Andrew Wirtanen is a usability specialist in Cary, NC More »

The Birth of HCI and Usability

There are a couple interesting articles in February’s Journal of Usability Studies. The editorial was written by Joe Dumas and he talks about the origins of the usability field. It’s a must read for anyone new to the profession that may not realize how it all began. Joe mentions the first Human Factors in Computer [...]

Survey Design 101

I know how difficult it is to do user research, so I usually participate in any surveys (especially short ones) that people ask me to. Today, I ran into a short survey on mobile phones. The survey was nice and short, but unfortunately I hit a brick wall right away:

It’s pretty easy to make an [...]

D1 Tigers Top Atlantic Hockey

I never really liked hockey until I went to my first RIT Tigers men’s hockey game. The Ritter Ice Arena seats 2100 max, and it was amazing to see the Corner Crew in action and be so close to the ice.
Now, the Tigers are in their second year of D1 hockey in the Atlantic Hockey [...]

Where do the Super Bowl Losers’ T-Shirts and Hats Go?

The Chicago Bears are Super Bowl XLI champions this year, in Ethiopia. Every year, 288 T-shirts and hats are made for both teams in the Super Bowl. The loser’s apparel is sent off to a developing nation, usually in Africa.
Both team’s Super Bowl apparel this year were carefully guarded behind a locked door at Dolphin [...]

The Dice-K Commercial

This commercial is surely better than any Super Bowl commercial will be. Daisuke Matsuzaka is featured pitching in a Red Sox uniform and promoting a beer called Asahi Super Dry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gkn4bAdHx0