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Category: UX
Guidelines for constructive and empowering design feedback and critique
Patrick ThorntonBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Jan 30 Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash Regular, well-run feedback and critique sessions are critical for helping to refine a product and make it great, and a lot of these sessions do not help accomplish those goals. Doing critique and feedback sessions in a way that is constructive and empowering, without hurting feelings… Continue reading Guidelines for constructive and empowering design feedback and critique
Why are you not designing your day-to-day experience?
Fabricio TeixeiraBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Jan 29 The other day a coworker and I were chatting about our phone’s home screens and the way we organize our app icons. We spent good ten minutes describing to one another our implicit rules on how we prioritize homepage icons, how we choose apps that will sit on the edge vs.… Continue reading Why are you not designing your day-to-day experience?
Finding my footing in the ocean of UX Design
So, it is 2016 and my manager took the gamble and gave me the cherished role of “User Experience Designer”. I had already started reading up online about User Experience Design career. Now, searching and learning about UX Design career is like “looking for disease based on symptoms on WebMD”… the magnitude of skills and… Continue reading Finding my footing in the ocean of UX Design
UX designer’s identity crisis
Kaja Laura ToczyskaBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Jan 22 If you’ve worked as a UX designer for at least 2 or 3 years now, you must have read all these stories and tweets about how UX design is dead, it doesn’t really exist, or how the industry is changing and UX design will be dead in a few years… Continue reading UX designer’s identity crisis
Driving design system adoption
Backstory I joined the digital design systems team at REI in May 2018, about a month ahead of a planned MVP launch of a shiny new design system. As Program Manager, my initial objectives were to lead communication around the launch and drive adoption of the system parts and pieces across our product portfolio. Over… Continue reading Driving design system adoption
Medium took all the fun out of clapping
Alec ZaffiroBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Jan 15 My love/hate (but mostly love) relationship with Medium continues. I write this with sincerity, not spite. All I want is to offer a few, hopefully valid, points from my perspective as an avid user. I’ll start with some transparency: I have no idea what it takes to run an online publishing… Continue reading Medium took all the fun out of clapping
Designers need to understand data to create and measure business impact
In the report “The Business Value of Design” recently published by McKinsey & Company there are four themes that are key for business and design leaders to focus on if they are committed to maximizing the business benefits of design in their organizations: Cross-functional talent Continuous iteration User Experience Analytical leadership The report leaves us… Continue reading Designers need to understand data to create and measure business impact
Productivo time management — a UX case study
After hearing many of my friends and co-workers talk about forgetting assignments or their problems balancing school with work, I made my next UX case study a daily planner app. As someone who lives with a bullet journal attached to her hip, I wanted to understand why the people around me didn’t use the myriad… Continue reading Productivo time management — a UX case study
Go Rogue: how to turn frustration into opportunity
Managing frustration Communicate: Sending up a flare Communication and escalation are your best friends. Communicate with your mentors and managers about your frustrations, this helps move the energy out of you and place it above you. It’s like sending your energy up into the air like a flare. Your mentors are there to help you. Once… Continue reading Go Rogue: how to turn frustration into opportunity
Stop being clever — a UX case study
My answer: “Be the opposite of clever… show the painfully obvious.” Allow me to explain with a story: Imagine you work with an engineering team. Both you and the team are very close to the product. You both know where the bugs lie. The team has outlined each bug in a ticket. Time after time… Continue reading Stop being clever — a UX case study
The playlist theory
Vasudha MamtaniBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Jan 1 Most people who use Spotify, extensively use the playlists curated by the application when picking their music. Gone are the days when people carefully selected songs that they wanted to listen to and recorded them on a mixtape in a particular order. Not many people even take an effort to select… Continue reading The playlist theory
Can I un-update you, Instagram?
Linh Giang NguyenBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Dec 27 If you are lucky enough, you haven’t updated your Instagram today. Wondering why? Let’s explore Instagram update today. As a user who has just tried this update five minutes ago and about to throw my phone away after 2 seconds, I’ll tell you why I want to un-update it. 1.Unfamiliar and… Continue reading Can I un-update you, Instagram?
