Digitalisation with a human touch Articles

As a global medium, the web promises being able to find users world-wide. However, cultural imprint is still a factor to consider, even in times of digitization. What should you keep in mind in intercultural web design to create a good user experience?

In 1919, Kurt Tucholsky answered the question “What is satire allowed to do?” with “Everything”. On Media Studies Day, 100 years later, we once again addressed the question: Christian Karch gave a lecture on the freedoms and limits of entertainment. We also bid farewell to Professor Hans-Jürgen Bucher, who established the subject in 1998.

Since a couple of years, chatbots are a trending topic. No wonder: They are quick, available around the clock and do not rely on learning how to interact with them – just start the chat and type. However, how should you create a well-researched chatbot strategy and make sure that your chatbot provides a great user experience?

Digital transformation profoundly changes how organizations work. This is why organizations need a digital strategy. But what exactly is a digital strategy? And which aspects should it consider?

How do you design successful websites? Jens Jacobsen published his classic “Website-Konzeption” last year in its eighth edition – and it still lives up to its status.

Personas are among the most practical and flexible tools in human-centered product design. They make user research results tangible and are therefore important building blocks on the way to a good user experience.

20 years of media studies in Trier: On the 27th of January 2018, media studies celebrated its history, with various contributions by students, a keynote by Silke Burmester focusing on “influencers and journalists”, a panel discussion about attention in the media, and obviously reviews and outlooks with emotional tributes.

Few developments are so important for media studies like the change of media, caused by the digitalisation for about 20 years. At the day of media science on the 5th of November 2016, two topics covered this aspect: Oliver Auster explained how his employer, the German tabloid “Bild”, reacted to the challenge, and Corinna Trierweiler, Fabienne Aßmann, and Steffen Büffel spoke about the job chances of alumni of media studies.

“Computer games as media art”: In this year, we invited Stephan Schwingeler, a pioneer in the field of game studies and himself alumni of media studies in Trier, to give a keynote at the day of media studies. Taking a media studies perspective, he talked about an area which we consider not often enough. How are computer games used in media art?

For a long time, animations in web design had a negative connotation, as users had to first click on “Skip Intro” links on numerous websites. Today, however, moving elements are an integral part of user-friendly web design. If you put a little thought into the animations, you not only get an effective design tool, but also improve the user experience of your users.