Achieve More in Less Time

In a society driven by advances in technology and the ever-increasing demands of consumers, many individuals have adopted the idea that “time is money”. This mindset brought us to live in an age where information is readily available at our fingertips. The days of spending long agonizing hours in libraries doing research are long over. Today, a student can get through their entire university career without so much as opening anything other than their laptop. As a university student I have experienced this shift firsthand as many of my classes are now available in an online format where video lectures, discussion boards, and an online portal now replace traditional brick and mortar classrooms. It is increasingly apparent that instant on-demand access touches every aspect of our lives. From textbooks and bank accounts to our favorite TV shows, you can access nearly anything you want any time you want it. Generation Y, imbued with the value of time and the luxury of having virtually anything on-demand, has quickly become a driving force behind online video.

Twenty years ago consumers would crowd around the TV to catch their favorite TV shows or the hottest new movie. They would have to reorganize and plan their lives around a schedule set by their local TV stations.

The world has changed with convenience being a commodity in today’s reality. If a program or film is not readily available to consumers when they want it, they’ll search for it elsewhere. This is evidence of the tremendous horizontal extension that has developed through constant advances in technology and online media. In short, the world is growing smaller. We now expect to be able to conveniently access, manage, and even upload media via our computers. This is why it is important for industry leaders, such as Origin Digital, to continue to pursue faster, more consumer-accommodating ways to get online video to the masses.



Author: Brittany Lorincz, Marketing Intern

The Future of UX as We Know It

There is a lot of discussion about the future of User Experience (UX) design among fellow practitioners. UX design, as an evolution from User Interaction design, Human Computer Interaction, Human Factors/Ergonomics, Usability Engineer, etc., has developed in parallel with computing and technology in our daily lives; a change that will continue as technology becomes ever more ubiquitous in our environment. However, this is not an attempt to further the discussion of the future of the UX practitioner, but it is my intention to explore how the rest of the business world currently views UX as well as how I view their understanding of the field, which will hopefully mature in the near future.

Currently, the biggest issue with the field of UX is the blank stare that follows when you tell someone you are a User Experience designer. It is usually followed with a “Huh?”, which then needs to be addressed with a crafted elevator pitch. The pitch explains how the UX role “is responsible for designing not just the layout of an interface, but also understanding the humanistic approach a user takes during their interaction with the software in order to appropriately accomplish a desired task.”

Imagine the design of an ATM at the bank. UX design is not just about the placement of buttons on the machine, but it is also about creating a machine that accommodates the withdrawal of ‘fast cash’ amounts. If the ATM was designed around a ‘fast transfer’ between accounts then the ATM wouldn’t work for the average person looking to grab some cash & be on their merry way.

As UX grows and more products are built with a specific focus, not only on getting the design right but also on getting the right design, there will be less blank stares and misconceptions about UX being a combination of a visual designer and a front end programmer. Although a new field, people will soon understand the value of UX design, both for individual products as well as for a company’s entire brand.


Author: CJ Page, User Experience Expert