User-centered design for mobile services

As more and more developers, advertisers and designers flock towards mobile as the next growth area, it’s interesting to see certain mistakes being made. Something GoMo has discussed with many people is how the “sexy” technology is often not the most user-friendly. And today I got sent a video that beautifully sums up this problem… and it’s centered around cat food.

John Boykin is a web-site designer, researcher and speaker – he made the following video called “Satisfy the Cat” to highlight the importance of user-centered design for websites. But the lessons here can just as easily be applied to mobile advertising, app development and the mobile web:

What we think?

That video really nails an issue that I think exists in mobile, which is the tendency to use the newest thing whether or not it’s appropriate. In many cases, older technology has better reach and achieves better user satisfaction. Java, SMS and voice are widely used, familiar channels – a lot of newer mobile technologies are really only appreciated by people in the mobile industry. Nine out of ten cats couldn’t give a crap about AR advertising.