Not Lost in Translation – About Icons and Interpreters
Icon design is my day-to-day business, ranging from universally applicable Home icons to very special icons for the wiring of electric relays in substations. Recently I learned that interpreters also...
View ArticleGame development rocks! Software development sucks?
Videogames are a great enrichment to our cultural environment. With advancing technology, video games become more realistic and engaging. Unfortunately, texts, sculptures, pictures, music and movies do...
View ArticleUncommunicative – do I really need a smartwatch? (Pebble review)
Times have changed. Back in the time, during my school days, before smartphones flooded the market, I felt naked without my watch. This most important accessory was also some kind of status symbol and...
View ArticleOf Science and Bavarian Beer Receptions – Visiting the “Mensch und Computer...
What is aesthetics and how can we determine it? Can usability tests be performed remotely to save time and money? And what happens to a Facebook profile when its user dies? These and many more...
View ArticleDeveloper Open Space 2014 in Leipzig
On Friday, 17 October, it was that time of the year again. I had skipped the event for the last two years, this year I wanted to spend three exciting and inspiring days in Leipzig at the Developer Open...
View ArticleThe truth is black on white.
Black text on a white background is trustworthy. Even more so: black on white is a fact. It is printed and displayed on screen. The truth is said to be “black on white”. Except when it is not. In...
View ArticleYou are a Developer? So, you are a UX Designer.
The term UX design is used very often nowadays. In most cases it’s either used as synonym for interaction design, usability professional or a similar denotation or as conglomerate of all of these...
View ArticleHands off of mouse and keyboard – the advantages of pen and paper scribbles...
I am sitting in front of my new computer – a marvel of modern technology. It is stuffed full with every imaginable designers’ software, and I ask myself: Why should I ever use pen and paper again? Is...
View ArticleWhat consistency means for a cat and what it means for your interface
In interface design, the term consistency is part of the professional jargon. It is used for everyday feedback and in long term concepts. It is also common ground with developers and clients....
View ArticleHow Morticians and Industrial Engineers play – A Gamification User Type Study
Tutorial Part of my Master’s thesis, which I wrote here at Centigrade as a student trainee was to design a mobile application for more sustainability in daily life. Due to the focus on personal energy...
View ArticleContextual User Interface Design Engineering with the Universal Windows Platform
Recently I gave a talk at the dotnet Cologne titled “4K and other challenges – Next Generation Desktop UIs for Windows 10″. The session discussed the term Universal App Platform in Windows 10 and...
View ArticleCoffee for your ears: How Death Metal can make you more productive
Bored during the train ride? Rolling Stones. Angry in a traffic jam? Slayer. Party with friends? Daft Punk. Sitting in a wing chair with a brandy in your hand? Chopin. Gang warfare? 2Pac. In the age of...
View ArticleDeepGrip – Hands on Virtual Reality
In the last few years, more and more people have started talking about “Virtual Reality”. The possibility of completely immersing in a virtual world via new technologies like e.g. the Oculus Rift...
View ArticleMachine motivates User: Gamification in the Industry 4.0
Is gamification compatible with Industry 4.0? There is only one way to find out: To create a realistic setup. At the Hannover Messe we had the chance to do just that. In two of our preceding blog...
View ArticleWant to create outstanding user experiences? Don’t ask your customers!
The title of this article may sound absurd. After all, nowadays a user-centered approach is considered a must for launching successful products to the marketplace. Therefore, the early and continuous...
View ArticleMany small improvements – Visual Studio 2015
Visual Studio 2015 has some new features for developers. This raises the question: Which of the new features will help making my life as developer easier? And which features could be left out? Visual...
View ArticleDo I really need a smartwatch? Part 2 – Apple Watch
So there it is – the Apple Watch. One year after the Pebble review, the long awaited gadget has arrived on my desk. Some months later, I finally get to test it. As it can be seen by the time passed by,...
View ArticleWatchOut: Smartwatch meets Industry 4.0
2015 was an important year for smartwatches. Following the release of the Apple Watch in April sales figures for wearables increased strongly (see: IDC). It seems obvious that smartwatches, at least in...
View ArticleJava Swing Survival Guide for User Interface Developers
When developing graphical user interfaces (GUI) with Java Swing one tends to stumble upon surprising effects and problems, often wondering about the cause behind the effect. Ignoring background...
View ArticleDreaming of being the champion or: What Software Developers can learn from...
Since I decided to study computer science and media in 2007, I have been confronted with software engineering on a daily basis. Something else also is very time consuming and I am doing it with a lot...
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