Keynotopia Interviews edenspiekermann_: The Power of Keynote as a Design Tool

 Image credit: Edenspiekermann_ When I read Paul Woods’ awesome blog post about how ESPI used Keynote as a design tool, I reached out to him to learn more about the details of his design process. Paul not only uses Keynote as a prototyping tool, he designs websites and products entirely in Keynote, dropping into Photoshop …

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Keynotopia 3.0: Royalty-free icons, pixel perfect UI components, and an ice cream sandwich

So we’ve been doing some crazy fast prototyping in Keynote and PowerPoint. But is it possible to also do final design just as fast? Can our prototypes be used directly in the final app? With Keynotopia 3.0, the answer is YES. The new update includes hundreds of new royalty-free icons and UI components, as well …

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5 Design Mistakes Apple Should Fix in iOS 5

App Switching      Here’s how app switching currently works      Why is this model broken? it forces me to remember if the app was recently used, and if not, can I locate it quickly on a screen. Depending on my answers, I need to take a different action. I usually start searching in recent apps. …

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Does Your Prototype Really Need Live Data?

One of my favorite stories about prototyping comes from James Dyson’s auto-biography “Against the odds”. When Dyson became frustrated with his Hoover vacuum, he got the idea of using a cyclonic filter to replace the bag. Late night in his kitchen, he created a prototype using an old vacuum cleaner, cardboard and duct tape. The …

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6 Reasons Why User Testing Fails

Ever found yourself in this awkward situation? A friend is asking for your feedback about a prototype that he spent 4 months building, and you’re wondering whether you should tell him how horrible it is, or just smile and encourage him to go on with it. I’ve been there on several occasions, and that’s why …

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Video Tutorial: How To Design A Custom Control In Keynote

In this video, I am demonstrating a workflow that was requested by so many people over the past couple of months: how to create your own UI control if it’s missing from the libraries. The UI control I am creating here is a pie menu.

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Video Tutorial: Keynote Prototyping Essentials

This video demonstrates Keynote features that make it ideal as a wireframing and prototyping tool.

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A great way to share your prototypes and get feedback

So you’d like to share your prototypes with team members or clients, and get feedback? Here is an awesome workflow that I found, which happens to be totally FREE! Until recently, I’ve shared my prototypes as PDF files via BaseCamp, Wikis, ProtoShare and email. The challenge has been enabling someone to leave comments or questions …

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January Update: BlackBerry Prototyping Templates

I was (nicely) harassed by so many people to create a template for prototyping BlackBerry apps, so here it is. If you bought the Keynote or Powerpoint bundles, this is a free update. The download link in your purchase confirmation will always get you the latest version of the templates. Here are some screenshots

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How to prototype interactive iPad applications in 30 minutes or less using Apple Keynote

How long does it usually take to go from idea to creating a prototype that you can test with users? A month? A week? Few days? How about 30 minutes? What if you can prototype your next idea quickly and cheaply without using any special wireframing or design tools? What if you can send your …

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About Amir Khella



I am a entrepreneur, startup advisor, and product designer. Over the past few years, I've designed and helped launch more than a dozen startups, including DocVerse (Acquired by Google), Delve Networks (Acquired by LimeLight networks), TalentSpring (acquired by TalentTech), SideReel (acquired by Rovi), UStream, blist, and several others.

Prior to user experience, I was a program manager, researcher in HCI and computer graphics, and software engineer.

I've been featured in Inc magazine, Entrepreneur magazine, Smashing Magazine, Swiss Miss, and the unofficial apple weblog.

Read my blog and follow me on Twitter.