The world’s largest language learning platform recently rolled out a major update to its 50M active users, and it has major usability… Continue reading on UX Collective »
BeReal: the social network that wants to change the world
Self-made picture of my BeReal account. Lately, one app has been steadily occupying the first position by downloads in both IOS and Android, making headlines virtually in every newspaper and being the latest buzzword. Can you recall? It is called BeReal. BeReal, which promotes itself as a spontaneous and low-fuss social media platform that offers… Continue reading BeReal: the social network that wants to change the world
What if Apple waited to release the iPhone?
Why done is better than perfect and how to effectively make decisions Continue reading on UX Collective »
Exploring the Free Font Index (and showing typefaces some love)
Book cover jackets for all three Free Font Indexes (re-colourised). Image credits: Hans Lijklema. On this issue of Type Founds, I venture into a decade-plus-old series of catalogues featuring free fonts that you too can get your hands on. Let’s discuss the ethics of free fonts, and take a look at some sweet typefaces in… Continue reading Exploring the Free Font Index (and showing typefaces some love)
Digital death, neurodesign, Notion AI, Figma automated UI builder
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers. “We live in a hyper-connected world where things don’t seem to have happened unless you post about them. An emotion hardly seems validated until it’s been shared with others online. On average, we spend a quarter of our lives online. For people we never met in person, all they know… Continue reading Digital death, neurodesign, Notion AI, Figma automated UI builder
What is service design and why it matters
Service design is such a vague concept that I often struggle to explain it. Even though service design is taught in some of the most prominent universities there are many misconceptions about the discipline. I started my studies in strategic design a couple of years ago but I had no idea what I was getting… Continue reading What is service design and why it matters
Understanding Python Regex Functions, with Examples
Regular expressions (regex) are special sequences of characters used to find or match patterns in strings, as this introduction to regex explains. We’ve previously shown how to use regular expressions with JavaScript and PHP. The focus of this article is Python regex, with the goal of helping you better understand how to manipulate regular expressions… Continue reading Understanding Python Regex Functions, with Examples
Best Free and Open-Source JavaScript Data Grid Libraries and Widgets
Tables are great for displaying a lot of information in a small space. For example, you might need to display data such as the marks of thousands of students in an exam along with other details, or the prices, ratings, and available stock for an eCommerce store. Data grids are basically tables that also offer… Continue reading Best Free and Open-Source JavaScript Data Grid Libraries and Widgets
27 Best Small Business Ideas for Designers
Designers have a wide range of lucrative career options. This resource puts together some of the best small business ideas to help chart your career path. It covers the market size, earning potential, estimated startup cost, the target audience, and the value they bring to the table. You’ll also learn how to launch the business,… Continue reading 27 Best Small Business Ideas for Designers
How does your team measure UX quality?
This year on my team, we had a moment where we realized that our UX quality was slipping. It started with a few surprising feedback tickets, then we noticed some patterns in our dovetail user research sessions, then got some rather harsh NPS scores, until finally we realized we needed to quantify our UX quality… Continue reading How does your team measure UX quality?
What comes after Twitter?
Twitter’s “town square” — Image by Midjourney, directed by the author. In the last month, everyone who writes about tech has had a hot take on the trash-fire that is the situation with Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. While I have thoughts, at this point I feel like the lesson of ‘’how not to lay… Continue reading What comes after Twitter?
The Ultimate Guide to Typography
Are you interested in typography? This complete course covers everything from typography history to the difference between typefaces and fonts, typeface classification, how to choose a font, and more! Watch the Ultimate Guide to Typography Course What You’ll Learn What is the history of typography? What is the difference between a typeface and a… Continue reading The Ultimate Guide to Typography
What a robbery taught me about validating assumptions in UX
A reminder to test assumptions when building or designing. At 2am, on Thursday, 10th November 2022, armed men broke down the door to my apartment and then the door to my bathroom where I was hiding. They carted away with my laptop, iPhone, and half my sanity. I wouldn’t say I saw the robbery coming, but… Continue reading What a robbery taught me about validating assumptions in UX
The UX of design leadership: winners & losers
Image by Author The other day a senior design colleague reached out to me looking for advice. He was part of one of the unfortunate rounds of layoffs affecting big tech companies across the globe. I was trying to help him find his next fit, but when I started to go through how he had… Continue reading The UX of design leadership: winners & losers
Which One Should You Use?
