Posts by Dan Herwig
The $300 Million Button.
Green Eyed Monster dvdrip Usability matters. See how a simple UI tweak resulted in major payoffs.
How Changing a Button Increased a Site’s Annual Revenues by $300 Million
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It’s hard to imagine a form that could be simpler: two fields, two buttons, and one link. Yet, it turns out this form was preventing customers from purchasing products from a major e-commerce site, to the tune of $300,000,000 a year. What was even worse: the designers of the site had no clue there was even a problem.
The form was simple. The fields were Email Address and Password.
The buttons were Login and Register. The link was Forgot Password. It was the login form for the site. It’s a form users encounter all the time. How could they have problems with it?
Death Toll dvdrip Read the rest of the story here.
Bikes as Birds
A few months back an exciting new project landed in our lap from our longtime collaborators at Trek. The task was to redesign the consumer interface of their popular Project One custom bike configuration tool. At some point in the design process a few months ago I found myself dreaming about my latest project, as I commonly do. In this dream I used Project One to create bike designs that looked like various species of birds. When I woke up I realized what a fantastic idea this was.
I’m happy to announce that today with Trek, the team here at Hanson Dodge Creative has launched the latest incarnation of Project One. To commemorate the launch I followed my subconscious advice and actually styled several bikes as birds. Click on any of the images in this post to see a full-sized version.
The bikes below have been designed using just the configurator and haven’t been adjusted in any image editing software – a testament to the amount of creative control the custom program affords. You can even change colors on the smallest of details like bar tape, cable housings and in some cases even brake hood colors. The amount of customization Trek is offering to their customers sets a high bar for online product configurations.
So enjoy. And if you feel motivated, flutter on over to Trek’s Project One
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configurator and make your own bike as a bird. If you’re really motivated, post your creation to Flickr and add a link to the comments for this post.
Wild Parrot
Flamingo
Yellow Finch
Woodpecker
Raven
Blue Jay
Turkey Vulture
Rooster
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Cardinal
Oriole
All of the source birdy photos can be found on Flickr and are flagged as remixable by the creative commons license.
Get your avian photo fix here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nosha/2572923294/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davideg/1513641666/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darwinbell/320009619/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindenbaum/2525362430/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jettyboy/855569038/
http://flickr.com/photos/ricmcarthur/148238137/
http://flickr.com/photos/simondbarnes/360572546/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/revilla/538922356/
http://flickr.com/photos/lindenbaum/2220526073/
http://flickr.com/photos/kubina/467715401/ download The Yarn Princess Peaceful Warrior psp Christian Blake psp
Outdoor Recreation in Urban Spaces
A half-block from our studio there is a bridge that I walk under almost every day. Well, actually using the word bridge is selling it short, it’s actually an overpass for a section of freeway
that cuts right through the heart of Milwaukee. The space is somewhat typical of what happens in urban areas under overpasses – it’s used as a parking lot, left feral or otherwise ignored. Despite its present undeveloped state, this location has a few things going for it. It’s across the street from the Milwaukee Public Market, it abuts Milwaukee’s River Walk Ridicule hd pedestrian thoroughfare and is right next door to a public launch for kayakers, canoeists and rowers who use the Milwaukee River. Here in the heart of the city, in an otherwise unused space and surrounded by such great attractions, seems like the perfect place to create an urban park focused on active recreation.
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Other municipalities have done this with great success already. Portland, Oregon has the Burnside Skatepark, located under the Burnside Bridge. Built originally without permission from the city, this skatepark is now officially supported by the city and creates a public recreation area in a dense urban area that’s sheltered from the weather due to it’s location under such a large structure.
The Devil’s Own trailer A Hanson Dodge Creative colleague of mine sent me a link to the Colonnade Mountain Bike Park in Seattle, Washington. I can’t describe this place it’s so insanely inventive. It’s truly a new model of how urban “in-between” spaces can be dramatically re-imagined and converted from grafitti-strewn dirt patches into urban playgrounds. The park features mountain bike trails and obstacles, at various ability levels, in an unbelievably small footprint under a brige.
I walk by that mean space every day on my way to work and I imagine opportunity for joy in the heart of the city. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t become just another parking lot.
