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      First impressions have always mattered, and this is no exception for website pages or apps. First impressions help users understand what a site or app is all about, and whether or not they want to continue spending more time on it. There is so much content out there these days; users are quick to decide how and where they wish to spend their time. This is why as researchers it is important to consider the usefulness of the 5-second test when creating new content or designs. This article will explain what the 5-second test is, as well as how to carry it out in three simple steps.

      Technology has created an era of immediacy within our society: users expect their interfaces to give them immediate indicators that they are on the right track or their task has been completed. If users are unable to get that immediate feedback, they can become frustrated or abandon a task. Additionally, users like feeling engaged when they interact with an interface; rather than just interacting with a rigid interface. Creating small moments of interaction between the user and the interface helps to create an overall enjoyable user experience. How can this be accomplished through something so small that it does not take away from the overall interface? This is where microinteractions come into play.

One of the most effective ways to connect with your customer base is using online survey tools. Market research statistics can provide meaningful insight into details about a market, strategies, and customers.

An online survey can help customer relationship representatives gauge customer satisfaction, solicit information from existing or prospective customers, or help human resources professionals learn what matters to employees.

     Many people will look at a UI design and think that the color choice comes from the preference of the designer- what they thought would look the best for the given project. While sometimes this may be the case, colors are often chosen carefully and with intention. Why? Color has been proven to have a great impact on the mood and behaviors of individuals and as a result, the overall success of a product, design or web page can rest on the colors that are chosen.

     One of the big design trends that have been steadily picking up popularity is the idea of going “off grid”- breaking away from harsh grid lines, and paving the way for edgeless screens and borderless designs. Both edgeless screens and borderless designs have a similar goal in mind: doing away with chunky, blocky borders in order to create a more fluid and immersive storytelling experience. But what exactly does going “off grid” mean?

The idea of biometrics in XR isn’t a terribly new one. Methods like heart rate and eye tracking are pretty popular in the research community. Academic researchers have been using physiological signals to measure changes in user states for decades and some AR applications have begun integrating biosignals to inform changes to the system. What is a newer idea is using biosignals as a user controlled input method.

If the future of XR interaction means that users will communicate via customizable avatars, how can you trust that the user you’re interacting with is who they say they are? Part 2: Blockchain-based VR.

“Scrolling is a continuation, clicking is a decision.”- Josh Porter, Designer

     At the beginning of UX, users typically did not scroll vertically, simply because they just weren’t used to it. During the mid-nineties, scrolling was something that was still a new concept in regards to the development of user experience design. As a result, user’s would oftentimes just make their selections based on the information they could see without having to scroll further down, which set forward one of the biggest UX myths ever: the idea that people don’t scroll. This UX Myth has been around for a while and has impacted UX design as well, leading to the “above the fold” UX best practice- the idea that users will only pay attention to information that is “above the fold” and therefore all the important content for the user to make their decision should be available in that space without the user having to scroll.

Although augmented and virtual reality systems (which I will refer to globally as extended reality, or XR) have not yet reached the level of everyday ubiquity expected by some industry insiders, these technologies are being increasingly utilized in domains traditionally considered to be risky, such as aviation and medicine. This is Part 1: AI Smart Avatars.

     Many in the UX industry are familiar with the idea of the three-click rule, a golden UX best practice for design. The three click rule is the idea if that after three clicks a user cannot find what they are looking for, they are likely to get frustrated and abandon the task they set out to do. This idea quickly gained popularity a became a well known best practice for designing an engaging and effective user experience and is something that can still be seen in design that happens today. But, is the three click rule something that we should still be holding onto?