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Say Goodbye to the
UX Agency Next Door!

April 19, 2018 | 12 min read

It’s a no-brainer to go and hire an agency or consulting firm for that work. But where do you find that agency that’s best for you?

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Is there a future for banking interfaces? Here’s why not.

by Dr Andras Rung | April 27, 2021 | 10 min read

The title of this blog post may sound a bit strange at first, because it is meant to be “bombastic”. Of course, an experienced reader will know that there will be some twist to make it out that, although there isn’t one, there is one. Well, this time I am bound to disappoint.… Read more

Fintech UX for B2B

by Harlan Cockburn | March 30, 2021 | 12 min read

The Pont Vecchio, or Old Bridge, in Florence has nearly fifty shops across its span. Almost all of them are jewellers of one sort or another. Some sell gems, others watches, or gold and silver items. It’s great for shoppers to wander from one outlet to another, but how does it work for the… Read more

The Netherlands Fintech Scene

by Harlan Cockburn | March 16, 2021 | 20 min read

With over half its landmass standing no more than a meter above sea level, and a quarter below sea level, the Netherlands (meaning ‘lower countries’) deserves its name. The country is also known as Holland, and the adjective used to describe the country and the language is Dutch. The… Read more

Creating Voice User Interfaces is shaping to be like a walk in the park

by Dr. Péter Rónay | March 2, 2021 | 18 min read

English has become a common language of modern times in the Northwest of the world, and this greatly facilitates communication on a daily basis. But half a billion people in Europe rightly ask why they should learn a second language just to be able to handle devices with voice commands? Ergomania… Read more

The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the UX industry

by Harlan Cockburn | February 16, 2021 | 17 min read

The Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in profound changes in the way people throughout the world meet and work. Are these changes permanent, or merely temporary blips? And as masses of people have resorted to online work, how has the UX-UI community responded? More precisely, how should UX… Read more

Design Sprint: is it really a new era in UX design?

by Dr. Péter Rónay | February 2, 2021 | 12 min read

Ergomania is committed to professional development, so on September 30th we held our next Product design talks webinar, about new trends and proven methods in UX-UI design. The webinar and the following discussion was led by Dr. András Rung, the founder of Ergomania, who outlined the process of… Read more

Jobs to be done get done using the Value Proposition Canvas

by Harlan Cockburn | January 19, 2021 | 14 min read

The Business Canvas model was first proposed by the Swiss entrepreneur, Alexander Osterwalder, around 2005. He’s also the lead author of Business Model Generation which has sold more than a million copies, as well as a series of Strategyzer books. So clearly he’s onto something, but what… Read more

Spreading the word and speech: voice-user interfaces conquer the world

by Dr. Péter Rónay | January 5, 2021 | 10 min read

The popularity of VUIs or Voice-user interfaces is unbroken, conquering new fields year after year. As technology evolves and user needs change voice-based user interaction no longer belongs to the realm of science-fiction for telephones, computers or digital assistants – in fact, VUI is… Read more

The Fintech Scene in Belgium

by Harlan Cockburn | December 15, 2020 | 20 min read

Belgium: a safe, secure country, where commerce has flourished for centuries. A country at the center of European activity, home of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union, and bordered by Germany, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. General Electric, IBM, Toyota,… Read more

Why is it important for airports to focus on passenger experience?

by Zsuzsanna Imrei | November 26, 2020 | 8 min read

According to a survey called Global air traffic – scheduled passengers 2004-2021, the number of scheduled passengers boarded by the global airline industry in 2019 exceeded 4,54 billion people. This number increases by 4-5% year on year, which brings with it the maximum utilization of the… Read more

The road to maximum usability leads through minimal cognitive load

by Csilla Herendy | November 6, 2020 | 16 min read

How easily users can find the content they are looking for on a website and how easily they can solve the planned tasks is affected by the actual cognitive load required to use the site or application. These can be physical in nature, like having to scroll too much or click far too often on the… Read more

