Thoughts

Our top places to go and things to do at the Shore
Our top places to go and things to do at the Shore 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX

It’s been over 5 years since we left the city centre of Edinburgh and set up Research and Facilitation Studio at the Shore. So, we thought it is about time to share our top things to do in one of Edinburgh’s most creative quarters.

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Why Digital Transformations fail (and how to stop them)
Why Digital Transformations fail (and how to stop them) 1120 840 Border Crossing UX

Digital Transformation is no longer the new kid on the block. But the need to deliver a transformation efficiently and effectively has never been more important. That’s why I was pleased to see the immense turnout for DIGIT.FYI’s 4th Annual Digital Transformation Conference.

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DIGIT Fintech Scotland 2017: Conference Review
DIGIT Fintech Scotland 2017: Conference Review 860 472 Border Crossing UX

Dynamic Earth once again provided a unique but intimate location for Fintech Scotland 2017. Fintech leaders from around the UK attended the conference exploring innovation and regulation within the financial services sector.

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Turing Fest 2017 – our top conference highlights
Turing Fest 2017 – our top conference highlights 860 490 Border Crossing UX

Last week Calum and I went to the EICC for Turing Fest 2017. With a pen and notebook in hand, we took advantage of what the Strategy and Product streams had to offer. Here is a round up of my top three talks and takeaways.

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Turing Talks 2017 – using technology for good
Turing Talks 2017 – using technology for good 860 490 Border Crossing UX

The Turing Talks took place last month. A day packed with disruptive insight that challenged attendees to think differently. As proud sponsors of the conference and the Turing Trust, there was no chance we were going to miss this event!

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User Centred Design for the Internet of Things (IoT)
User Centred Design for the Internet of Things (IoT) 1451 1335 Border Crossing UX

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the front line of innovation. Found all around us, its applications present challenges for both hardware and design. To overcome those challenges, designers need to adopt the right process: user-centred design.

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What can Virtual Reality (VR) learn from the demise of 3DTV?
What can Virtual Reality (VR) learn from the demise of 3DTV? 860 489 Border Crossing UX

After years of excitement, promise and disappointment, the 3D era is over. Now, VR appears to have taken over the reins. As both are troubled by similar problems, I wanted to discover what lessons VR can take from the demise of 3DTV?

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UX Design Predictions 2016 – Were They Right?
UX Design Predictions 2016 – Were They Right? 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX

Experts and professionals often attempt to predict what the next big trends will be. But do they get them right? I’ve had a look back at articles and headlines. Here are 3 of the biggest predictions that caught my eye and how they really did.

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Responsive vs Adaptive Design for Website Development
Responsive vs Adaptive Design for Website Development 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX

Responsive and Adaptive design are two common approaches for website development. Both allow websites to be experienced on different sized devices. But, it’s important to be aware of the key differences before choosing.

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ScotChain 16: Blockchain The Digitisation of Value
ScotChain 16: Blockchain The Digitisation of Value 860 489 Border Crossing UX

I was delighted to attend ScotChain 16, which brought together people from academia and industry. Here is my take on the afternoon and how Blockchain technology means the real digitisation of value, not just information.

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Pokémon Go or more likely Stop? (When good games stall)
Pokémon Go or more likely Stop? (When good games stall) 1024 582 Border Crossing UX

It’s the game of the Summer: Pokémon Go. After a couple of weeks of heavy ‘testing’ (or more accurately desperately collecting Eevees) I’ve realised that I spend more time on Pokémon Stop than Go. So, why is everyone talking about it?

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Mobile UX – User Adoption, Retention and Growth
Mobile UX – User Adoption, Retention and Growth 720 479 Border Crossing UX

Last month I presented my thoughts on Mobile User Experience (UX) at Mobile Scotland 2016. I shared my 3 golden rules of how to deliver a great mobile user experience: 1. Keep it simple; 2. Be personal and; 3. Knowing when to stop.

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Esther Stringer talking at Eventit 2016

User Centred Design Matters: User Experience for Events
User Centred Design Matters: User Experience for Events 1920 976 Border Crossing UX

We were asked to present a Learning Zone session at EventIt 2016. Find out how applying user centred design techniques will improve the experience of your events attendees, exhibitors and sponsors – throughout the event lifecycle.

