UX Journal

 I have some blue light-reducing glasses I wear when working or studying on the computer. Previously, I had a pair that had thicker arms and they hurt my head if worn for a while, especially if I had my headphones on listening to music. The design of these is much better with very thin arms that don't create as much pressure when wearing headphones. The design was created together with Razor that makes a lot of gaming/computer peripherals so I think the added knowledge or testing that went into them helps to make it a more comfortable design for the user.

 For good UX Design, I thought of my headphones that I use mostly at the gym or when I am doing yard work. They fold up for easy transport in their case to the gym. They connect to my phone via Bluetooth so I can listen to music and they have easy access buttons on the side to help with playback or answering phone calls so you don't have to even get out your phone. They are very convenient for the user and there really isn't a feature that I wish they had, the designers did a good job of thinking through the most user friendly functions to include.

  For an example of bad UX design, I thought of some grill tongs I have at home. It's not necessarily bad as it is not as useful as it could be. A lot of other tongs I have in the kitchen or have used, have some kind of way to lock them closed with one hand. This particular pair, you really need two hand to operate because you have to pull the end to lock it. It is frustrating and inconvenient to me, especially when grilling because I don't have counter space to set them on outside, and leaving them open and finding a place to set them isn't ideal. They would be better if they had some sort of locking device I could use with my thumb or something so I could operate them with one hand as the other is often holding food or other things when grilling.

 I remembered this site from when I tried to order pizza once. I clicked around for a while and was never actually able to figure out a way to place the order online so I didn't end up getting anything. To start, you click on the red button that says to order delivery. Then this screen comes up so I clicked to view restaurants even though I was on the site I wanted to order from to begin with. It's a little confusing because there are two styles of lists for all the restaurants in town but not all of them are included in each one. When you click on a restaurant, it pulls up the menu but the only option for ordering is that same red button, which, if you click it, pops up a window with the beginning blue screen again.  I couldn't find any way to get out of this endless loop and no real option for actually placing an order online. It's terrible UX design because it's confusing, there is no clear solution to the problem, and leads to frustration to the user.

  An example of good UX design I think it the TopGolf app. The home screen has news and offers but you can also see how long the wait time is or make a reservation if you want to go play. You can look up your past game scores if you want but there isn't a lot of unneeded features or other stuff in the app. It is easy to navigate and straightforward as to what information is offered.

 For an example of good UX design this week, I think the Planet Fitness app is great and very user-friendly. You can check-in when you get to the gym by just scanning your QR code. You can add your workouts to keep track of your weekly or monthly activities if you want. You can even watch some training videos right on the app if you need help or ideas for your workout. You can also see how busy the gym is before you go with the "crowd meter" feature which is nice.