Summary: To build useful and usable AI-powered systems, our understanding of users’ needs and our design judgement must be encoded into well-defined evaluation criteria. Design Decisions in Generative AI Systems Imagine asking a large language model a question like “How’s the weather today?” The response might include too much information (“it’s 72 degrees, and it… Continue reading The Core Skill of Design in the AI Era: Critique
Tag: Design
Powerful Corporate Visual Identity Designs That Stand Out
Strong brand identity helps people know a company fast. A clear corporate visual identity uses simple things like logo, colors, fonts, and layout. When these parts stay the same across website, social media, and print, the brand looks stable. People can remember it without effort. Creative brand identity design is not about adding many elements.… Continue reading Powerful Corporate Visual Identity Designs That Stand Out
Maturity in Experience Architectures: When Strategy Meets the Real World
Recently I was sitting with a product director who showed me their new strategic business vision deck – solid slides about “customer-centricity” and “experience excellence.” I asked to see how this vision translated into their latest product releases. What followed was a long list of seemingly disjointed features that had no obvious connection to this… Continue reading Maturity in Experience Architectures: When Strategy Meets the Real World
The Death of the Double Click: How UX Finally Buried a Relic of the Desktop Era
Let’s be honest: double-clicking is dead. And if it isn’t, it should be. What began as a clever way to differentiate between selection and activation in the ‘80s desktop environment has somehow clung to life support through decades of UX evolution. But in 2025? It’s nothing short of a usability fossil. We don’t double-tap apps on phones. We… Continue reading The Death of the Double Click: How UX Finally Buried a Relic of the Desktop Era
TaxBuddy, Making Taxes Feel Less Taxing
[unable to retrieve full-text content] TaxBuddy — Making Taxes Feel Less Taxing Simplifying financial complexity through intuitive UX and Visual Design. Project Summary When we first began working on TaxBuddy, the goal was simple — to make the process of filing taxes feel less intimidating for everyday users. But soon, we realized the real challenge wasn’t just about simplifying steps, it… Continue reading TaxBuddy, Making Taxes Feel Less Taxing
Insights Aren’t Outcomes: Research Recommendation Breakage
Summary: Research recommendations often fail to reach users. Without tracking adoption, teams rely on hope instead of evidence to confirm their work creates change. Many research teams do good work. They identify the right problems, recruit the right participants, and run studies that reveal what is really going on. The end product is often packaged… Continue reading Insights Aren’t Outcomes: Research Recommendation Breakage
The horrors of designing for omniscience
[unable to retrieve full-text content] What happens when systems decide the human is ‘all-knowing’ Ever click a button and have a system misbehave with no warning, feedback, or a way to undo, only to feel the repercussions minutes or a few days later? This is what I’ve coined “Designing for Omniscience” (and the horrors thereof). It’s… Continue reading The horrors of designing for omniscience
Product Validation Testing: Build Products w/ Product-Market Fit in 9 Steps
Key takeaways 🧪 Product validation confirms whether your idea solves a real problem for real users before you invest time and money building it ⚙️ It replaces assumptions through prototyping, interviews, surveys, and A/B tests 💪 Strong validation leads to better adoption, retention, and long-term success 🔎 The process involves defining hypotheses, mapping assumptions, selecting… Continue reading Product Validation Testing: Build Products w/ Product-Market Fit in 9 Steps
Design for Amiability: Lessons from Vienna
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Today’s web is not always an amiable place. Sites greet you with a popover that demands assent to their cookie policy, and leave you with Taboola ads promising “One Weird Trick!” to cure your ailments. Social media sites are tuned for engagement, and few things are more engaging than a… Continue reading Design for Amiability: Lessons from Vienna
How to Design a Product w/ Users at the Heart of Product Design
Key takeaways 🔑 Product design is about solving problems. It’s not just about looks, but how a product works, feels, and fits into people’s lives. 👥 User-centered design (UCD) is essential. Designing around real users ensures products meet actual needs, not assumptions. 🏆 User-first products win in the market. Products that feel intuitive and valuable… Continue reading How to Design a Product w/ Users at the Heart of Product Design
Introduction to Digital Accessibility
Introduction The dictionary term “Accessibility” means – The ability to acquire, use, understand, or enter into something with ease. Accessibility is a social responsibility. It’s an inclusive approach to creating products, services, and environments that can be used by people of all abilities including people with disabilities. Some examples of accessible solutions include: Wheelchairs Entry… Continue reading Introduction to Digital Accessibility
The Product Triad: Design’s Role
Summary: Effective product teams work across silos to create value. Designers are expected to make products not only desirable, but also viable and feasible. The product triad (also called the product trio or three-legged-stool model) is likely the most common pattern for organizing product teams in Agile organizations. Its fundamental goal is to structure collaboration… Continue reading The Product Triad: Design’s Role
