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
Category: UX
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
Goodreads’s new book page design: a UX analysis
Goodreads are implementing a new design for their book page on the website — a look at the user experience Continue reading on UX Collective »
Becoming a customer-centric product leader
Investing in a culture of research and design gives a clearer direction, accelerates you as a product leader, and has a great proven ROI. Product Management teams all too often focus on delivery over customer outcome. This is a cycle that leads to poor financial results. Companies that invest in research and design are proven… Continue reading Becoming a customer-centric product leader
What designers can learn from Apple’s new accessibility features
Connecting the physical and digital world to provide equal experiences and access for all Continue reading on UX Collective »
Web 3’s utopia, non-linear careers, why I moved on from Figma
“A quick internet search will direct you to plenty of articles about current or future design trends. For UI designers, neumorphism is in, and skeuomorphism is out. Logo designers should expect to see a lot of simple geometry and variable type. Literally today, I just read that parallax effects and horizontal scrolling are going to… Continue reading Web 3’s utopia, non-linear careers, why I moved on from Figma
Loading UX: make users not care about having to wait
An article about the psychology of waiting and how you can make this a positive user experience. Waiting. It’s something we all do every day. Waiting for a response to that message you sent, our food to be delivered, the traffic lights to turn green, and our computers to start at the beginning of the… Continue reading Loading UX: make users not care about having to wait
Data Storytelling Guide: Use a storyboard to present data like a Pixar filmmaker
Stop overwhelming people with numbers. Start with the takeaway. Photo by Klaas on Unsplash This article aims to help designers, product managers, and data scientists pitch data-driven ideas and present UX research. Write stories that don’t overwhelm people with numbers. Prevent data paralysis. Let’s assume that dozens of data points have been pulled as part… Continue reading Data Storytelling Guide: Use a storyboard to present data like a Pixar filmmaker
Seven mental models for UX Writing
Mental models to help you mature your work and deliverables. This article is part of the UX Translations series. It was originally written in portuguese by Camila Gaidarji via UX Collective 🇧🇷 and was translated to english with the intention of helping more designers and reaching an even wider audience. You can check the original… Continue reading Seven mental models for UX Writing
Things I learned from exposing nested instances in Figma
And how pre-configured presets could make it even better Image from Figma’s Help site Recently, Figma released a set of new beta functionalities, which opens up a whole new level of component configuration for your design library. One of those features allows you to expose nested instances that are inside other (nested) components. If you… Continue reading Things I learned from exposing nested instances in Figma
Bad service design is death by 1000 cuts
Heeding the tell-tales in an ailing system Continue reading on UX Collective »
Meta Quest Pro falls short on biometric protections
Meta has released more details about the lengths they’ve gone to protect users of their new eye tracking HMDs. The Inspector is Shocked, Shocked that there is gambling in this establishment that he frequents I’ve worked with eye tracking technology since 2010 (Hololens) and written publicly since 2019. Here are some thoughts after reading all… Continue reading Meta Quest Pro falls short on biometric protections
Taylor Swift’s new album design: an (over)analysis
Because if it’s from a cryptic singer-songwriter, why not? Continue reading on UX Collective »
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
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
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
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
Why Lite apps are making a comeback
A brief history of Super Apps and why LITE apps are required to make a comeback Continue reading on UX Collective »
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 tools to assist your design and development workflow
The rise of AI has been accompanied by a lot of hype and fear. People are excited that it will completely transform the creative industry, while others are concerned it could replace their job entirely. The reality is that neither of those realities are likely to come about very quickly. We are at the beginning… Continue reading AI tools to assist your design and development workflow