For newcomers: StartupDigest Design is the members-only weekly email newsletter of the best articles in the design industry.

You can become a member for free here.

This week I was on a mobile kick, ranging from mobile performance principles to designing for app store distribution and ratings, along with a delightful iPad experience by ex-Pixar folks and even some good old use of SMS for health.

Cheers!

-Enrique

StartupDigest Design is curated by:
Jeremy Merle – Creative Director, Brightcove
Enrique Allen - Founding designer, 500 Startups

What You Need to Read This Week

Seven Guidelines For Designing High-Performance Mobile User Experiences
By Ivo Weevers, Smashing Magazine

Don’t forget performance relative to different aspects of mobile app design. Design choices affect performance and should be considered a key factor in the design process EARLY on before it’s too late.

iOS Product Strategies – an honest discussion
By Kiran Bellubbi, 955Dreams

If you’re developing for app stores, you need to face the realities of how distribution works. Kiran Bellubbi has an honest discussion after the experience of being Apple’s App of the Week multiple times and now in their hall of fame.

Why WSJ Mobile App Gets ** Customer Reviews
By Jakob Nielsen, UseIt

Can one bad screen equal millions lost? You probably don’t have the luxury to make the same mistakes the Wall Street Journal did on their first screen.

An Ex-Pixar Designer Creates Astounding Kids’ Book On iPad
By John Pavlus, Co.Design

Talk about wow on the iPad. “Every page has some delightful, hidden feature embedded into it.”

A Focus on Founders: The Anatomy of a New Design Education
By Jon Kolko, Johnny Holland Magazine

I applaud Jon Kolko and the Austin Center for Design’s approach to cultivating more designers who are better prepared for the startup journey by encouraging meaningful work like Patient Nudge, which allows care providers to schedule text messages to be sent to their patients in automated batches. Care providers can view and track patient responses via Nudge’s online platform.

Site of the Week

Keynotopia
Amir Khella

Templates make it possible to design and prototype mobile apps in minutes instead of hours; check out the library and thank Amir Khella.

For newcomers: StartupDigest Design is the members-only weekly email newsletter of the best articles in the design industry.

You can become a member for free here.

Happy Friday,

This week’s edition focuses on Google+ and their usability issues, how retailers leverage psychology to influence your purchasing behavior, optimizing the performance of your mobile app through design, and strategies for working as a designer in an agile development environment.

Check out the Site of the Week for some inspiration from the little details that make great user experiences.

Have a great weekend.

- Jeremy
@jeremymerle

StartupDigest Design is curated by:
Jeremy Merle – Creative Director, Brightcove
Enrique Allen - Founding designer, 500 Startups

What You Need to Read This Week

Why Google+ Will Succeed Wildly At First
By Bruce Upbin, Forbes

Google+ has had a flurry of positive reviews lately from the tech and design community, but is that their key audience? This article raises a good question about the broad adoption of the social networking site and usability of their core features.

Can We Ever Digitally Organize Our Friends?
From kevnull.com

Kevin Cheng from Twitter asks tough questions like “Why we need groups?” and highlights what Google+ does right and what it sucks at.

Psychological Manipulation In E-commerce Design
By Kristina Bjoran, UX Booth

Interesting and intelligent insight on how retailers leverage human behavior and design to motivate us to share, join, and spend more.

Seven Guidelines For Designing High Performance Mobile User Experiences
By Ivo Weevers, Smashing Magazine

Design choices affect performance and are critical to the success of your app. Here are seven actionable guidelines for optimizing the performance of your mobile app through design.

Change On A Dime: Agile Design
By John Anderson, UX Magazine

Integrating design into an agile development environment is tricky. Here are some tips for working as a designer in an agile environment.

Site of the Week

Little Big Details

Whenever someone asks me what differentiates good from great when it comes to user experience, I always say it’s about the details. This blog highlights the little details that make a product experience delightful to use.