Yu Centrik

Mobile Marketing Conference is in Montreal, October 27, 2011 and Jay Vidyarthi UX Research Coordinator and UX Designer at Yu Centrik will present on Exploiting Cognitive Bias: Creating UX for the Irrational Human Mind.

Join us at the UXMarathon Webinar and learn from the various webinars and get fully equipped with the latest knowledge in the field.

Marcio Leibovitch, UX Director at Yu Centrik will discuss the benefits of prototyping, walk through a number of prototyping tools and talk about the pros and cons of each tool and how to choose the right one.

With the growth we have experienced in recent years, we began to find our offices in the Plateau a bit small.

We were looking for a place that would be more suitable for our design needs and most importantly, a space that we can call a Living lab; an environnement where we can push further our passion for user research.

And … we found it!

Our new offices, now located in the heart of Mile End, will be larger but no less welcoming than before!

The Yu Lab will be equipped with the latest technologies for observing and capturing users behaviour.

The new lab will allow us to offer our clients an even richer range of services: focus groups, tests on all types of screens (mobile phones, tablets, PCs, TV sets) and in all contexts. We will be able to convert this space into a living room, a kitchen, a operational control room, in short, in all types of environments necessary for the studies requested by our clients!

The observation room will have a 15-feet two-way mirror and monitors for close-ups.

In addition, our War Room, dedicated to creative discussions and brainstorming, is ready to welcome you to exciting collaborative design sessions (we love them)!

Continue to follow us as we will invite you later this fall for an opening cocktail party!

So as of August 25, 2011, you can reach us at:

6615 Park Avenue,

Montreal, QC   H2V 4J1,

(corner of Beaubien and Park - View map)

We have kept the same telephone number: 514 523-5862

Thank you in advance for communicating our new address to anyone this may concern.

Year after year, students graduating from the Université de Montréal’s Industrial Design program showcase their work to an interested public. Though neglected for a long time, industrial design is now taking its place in the ergonomics and user experience industries.

This year, Chrystel and I were invited as jurors for the RAEDIUM prize. Each year, this prize is awarded to the student whose final year project excels in terms of understanding user-centered design and context of use. Our congratulations go to the winner, Hugo Messier, for his project R-Mano.

In this article, we present this project, as well as 2 other projects which deserve honourable mention.

R-Mano: Prehension Aid
by Hugo Messier

This sport glove allows the disabled to hold an object in their hand without using any force. It is designed for people with limited grip strength and dexterity while still having strength in their arms.

While still only a prototype, R-Mano has been tested and approved by people with handicapped hands.

Sysmo: Modular Support Bar System
by Chloé Tétreault

Sysmo enhances the experience of elderly people in the bathroom. Their attractive design, a definite improvement compared to existing systems, allows them to be fixed to the shower wall or bathtub. They allow for maximum grip and the rotating base gives the bars enhanced flexibility in terms of usage.

The support systems integrates seamlessly in the aging people’s environment, evolving with their needs and allowing them to keep their autonomy for as long as possible.

ICI : Public Transportation Targeted Information System
by Émilie Bonnier

The ability to select a route and find our bearings in transit may influence our choice of transportation mode. ICI provides users with targeted information at bus stops and inside the bus.
The goal is to improve users’ orientation by using their own personal reference points throughout the city.

For more details about these projects and to view the work of all the students, visit design.umontreal.ca.

One of the primary goals of form design is making sure users can accomplish their tasks quickly while having an effective and positive experience. Usually, we design forms with the intent of improving efficiency and time of completion, reducing complexity, ensuring consistency to minimize the user’s cognitive load and enabling speed scanning. Still, it feels like the design of forms hasn’t changed drastically in the past ten years and we repeat a routine which works well.

However, we recently saw a new form emerging. Praised by the form guru Luke Wroblewski and the usability expert Jared Spool, Mad libs have become increasingly popular. Let’s try to explore what is going on…

This blog is available on the Global User Research website.

Best wishes from Yu Centrik team, a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year to you all!

Read our card, these guys have talent!