Like a backwards prism, design systems focus the energy of many teams into a single beam. They spread efficiency and consistency, but they also shape culture and hone brand expression. They’re about bringing it all together, across disciplines, to form alignment and a cohesive outcome. What’s the big deal about design systems, anyways? You might have heard… Continue reading Design systems; the great connector
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.
You can learn a lot from a chicken: Line 201
ART | DESIGN | CREATIVITY | MOTORCYCLE | DIGITAL ART Yeah, we’re skipping the 100 level classes ’cause that’s just how we roll “A is for Amelia” Design and Photo by the Author You know, Amelia has my whole heart even though I suspect she herself has a heart like a biker chick. She hopes… Continue reading You can learn a lot from a chicken: Line 201
Gestalt psicology for dataviz
Understanding why specific data visualization techniques work better than others may not be so simple. Visual Pattern — Credits: Omar Flores on Unsplash We easily perceive a design that catches our attention, or elements that are out of place, but then we hardly know how to identify and evaluate them accurately, almost as if their effect acts at the… Continue reading Gestalt psicology for dataviz
Thoughts on modernism, brutalism, and a number of other outdated “isms”
When hollowed-out ideologies produce failed outcomes. Collage detail from book — the Modernist conception of space A Spatial Triad For French sociologist and philosopher Henri Lefebvre, space is a social product that is collectively shaped through the triad of conception, perception, and experience. The idea central to his book The Production of Space posits that… Continue reading Thoughts on modernism, brutalism, and a number of other outdated “isms”
Are we going to need food in the Metaverse?
A vision for how the world of food could evolve with web3. I was skeptical. I shouldn’t have been. Last week, I had the opportunity to attend YFood’s Insights & Innovation event, which took a deep dive into rising trends in the food tech space, specifically web3 and automation. As a UX designer, I’m interested in… Continue reading Are we going to need food in the Metaverse?
Hey, check out this egg-laying wool-milk-pig: said no one ever
How customization can lead to inclusion on Wikipedia. By Robin Schoenbaechler & Jazmin Tanner Over the past year, the Wikimedia Foundation Android team has focused on improving the communications experience in the Wikipedia Android app. Asynchronous collaboration is a core component of the Wikipedia editing experience, and the lower the entry barrier to editing, the… Continue reading Hey, check out this egg-laying wool-milk-pig: said no one ever
Storytelling as a service in SaaS
Rather than solely focusing on product characteristics and features, an authentic and creative narrative can convey brand values and connect with the target audience in a more strategic way. We are all the heroes of our own stories, and building a narrative around our experiences courses in our veins. Binging on stories is one of… Continue reading Storytelling as a service in SaaS
Create an accessible hamburger menu
Accessibility isn’t always easy. Should I be using a button or a link? Do I need ARIA labels? A lot of these questions can be answered using W3C’s WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices. The guide explains everything from carousels to breadcrumb navigations, from tabs to alerts—always with accessibility in mind. The design patterns that the guide discusses… Continue reading Create an accessible hamburger menu
What does your design cause?
What does your design cause which is undesirable or unintended or at odds with the design intent? How does one ask and answer these questions? In these next few posts I’m going to propose some ways of answering these questions that build up in complexity and propose some ways of thinking about causality and modeling… Continue reading What does your design cause?
On the narrative of AI as fiction
Hey Siri, we need to talk about the narrative of our relationship. I have spent the last few years looking closely at how we can design for presence, transformation, and more complex emotions. Our evolving relationship with intelligent technology is one of the most dynamic areas of this field. A recent book picks up this… Continue reading On the narrative of AI as fiction
Breaking UX preconceived notions
Breaking UX Preconceived Notions If you’re a UI/UX designer, Product Designer, or work as someone who has some influence in creating the user experience in your products, I think we all can agree on one thing. That’s what makes a good UX is quite subjective. There are a lot of different aspects that could result… Continue reading Breaking UX preconceived notions
The definitive guide to acing every design interview format
I’ve been in big tech for almost my entire career and have interviewed and been interviewed hundreds of times. This has given me unique visibility and insight into exactly how to ace a product design interview. From understanding what skills are being assessed to preparing for specific questions that might come up, this article deep… Continue reading The definitive guide to acing every design interview format
Metaverse, you’re cringe (right now)
We’re going to start with The Canned-Food Phenomenon. Yeah I made that up. But bear with me. When processed, preserved, canned food first came into existence — it served a necessity: to feed soldiers in the war. Then it was commoditized and rolled out to society for time and convenience. Soon after, we opened the Pandora’s Box of… Continue reading Metaverse, you’re cringe (right now)
Figma component properties — broken logic or new approach?
