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7 Steps to Building a Strong Brand in 2026

Building a strong brand in 2026 requires businesses to move away from generic marketing to instead focus on things like deep personalization, AI optimization and community-driven trust. In a modern era where AI tools are heavily influencing consumer choices, successful brands need to be instantly recognizable, highly authentic and completely consumer-focused. Modern consumers are increasingly… Continue reading 7 Steps to Building a Strong Brand in 2026

Closing the Loop: What to Do After a Design Critique Ends

Summary: Most designers invest in running critiques but skip the followup. That missing step is often why feedback culture breaks down. Design critiques generate feedback. But feedback is valuable only if someone closes the loop on it: telling people what changed because of what they said, what didn’t change, and why. This article covers two… Continue reading Closing the Loop: What to Do After a Design Critique Ends

A year in review: 2024

2024 was our first year with three kids, and what a year that was. Personal Life with three kids is different in many ways, but most importantly, it’s awesome. I love my little daughters so much, and I enjoy every day with my family. Okay, maybe not every day because when they’re all sick at… Continue reading A year in review: 2024

Designing adaptive teams

A systemic analysis of Peter Senge’s learning organisation within the modern product and design ecosystem Designing Adaptive Teams Over the past few weeks I was reading the conceptual framework of the “Learning Organization,” as articulated by Peter Senge of the MIT Sloan School of Management, which represents a paradigm shift from the mechanical, industrial-era hierarchies toward… Continue reading Designing adaptive teams

Axe-con 2026: Full agenda reveal!

When it comes to the most exciting digital accessibility event of the year, there’s no better time to start planning than right now, because we’re revealing the full agenda today. If you thought last year’s event was amazing, wait until you see what we’ve got in store for you in 2026! We’ve already announced Dr.… Continue reading Axe-con 2026: Full agenda reveal!

Good from Afar, But Far from Good: AI Prototyping in Real Design Contexts

Summary: AI prototyping tools follow general directions but lack the judgment and nuance of an experienced designer. Over the past few months, the UX design field has been flooded with AI-powered prototyping tools that generate interfaces instantly from natural-language prompts. Despite the massive marketing hype, our evaluation with real design scenarios revealed that these tools… Continue reading Good from Afar, But Far from Good: AI Prototyping in Real Design Contexts

How to Define Success Criteria for UX Research

[unable to retrieve full-text content] In UX research, we have two pieces— hypotheses and success criteria — that set the foundation for any research activity. Without them, research risks becoming vague “user feedback sessions” rather than a fuel that powers design process. A hypothesis is simply an assumption about user behavior, needs, or preferences that you want to… Continue reading How to Define Success Criteria for UX Research

How to Collect App Feedback? [Best App Feedback Tools in 2025]

Key takeaways 🧭 In-app feedback is like your app’s GPS. Without it, you’re navigating UX blindly. Real user input helps improve flows, catch bugs, and boost retention. 📱 Over 85% of mobile users prefer apps to mobile sites. Failing to meet UX expectations means users will uninstall and move on quickly. 🎯 Collecting feedback before… Continue reading How to Collect App Feedback? [Best App Feedback Tools in 2025]

How to Know If Your SEO Expert Actually Knows SaaS?

In the digital marketing landscape, search engine optimization (SEO) is vital, especially for software as a service (SaaS) companies. These businesses rely heavily on online visibility to attract potential customers. However, not every SEO expert understands the specific needs of SaaS. This post explores determining if an SEO professional truly grasps the nuances of SaaS.… Continue reading How to Know If Your SEO Expert Actually Knows SaaS?

How to level up your confidence game?

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Confidence level Hi, I’m Hazel. I’m a product designer. Previously, I worked in construction for three years. Here was my day-to-day like: making sense of different drawings, drafting a project timeline. And that’s it! Quite boring. But I’m proud of my experience. Every day, I was problem-solving under pressure, understanding projects… Continue reading How to level up your confidence game?