Speed Vest
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I’ve seen this proof-of-concept floating around the web for a few weeks and it looks like it’s gaining some traction. It’s called the Speed Vest, and it displays a cyclist’s speed in illuminated numbers on their back. The idea is that it makes the cyclist more visible and helps educate cagers car drivers to the viability of bike commuting. Interesting concept, but I think a little refinement is needed before it would be moved into production. It seems like a “mph” or “kph” would need to be illuminated as well for drivers to get the full concept. The reflective “MY SPEED” lettering seems to be illegible at night. Could just be the video, however. That being said, it’s an interesting blend of on-bike technology and practical cycling fashion.
Back to Basics
The Secret Life of Bees psp I ran across this post from James Thomas of the Bicycle Design blog last night. It shows a prototype Trek Stop (think truck stop) that’s currently located outside a bike shop in Madison, WI. Think of the Trek Stop as a vending machine merged with a mechanic’s bike stand wrapped in the styling of a gas station awning. The vending machine sells all of the basics you may need while out and about on your next ride including tubes, patch kits, water bottles, etc. I could see these units being a success in areas where bikes shops aren’t currently found – in dense urban areas, near parks and trails that handle a lot of cycling traffic, or near mass transit hubs. Overall I think it’s a great concept whose time may appropriate with the cost of gasoline on the rise and the renewed interest in bikes as viable commuting options.
Bike to Work Fashion
In keeping with my recent post
about the Speed Vest, here’s another nighttime cycling accessory that promises to boost visibility for 2-wheeled commuters. Cordarounds has just introduced their Bike to Work Pants, which feature fabrics that pass as cubicle-friendly khaki by day but transform into reflective beacons once you roll up a pant leg or pull out a rear pocket. Here’s a grainy, blurry nightime video that shows the benefits of the product.
It’s products like this that can help avoid cycling-related accidents and catastrophes. For example, perhaps NY State Senator Jeff Klein would have seen the cyclist he almost hit and could have avoided the embarassing blog chatter about the incident.
Safety First
Most of the time, I don’t think a whole lot about my safety while I run or bike. I’ve been doing it for a long time and I’ve never had a serious problem. But running, and especially biking, is not without risk.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire divx The obvious risk comes in the form of a few tons of steel and glass strapped to 4 wheels – cars, trucks, and traffic in general. America unfortunately, isn’t the most enlightened place when it comes to respecting bikes and pedestrians. For the most part it’s fine, but there’s always the random inattentive driver or even worse, the driver thats upset you’d have the audacity to run or bike on an actual road.
The not-so-obvious risk are numerous as well. What would happen if I fainted from heat exhaustion like this guy
? What if had a heart attack or stroke? What if I took a spill in a remote place on my bike and was left unconscious?
I’m generally not a panic-inclined fellow, and I realize that most of the scenarios above are statistically improbable. However, when you solo run 12, 15 or 20 miles in all sorts of severe weather over the course of several hours, it makes you think about things like this. What if something happened to me? I’m 8 miles from the nearest phone! Thankfully, there’s a simple answer and it’s called Road I.D.
I picked one of these I.D. bracelets up a few weeks back and couldn’t be more impressed with the product. The concept is simple. It’s a lightweight bracelet that holds an engraved plaque with you vital info on it. My name. Emergency phone numbers. Blood type. Allergies. You get the idea.
I’ve been wearing it on all of my rides and runs and I can think of more instances where it would come in handy as well, such as extended backpacking trips or traveling abroad. If a bracelet isn’t your style, they have a bunch of other options as well. Check out Road I.D. It’s a simple thing that may end up saving your life
sometime.
And before you ask, this isn’t a paid posting for Road I.D. I just think that it’s a great product from a company that decided to do one thing and do it very well.
Skateboarding is Not a Crime, Finally.
A disproportionate segment of my adolescent life was spent doing one of three things: Skateboarding, talking about skateboarding, or watching skateboarding videos. This was back before the internets, when skateboarding culture was still misunderstood and seen as a general menace to civilization akin to the Russian paratroopers in Red Dawn Rosemary’s Baby dvd . To be a skateboarder in the late 80’s, you needed some sense of entrepreneurial spirit to practice your craft. To skate, you generally had three options.
First, you could go to the skateparks. The Turf
Skatepark in Milwaukee and Rotation Station in Rockford, IL both benefited from receiving large chunks of my minimum-wage earnings. These places were a skater’s paradise, but the true benefit of going to the parks was usually the people you met. You’d connect with other kids who shared the same passion you had for riding around on a plank of wood with four wheels. Turf’s “Elvira” pinball machine and exquisitely curated jukebox were perks as well.