Facebook’s language settings — a UX writing case study
Anh Thu NguyenBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Dec 23 Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash When I was scrolling my feed on Facebook, I came across something oddly unfamiliar. I saw a post from a Vietnamese food page that was written in English, and underneath, it says ‘Rate this Translation’ with a gear icon. I found this encounter strange because… Continue reading Facebook’s language settings — a UX writing case study
Letting go of the flows: inspiration from the game industry
Product teams, I’ve got bad news: We’re in a rut. For the last decade, we have designed apps (and websites) in the same tightly controlled way: prioritized interaction flows for an ever growing amount of use cases, screens made of templates with a component system, and a rigid app information architecture. We have created tools… Continue reading Letting go of the flows: inspiration from the game industry
Heuristic evaluation: Goodreads
Kurt YalcinBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Dec 19 There are times when a designer or researcher is tasked with evaluating an interface but not given access to actual people. If you find yourself backed into a user-less corner, an inspection method is a great way for you to assess the usability of a design. Similar to a cognitive walkthrough,… Continue reading Heuristic evaluation: Goodreads
How to use powerful Gestalt principles in design (with infographic)
The human brain processes about 4 billion bits of information per second (most of it unconsciously) and transmits information at 200 miles per hour. You don’t believe me? Look it up. All this neural activity would consume an enormous amount of energy if we were to be conscious of it all, so in order to… Continue reading How to use powerful Gestalt principles in design (with infographic)
Our favorite UX initiatives this year
Caio BragaBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Dec 15 Fabricio and I are big believers in the power of the design community: sharing knowledge, honing our practice, and bringing a critical perspective on our work. Of course, like any industry that is expanding and maturing we have our growing pains, but when we put our energy as thinkers and makers… Continue reading Our favorite UX initiatives this year
How _______ made me a better designer
I was falling behind and didn’t even know it Sitting in my bedroom as my old classmates moved out to Los Angeles, Boston, and New York was tougher than I thought. I constantly distracted myself by rewatching TV shows and trying to get in a last lunch with friends I wouldn’t see again for a long… Continue reading How _______ made me a better designer
Stop asking for/providing multiple solutions
To be fair, this trend is fortunately declining, but especially with small clients or in some particular environment, the thing is still happening. In most cases it’s better to focus on THE BEST solution possible, rather than diluting the effort to pursue more than one.I’m not saying to follow blindly only one option and ignore… Continue reading Stop asking for/providing multiple solutions
Collingwood Neighbourhood House: UI responsive design
Julie BiBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Dec 4 Website redesign for a non-profit neighbourhood house to increase the awareness about their programs and services as well as welcome everyone to the community. I. Introduction Collingwood Neighbourhood House provides services and community development initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life of residents in the Collingwood area of east Vancouver.… Continue reading Collingwood Neighbourhood House: UI responsive design
The best holiday gift for a designer
The holidays will soon be here. Since last year’s holidays, I’ve been thinking about what would make the best gift for a designer. The best holiday gift for a designer is… a testimonial. Take 15–25 minutes out of your day and write a testimonial for the designer you’re working with. That’s better than anything you… Continue reading The best holiday gift for a designer
Five pitfalls to avoid when writing UX research questions
UX research, as a discipline is growing rapidly. When I started my UX career, the few UX researchers I knew about were all based in Silicon Valley and were almost always from a HCI background. Things have changed, for the better, with UX research evolving as a separate discipline and more people becoming UX researchers.… Continue reading Five pitfalls to avoid when writing UX research questions
Heuristics and the Wikipedia of Galactic Babel
Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash Galactic Babel What would you do if I didn’t smile at you? I mean, not me in particular, but me as the stranger that you passed yesterday morning while checking the mail. You said, “hello,” because you’re a nice person — everyone knows that. But I didn’t respond. I grimaced. And I’m… Continue reading Heuristics and the Wikipedia of Galactic Babel