With 2014 coming to an end, EchoUser is taking a step back to reflect on how the year went, what we loved about it, and what we’re not so sorry to see left behind. In 2014, we saw UX grow up, with so many companies acknowledging the importance and power of good design. While there is still a lot of education to be done on UX best practices, it’s been exciting to see this great focus on the topic.
This year also brought us plenty of other design high points — and low points! — from the lackluster Amazon Fire Phone to mobile web design acceptance to a surprising amount of conformity. Check out what a few of us EchoUsers think of the year we’re leaving behind.
--
The biggest loser in 2014 was the Amazon Fire Phone. It was the biggest flop since Blackberry attempted to come back at iOS/Android (oh wait, they are still trying…). Something like 6 million phones are sitting on shelves and won’t ever be sold. When you boil it down, it’s more of a commentary on the lack of interest in augmented reality. Facebook also tried this with Home and it just wasn’t that great. Or rather, it was way too creepy that these companies embed all their services in the phone to encourage you to buy product or be served ads…-- Patrick Stern, Director of Business Development
The biggest thing I saw in 2014 was mobile-first design going mainstream. I rarely hear people question the validity of mobile scenarios like they used to. Websites across the board, especially media sites and e-commerce, have flat, simplified navigation that screams “mobile-first.” Sites with separate, limited mobile versions feel out-of-date now-- Boaz Gurdin, Experience Researcher
2014 was a little bit of a bore in terms of technology. Newly released smartphones, computers, tablets, and wearables followed an expected, pre-written script (did the Apple Watch really surprise anyone?) The iPhone has continued its dominance and has become integrated into our lives more than ever – as shown by the very impressive sales of its newest generation. However, a closer look at sales figures does highlight what Steve Jobs used to preach: it’s really not about “bigger is better”, as the iPhone 6 outsells the 6 Plus by an estimated 3:1. On the flip side, the overall effect of the iPhone 6 Plus on the slowly growing phablet market has been interesting to follow.-- Nizar Saqqar, Experience Researcher
EVERY WEBSITE LOOKS THE SAME! Sorry for yelling — but it’s true. If you’re a cool tech product, service, or agency, your website probably has a full-bleed image, a long vertical scroll, sections in banners, and accents of gray and teal. (Yes, even ours — and no less a UX benchmark than the official site of the UX Awards!) More than anything, this is an interesting sign of how design can be cyclical and how trends can take hold in any industry.-- Kimra McPherson, Senior Experience Researcher
One thing from 2014 I don’t want to see come with us into the new year is social networking sites full of ads…. but I’m not sure if we’ll actually see their demise just yet. I’m looking forward to someone finally cracking the wearable code, and I’m surprised it didn’t happen in 2014. We still haven’t seen wearable designs that have clear use cases differentiating themselves from mobile devices except for general health tracking.-- Wan-Ting Huang, Experience Designer
Look out for parts two and three of our year-end insights coming soon, as we begin to make our predictions about design in 2015.
