Hi all,
One of my favourite tools in my box of UX tricks is a copy of Stephen Anderson’s Mental Notes cards.
The first sets were sold back in mid 2010 and I think sold out shortly after. When I last spoke to Stephen he mentioned he still had a second edition in the works (it’s been coming for a while!) and a few other related ideas too.
I find them quite useful:
- During ‘design jams’ as a prompt for particular design strategies
- For looking up related concepts (each card references related cognitive factors)
- For getting stakeholders and team member excited about designing for human behaviour
- When looking for patterns in research data
- As a way to find inspiration and bust out of design blocks
- Understanding how our UX design decisions may have implications for how people use our products
- A fascinating way to familiarise with concepts for your next neuroscience / behavioural economics / game mechanics / UX geek night.
If you don’t have a physical copy, you can still browse the content (sans the excellent illustrations) free on Stephen’s website: Get Mental Notes
I’m just curious how many other people have used them, and exactly what you use them for?