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I’ve been working on a new research concept and prototype that will illustrate some future directions of search engines. New emerging technologies like the semantic web, RDF, the mobile web, and social media may open up unprecedented opportunities for controlling the ebb and flow of information. This control will be enhanced and increased as more powerful UI platforms like Adobe Flex and MS SilverLight continue to evolve. Accessing the WWW may become more akin to operating a customized application GUI than the linear browsing behavior we see today.

Key issues:

• So what will this new search/information retrieval look like?
• How will our web browsing experience change?
• How can users design a search experience? What types of tools and UIs will they need to manipulate and customize their information?

These are questions I’ll be addressing with the team at RDVO. More coming soon, and any interesting ideas or links would be helpful!

Every once in awhile you see a presentation that just makes you say “wow”.

Alan Cooper’s keynote address at the Agile2008 Conference, titled The Wisdom of Experience presents a deeply insightful perspective the software development process.

The presentation starts by painting a clear, broad picture of the software development landscape and then dives deeper into the development process. His main premise is that the Agile Methodology is the best (and only) way to effectively implement modern software projects because it facilitates true collaboration between engineers and interaction designers.

We try to use the Agile Methodology on all of our development projects at RDVO. I think we’re one of the few agencies that have embraced this approach–the majority of interactive design firms still use the broken Waterfall Model as their core implementation process. We’ve found that Waterfall essentially sets you up to fail. A reason most agencies embrace it is because it’s much easier to “sell” to clients. Go figure.

So back to Cooper…not only is the subject matter of the presentation important, he is a master of medium. The presentation is perfectly organized and executed. While it would have been interesting to watch the presentation, the main points are clearly organized in the speaker notes.

There has been a lot of talk about the Steve Jobs presentation style, and how all business presentations should follow his model. As great as “Jobsian” presentations are, they also have a lot to do with his subject matter. While this may sound nice, the vast majority of business presentations simply need more “meat” to be relevant. I think that Cooper’s presentation provides a perfect happy medium.

The recent launch of Cuil.com and Microsoft’s acquisition of Powerset.com has piqued some new interest semantic search engines. To deliver on their promise, these new search tools must provide a new experience for search, integrating a number of new paradigms and experiences.

In preparation for a new project, I put together a quick presentation that compares design approaches for a number of prominent semantic search engines, including Powerset.com, Sindice.com, Cuil.com, Twine.com, and hakia.com. Specific attention was paid to general presentation, input methods, display or results, and categorical results approach.

Worth a look if you’re interested in semantic search.

There’s an interesting presentation from Mule Design on how a designer’s approach and strategy for copy can make or break a digital interface.

For a lot of projects, copy and wording are considered “icing” or an element of the design process that gets fitted in later—often with little or no involvement from designers. While many user interface experts believe that digital interfaces cannot support copious amounts of copy (the concept that users scan rather than read), the trend in UI design is more copy, not less. Wikipedia and Facebook are both great examples of how text can be used as the core of the user experience.

The presentation also discusses new communication and expression trends that are evolving as aspects of Web 2.0 – the concept that “We aren’t writing, we are speaking in text.”

The presentation, Copy as Interface, is embedded below.

There’s a nice article on the Google Blog that lists the company’s user experience design principles. The principles are broad, but do a great job summarizing how Google addresses the fundamental usability and experience inherent in their products. I love this approach!

1. Focus on people—their lives, their work, their dreams.
2. Every millisecond counts.
3. Simplicity is powerful.
4. Engage beginners and attract experts.
5. Dare to innovate.
6. Design for the world.
7. Plan for today’s and tomorrow’s business.
8. Delight the eye without distracting the mind.
9. Be worthy of people’s trust.
10. Add a human touch.

These principles are defined in depth here.