UX Maturity Is a Living System, Not a Ladder
Summary: Focus on continuous reflection — not stage-hopping — to grow sustainable, resilient UX practices. Through decades of research and consulting with teams across industries at NNGroup, we’ve studied what UX looks like in real life. The result is our UX-maturity model — a framework designed to help organizations understand how UX is practiced, supported,… Continue reading UX Maturity Is a Living System, Not a Ladder
How to create a coloring book with AI
Creating coloring book pages has never been easier thanks to AI-powered design tools. In this tutorial, and transform text prompts into printable line art using Envato’s GraphicsGen—no drawing skills are required! Whether you’re targeting adults seeking intricate, therapeutic designs or children looking for fun, simple illustrations, this tutorial will help you master the process in just… Continue reading How to create a coloring book with AI
Creating Design Specs for Development
Summary: Design specifications should provide all the relevant information needed to align the design and development teams. You work tirelessly on a new design project. It’s your masterpiece… until the dev team says it isn’t possible. Most designers have experienced this situation at some point in their careers. As frustrating as it may be, there… Continue reading Creating Design Specs for Development
Design Sprints Extended: Design on Track
Design Sprints as an approach to tackling design challenges has seen some adoption in design teams. And the reasons why are pretty compelling: it is a well-defined process with hands-on and collaborative activities plus it can lead to concrete results in relatively very little time. Benefits and Outcomes of Design Sprints The learning out of… Continue reading Design Sprints Extended: Design on Track
How to use Lotties in Figma
In the following tutorial, I will show you how to create Lottie animations in Figma. We’ll use two colorful designs to exmplify how you can animate in Figma, and then I’ll show you how to go from Figma to Lottie animations. All you need is a free Figma account. If you’re ready to learn how… Continue reading How to use Lotties in Figma
How to write better prompts for AI design & code generators
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Because AI design and code generators quickly take an active part in the design process, it’s essential to understand how to make the most of these tools. If you’ve played with Cursor, Bolt, Lovable, or v0, you know the output is only as good as the input. Here’s a structured prompt… Continue reading How to write better prompts for AI design & code generators
How to create a Lottie loading animation
Ready to learn how to create a Lottie loading animation using Figma? We’ll walk through designing the animated graphic, prototyping it, and exporting it using the LottieFiles plugin. All you need is a free Figma account. If you’re starting, here’s everything you need to know about Lottie animations, and if you’re ready to get inspired,… Continue reading How to create a Lottie loading animation
Neobrutalism: Definition and Best Practices
Summary: As a UI design style, neobrutalism focuses on raw, unrefined elements like bold colors, simple shapes, and intentionally “unfinished” aesthetics. Emerging as a reaction against sleek, minimalistic designs, neobrutalism creates a striking (almost rebellious) visual style. But while neobrutalism draws attention, designers must carefully balance its distinctive look with usability to avoid ending up… Continue reading Neobrutalism: Definition and Best Practices
Testing Visual Design: A Comprehensive Guide
Summary: Use methods like 5-second testing, first-click testing, and preference testing to gain insights into how users perceive your visual design. Visual design is the first thing users notice when they encounter a digital product like a website or app. It plays a large role in capturing users’ attention, defining brand identity, and creating an… Continue reading Testing Visual Design: A Comprehensive Guide
A/B Testing 101
Summary: A/B tests incrementally improve the user experience of a product while effectively reaching business goals. A/B testing (sometimes also referred to as split testing) is a popular UX research method, with widespread adoption across businesses and industries. To ensure reliable, meaningful, and beneficial results for your organization, follow best practices and avoid common mistakes… Continue reading A/B Testing 101
From Figma to Functional App Without Writing a Single Line of Code
[unable to retrieve full-text content] How I Created a Design Tokens Converter in Minutes Using Claude Product designers don’t have to code, but knowing HTML and CSS will help us communicate with developers. In addition, a designer who knows JavaScript, Python, or another language, is a plus because they can explain the logic to the developer.… Continue reading From Figma to Functional App Without Writing a Single Line of Code
From Data to Design: 6 Key Insights from the World’s Largest QuantUX Conference
Posted on: 20 June 2024 Jonathan Pusic UX Architect Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the 2024 QuantUX conference, where practitioners, researchers, and leading thinkers in UX came together to explore the intersection of data and user experience. Topics ranged from the latest advancements in AI to tools for quantifying user behaviour and… Continue reading From Data to Design: 6 Key Insights from the World’s Largest QuantUX Conference