How Mental Health Apps Do (or Don’t) Support Some of COVID-19’s Most Vulnerable Populations
The emotional impact of the pandemic has taken its toll on people's mental health, which has greatly intensified the need for accessible and usable mental healthcare. The UW ALACRITY Center was given a grant by the US National Institute for Mental Health to study the acceptability, usability, and effectiveness of mental health apps for suicide prevention among essential workers and people experiencing unemployment during COVID-19. [Read More]
How to Think Like a UX Expert (Book Review)
Have you ever had an issue at work that you thought was unique to your company, only to discover that the issue was widespread and had been around for years? Think Like a UX Researcher sets out to assist those of us who could benefit from the decades of knowledge and wisdom that Travis and […] [Read More]
So You Want to Get into Civic Tech? (Book Review)
A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide by Cyd Harrel shows what it’s like to work in the field of civic technology by offering a roadmap for how to get started working in the field, a glimpse into the day-to-day work, and the big challenges faced within this field. [Read More]
The Need for UX in Healthcare During COVID-19
In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a shortage of medical equipment. This shortage in combination with the US Emergency Use Authorization, allowing the use of improvised PPE, resulted in a number of unregulated and untested products becoming available. Matt's team of Human Factors UX professionals evaluated many products and systems during this time as part of their roles in a healthcare system. In this article, Matt shares some of those experiences. [Read More]
The Importance of Designing for the Elderly in a Post-COVID World
One major impact of COVID-19 has been the rapidly rising number of older adults using the internet to work, shop, engage in social activities, and stay connected to family and friends. Many in this demographic, while they have real-world knowledge and experiences, may have challenges using online technologies and mobile devices. Hossein Raspberry provides insights on demystifying inclusive design and driving accessibility design in technology. [Read More]
Video Conference and Design During COVID Times
COVID-19 has resulted in creativity and design tasks moving from in-person communication and collaboration to home offices and dependency upon remote network connections. Common challenges from this shift in work include poor network performance, video problems, and difficulties in sharing and retrieving files. Russ Blackburn discusses these and other issues and how design teams at Red Hat managed through these obstacles by using various online communication and collaboration tools. [Read More]