What is a Voice User Interface and why is it really needed?

by Dr. Péter Rónay | October 1, 2020 | 11 min read

Voice User Interfaces are present in many areas of life. Sometimes they are especially useful, for instance when contactless use is paramount: during an epidemic, in a public area, or at any time in an isolation ward of a hospital. In other cases, they can be quite annoying, especially if we have… Read more

UX workshops in product design

by Harlan Cockburn | September 13, 2020 | 13 min read

Imagine designing a new car. There are a gazillion things to consider, including what function it will have – sporty, family run-about, off-road? How many passengers, how will it be powered, what safety features are needed, and can it be future-proofed? Such questions, plus many more, will… Read more

UX-UI collaboration: augment your team onsite, or remotely

by Harlan Cockburn | August 6, 2020 | 7 min read

Providing effective solutions How do you go about building a rocket to take you to Mars? One answer is: very carefully. Another is: check out if there’s a YouTube video. These strategies will not be enough to reach your goal however – in-depth, specialist knowledge is required. You know that… Read more

The African Fintech scene – Merging with the global mainstream

by Harlan Cockburn | July 17, 2020 | 8 min read

The African fintech scene is growing at pace, with radical and innovative offerings that increasingly place the continent in the global mainstream. Think of Africa. Big isn’t it? Thinking of Africa may bring to mind many stereotypes, depending on your own culture and age. Do you think of… Read more

What is service design and why should a banking service be designed?

by Zsuzsanna Imrei | July 6, 2020 | 10 min read

The life cycle of a service can be divided into 5 parts according to the methodology of the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library): Service strategy Service design Service implementation (implementation and conversion) Service operation Service development, optimization  … Read more

Revolut – What to love and what not?

by Dr Andras Rung | January 4, 2020 | 8 min read

For a long time, the big banks, the behemoths of the financial industry did not take the new financial (so-called fintech) service providers seriously. Not one bit. They were not regarded as serious competitors, they were the guide fish feeding on the scraps left by the shark in its wake.… Read more

Design systems, from ring binders to modular design

by Balázs Dömsödi | November 20, 2019 | 8 min read

The term design system is one of the buzzwords lately, but do we know exactly what it means and would it really be the solution to anything and everything? Millenáris Startup Campus has hosted the second workshop of Ergomania’s Product Design Talks and judging by the almost full house that… Read more

Startups and UX, Opportunities and Pitfalls

by Zsuzsanna Imrei | October 4, 2019 | 8 min read

Startup Live debuting in Budapest in October 4-6, sets its sights on no less than its slogan proposes: “Start a business over the weekend”. An international series of events bring together startups and industry-renowned professionals for a few days to help them mentor ideas into truly… Read more

Most interesting applications of blockchain technology

by Veronica Torresin | July 12, 2019 | 4 min read

When we hear the word “blockchain” we tend to associate it with the concept “cryptocurrency”. Indeed, the first practical application of the technology by Satoshi Nakamoto, was an infrastructure for the digital currency Bitcoin. Since then, however, the technology has been… Read more

How to Run a productive Design Critique

by Balázs Dömsödi | June 13, 2019 | 5 min read

What is Design Critique? Design critique is an approximately one-hour long, focused meeting intended to provide the designer with systematic and useful feedback on their design.   Design Critique helps build corporate culture Design critique helps evolve an effective feedback culture. During… Read more

How we Fixed our Dishwasher’s usability problem with 3D Printing

by Kristóf Munkácsi | May 9, 2019 | 3 min read

We found a UX problem right before us; in our kitchen As in most of the working spaces, the dishwasher is in constant use in our office. Everyone can load it, empty it, or just pick out a mug for a quick coffee. But how can you decide whether the dishes in the machine are clean or dirty? It’s… Read more

How service design optimizes passenger flow?

