Blog Archives

Unbelievable sounds’ best albums of 2014

Happy 2015 friends! In case you wondered what unbelievable sounds I heard in 2014, here’s my best of the year podcast. Listen or download at http://functionprojects.com/unbelievablesounds/audio/2014_best.m4a 10. The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete – Bob Dylan, a recovery of one of the most mythical sessions of Bob and the Band cranking out tunes. 9.

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12 songs of christmas

Download/listen to the podcast here.

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Get grounded in Gestalt Theory

Whether or not we are considered artistic, we all have incredible visual acuity. Understanding Gestalt phenomena gives insight into the themes of how we perceive our world, and introducing these principles to your clients can help them better understand your designs and give you more coherent feedback. When we evaluate the understanding and effectiveness of

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Gestalt theory for interface designers – 3 similarity

Our next fundamental gestalt principle I want to introduce is similarity.  The ability to discern what elements are like each other, which are dissimilar, and also to match an elements purpose to something we expect or have learned. Much of this understanding comes from the ceaseless amount of experimentation we do as babies and young children. From understanding what shape a

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Gestalt theory for interaction designers – 2 proximity

Welcome to Gestalt 2, proximity. These Bauhaus theories of perception have helped designers understand how to use innate human visual abilities to maximize their messaging for centuries.  They can help you make more effective interface designs. They also help educate “I’m not a designer” clients or customers on why some design works or fails, and how to fix it. The crux

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Gestalt theory for interface designers: 1 Figure/Ground

If you are new to the world of design, it often feels like there are no rules, and few words that can communicate why a design is working well or poorly. Human visual perception has been honed over hundreds and thousands of years to notice and interpret visual cues in our environment with great accuracy and prejudice.

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9 ways to create an experienced-based culture

Delivering a great user experience. It’s the sign of companies that “get it”, an example for others to imitate and a way to reap profits from delighted, engaged customers. In creating real or virtual goods and services, how do you engineer a memorable experience? Tip: Its harder than it looks. Customers aren’t there in your

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App Prototyping tool smackdown (March edition)

You know that fantastic idea you have for an app? The one that you know will make you millions if you only knew a designer, a programmer or a UX whiz? In our previous post we spoke of how interactive prototypes bridge the gap between wireframes (or sketches) and actual experiences you can show your

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Unbelievable sounds best of 2013

Cheers to the great tunes of 2013. Here’s my top 10! Chance the Rapper Acid Rap Velvet Underground La Cave Adventures in modern living 1968 Kurt Vile Walkin’ on a pretty daze Joe Higgs Unity is Power Opossum – Electric Hawaii Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II Dirty Beaches – Drifters/Love is the Devil Valerie June

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10 cowboy christmas classics

Good music always brings on the holiday spirit. This year a lovely set of 10 cowboy christmas oldies to set your mood for the next few days before the onslaught of the Best of Unbelievable Sounds 2013 podcast! Download link – Cowboy Christmas Tunes

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