Normal Modes is growing, and I’m yet another new employee. I’m Libby, the new user experience designer, and I’m old-school.

I’ve been working in web design since I graduated in December ’95. Back then, my university offered only HTML and CGI classes, which I shunned. I was an English major! Why the heck would I need techie stuff like that? Funny thing, though…my first copywriting job out of college also required me to maintain the company intranet. My boss sat me down in front of a page of HTML and told me to figure it out.

After a couple weeks of grumbling under my breath, I discovered something weird — I actually liked it! And I was also good at it. Eventually I was maintaining and designing all of the company’s web sites.

Back then, there typically wasn’t a strong emphasis on usability or user interface design. Or even, at times, any emphasis at all. I actually had a VP who, upon discovering the export to HTML function in Word, asked me what he was paying me for.

As my skills grew, so did my interest in usability. Because my jobs mostly entailed “generalist” duties, I made it my personal mission to become a UX expert. I attended information architecture classes; I soaked up books and blogs about HCI, wireframing and designing for the user. I attended Jakob Nielsen‘s Usability Week conference; at his keynote, he bounded onto the stage accompanied by a smoke machine and Rolling Stones music.

Lately, I’ve been developing interfaces for the iPhone. These apps present a whole new challenge: limited real estate, simplicity, user expectations. I learned many lessons — some easy, some hard.

• Remember the goal. What the heck is this app supposed to do for the user? Can they do it? Write a list of tasks. Make darn sure they’re easy to accomplish.

• Remember my mom. Will my mom be able to perform these tasks? If she can, anyone can. She’s my UX nirvana. I always ask my mom to go through the app. If she’s happy, I’ve done my job. Maybe for you, it’s your grandparents, your little brother, the shaggy dude on the street corner. Figure out who your “Libby’s mom” is and utilize them.

• Remember your fingers. The tip of your finger, to be exact. This is the smallest touch point for anything you need to do in your app. Keep your screen clean and clear of clutter. Minimize necessary touches and movement. Focus on your primary functions. If it’s secondary, is it necessary?

• Remember user expectations. The iPhone has an extremely established set of patterns and behaviors. Work with them, not against them. iPhone users are generally entrenched in the Apple experience (guilty as charged). Design your iPhone application to behave like…well…an iPhone!