90% of designers are unhirable?

Or why your cookie-cutter portfolio doesn’t cut it and how to fix it Image by Matej Latin (Author) Here’s the harsh truth: I’ve reviewed more than 1,000 portfolios in my design career so far, and I turned 90% of them down because of one thing — the linear design process. By “linear design process” I mean cookie-cutter case studies that… Continue reading 90% of designers are unhirable?

Housing, It’s a Human Right (Part 3)

A 3-Part Series on the digital accessibility of the housing process experienced by people with disabilities. In this 3-part series, we will look at the challenges and rewards of the entire experience surrounding the process of acquiring housing for people who live with a disability.  We will look at: Buying an existing home Leasing an… Continue reading Housing, It’s a Human Right (Part 3)

Three very good standardized UX surveys for industrial use

Pros and cons of the questionnaires SUS, PSSUQ, and ISO 9241–110 plus three more openly available, science-grounded, business-driven UX surveys (all including question sources) User Research Methods User research is one of the most important, if not the most important element of user experience (UX) and design. In this area exist many methods and materials, grounded in… Continue reading Three very good standardized UX surveys for industrial use

Enhancing Accessibility with AI and ML

There has been a lot of buzz recently about Artificial Intelligence, with some people speculating that we are approaching the long-awaited AI revolution. This hype has been chiefly generated by recent advanced algorithms powering ChatGPT and other language-related models. While I believe that these models are still a far cry from general AI (AI which… Continue reading Enhancing Accessibility with AI and ML

Ensuring negative numbers are available for everyone

This post is co-authored by Michael Fairchild and Jeremy Katherman. That little minus sign before a number is very important. It can mean the difference between having money in your bank account or paying overdraft fees. It can be the difference between a deposit or a withdrawal. Negative numbers can be indicated in several ways,… Continue reading Ensuring negative numbers are available for everyone

We’re turning designers into factory workers

Considering the availability of modern tools and recent advancements in governance (design systems), one might think designers could relax and enjoy some leisure time. Surprisingly, that’s not the case. In fact, it feels like designers have even less time than before. As we’re frantically pushing towards an auto-governed future, we ought to stop and think… Continue reading We’re turning designers into factory workers

Designing for AI: beyond the chatbot

Guidelines and strategies for meaningfully leveraging AI in your applications With the recent advancements in AI, we as designers, builders, and creators, face big questions about the future of applications and how people will interact with digital experiences. Generative AI has unleashed huge possibilities with what we can do with AI. People are now using… Continue reading Designing for AI: beyond the chatbot

Starting design work in a spreadsheet

In the early phases of a project a spreadsheet can be a more useful design tool than Figma. If you’re redesigning an existing website there are huge benefits in getting to know the content you’ll be working with. The earlier in the project the better. A little upfront investigation will help you make informed design decisions.… Continue reading Starting design work in a spreadsheet

The age of Agile must end

30 years ago the technology industry attempted to import Lean practices — it failed. Instead of “continuous improvement,” progress halted. Agile is incompatible with UX research, design, and scalable development. It always will be. It’s time to create a new operational standard. Changing of the guards. Photo by Micah Kunkle on Unsplash As startups refocus on “operational efficiency,”… Continue reading The age of Agile must end

The role of grid systems in graphic design

Grid System: Vertical and horizontal lines grid. What is a grid system? The vertical and horizontal axes are divided in proportion to the coordinate system. In graphic design, the grid is used to control the font and image position layout design matrix, which has an important role in Mesh design, in different periods and geographical, people have… Continue reading The role of grid systems in graphic design

10 Key Principles of User-Centered Design

Many firms’ design and development decisions are increasingly oriented toward human-centered innovation. Instead of rushing goods to market, these firms are using a user-centered design approach. Design and development teams build high-performing digital products or websites that uniquely meet customers’ demands by concentrating on the user experience. After all, a good web design is helpful… Continue reading 10 Key Principles of User-Centered Design

The Ultimate Guide to Typography

Are you interested in typography? This complete course covers everything from typography history to the difference between typefaces and fonts, typeface classification, how to choose a font, and more! Watch the Ultimate Guide to Typography Course What You’ll Learn What is the history of typography? What is the difference between a typeface and a… Continue reading The Ultimate Guide to Typography

