Real Users, Not Assumed Personas

An open laptop, facing Jonathan Duckworth and an elderly person in a user testing session.

Spent half a day yesterday at a retirement village conducting usability testing with Associate Professor Jonathan Duckworth and our collaborators at Australian Catholic University (ACU). My research often takes me to interesting places – quite in awe of the amenities at this retirement village (I hadn’t been to one before). Our project, the Road to … Read more

A Pinch of Thought

Meta Orion

The future of UX is going to be all in the flick of a thumb and a pinch of thought. This year’s Meta Connect keynote got me really excited – especially the Orion holographic wide-field AR glasses and their neural interface technology. The electromyography (EMG) wristband was intriguing – it means controlling spatial user interfaces … Read more

Cows Gone Rogue

Li Ping Thong and her welsh springer spaniel, sitting next to a cow.

There’s a quote I like: “Man – despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments – owes his existence to a 6-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains.” Paul Harvey said that. No matter how advanced we become, everything comes back to the land. I came back this weekend to … Read more

VR Clunkiness

A group of VR headsets placed on a table surface, with a ski mask in the mix.

VR tech evolves fast – but they still haven’t figured out the head straps. I’ve been Marie Kondo-ing my stuff at home this week as part of “Spring” cleaning. It’s tradition to “sweep away” lingering bad luck from the past year before Lunar New Year and welcome good fortune. (Oh yes, I am superstitious.) In … Read more

Teaching for Futures that Haven’t Arrived

Sketch on whiteboard - Change

The world of higher education operates on a very linear rhythm. Weeks numbered. Assessment tasks pre-defined on specific dates. Graded against rubrics. A very linear rhythm that assumes learning progresses neatly within a 12-week timeframe. Anyone who teaches design knows – it really doesn’t work that way. Design learning is messy. It iterates. It fails. … Read more

Anti-UX in a Hammock

Li Ping Thong in an orange hammock, reading a book at the farm whilst her dog sits underneath it.

The best UX isn’t on a screen. It’s a hammock, a book and no notifications. “So what are your plans over the long weekend? Back to the farm?” My colleague asked. “Oh yes. I will be under a tree. I will be horizontal, but I will be under a tree nonetheless.” I replied, deadpan. I … Read more

Yabbies – Nature’s Quiet Critics

A large yabbie.

Yabbies – nature’s quiet critics. 🦞 Three years ago, I bought 67 tiny yabbies from a fishing tackle shop. They were destined as bait, but I added them to the small dam at my farm – an experiment of sorts to see if I could have a self-sustaining food source at the farm (they make … Read more

A Man, A Yurt, and His World

Man standing in front of his yurt.

I’m not sure why, but the idea of nomadic and solitary life has always intrigued me. There has always been a quiet yearning to see it for myself – to understand it beyond stories or photographs. Each year, as the world slows down for end-of-year festivities, I retreat to my farm. It’s a space for … Read more