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Digital Transformation 2016: Transform or Evolve?
Digital Transformation 2016: Transform or Evolve? 1200 845 Border Crossing UX

Digital Transformation 2016 was one of those awesome events when a bunch talented people get together and talk. In our breakout session I shared how to understand a problem fully before starting to design the right solution.

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Is your booking process helping or hindering your business?
Is your booking process helping or hindering your business? 860 489 Border Crossing UX

Living in the digital age, a restaurant’s website has become the customers first point of contact. So, it is vital that it is user friendly and easy to navigate. The online booking system should be fool proof. But how often are they?

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3 Things SMEs can learn from FinTech Companies
3 Things SMEs can learn from FinTech Companies 860 489 Border Crossing UX

The world of FinTech is exploding. Here in the UK we are right at the epicentre of a revolution in financial services. But what can SME’s learn from the successes and failures of Fintech companies? Should you disrupt your own sector?

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UX Scotland 2015: talks, tutorials and workshops
UX Scotland 2015: talks, tutorials and workshops 560 420 Border Crossing UX

François was at UX Scotland 2015 a few weeks ago with the great and good from UX across Scotland. With a full programme of brilliant key note speakers, tutorials and workshops here is his round-up of this year’s event.

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The rise of user experience: is a little knowledge a dangerous thing?
The rise of user experience: is a little knowledge a dangerous thing? 1024 582 Border Crossing UX

Over the last 12 months we’ve noticed a substantial spike in the demand for our services. This indicates that there’s increasing buy-in from senior decision makers. Which isn’t surprising given the increasing prominence of user experience (or UX).

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The Apple customer experience: a story of innovation and iteration
The Apple customer experience: a story of innovation and iteration 860 489 Border Crossing UX

Apple have a track record of going against the grain. But what’s interesting is that they’ve always been willing to take business risks. Not just with their hardware and software but the customer experience they deliver.

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FinTech insights: What Consumers Want
FinTech insights: What Consumers Want 1024 681 Border Crossing UX

Want to know what people really want from new FinTech products and services? Well so did we so we went along to the first Techstars FinTech Speaker Series powered by Datamonitor Financial to discover: What Consumers want.

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Is your online business helping or hindering your offline business?
Is your online business helping or hindering your offline business? 1920 1280 Border Crossing UX

Making the right impression first time whether online and offline is the best way to drive sales. The way that customers now interact with retail companies using both online and offline touch points mean it is vital to ensure you have a consistent experience.

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It all started with fish and chips
It all started with fish and chips 860 489 Border Crossing UX

Following the final session of UX Scotland 2013 I was confronted with two hungry speakers, Andrew Zusman and Avi Itzkovich, who were searching for the best fish and chips they could find.

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Writing the perfect Scottish referendum question
Writing the perfect Scottish referendum question 860 489 Border Crossing UX

On the 11th of May 2012 the Scottish Governments’ consultation on the proposed independence referendum closed. There has been a lot of debate over the proposed question. So we thought we’d look at what makes the perfect question.

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Google Apps our transition experience
Google Apps our transition experience 860 490 Border Crossing UX

We recently received our notification that important changes were happening to Google Apps. This means our Google Apps accounts are being transitioned to Google Account infrastructure.

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Amazon Web Services you continue to delight
Amazon Web Services you continue to delight 860 489 Border Crossing UX

We’ve been using Amazon Web Services (AWS) since 2007 and are very happy customers – even this website runs on a small reserved instance.

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Will Amazon Flexible Payments ever reach Europe?
Will Amazon Flexible Payments ever reach Europe? 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX

Amazon Web Service’s Flexible Payments Service (FPS) allows you to accept payments on your website. It supports the processing of payments using credit cards, bank accounts and Amazon Payments account balances.

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Are you getting value for money from your hosting provider?
Are you getting value for money from your hosting provider? 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX

The truth is some hosting providers are great, and some are downright awful. We primarily use Amazon Web Services (AWS) for our hosting.

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Review: Ankoder’s video transcoding service
Review: Ankoder’s video transcoding service 1024 582 Border Crossing UX

Way back in 2008 we were battling away with a custom install of FFmpeg on Amazon Web Services (AWS). We are really pedantic about video encoding so we had a long list of requirements.

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