Beginner’s Guide to Iterative Testing w/ Examples

Key takeaways 🔁 Iterative testing is a continuous cycle of testing, learning, and improving products in small steps rather than waiting until the end 👋 Engaging users through iterative testing builds trust, better product adoption, and user advocacy 💡 Effective iterative testing follows four steps: plan with clear goals and real users, run tests and… Continue reading Beginner’s Guide to Iterative Testing w/ Examples

Tools of the trade: Getting started with accessibility

I recently gave a talk called “Tools of the trade: Accessibility without the cost” to Accessibility NYC (a11yNYC) in Lower Manhattan. The session focused on accessibility tools—which ones to invest in, how to get the most out of them, and when to consider paid features. In this post, I’ll recap some of the insights I… Continue reading Tools of the trade: Getting started with accessibility

No 16. Some AI Learning Resources & Insights

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Since joining Microsoft’s AI team last year, I’ve found myself diving headfirst into the world of artificial intelligence. What began as an overwhelming experience, trying to grasp concepts and frameworks, has now turned into a passion project that I’m eager to share with you. In just six months, I transitioned… Continue reading No 16. Some AI Learning Resources & Insights

Designing for AI Engineers: UI patterns you need to know

[unable to retrieve full-text content] A reference article with guiding principles, patterns, and personas to help designers become more AI literate. As the Head of Design at Modular AI, my team is going from 0 to 1 on a lot of AI products and workflows this year. Even though I’ve been designing for developers for… Continue reading Designing for AI Engineers: UI patterns you need to know

Advice for Approaching a UX Job Search

Summary: Understand your values, outline job constraints, upskill areas of weakness, leverage your network, and pace yourself to stay motivated and focused. This article will help you navigate your UX job search with greater confidence and focus by exploring practical, yet often overlooked tactics. It is just one in a series on advice for UX… Continue reading Advice for Approaching a UX Job Search

Foldable Smartphones: New Devices, New Opportunities

Summary: Two types of foldable smartphones blur the boundaries between traditional device sizes. Fold-out and flip phones create new viewports that hint at future smartphones. Mobile phones have evolved dramatically, with displays growing from 1.5–2.5 inches pre iPhone to 6.1–6.8 inches today. However, this growth has practical limits, as larger screens compromise single-handed use and… Continue reading Foldable Smartphones: New Devices, New Opportunities

How Duolingo, Nike, and Amazon use rewards to keep you hooked

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Why Duolingo turns streaks into addictive habits while Amazon’s badges gather dust The habit loop uses rewards to drive engagement and retention, helping users stay consistent and achieve their goals. Drumroll, please! I recently sold an item on Vinted for the first time — finally, a win! To be honest, I originally downloaded the… Continue reading How Duolingo, Nike, and Amazon use rewards to keep you hooked

15 UX research deliverables to convince stakeholders

In this article, we’ll explore 15 essential UX research deliverables that can help you effectively communicate user insights and drive alignment across teams. Key Takeaways 👉 UX research deliverables help connect user needs with stakeholder goals, making it easier to align teams and improve designs. 👉 Clear, simple deliverables show real user insights, helping stakeholders… Continue reading 15 UX research deliverables to convince stakeholders

What is SEO and Why Does Your Business Need It?

We live in a digital age where everything is a two-edged sword—for example, it’s easy to get data online, but it is hard to filter that data into specific things that you need, especially in your business. Almost everyone is on the world wide web now, and people are there searching for recommendations and even… Continue reading What is SEO and Why Does Your Business Need It?

The Rhetorical Triangle for Stakeholders: Make Your Point and Get Your Way

Summary: Ethos, logos, and pathos can help you get buy-in from stakeholders. Communicating with stakeholders has long been a challenge for UX professionals. Luckily, rhetoric provides strategies for navigating these difficult interactions. The Rhetorical Triangle Rhetoric is the art of using language to persuade an audience. The rhetorical triangle (more commonly known as ethos, logos,… Continue reading The Rhetorical Triangle for Stakeholders: Make Your Point and Get Your Way

Technology Myths and Urban Legends

Summary: When users don’t clearly understand how systems function, they develop unique (and often incorrect) theories to explain their experiences. In user research, we often hear people describe how they think technology works. Sometimes, those theories are accurate, but most often, they are not. Through the many user interviews, field studies, and user testing sessions… Continue reading Technology Myths and Urban Legends

Duolingo: analyzing all engagement and retention techniques

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Over 500 million people around the world use Duolingo to learn languages. In this article, we will dive into Duolingo’s engagement strategies and how this company keeps users motivated and coming back to the app again and again. Collage created by author Duolingo uses the Self-Determination Theory in the product. This concept… Continue reading Duolingo: analyzing all engagement and retention techniques