Which User Interface Would You Choose?

Here are two competing Mind Mapping Applications.  You can likely tell from the color palettes of the screen shots which platform each application was created for.  Let’s pretend that you don’t know…

Which looks more approachable? A. or B.

If you selected A, then you were drawn to MindNode for the Mac.  If you chose B, then you are looking at MindMapper Pro 2008 for the PC.

Sure you might feel like you got all the features imaginable for your $249 if you bought B, but there’s just something about the simplicity of the UI in A.  It even presents new users with info on how to start adding nodes right out of the gate.  Did I mention it’s about $15 USD?  The lesson…I don’t have to see everything at my disposal at once.  Tuck things away in a neat, easy to reach spot and I’ll use features when I need them.

Money and platform aside, the uncluttered default view of MindNode has converted me to a fan.  I use it to organize thoughts, prep for presentations, organize the structures of  sites and even keep track of requirements for that next Web app.

Sometimes its just fun to compare Apples with, well, Windows.

Zombies explained in Plain English by Commoncraft

Still laughing from this one.  Commoncraft has the corner on visual explanations

Hand lettering is definitely Jessica’s specialty

Jessica Hische has a remarkable gift.  Her hand lettering and illustration style go, well, hand in hand.

Cleverly illustrated “Short History of Marketing” Video

Love the illustration style, typographic treatments and fluid motion and transitions of this piece.  The message is quite nice too.  Watch the animated video and judge for yourself.

Experience Design Roles a perspective from 2002

Nice breakdown, from 2002 mind you, by Challis Hodge on Experience Design Roles.  The thoughts are still relevant today.

TimeSvr- Get things done with a virtual assistant.

This certainly is a change of pace from the to-do lists and task management apps that are all over the Web.  Hire a virtual assistant.  They’re called “Aides” on the site.  They’ll book your flights, search the Web and send you reminders based on your profile.  Pretty good idea for $69/month to have an assistant to do the more mundane things in life and business.

Thanks to my buddy Dave for pointing this one out.

FUZE- Collaborative Meeting experience includes iPhone, Blackberry & Windows Mobile

Here’s another interesting collaborative meeting service that touts a simple way to meet that doesn’t require plugins or downloads to join.   More importantly, though, it claims to work across mobile devices as well (iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile)

If you’re like me then you’re still trying to picture watching slides or a presentation from a handheld.  Nonetheless, the future is changing on how we meet and share information to move projects and initiatives forward.

Lotus iNotes for the iPhone/Touch- Simple UI

From what I can tell from the screenshots, iNotes has a relatively clean user interface and might prove to be useful for corporate users.  Ahhh, the good old days when Lotus Notes was the sanctioned corporate app.

Producteev Beta- Marriage of Task Management, Status Updates, & File Sharing

Looks like a promising marriage of task management, micro-blogging/status updates and file sharing for collaborative teams.

Waiting for the private Beta invitation to give it a go.

jQZoom- jQuery image zooms. Put it to work for eCommerce decision support.

Here are some interesting samples of image zooms.  I like the subtle fadeout transition on Example 5.  All would work nicely in an eCommerce experience for decision support in the browsing process.