by Zsuzsanna Imrei | April 18, 2019 | 4 min read

What is service design and why is it important to use at airports? Service design is a process to organize people, infrastructure and communication of service to optimize its quality and the relationship between the service provider and the customer. The purpose of service design is to create a… Read more

The Top 10 Global Trends you need to follow about insurtech in 2019

by Zsuzsanna Imrei | March 21, 2019 | 4 min read

The insurance industry used to be tech lazy. It’s not true anymore. It is projected that in 2019, 2 billion USD will be injected into the emerging insurance technology industry, also known as insurtech. Nowadays, we can easily calculate an insurance quote with a few clicks, or manage our… Read more

What is PropTech and how it may Change our Everyday Life

by Balázs Dömsödi | February 19, 2019 | 5 min read

PropTech – the buzzword of 2018 seems to be staying with us in 2019 as well. This red-hot portmanteau, along the lines of FinTech, was created by journalists some time last year from the words property and technology, and refers to every technological or financial innovation that affects… Read more

How chatbots improve user experience in online banking

by Veronica Torresin | February 7, 2019 | 6 min read

In the recent years, chatbots have evolved and improved significantly and penetrated areas where customer focus has a strategic importance, such as banking. In this article, we are going to present the main reasons behind the broader adoption of chatbot services from a customers’ as well as… Read more

Where are the Hungarian banks in digitalization?

by Zsuzsanna Imrei | January 23, 2019 | 5 min read

Where do Hungarian banks stand in the region in terms of digitalization? Currently 13 Hungarian banks have mobile applications with great difference in quality. It is worth to know thorough international research to see the Hungarian market. Deloitte has investigated 248 banks in the EMEA… Read more

How to Improve your UX Writing Skills?
5 tips for Designers

by Balázs Dömsödi | January 7, 2019 | 3 min read

The importance of UX writing can be and has been expressed in many ways in the recent years. In this article, we claim that UX writing is important because it connects the visual elements of your design with the mindset and the vocabulary of the user. Also, words play a crucial role in the… Read more

13 essential UX principles to build a great chatbot

by Anna Regeni | December 7, 2018 | 10 min read

Chatbots have become mainstream recently. Today, the majority of stores and services have chatbots. Among these the simplest is what Facebook provides. We can easily put together our own chatbot without any programming skill. This type of chatbot has the advantage that it is easy to set up,… Read more

Digital money applications

by Anna Regeni | November 12, 2018 | 15 min read

Digital money trading and managing tools have improved significantly since 2009 when released. At the beginning, we hardly had any possibilities to buy cryptocurrencies for traditional (or as it is called within the crypto society, fiat) money. If anyone wanted to purchase any, they could choose… Read more

Eye tracking in practice

by Csilla Herendy | September 26, 2018 | 10 min read

Eye tracking which is the process of measuring the point of gaze, is a widespread research method enabling accurate monitoring of the visual efficiency of any internal space or screen, including virtual reality and games. Its main benefit is that the results are unquestionable: you can precisely… Read more

Key UX Principles to Design Great Dashboards

by Zsuzsanna Imrei | August 17, 2018 | 7 min read

The term dashboard comes from automobile dashboard, it has evolved during the decades and it is now also used in the digital world. Dashboards are a dynamic way to visualize data,s track statistics and demonstrate key performance indicators. The data management tool’s objective is to help… Read more

The best examples how to use microinteractions to enhance your ux design

by Anna Regeni | August 1, 2018 | 5 min read

Microinteractions are functions that are able to do one thing but one thing well. Microinteractions feel natural and thus remain uncovered; they’re making people feel delighted without making them realize how much thought went into one single step. Microinteractions are focusing on one task and… Read more

Face and mobile screen recording tools

by Anna Regeni | July 9, 2018 | 5 min read

What was the task we had to complete? We had a remote UX researcher and an assistant on one side and a tester on the other side. So we had to be able to stream the tester’s face and screen in real-time and additionally, due to post production purposes we also needed to be able to record the… Read more

