Monday, October 30, 2023 - 12:55 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D., Stephanie Van Ness  •  UX Design, designing for embedded, medical device
As a result of ongoing digital transformation, many industrial and IoT devices have small, embedded computer touch screens for control of the device. These screens are in the ballpark of small tablet-sized or smartphone-sized screens or even smaller than a phone screen. Designing the interface for those small, embedded screens is a challenge, but one that our team has experience and confidence in. You might be thinking: Small screens on smartphones are everywhere! It’s a well understood practice! That's true. But small embedded screens are significantly different to design for than…
Thursday, July 20, 2023 - 10:14 ">  •  By Sarah Jennifer Lummus, Lukas Krause  •  UX, Software Development
Looking for a plugin to quickly turn your Figma design into code for production or advanced prototyping? If so, this blog is for you! We tested 20 leading code-generator plugins – evaluating them with quality, accuracy and usability in mind – and generated code for a nine-frame Figma file. What we discovered is that the current generation of plugins are in general difficult to use, inaccurate, expensive, and produce low-quality code. But there are some exceptions – winners that stand out from the pack, including ICS’ own Figma2Flutter plugin.  To help you identify what might work for…
Thursday, July 6, 2023 - 13:32 ">  •  By Don Goetz, Holly Mae Casdorph  •  UX Design, Software Development
Market-leading collaborative design tool Figma just raised the stakes, releasing at the June 21-22 Config 2023 conference new features and major updates likely to transform the way designers create, and work with the platform. Since the release, the Boston UX team has been busy evaluating Figma’s latest. We’re sharing our initial impressions now, and will circle back in several weeks once we’ve done a deeper dive. Figma is Our Design Tool of Choice  Since 2018, Figma has been the design tool of choice for ICS and our design studio Boston UX. Our team spans multiple continents, as well…
Monday, April 10, 2023 - 12:24 ">  •  By Rex Palmer  •  UX, GUI
If you are creating or recreating software controls for a medical, industrial, or other device, at some point you may consider whether to design your user interface (UI) with light mode, dark mode – or both. Light mode is characterized by dark foreground elements (such as text) on a light background, dark mode by light foreground elements on a dark background.  Dark mode has been something of a fad in recent years. Surveys show it to be popular on consumer devices. If you go looking for insight on the subject, you will find claims that dark mode reduces eye strain, extends battery life…
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 - 08:34 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D.  •  UX Design, product design
Some design practices can be described as just good common sense because they efficiently move progress on the project or mitigate risk of failures. Advancing a new product or service concept in the form of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) fits into this category of a commonsense practice. After all, if you’re going to launch a new product or even a big, new feature of your existing product, it makes good sense to first launch a small, simple version to test its viability, see how your audience responds, determine whether you’re ready internally to provide the requested support, find out…
Monday, December 12, 2022 - 13:58 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D.  •  UX Design, medical device, usability design
As you read the title to this blog no doubt some feelings popped into your consciousness that you associate with the word ‘beautiful’, like high quality, effective, highly usable, sophisticated, maybe even expensive.  But you may have also thought ‘oxymoron.’  We don’t usually think about medical devices and aesthetics as having anything to do with each other. They seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum between science and art. After all,  nobody really cares what a medical device looks or feels like as long as it does its job safely and delivers accurate results.…
Monday, July 25, 2022 - 12:46 ">  •  By Nicole Rosenberg, Stephanie Van Ness  •  UX, product design
If you’re serious about creating a great product that truly meets the needs of users, conducting well-planned research at the start of product development is key. Up-front research provides critical insight that can serve as the solid foundation on which to build your design strategy. The perspective you and your design team will gain from conducting user research early in the development lifecycle will enable you to bring products to life in ways that will resonate with users. Boston UX has put together a new series, The Foundation of Design: UX Research, to help you better understand what’…
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - 10:40 ">  •  By Jeff LeBlanc  •  IoT, smart devices
The Internet of Things (IoT) continues to gain traction in the technology world. From its humble beginnings in 1999 at MIT, the concept of adding a digital “footprint” to devices that have previously been non-digital has grown by leaps and bounds. The value of the IoT market is predicted to exceed $1300 billion by 2026.   The Challenge of Smart Devices Common devices such as thermostats, ovens and toasters are getting the “smart” device treatment as manufacturers add computing power to their offerings. One of the primary challenges to making smart devices is understanding in what…
Monday, April 11, 2022 - 08:40 ">  •  By Jeff LeBlanc  •  VR, UX
One of the most exciting user experience (UX) modalities to design for is that of Virtual Reality (VR). Far from being the gimmick that it was once thought to be, VR and related interaction styles are quickly becoming a viable solution for many complex interactions, ranging from retail display to life-saving surgical interventions. But how did this technology evolve, and where is it going? For many people, the 1999 movie The Matrix was a mind-blowing first introduction to the concept of VR. The idea that a computer could generate sounds and images equivalent to what could be experienced in…
Monday, January 31, 2022 - 12:42 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D.  •  UX, Automotive