Measuring Empathy for Accessibility

After my previous blog on the Two Pillars of Accessibility, I was asked on LinkedIn from a peer in the accessibility field how a program could measure and report the empathy pillar of an accessibility program i.e. how much does your company care about accessibility. Measuring the impact of accessibility is relatively easy — you can track… Continue reading Measuring Empathy for Accessibility

How to Create an Artistic Painting Effect in Affinity Photo

Today, we’ll be taking a look at how to create artistic painting effects in Affinity Photo. Affinity Photo may not have any dedicated artist effect filters, but it has more than enough amazing built-in tools that let you turn a photo into a painting or drawing. All without a drawing tablet! We are putting three… Continue reading How to Create an Artistic Painting Effect in Affinity Photo

How to find your designer self — and understand how YOU approach design

How to find your designer self — And understand how YOU approach design We all know the feeling. The identity crisis that comes with being a designer is not easy to overcome. Somehow we are solving problems for others all the time, but when it comes to ourselves it feels impossible. The good news is you already have… Continue reading How to find your designer self — and understand how YOU approach design

Stealing like an artist — design heuristics in creative ideation

Stealing like an artist — design heuristics in creative ideation Mental shortcuts and cognitive frameworks aren’t only useful in everyday judgments and problem-solving. When faced with creative challenges, we can also tap into our “design brain” to channel previously encountered ideas into our own work. At their core, design heuristics are the combination, exploration, or transformation of often already… Continue reading Stealing like an artist — design heuristics in creative ideation

How to Auto Align in Photoshop

Today, we’ll be looking at how to use the auto align tools in Photoshop, as well as guides and snapping! Photoshops auto align tools are simple but powerful, and they’ll keep you from sending out a design with the always annoying uncentred text or misaligned words.  If you’re looking to speed up your workflow, try… Continue reading How to Auto Align in Photoshop

Side Hustles for Web Design Professionals: How to Make Some Extra Cash

A career as a web designer can be extremely lucrative. The average web designer in the US makes around $50-55,000 per year, equating to an hourly rate of around $25. Of course, not every designer will automatically get a full-time, high-paying job as soon as they earn their web design credentials. Sometimes, you might need… Continue reading Side Hustles for Web Design Professionals: How to Make Some Extra Cash

Wordle is a masterclass in product design simplicity

Some of the most fun I’ve had this year is playing Wordle with my friends and family. But I’m a product designer and a programmer, so as I played, I couldn’t help but notice some strange things about how it was constructed. I was right in the middle of making my own product School Morning Routine,… Continue reading Wordle is a masterclass in product design simplicity

10 Essential Design Tips for Photoshop

Photoshop’s been the industry standard for artists and designers for decades, adding new and improved features every year. This is great for those of us who’ve been using it for years, but it can be a lot to take in for someone just getting into the digital art world! So I’ve made a list of… Continue reading 10 Essential Design Tips for Photoshop

How Long Does it Take to Learn JavaScript

According to “The State of the Octoverse” by GitHub, the statistics show that JavaScript is the most popular language globally. It is good investment to learn JavaScript for front-end or back-end programming. How Long Will it Take? In the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, there is the 10,000 hours rule. This rule states that there… Continue reading How Long Does it Take to Learn JavaScript

Using a WooCommerce Related Products Plugin

When you run an online store, there’s no such thing as selling too many products. Just because the customer has found what they’re looking for, doesn’t mean you can’t convince them to throw a few more items into their cart. If you’ve ever spent any time on sites such as Amazon, then chances are you’re… Continue reading Using a WooCommerce Related Products Plugin

42 Best Graffiti Tattoo Fonts (Lettering Fonts to Download)

If you’re looking for a font to make your tattoo really pop, try a graffiti tattoo font.  Today we will look at the best graffiti tattoo lettering found at Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.  Unlimited Graffiti Tattoo Fonts at Envato Elements For premium graffiti tattoo fonts, look no further than Envato Elements. Elements offers thousands… Continue reading 42 Best Graffiti Tattoo Fonts (Lettering Fonts to Download)

Add Days to a Date With PHP DateInterval

* { box-sizing: border-box; } body {margin: 0;}*{box-sizing:border-box;}body{margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;} PHP has a lot of methods and functions to help you manipulate dates in a variety of ways. In this quick tip, I will show you how to add days to a date in PHP using the DateInterval class. We will begin with an overview of DateInterval… Continue reading Add Days to a Date With PHP DateInterval