What we get and could get from the Internet of Things?

by Szabolcs Szilagyi | June 5, 2018 | 13 min read

Still invisible to most of us, a huge revolution is unfolding: the Internet of Things, or IoT is exploding, with an increasing number of devices connecting to it, supplying data that is later assessed based on various aspects. According to Gartner’s estimate, by the end of this decade the… Read more

Blockchain interfaces that match users’ needs

by Dr Andras Rung | April 17, 2018 | 1 min read

Rung András’s presentation at “Ebanking Summit” conference. Find below the excerpt of the presentation. You can download the presentation here. FEAR OF THE UNKOWN Unclear benefits Non-matching mental models Terrible UX WHAT ARE MENTAL MODELS? Relatively precise mental image of… Read more

Smartwatch applications for Fintech

by Anna Régeni | March 21, 2018 | 8 min read

Since the introduction of the first AppleWatch, fintech applications are present for smartwatches, for instance, fintech applications developed for brokers and investors to help them greatly in monitoring and following constantly the change in stock and rate fluctuations without making them take… Read more

How can we get to know the “unknown”?

by Csilla Herendy | March 13, 2018 | 3 min read

Design Thinking (which refers to creative strategies designers use during the process of designing) is a technique that we should definitely pay attention to. It is becoming increasingly popular in business, and it is used for example by Apple, Google, Samsung and GE. It certainly owes its… Read more

Experience of use, patient’s satisfaction

by Dr Andras Rung | February 20, 2018 | 1 min read

Rung András’s presentation at “Nagy Magánpraxis” conference – download the presentation in English (pdf). Find below the excerpt of the presentation: WHAT IS UX? User experience design means planning and visualising functions which offer value to user business needs leading to a… Read more

Business Model Canvas: Complete business model on a single sheet of paper

by Csilla Herendy | February 8, 2018 | 8 min read

Many years ago business plans were documents that spanned tens of pages. They were later cut down to 3-5 pages. But as our environment changes- so does the business environment. Startups come and go, they may or may not survive one year, so the business plans also have to be revamped. Because… Read more

4 Innovative FinTech Apps that Changed Digital Banking in Hungary

by Szabolcs Szilagyi | January 23, 2018 | 6 min read

When the first microchips were created, no one assumed that the IT industry would invade the markets of almost every sector. The 21st century saw an acceleration of this trend with the advent of Fintech in addition to a number of other changes. The intertwining of the financial and technology… Read more

Sketching ideas without restrictions: what is Design Studio?

by Bence Horváth | January 9, 2018 | 2 min read

Design Studio is one of the best and easiest methods of Design Thinking, and essentially consists of participants making various drawings of the interface that they consider adequate and relevant. This allows them to think and find common ground without any restrictions, which is not necessarily… Read more

Big data visualisation

by Dr Andras Rung | December 19, 2017 | 1 min read

Rung András’s presentation at Data-driven Leadership Bootcamp. Find below the excerpt of the presentation. You can download the presentation here DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE What do colours mean? Which direction the reader used to reading? Which icons is the user familiar with? Readers are inside or… Read more

Practical tools for measuring websites and identifying flaws

by Csilla Herendy | November 22, 2017 | 13 min read

For many people, the premise that an interface should be tested and undergo comprehensive research is no longer surprising. Larger, more conscious organisations (such as OTP eBiz) are starting to supplement the development process with strings of interviews (including interviews to assess mental… Read more

Fintech UX trends – The time of voice first is here

by Dr Andras Rung | November 16, 2017 | 1 min read

Rung András’s presentation at the FinTechRadar on the 18th of October 2017. Find below the excerpt of the presentation.   You can also download the presentation here. PRIORITY FOCUS POINTS IN FINANCIAL UX Business perspective In-depth knowledge of processes and issues Insight on trends… Read more