The Haunting dvdrip Secondly, you could build your own terrain. I had the benefit of living in the countryside, where one of my close friends just happened to have a huge, empty barn laying around. A couple summers, dozens of trips to the lumber yard, and a few hundred hours of work and we had ourselves a veritable private skatepark. A forty-foot wide, masonite-sheathed, private indoor skatepark in cold, snowy Wisconsin. My childhood was closer to heaven than I’ll ever be again.
buy The Forsaken Lastly, you could skate the streets and hope you didn’t get caught. This was by far the most popular option.
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Luckily, communities across the globe are now realizing that skateboarding is actually a viable sport. And like many sports, it requires the proper environment to practice it. I’ve heard rumblings for last few years that a group of young skateboarders, Tosa Skateboarders United White Christmas movie (TSU), were working on a proposal for a skatepark in Wauwatosa, the city I moved to a few years ago. Well, apparently they’ve been working hard, and through the right channels. I just read today that a plan has been selected for a brand new public skatepark. It’s an amazing design by the Site Design Group, which specializes in design and construction of action sports terrain. Click the image above to see a larger view of the plan.
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TSU has been working with the community to plan the new skatepark, which will be located in the newly-expanded Hart Park,
in the heart of the city. They’ve really done their homework and have held community meetings to discuss the plans, get feedback from citizens and involve people interested in the project. It’s a great example of a small group of passionate citizens pleading their case and the municipality listening and responding. This is the kind of project that makes paying property taxes worth it.
Pleasantville dvdrip The question is: will my 30-something year-old body be up for it now? I’m no spring chicken anymore. I mean, this is the same city park where I play tennis with my wife and start my marathon training runs from. That being said, it’s great to see this type of thing happening in my own back yard.
Rise of the Mobile Web
Earlier today, Hanson Dodge Creative launched the first iPhone-optimized site that we’ve created for one of our clients, Trek Bicycles. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, I invite you to pop over to the site
and take a ride. We’re really excited about the new site and are fortunate to work with forward-looking clients who engage us on projects like this. These are the types of projects that make being a designer or developer worth it.
Yesterday, the New York Times published an interesting article
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that spoke about a spike in Google’s traffic on Christmas, ostensibly from users who had just received iPhones for the holidays. The traffic from iPhone users eclipsed that of established, entrenched mobile OS providers. Here’s the really interesting part of the article:
“The data is striking because the iPhone, an Apple product, accounts for just 2 percent of smartphones worldwide, according to IDC, a market research firm. Phones powered by Symbian make up 63 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, while those powered by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile have 11 percent and those running the BlackBerry system have 10 percent.”
So, with just 2 percent of the market, the iPhone already registered higher web traffic volumes than platforms that when combined, hold 84 percent of the current market. From my design-centric point of view, I can only deduce that people with existing smart phones do not use the web functionality of their phones and that the interface design of the iPhone makes mobile web browsing a viable, if not liberating option.
We’ve seen the same trend. In fact, it’s even more pronounced than Google’s numbers. In our own traffic logs, and in some of our clients’, we’ve noticed a meteoric rise in of the number of iPhone and iPod touch users. Overall, we’ve seen iPhone and iPod touch users, with .2 percent of traffic, register an order of magnitude higher than the next closest OS – Symbian, coming in at .02 percent. This is an unscientific look at the numbers, but it does seem to indicate that the iPhone is in a league of its own when it comes to mobile browsing.
For those of you who love lists, here’s how we see the OS traffic levels shaking out currently. Again, the jump to the iPhone and iPod touch was an order of magnitude from the closest competitor, Symbian. Any platforms not listed were below .01 percent of traffic.
- Windows
- Macintosh
- Linux
- iPhone/iPod
- SymbianOS
- Danger Hiptop
- Playstation 3
- Palm OS
- Nintendo Wii
- Sun OS
- Playstation Portable
Joy Ride: End of the Road buy For me, this project was the first one that really made me believe in the future of the mobile web. I’ve been designing for the web for a decade now, and although I’ve done my fair share of mobile projects, none of them ever felt like a viable substitution for a full browser-based experience. The iPhone is changing this, and will hopefully pressure other mobile platforms to improve the browsing experience for its users.
We interrupt this program…
So as not to be accused of taking ourselves too seriously, we thought we’d share a fun little internal project that debuted at our Annual Holiday Party this past weekend. It’s a short film that parodies filmmaker Ken Burns’ style of documentary. There are a few insider jokes, but overall it pokes some fun at the industry we’re so blessed to be a part of. We give you: American Industry: From Ironworker to Knowledge Worker.
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