Unpaved Road to UXD

Have you ever had to ride a bike on a flat tire? On my first visit to Belize, I saw all the school kids (and the adults) riding their bicycles with flat tires. They were going just a hair faster than a slow walk on unpaved roads with flat tires. I kept thinking, surely there’s a hand pump somewhere? With all of the cyclists (weekenders included) in the U.S., hasn’t anyone thought to send the Belizeans tubes and tires? But they were doing the best they could with what they had. I was exhausted just watching. 

All of my wireframe researching did not prepare me for this week. Oh boy do I have appreciation for the UI---ers, developers, you name it. Those folks are killing it. It’s an understatement to say there are some geniuses developing apps and user experiences.

In the last few months I’ve been critiquing the different apps I use - and those I never use. Some are too complicated or cumbersome. Others are so simple or generic, I can’t customize them to my liking. Just like every other user, I’m wondering, “Why did they do this? How ridiculous,” or “If only I could do x, this would be so much better.”

With my research and sample searching, I had many cool ideas for the features of the app I’m building. And I could not for the life of me wrap my head around translating all those thoughts into usable frames. It’s going to take good old fashion practice. And a ton of it. Right now, I’m doing the best I can with what I have.

Practice practice practice.  Right now I’m on an unpaved bumpy road trying to ride a bicycle on tires without tubes. I’m a mile behind the Belizeans.