Lego serious play usage in UX design

by Csilla Herendy | October 24, 2017 | 3 min read

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) is a great methodology that uses and builds on team thinking and equal communication. It allows the team to clarify and understand current situations, ambitions and objectives, and how they can be implemented. It is an excellent tool for organisations to define their… Read more

First place at the Hungarian fintech competition – Simple app

by Dr Andras Rung | October 19, 2017 | 1 min read

The first Hungarian Fintech contest organised by FinTechRadar, the newshub for innovative financial and insurance services has granted “The most userfriendly Fintech Solution” award to the Simple mobile payment application. This is the first award in Hungary to specialize in financial and… Read more

An in-depth insight on users’ real and recurring issues

by Csilla Herendy | September 13, 2017 | 10 min read

How should we start a diary study? We want to know what users do when we are not there with them: what are their recurring problems, what are the actual situations they experience. Ask them to take notes of what they do (preferably in digital form, for example in a private blog, Google Docs,… Read more

Tips and tricks to design better date pickers

by Bence Horváth | August 22, 2017 | 6 min read

The date picker can simplify the entry of dates in an input field. Indicating the date may seem like a small, negligible item in an application or a website. Everyone has already seen and used a date entry field…. But if we dig deeper, it turns out that the solution we use does matter.… Read more

UX: The key to your succes for your projects – presentation

by Dr Andras Rung | July 5, 2017 | 2 min read

Rung András’s presentation at the E-banking summit on 30th May 2017 – download the presentation in English (pdf) or download in Spanish (pdf). Find below the excerpt of the presentation: WHAT IS UX? Designing the user experience means designing and visualising functions that offer value to… Read more

What do we like about Asana?

by Dr Andras Rung | May 12, 2017 | 3 min read

We have been using Asana since 2013 to manage both UX and web development projects and to keep record and manage general company-related tasks. We are convinced that every company needs some sort of online project management tool, as projects cannot be efficiently managed using only emails and… Read more

How can we motivate people to leave reviews?

by Szabolcs Szilagyi | May 4, 2017 | 3 min read

Comfort is what most internet users strive for in almost every regard. If giving a review or rating is or appears to be too complicated, it will scare off all users besides the most committed ones, which are the ones typically ready to give a negative review. The willingness of satisfied… Read more

Voice-based interface design – presentation

by Dr Andras Rung | March 16, 2017 | 1 min read

Rung András’s presentation at the NLP meetup on 22th February 2017. Find below the excerpt of the presentation. You can download the presentation here From whom is this relevant? 16% illiterate 14% younger than the age of 6 years 2% visually impaired 10% dyslexic When? Occupied hands Cheap… Read more

Paper prototype fidelity

by Dr Andras Rung | February 2, 2017 | 5 min read

Prototypes are the representation of a design concept which we prepare in order to communicate or test our ideas. Paper prototyping is a technique that involves quick hand drawn sketches of interfaces which are valuable assets for user testing. The paper prototype test session also requires a… Read more

We are seeking a UX-centric frontend developer

by Dr Andras Rung | January 3, 2017 | 1 min read

Why us? We have 15 years experience in designing, testing websites, applications and presentations on the topic. We are considered the leading agency in Hungary. Our client roster includes many foreign companies (from the US, Belgium, Malta, etc.). We are advisors as well and have redesigned the… Read more

“Mental images”, mental and conceptual models 2.

by Csilla Herendy | August 26, 2016 | 2 min read

What are conceptual models? The mental model of the interface or website currently being used is referred to in psychology as the conceptual model. This conceptual model is shaped by the mental model of the designer who created and designed the interface. But what happens when the user and the… Read more

“Mental images”, mental and conceptual models 1.

by Csilla Herendy | August 26, 2016 | 2 min read

What are mental models and why should every development start by mapping out the user’s mental model of the attitude object (the service, application, topic, etc.)? What are mental models? For centuries, the central question investigated in not only psychology, but also philosophy and… Read more

