Early in my career as a product designer, I was working on an app for patients undergoing chemotherapy when the client asked “How can we make this experience delightful?” Once I got over my initial shock from the contradictions inherent to that question, I dug a little deeper. What is delight? And how can we… Continue reading That which makes us human
Category: Design
Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has multiple definitions; there is no single definition. Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.
Plane crashes and radiation overdoses: UX’s failure to be reflective
Many things can go wrong in high-risk systems. To prevent these errors, it’s crucial to apply our understanding of human behaviour to the… Continue reading on UX Collective »
6 great examples of UX research emails
Rosie Hoggmascall · Follow Published in UX Collective · 12 min read · 11 hours ago — Share Recruiting users for research is hard. Especially at early-stage startups where you may not have well-oiled communication channels, an allocated budget or many users to contact. But, there are many ways to recruit users for research depending… Continue reading 6 great examples of UX research emails
5 things I learned as a product designer: a 10-year journey at Amazon, Walmart and startups
In 2019, I wrote an article titled What I learned as a Product Designer over the last 6 years — a snapshot of my journey with points I deemed relevant to any upcoming designers interested in the field of UX or Product Design. Little did I know that the following years would bring an abundance of experiences,… Continue reading 5 things I learned as a product designer: a 10-year journey at Amazon, Walmart and startups
Big words aren’t accessible.
His famous quote, “Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?” takes a comedic approach highlighting this topic–using big words and a lot of them is a needless waste of time. While I am not suggesting we take it to the level Kevin did, there is evidence that would suggest using few,… Continue reading Big words aren’t accessible.
Why inclusive language matters in coding
Connecting code and design through inclusive language. Continue reading on UX Collective »
This is why every company must become a design company
For business leaders today, investing in technology is still necessary but not sufficient to respond (and anticipate) the constant changes in customer’s needs, preferences and behaviour. To transform all these changes into opportunities to grow your business, we must complete our technological advantage with a methodological one: what we, at Designit, call “Becoming a Designer… Continue reading This is why every company must become a design company
Our desire for certainty can make us terrible planners
Memory, Image Theory, and the empty pursuit of certainty Midjourney Sometimes it feels like all we do is plan — and then plan for more planning. But what are the cognitive mechanisms we use to ‘plan’? and are they optimized for getting things ‘right’? If we were optimized to be right, we probably wouldn’t be so quick to… Continue reading Our desire for certainty can make us terrible planners
Blooming good tactics: Bloom & Wild’s CRM strategy
Blooming good tactics A deep dive into Bloom & Wild’s CRM strategy Rosie Hoggmascall · Follow Published in UX Collective · 8 min read · 1 day ago — 2 Share Half of households in Britain bought cut flowers in 2021. Around the world, the global flower industry is worth a huuuge $60BN. Not even… Continue reading Blooming good tactics: Bloom & Wild’s CRM strategy
How to solve a designer’s biggest fear with startups: wearing multiple hats
Startups offer tons of value to designers if you know how to handle the extra work Continue reading on UX Collective »
Designing together: the importance of shared principles for design teams
Maximilian Speicher · Follow Published in UX Collective · 6 min read · 4 hours ago — Share TL;DR: Design principles operationalize a team’s values into concrete guidelines that inform the design process. The specific steps we took for developing our own set of principles were: (1) Brainstorming already established principles, inspiration from other teams,… Continue reading Designing together: the importance of shared principles for design teams
From toy to titan: the activations behind the Barbie effect
The marketing budget for Barbie was $150m, more than the $145m for the movie itself—and it shows. Barbie takes over the streets of Dubai. Credit Eye Studio. Operation Barbie Summer (the internal codename from Warner Bros) is in full swing. Since its release on July 21st, just two weeks ago, the Barbie movie has shattered 11 box… Continue reading From toy to titan: the activations behind the Barbie effect
Stress kills listening skills
Where we may normally struggle a little in getting our point across advocating for users and our true intentions for the success of the business heard, stress adds an extra layer of complication making it even harder to manage those complex stakeholder relationships and emotions. Suddenly, we are being misunderstood and perceived as negative and… Continue reading Stress kills listening skills