Weebly and WordPress You might know this already, but I’d like to begin by mentioning that there are two different variants of WordPress: the hosted version on WordPress.com and the open-source version on WordPress.org. In this post, we will be making a comparison between the open-source version of WordPress and Weebly. WordPress was first released… Continue reading Which One Should You Use?
Choosing and Setting Up a WooCommerce Payment Gateway
Are you having trouble finding the best WooCommerce payment gateway for your business? Are you struggling to set up a WooCommerce gateway on your WordPress site? There are plenty of great payment gateway options for your WooCommerce store. Finding the right payment gateway for your Woocommerce site can be difficult, but it’s crucial for the… Continue reading Choosing and Setting Up a WooCommerce Payment Gateway
InDesign for Beginners
Looking to learn how to use Adobe InDesign? This beginner-friendly course will teach you all of the basics you need. This course is aimed at users completely new to InDesign, so no experience is necessary. Watch the Full InDesign for Beginners Course What You’ll Learn What is InDesign used for? How to create InDesign… Continue reading InDesign for Beginners
Twitter layoffs, meeting fatigue, Taylor Swift’s AI, Apple accessibility
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers. “Any of us could face what our colleagues at Twitter faced yesterday. Some of us already have, and some of us will in the future, especially if you stick around the profession long enough. It’s a good reminder that, whether we realize it or not, we’re in this together. We… Continue reading Twitter layoffs, meeting fatigue, Taylor Swift’s AI, Apple accessibility
Badge notifications: why everyone wants to get rid of them
The psychology of badge notifications and why they can be overwhelming. When I Googled “badge notifications” a few days ago, the majority of the results were about how to remove them from your phone. People are becoming more self-aware of how they use their phones, and removing badge notifications is apparently a step in the… Continue reading Badge notifications: why everyone wants to get rid of them
Top 6 New Features from the Affinity Version 2.0 Announcement
Affinity Version 2 is here, and there are so many amazing new features in Affinity to get excited about. From iPad offerings to new Affinity tools, there’s a ton to explore. Here are our top 6 new features from the Affinity Version 2 announcement for you to check out. Original Stock Photography by DC_Studio on… Continue reading Top 6 New Features from the Affinity Version 2.0 Announcement
Which is Better for You?
There are a lot of tools and services out there to help you quickly set up a new website. The websites that you are creating could be simple blogs or full-blown eCommerce businesses. You are likely to find a service that will help you create that specific type of website. In this tutorial, I will… Continue reading Which is Better for You?
How playing improvised music can train the ability to synthesize in design
Improv form #1. Drawing by Alexander Pryshyvalka (Instagram) My experience with Minsk Improvisers Orchestra I was always certain that only those who are trained in understanding musical notation and playing music instrument, are allowed to create music — only these special kinds of people are eligible to be called musicians. I’m not one of this special kind… Continue reading How playing improvised music can train the ability to synthesize in design
Twitter UX nightmare: verification immolation
Image via MidJourney prompt After pausing the release to avoid disrupting the U.S. midterm elections, Twitter launched their new verification system on Wednesday: Anyone willing to pay 8 bucks a month for Twitter Blue would now receive the long coveted (by some) “blue check mark,” which, of course, is actually a white check mark against… Continue reading Twitter UX nightmare: verification immolation
How to Fix WordPress Widgets Not Working or Showing After Update
After updating your WordPress version to 5.8 or higher, it’s common to encounter errors in your widgets section (Appearance > Widgets in your admin dashboard) or, in some cases, have it disappear completely. WordPress started using the block editor as of version 5.8.1. The editor allows you to add any block to your site’s widget… Continue reading How to Fix WordPress Widgets Not Working or Showing After Update