Have you gone electric? Electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) have been slow to arrive on the market so why should UX designers be excited about them? Here’s why: the change from fossil fuel to battery-powered vehicles is inevitable at this point. With this change comes emerging tech that will fundamentally shift the direction of UX.  New products and technologies that cause change to ripple across our profession happen only about once a decade. The last time was when mobile devices, represented emblematically by the smartphone, became ubiquitous in our…
Tuesday, September 7, 2021 - 12:40 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D.  •  UX
The expression “Digital Transformation” sounds like it’s all about technology, but it’s not.  It’s about people. People — users — are ultimately the reason for and the recipients of digital change, which can impact them for better or worse. For example, while online shoppers might rejoice at a more improved and streamlined retail experience, warehouse workers might find a new inventory system disruptive and frustrating, tethering them to computer screens more tightly than before. I’m by no means the first to put people at the center of digital transformation, but many businesses have…
Friday, June 11, 2021 - 10:05 ">  •  By Taimoor Tanweer  •  UX, Qt Designer
Qt Design Studio is a powerful tool for designers and developers that can be used to create professional user interfaces (UI) with the Qt framework for desktop, mobile, MCU or embedded devices with a single codebase. At ICS, we deal with in-house teams and teams of developers and designers from outside companies, including those of our customers. Collaborating with designers and implementing the functional requirements of an application is not an easy assignment. The addition of Qt Design Studio in the development lifecycle has helped ease the development process for everyone involved, hence…
Wednesday, March 31, 2021 - 10:59 ">  •  By Andrew Babkin  •  UX, Qt Designer
At ICS and Boston UX, we not only work with our own developers, we work with engineers from many companies that represent every industry. Without a doubt, communicating to an engineer the exact intent of a design in a form that they can implement is a very difficult task. Qt Design Studio allows designers and developers to work simultaneously with a unifying framework and common language, which allows for fewer feedback loops and quicker iterations.  By facilitating better communication between designers and developers, Qt Design Studio has the potential to save time lost in…
Thursday, October 15, 2020 - 13:24 ">  •  By Holly Mae Casdorph  •  UX Design, designing for embedded
The Dress, Designed by Roman Originals Early in the year of 2015 (800 B.C. in internet years) millions of friendships were ruined, culture wars destroyed, and trust was betrayed over one polarizing photo of a tacky looking dress. This low-quality digital photo was perceived differently by virtually everyone who saw it. Was it gold and white, or blue and black? Judging from this image alone, I was convinced it was gold and white. I genuinely believed that anyone on team “blue and black” was being a contrarian for the sake of looking like a big-brain intellectual. Delighted by the free…
Friday, October 9, 2020 - 10:12 ">  •  By Philip Chila, Stephanie Van Ness  •  medical device, UX Design
In the era of COVID-19, accelerating scientific R&D takes on new urgency. For today’s research scientists, accessing and making sense of the information needed to support their discoveries is a challenge. Why? Scientists conduct less hands-on wet and dry lab work than in the past and instead increasingly rely on software applications to conduct research. While this means they have expansive information at their fingertips — everything from lab notebook entries to patent information — this data often resides in software applications that can be difficult and frustrating to use.  We’…
Friday, July 31, 2020 - 10:27 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness, Mark Hatch  •  touchscreen, User Experience
Contact-less processes that enhance the user experience are essential in light of COVID-19. Join us August 13 for a live webinar exploring technology that allows you to deliver peace of mind for your customers. Despite strides made in terms of access to PPE, availability of virus-killing cleaning products and widespread acceptance of hand-washing protocols, COVID-19 continues to make people uncomfortable when using public touchscreen devices, such as ATMs. The fear of infection has compelled many consumers to change their behavior or go out of their way to avoid interacting with public…
Monday, June 8, 2020 - 12:47 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D.  •  UX Design, rapid prototyping
Imagining an interactive experience from a set of requirements, then refining that idea while examining it from many angles and views (e.g. business goals, usability, content and aesthetics), and eventually finalizing the design for development. That is the user experience (UX) design process in a nutshell. Seeing a design through varied representations is necessary in the UX realm since designs are complex, dynamic and not visible all at once. In some instances, such as with voice interfaces, they’re not visible at all. So designers use many kinds of representations to “see” and analyze…
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 - 07:09 ">  •  By Peter Winston  •  Open Source, medical device, Qt
This ongoing series provides a close-up look at our work helping two non-profit organizations, RespiraWorks and Project RED, create low-cost ventilators to fight COVID-19 in countries with developing economies. Progress reports will be posted regularly. June 4, 2020 No one likes surprises on projects, and I have written many times about how to prepare for and budget for the unexpected. But those are negative surprises. Positive surprises, on the other hand, are welcome. A few days ago, I got just such a surprise. Thanks to all the blogging and the publicity we’ve…
Friday, April 17, 2020 - 08:51 ">  •  By Mark Hatch  •  Voice Recognition, gesture interface
A glance around any ER, OR or hospital ward and it’s clear that touchscreen technology plays a prominent role in patient care. From AEDs to infusion pumps, most of these highly sensitive and often lifesaving devices are controlled by a user interface (UI) that requires it to be touched by a human hand.  Until now, that’s been a great thing. Touchscreen interfaces have vastly improved how we operate and interact with critical devices. Well-designed interfaces deliver exceptional UX, or user experiences, so it’s much easier for say an oncologist to precisely deliver radiation therapy or…