Content strategy

by Dr Andras Rung | April 25, 2016 | 2 min read

“What great content strategy this website has.” Has any user ever uttered this phrase? Certainly not. But why should they? If the information they are looking for is easily, quickly and simply accessible, and even up to date, and if this brings satisfaction to the user, then it is synonymous… Read more

The Price of Interaction

by Dr Andras Rung | March 27, 2016 | 1 min read

The supposition that the fewer the clicks required to reach something, the better the design is ubiquitous. But anyone familiar with UX knows better. We know that this premise can lead to overly complicated screens, an onslaught of way too many options for users that prevents them from choosing.… Read more

Aristocratic UX

by Dr Andras Rung | March 22, 2016 | 2 min read

When designing new and innovative interfaces, we are trying to predict where we are headed and what the future will bring. What will the new user expectations be, and how will be able to best meet them? Josh Clark has pertinently said that UX does not necessarily bring in new ideas, but… Read more

Lets fulfill the business goals

by Dr Andras Rung | October 13, 2015 | 1 min read

When designing or redesigning products we frequently face the situation when stakeholders provide an already finalised concept for UX experts and digital designers to work with. Nevertheless, this process does not support efficient business. If we wish to implement a rigid and finalized business… Read more

Advice to stakeholders

by Dr Andras Rung | October 13, 2015 | 4 min read

Difficult to imagine the problems and issues the predecessors of today’s usability experts, the architects thousands of years ago had struggled with. It wasn’t easy to build up science and art from nothing, to figure out how things work and how to achieve practicality and beauty. And design… Read more

Join our UX team and make the world greater

by Dr Andras Rung | January 29, 2015 | 1 min read

Do you finally want to create something of lasting value? Join our UX team. Don’t miss this truly unique opportunity! What you will do: Devise the UX strategy and concept Create detailed, high-standard wireframes and prototypes Create personas Fine-tune and visualise business ideas from a UX… Read more

Smart paper prototype

by Dr Andras Rung | October 25, 2012 | 2 min read

We all have seen projects wasting money and time for unnecessary developments and features based on totally wrong design concepts. Good news is we can avoid this with a cheap and easy method. Paper prototype testing prevents projects to go to astray. What is paper prototype testing? Paper… Read more

Five things to get more out of your online shop

by Dr Andras Rung | July 9, 2012 | 3 min read

Even if you own a successful webshop there is always room for improvement in order to reach higher conversion rates: helping the user to achieve her goals by removing obstacles from her way or at least not hinder the user in her activity. Here are five tips to try on your website. Emphasize… Read more

Wireframes and colors

by Dr Andras Rung | June 11, 2012 | 2 min read

A graphic design mock-up and a high fidelity wireframe share several characteristics which makes difficult to see where the work of the UX expert ends and the graphic designer’s starts. Not yet prevalent in Hungary, smart project planning beyond the waterfall model makes possible for the UX and… Read more

Unity in design

by Dr Andras Rung | April 12, 2012 | 2 min read

The concept of unity is an essential principle in design. Today, we cannot imagine a quality web page without carefully applied typography, color unity and other look and feel elements. Although, less emphasis is put on the unified and well-designed working mechanisms of the page, it has equal or… Read more

Raiffeisen mobile banking app, a nice try

by Dr Andras Rung | March 27, 2012 | 3 min read

Today, a large company without a mobile page or application is embarrassing. Raiffeisen might as well felt the shame so the Raiffeisen mobile banking app was born. Recently, we shared a great article on mobile app design on our facebook page. Raiffeisen mobile banking app feels as if a couple of… Read more

Wireframing tips

by Dr Andras Rung | September 28, 2010 | 3 min read

For beginners it is often difficult to decide whether pen and paper or digital wireframing is the most efficient and what are the necessary steps that one should consider. Now, let’s have an overview  of the basics of wireframing. Digital wireframing Digital wireframing guarantees all the… Read more