When Figma announced new components on Config 2022 I was really thrilled. The feature looks neat, it simplifies the variants and in theory, gave us more control to build more intuitive and straightforward components. However, the devil is always hidden in details. So after a few first interactions with new component properties, I see them… Continue reading Figma component properties — broken logic or new approach?
Remote friendly or unfriendly?
Some easy steps to elevate remote working amongst colleagues and teams. I’ve been a product designer for a few years now, working in different countries and environments, with clients in completely different time zones, colleagues in different offices geographically, working remotely due to coronavirus, and of course, worked full time in the office with colleagues. Over… Continue reading Remote friendly or unfriendly?
Notifications require some much-needed attention
Source: Tubik on Dribbble In the mid-2000s every “who’s who” in town was rocking a blackberry with its tactile qwerty keypad and a membership to the exclusive blackberry messenger club. Blackberry was the bridge between the pager and palmtop devices of yesterday and the smartphones of today. One of the most interesting and often overlooked… Continue reading Notifications require some much-needed attention
Why designers don’t use your design system
Improve the adoption of your design system through components flexibility Thumbnail of Cosmos Design System ❤ This is not a recipe for success or a know-it-all article. Here I’m focusing on the most constant and significant challenge when building design systems — reaching a balance and compromising between flexibility and rigidity of components standards. The components in the… Continue reading Why designers don’t use your design system
The dark yellow problem, UX in the 90s, background grids, inclusive design
“Inclusivity is at the heart of user-centric design approach, which considers not just the average user, but all users. That said, inclusivity isn’t an on/off switch you can magically flip in an instance. To design for all users, you need to consider their physical abilities, experiences, expectations, values, beliefs, and much more.” Inclusive design 101… Continue reading The dark yellow problem, UX in the 90s, background grids, inclusive design
How I fast-tracked my product design career outside of work
How do you grow your career if you’re not getting the growth from your work, but you’re not quite ready to leave? Continue reading on UX Collective »
How NOT to attend a design conference
In the first week of May, I traveled to Barcelona with a mission, to try and steal some great ideas from the brightest minds in the business. What I got instead was 3 days of self-aggrandizing promotion. This artist’s weekend was clearly about ego and salesmanship, not about learning. OFFF 2022 in Barcelona was a… Continue reading How NOT to attend a design conference
Why component properties will save your design system
Figma dropped some huge new features this month and you need to embrace them A design toolkit is only as good as the tools in it. New Figma features just gave your tools a lot more power. Photo by Cesar Carlevarino Aragon on Unsplash Figma has had a big year. Sure, it surpassed 4 million users and… Continue reading Why component properties will save your design system
5 universal icons you intuitively understand
But you can’t recall when did you learn them. Image by Balázs Kétyi on Unsplash. Have you ever stopped for a moment and thought about how many icons we use on a daily basis? The play icon on Netflix, the search icon on Google, the Instagram heart… the answer is probably over a hundred. Every… Continue reading 5 universal icons you intuitively understand
Accessibility week, low-tech UI, how to ask for a promotion, dark mode
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers. “What do we even mean by web3? We have NFTs (non-fungible tokens), cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, blockchain and DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations). It’s not just one thing we don’t understand. It’s a lot of things we don’t understand. What’s in? What’s out? And how do all of these pieces fit… Continue reading Accessibility week, low-tech UI, how to ask for a promotion, dark mode
10 design practices combine in life-centred design
An introduction to 10 design practices that work together to make human-centred design more sustainable, regenerative, and fair Today’s linear consumer system of ‘take, make, and throw-away’ is immensely inefficient and wasteful, devastating to the environment, and a major contributor to climate change. Unfortunately, decades of human-centred design have contributed significantly to today’s wicked problems… Continue reading 10 design practices combine in life-centred design