Monday, March 30, 2020 - 13:36 ">  •  By Mark Hatch  •  GreenHouse, Qt
One of the most frequent comments we get after we introduce our new GreenHouse by ICS solution to a customer is “this sounds a lot like Qt Design Studio.” And it’s no wonder. At ICS, we often talk about integrating user experience (UX) designers into the device development process in a way that allows them greater control over generating a “pixel-perfect” user interface — one that engineering can extend into the actual application.  If you’ve ever seen a demo of Qt Design Studio, you might recall that it starts off with someone designing a user interface while explaining that this…
Friday, March 20, 2020 - 08:50 ">  •  By Mark Hatch, Stephanie Van Ness  •  GreenHouse, UX design team
User Experience (UX) designers work on a wide variety of projects, ranging from web and mobile apps to desktop and embedded devices to name a few. No matter the application, there is a common thread of persistent obstacles that designers on integrated teams encounter most — if not all — of the time.  As the team gains knowledge through research and user testing, designers come up with new ideas. But at some point, innovation starts to bump against the constraints of budget and scope.  In addition, there are delicate transfer points between the UX, design and engineering that have…
Thursday, December 5, 2019 - 07:55 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D.  •  Usability Testing, medical device
If you’ve ever tried to recruit busy professionals like physicians to test your software or other product, you know it can be a challenge. Doctors are notoriously overscheduled. Their mental energy is focused on their patients. And, in a profession where time is money, they can’t be incentivized by a small financial token sometimes offered to product testers. In other words, simply don’t have the time or interest to be a user tester. Still, you need them to test your product. Why? It is best practice to have the appropriate professionals try out your design before your product hits the…
Thursday, November 7, 2019 - 08:10 ">  •  By Boris Savic  •  UX Design, designing for embedded
For a user experience (UX) professional, designing for the embedded device environment is an opportunity to tap some of the skills that in web and mobile typically get streamlined right out of the process. Here, those skills are not only welcome but essential to delivering a state-of-the-art interface. Here’s what I mean. Advances in design software, adoption of tight device-specific best practices and establishment of common interaction patterns have made it much easier to design web and mobile apps. These changes have improved the UX design process and enhanced collaboration with…
Monday, November 4, 2019 - 10:44 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D.  •  UX Design, medical device
For medical device makers, it’s best to embrace the FDA regulatory process early as substantial time and effort is needed to prepare for approval. The FDA requires device makers to prove through appropriate testing that use errors are greatly reduced and that a device does not allow use errors to cause harm to a patient.  The more risk that a device poses to a patient, the more rigorous the approvals process and required testing. The regulatory process can take as little as 90 days for a low-risk Class II device, such as a blood pressure cuff, to as much as 12+ months for a complex,…
Friday, September 6, 2019 - 10:55 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  UX Design
Figma, a collaborative design tool launched in 2016 by two twentysomethings (Dylan Field and Evan Wallace, whose San Francisco-based startup has raised nearly $83 million) has done for the design world what Google Docs has done for the rest of the business world — transformed workflow. How? By creating a user interface (UI) design tool built for real-time collaboration.  Like Google docs, Figma stores work in the cloud where it is automatically saved to a shared space. Work can easily be shared with coworkers and clients via web browser in real time using a single URL. With Figma,…
Friday, July 12, 2019 - 12:30 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D.  •  IoT, UX
I recently attended the User Experience Professional Association (UXPA) 2019 International Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona where I presented a talk entitled Designing for the IoT and the Rise of Natural Interaction. While there I attended other design professionals’ sessions and networked throughout the major industry event. Here’s what I learned — three important takeaways that may have relevance for your business. 1. Today’s companies are looking for ways to add digital technology to their products  Companies are actively seeking ways to develop innovative connected, IoT-type…
Wednesday, May 8, 2019 - 08:30 ">  •  By Christopher Probst, ICS Development Team  •  Qt, QML, Qt Quick
In part one of this blog series we explained the concept of model-view design and explained the need for a more advanced process for handling dynamic data. In part two, we illustrate the power of Qt Quick’s model-view-delegate framework with an example application that downloads mp3 files from the web. We point out best practices and common pitfalls while writing a C++ model in Qt Quick. Our example is hosted in this GitLab repository, and it requires Qt 5.12 or later and a C++14 compiler. We recommend cloning the repository, opening the project in Qt Creator, and following along…
Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - 11:55 ">  •  By Christopher Probst, ICS Development Team  •  Qt, QML, Qt Quick
The speed on your car’s dashboard, the temperature on your cabin’s thermostat, the heart rate on your wearable device. These values originate from an external source, populate a model, and then make their digital way to a display. The task of the GUI developer is to write code that fetches this data from an external source, organizes it, and then presents it beautifully. Writing such a model, and providing it to a view, relies on the model-view design pattern. With Qt Quick, one way to achieve this is to wrap a third-party library with a QObject and map every value on the display to a Qt…