How to ‘un-stuck’ your design work
Three lifelines to call on when you’re feeling stuck creatively I’ve been a professional designer for over twenty years, working across a wide range of media: UX/UI, motion, branding, web design, mobile apps, and creative coding. Most lately, I’ve been developing my font design practice. Design is a long journey of exploration and growth. You… Continue reading How to ‘un-stuck’ your design work
Speaking English so non-native colleagues understand
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION International team collaboration. Josh LaMar (He/Him) · Follow Published in UX Collective · 14 min read · 12 hours ago — 1 Listen Share Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash Collaborating with colleagues around the world is a rich and rewarding experience. Exposure to new cultures and ideas stimulates new ways of thinking… Continue reading Speaking English so non-native colleagues understand
Our dangerous tendency to hold on to losing bets
Tools to mitigate commitment bias and overconfidence Midjourney Last week, we wrote about how ‘conviction’ is a very human attribute responsible for our powerful, yet irrational ability to almost will positive outcomes into existence; presumably against all odds. Today we’ll cover the dark side of conviction and overconfidence — and unfortunately, the more common tendency to overcommit and… Continue reading Our dangerous tendency to hold on to losing bets
What goes in must come out
How to keep from getting overwhelmed or creating excuses not to be constantly learning more. Prioritize both your time and the content you want to consume. A lot of content exists out there and it can feel overwhelming to know where to start. Make a list of skills–hard or soft–you want to improve and learn… Continue reading What goes in must come out
I sent an email, but nobody read it. So I sent out an invite.
When it comes to group dynamics, there are two key factors that play a crucial role: task-oriented and maintenance-oriented behaviors. As you plan your team’s agenda, consider how these factors influence the dynamics and productivity of the group. midjourney 2023 / prompt: Google calendar full of meetings “Not another meeting…” or “this could have been an email…”… Continue reading I sent an email, but nobody read it. So I sent out an invite.
The role of conviction and narrative in strategic decision making
Kyle Byrd · Follow Published in UX Collective · 9 min read · 1 day ago — 1 Listen Share Midjourney If you’ve been following these posts, you may have noticed the word conviction comes up quite a bit. In the particular case of navigating radical uncertainty, it’s the battleground between biases and heuristics (how… Continue reading The role of conviction and narrative in strategic decision making
Why Ive's way of doing personal projects is good for designers
Why Ive’s way of doing personal projects is good for designers Personal projects should be an important part of life as designers, but is mixed with the work and the realities of an in-house design team, which can be a messy process. Often, the question of fulfilment comes into play. Surprisingly, the answers to fulfilment… Continue reading Why Ive's way of doing personal projects is good for designers
Why your design critique sucked
What went wrong, what makes a great critique and alternatives. Ben Maclaren · Follow Published in UX Collective · 6 min read · 2 days ago — Share Photo by Shalone Cason on Unsplash I ran a design critique the other week. Frankly, it sucked. Here’s what went wrong and how to make things right… Continue reading Why your design critique sucked
Think Inside the Box: How Accessibility Shapes Digital Product Design
Think inside the box: How accessibility shapes digital product design How constraints ignite creativity, spark innovation, and why accessibility is a uniquely effective constraint everyone should embrace. “Design depends largely on constraints.” — Charles Eames Access to digital technologies is a fundamental human right¹ and legal obligation². In an ideal world, there would be no need for more justification to… Continue reading Think Inside the Box: How Accessibility Shapes Digital Product Design
Are data dashboards vanity projects?
At the same time, what is often overlooked is that these charts, graphs, and other visuals can be merely decorations if users are not data literate. Based on the research on data literacy, this article offers a critique of the overabundance of data visualizations and dashboards, talks about when to use them appropriately, and sketches… Continue reading Are data dashboards vanity projects?
How you can create non-obvious UX research insights
6 tips to sidestep “we already knew it” feedback on a research report Image on https://www.nirandfar.com/hindsight-bias/ Every UX researcher wonders how they can create amazing insights that go beyond expectations and elicit a ‘wow!’ reaction from their audience. Despite conducting numerous rounds of interviews, sometimes our research reports can seem too plain and bland if they… Continue reading How you can create non-obvious UX research insights