Dorothy Shamonsky

Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D., is the Director of UI/UX R&D for ICS. Her current focus is Natural User Interfaces (NUIs) and achieving simple, compelling user experiences for devices and services that are part of the Internet of Things.

Do You Need a UX Strategy?

Monday, December 24, 2018 - 09:16 • By Dorothy Shamonsky, Stephanie Van Ness • ROI of UX Design, UX

To reap the benefits of UX design, including increased ROI, enhanced productivity and reduced development risk, you need a cogent strategy.

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Why Has the IoT Gone Button Crazy?

Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - 07:07 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX Design, natural user interface (NUI)

Creating natural and frictionless interactive experiences may mean limiting button use.

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Determining the Optimal Touch Target Size is a 3D Problem

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - 12:36 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX Design

Creating a natural user interface requires a good understanding of how hands actually interact with screens.

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UX Design for IoT is a New Frontier

Thursday, September 20, 2018 - 07:09 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX

Designing for embedded devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) is challenging because unlike with web and desktop, there are few common design aspects shared across devices.

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What’s a Natural User Interface and Why Should I Care?

Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - 08:46 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX Design, natural user interface (NUI), Graphical User Interface (GUI)

If you use NUI principles to design a touch interface you'll get better results than if you default to GUI principles.

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Does Minimalist UX Design Require Maximal Design Effort?

Tuesday, July 17, 2018 - 13:48 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX Design, design leadership

New technologies and cutting-edge IoT products require substantial design effort — even for the simplest-appearing designs.

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Is the Future of UX Design Super Minimal?

Thursday, June 14, 2018 - 14:18 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX Design, design leadership, product design

Super minimal design is the way of the future for IoT devices, hiding vast complexity behind the simplicity.

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Co-Creating? A Little Emotional Intelligence Goes a Long Way

Friday, May 18, 2018 - 07:39 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design leadership

Here's how to gain value and avoid conflicts when co-creating with your stakeholders.

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6 Reasons Why You Should Co-Create

Friday, May 18, 2018 - 07:37 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design leadership

Including stakeholders in the creative process will pay dividends for your project.

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The Trick for Moving Clients Beyond Their Fixed Design Ideas

Friday, May 18, 2018 - 07:24 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design leadership

Clients want the best possible outcomes for their projects, but sometimes they get in their own way. Here's how to guide them toward success.

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Reduce UX Friction: Start with User Journeys, End with Successful Products

Thursday, May 17, 2018 - 08:36 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design leadership

Friction in a digital experience causes customers to turn away from your products. Here's how to avoid that.

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4 UX Design Best Practices to Keep Your Team on Track

Thursday, December 21, 2017 - 13:33 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design leadership, best practices

Following these best practices will ensure your user experience design and development process is focused and effective.

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In UX Design, Quality Hinges on Effective Micro-Decision Making

Tuesday, November 14, 2017 - 13:58 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design leadership

Do you have stellar designs that don’t translate into stellar implementations? Here’s the remedy.

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Want Your UX Design Project to Succeed? Include Stakeholders in the Process

Monday, October 2, 2017 - 11:00 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design leadership

Despite tight budgets and short deadlines, taking time to sketch helps stakeholders make informed decisions.

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How Attractive User Experiences Deliver Unexpected Payoffs

Monday, August 7, 2017 - 12:59 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, UI

Humans are driven by what they find attractive. That’s why product development teams should prioritize appealing UX.

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Designer/Developer Dissonance: How to Create Harmony for Your Next Project

Tuesday, May 23, 2017 - 08:49 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX Design, UX design team

Designers and developers approach the same problems from different vantage points. For a successful collaboration, adhere to these 3 guidelines.

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Use Design Thinking to Close More Deals

Friday, April 14, 2017 - 11:54 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design thinking, design leadership

Design thinking is hot. Apply it anytime, anywhere to show your clients you understand their goals.

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How to Create a Culture that Values Customer Empathy

Friday, March 3, 2017 - 15:09 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design thinking

To become a more design-driven company like Apple or Intuit, you need the right policies in place.

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Does Your Company Embrace Design Thinking? Here's Why It Should

Tuesday, February 7, 2017 - 08:33 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, design thinking

Powerful design extends beyond the product to the entire enterprise. Learn how design leadership can deliver better products.

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Design Leaders Ask Pushy Questions

Monday, January 16, 2017 - 08:57 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • Success in UX Design, UX design team

Empathy is at the core of great design. Understanding what others see and feel leads to more effective design and, ultimately better products.

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What Do Castles Have to Do with UX Design?

Thursday, October 27, 2016 - 10:12 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, UX Design

A family vacation touring the castles of Europe turns into a real-life lesson in UX design.

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Want to Empower Touchscreen Users? Let Them Choose Their Own Layout

Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - 13:13 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, Interactive Kiosk

Whether designing for desktop or touchscreen, your goal as a UX designer is to allow users to interact with content in a way that works for them.

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Turning the Page: Creating Natural-Feeling Touchscreen Interactions

Wednesday, September 21, 2016 - 09:27 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX

Creating user experiences that feel natural should be the goal of any touch-interface designer. Here's how we developed the page turner.

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Want to Create Touchscreen Layouts that Feel Great? Embrace Human Movement Patterns

Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - 11:32 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, UX Design, Touch Gesture, touchscreen

Incorporating natural behavior in touch interaction enhances the user experience.

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Virtual Tactile-ness: Creating Engaging User Experiences

Monday, July 18, 2016 - 10:08 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, Virtual Tactile-ness, haptic

Touch delivers heightened, more viscerally powerful user experiences.

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Tap, Tinder and Touchscreens: How Swipe Can Improve the User Experience

Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - 10:06 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, touch, touch gestures, tap, swipe, compelling touch, touch user experiences, TInder, natural touch gestures

If you are overusing the tap gesture, it's time to re-evaluate your design approach.

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Good Design is Fast

Monday, December 14, 2015 - 17:26 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • UX, User Experience, Design, rapid prototyping, iteration

Can user experience (UX) design be fast and good. We think so. Check it out.

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A Sure Way to Succeed in a Design Process

Tuesday, November 3, 2015 - 14:15 • By Dorothy Shamonsky • user experience design, UX, user experience designers, designers

Designing is a process, and as a designer you can utilize numerous strategies to progress to a successful outcome, but a sure way not to succeed is to deny the process. I like to describe it as not “honoring the design process.” You need to pay homage to the natural forces of doing and deciding. In other words, performing a bunch of random activities utilizing gathered requirements, constraints and user profiles does not necessarily lead to a solid design. A couple of examples that I have witnessed:

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