Getting WCAG color contrast right

Actionable tips on how to nail WCAG 2.1 color compliance. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define rules, that make your product accessible to people with disabilities.¹* The WCAG is an open standard developed by the w3c together with individuals and orgs around the world. (Like all other w3c standards). * Being general guidelines following the… Continue reading Getting WCAG color contrast right

Published
Categorized as UX

Should you do UX Research yourself, or hire an agency?

The Pros and Cons of these two options — plus a third you might have ignored The number at the end of the agency’s proposal was over one million Euros. I was floored. A client of mine had sent me a proposal from the latest research consulting firm in the runnings to help them explore a new market. Of the… Continue reading Should you do UX Research yourself, or hire an agency?

Open web3 usability questions

A list of web3 design patterns and user behaviours that puzzle me. DallE generated: “an astronaut pondering the mysteries of life” Through my articles on DeFi, I’ve identified various usability problems specific to crypto apps. I’ve also thought hard about how to build a general framework for web3 UX. I try to speak to users… Continue reading Open web3 usability questions

Published
Categorized as UX Tagged

Disruptive design patterns — an uncharted territory

Disruptive design patterns — an uncharted territory From Apple’s Dynamic Island to TikTok’s vertical video swipe: Are new design patterns going viral faster than ever? Interface design patterns are recurring proven solutions for solving digital experiences. They are a part of a product designer’s menu of possibilities. With the popularity of libraries and design systems, many visual conventions… Continue reading Disruptive design patterns — an uncharted territory

How to build a killer product proposition with user research

Speaking with potential users to help shape your product doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive. Here’s how we did it at Yonder. When I first joined Yonder (or Simpl, as we were not-so-well known at the time) as the founding designer back in April 2021, all we had were three passionate lunatics with ideas… Continue reading How to build a killer product proposition with user research

Published
Categorized as UX

4g CO2 per email—really?

Disentangling a well-known “fact” about emails. There’s a lot of “received wisdom” kicking about on the internet — ideas and “facts” which are essentially presented without question on the basis of “ he said it, so it must be true”. This afflicts many fields, and sustainability is no exception. One common example is that “sending an email generates… Continue reading 4g CO2 per email—really?

UX for evil: the truth about Trump’s truth app

Image credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images/Christoph Dernbach/picture alliance via Getty Images Back in February, the much-anticipated “Truth Social” app was launched. Intended to be a social network for “Truth”, it’s essentially a carbon copy of Twitter, except instead of Tweets, you write and share “Truths”. When it launched, a lot of people smirked at reports of… Continue reading UX for evil: the truth about Trump’s truth app

Published
Categorized as UX Tagged

New Brutalism and web accessibility: what you need to know

New Brutalism is a trend that has been growing in popularity over the past several years. A rejection of the sleek and modernist style of buildings that came out of the post-war era, Brutalism is more raw and unrefined. In its rejection of glamor, Brutalism creates an almost industrial aesthetic, often with exposed concrete and… Continue reading New Brutalism and web accessibility: what you need to know

Personas should be living and breathing

Too often, designers create a persona at the start of a project, then put it up on a wall like a graduation picture and simply leave it there to be looked at and referenced occasionally…pulling out interesting stories when the situation demands. But your persona should be alive. It should live, grow, evolve and adapt.… Continue reading Personas should be living and breathing

AI is going to change UX research forever

The rise of AI will impact everyone. But in what way can UX designers use AI to their benefit? And how do we design AI systems? AI will revolutionize every sector, but unexpectedly UX research might suffer a huge impact. Photo by me. The rise of AI is creating a lot of buzz in almost every modern… Continue reading AI is going to change UX research forever

AI’s race to convert your images to 3D and videos: Meta vs. Google

For the first time, text-to-image AI has evolved to video, all out of the box in a matter of seconds. From the Author Can a zebra walk on the surface of the moon alongside an astronaut? Can high rise buildings that are 80 stories in the middle of the Saharan desert sway dangerously? None of… Continue reading AI’s race to convert your images to 3D and videos: Meta vs. Google

Shhh: don’t tell anyone, Figma’s latest feature, Design in uncertain times

Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers. You say you won’t detach instances. You will detach instances. Shhh: don’t tell the new designers →By Michael McWatters The UX Collective is an independent design publication that elevates unheard design voices, reaching over 500k+ designers every week. Editor picks Design in uncertain times →How design can shape our… Continue reading Shhh: don’t tell anyone, Figma’s latest feature, Design in uncertain times

Envisioning 3D design systems for the Metaverse

How to scale 3D content design for the next-generation internet Puzzle BLOCKHAUS Metaverse seems like a glamorous futurist proposition, that “one day” we will have virtual worlds that billions of people are willing to “live in”. Obviously, we haven’t seen a real “metaverse” product yet, and it’s unlikely to see such a product in 3–5… Continue reading Envisioning 3D design systems for the Metaverse

Published
Categorized as UX

3 things to consider before you implement CAPTCHA for accessibility

What are you bothered by the most when you use digital products? For me, it’s e-mail and phone verification, pincode, setting complex passwords and not remembering them… and I especially find one particular thing obnoxious, and it’s CAPTCHA. Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) is a tool very commonly used… Continue reading 3 things to consider before you implement CAPTCHA for accessibility

How Google Search is reinventing itself in 2022

The evolving digital landscape has changed people’s search behaviours forever. Photo by Firmbee.com on Unsplash Google is completely changing the way that search engines operate. Search behaviours encompass much more than simply asking a question and looking for an answer. Often, people don’t have a specific question in mind, but are curious to explore a… Continue reading How Google Search is reinventing itself in 2022

Published
Categorized as UX

Digital humans are here. They sound and look just like us.

Now digital humans are here. They sound and look just like us. Digital humans, AI-powered digital counterparts, are going to change how we interact with the world around us. https://medium.com/media/5d057cb8920f355e7fa126d3cedcac2c/href In 2016 Miquela Sousa, or @lilmiquela, quickly grew to be one of Instagram's top influencers. At a first glance, there is little wrong with the 19-year-old Brazilian-American… Continue reading Digital humans are here. They sound and look just like us.

Re-contextualizing symbols — a study of phenomenology

Oct.21.10–Nov.25.10 Publication front cover Global wordless communication Artist Ryan McGinness once stated that visual symbols are read as embedded forms of cultural knowledge. We no longer consciously acknowledge graphic symbols. Contemporary audiences are intimately familiar with visual iconography. Wordless communication systems are interpreted effortlessly, subconsciously. The information conveyed is internalized, requiring minimal energy deployed for… Continue reading Re-contextualizing symbols — a study of phenomenology

Published
Categorized as UX

Why you should care about design in uncertain times

Pandemic, war, climate crisis, racism, nationalism… We’re going through tough times in history, it’s hard to deny it: every day seems like a challenge. If we can’t be sure about tomorrow, why should we care about the present time? We’re scared of reality, we’re scared of the future. Our world is collapsing in ashes and… Continue reading Why you should care about design in uncertain times

Published
Categorized as UX

Frutiger: from a dot to the Paris airport

Balancing black and white, developing a universal language, and deconstructing what made Adrian Frutiger the designer’s designer Continue reading on UX Collective »

Make your research reusable: the information library for UX Research

Of course, it’s great that you already store the results of your research in a place where others can find them. A folder of reports (in Sharepoint), a wiki (like Notion or Confluence), or maybe even a dedicated research repository (like Dovetail, Reveall, or EnjoyHQ). Sharing your findings in such a way will help in… Continue reading Make your research reusable: the information library for UX Research

Published
Categorized as UX