tools, and similar items.
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What is Bloomberg Connects? The Bloomberg Connects app provides free digital guides to over 550 museums, galleries, gardens, public art, festivals, historic sites, and more, expanding access to arts and culture around the world. The app offers the ability to learn about current exhibitions at a portfolio of participating cultural partners through dynamic content exclusive
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Audio descriptions are an accessibility feature on video streaming platforms that uses narration to describe what happens in a scene between dialogue. This feature benefits people who are blind or have low vision to understand plot-critical details that are visually communicated in a video.
Assistive Technology: Netflix Audio Descriptions Read More »
Seeing AI is a free app by Microsoft available to mobile devices from Apple and Android that helps people who are blind or have low vision navigate the world. This app uses augmented reality, artificial intelligence (AI), and aural technology to accomplish a number of tasks its users can rely on.
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The Rosie 2.0 Reminder Clock is an assistive technology designed to aid individuals with memory impairments. This voice-activated clock provides personalized reminders to users through familiar voices. Reminder Rosie is a hands-free solution with a simple interface that has many use cases including medication, appointments, and daily tasks.
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Introduction: The Xbox Adaptive Controller is a groundbreaking device developed by Microsoft to make gaming more accessible to individuals with limited mobility. First conceptualized in an internal hackathon in 2014, the device underwent several adaptations before its final release to the public in 2018. Designed with extensive input from gamers with disabilities and advocacy organizations,
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Copilot is the newest iteration of Microsoft’s AI-powered chatbot technology, designed to provide users with access to a conversational interface to assist them with tasks related to productivity, discovery, and creation. To evaluate the user experience, I downloaded the Bing app for iOS and interacted with the Copilot feature myself.
Design Critique: Copilot, Microsoft’s AI Chatbot (The Bing App for iOS) Read More »
IKEA is one of the world’s largest furniture retailers for affordable and ready-to-assemble home goods. The IKEA Kreativ, a virtual design tool inside the IKEA app, allows users to design interactive showrooms or in their living place virtually and bring the iconic showroom experience that exists in IKEA’s offline store locations to a digital platform.
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Tayasui Sketches is an art making interface that employs the use of realistic tools and the customization of many aspects of the creative process. The user is able to create new works based off of templates, pick from a selection of tools that adapt to the digital canvas, and explore many other possibilities that can be associated with digital art-making applications.
Design Critique: Tayasui Sketches (iPhone App) Read More »