Why UI designers should understand Flexbox and CSS Grid

CSS for UI Designer Or bye bye, 12-column grid layout Most designers are familiar with responsive design, a column-based layout approach with fixed breakpoints to cover all screen sizes. However, we can move beyond the rigid structure with modern CSS layouts, crafting flexible and dynamic designs that seamlessly adjust to different screen sizes. Designers and developers having different… Continue reading Why UI designers should understand Flexbox and CSS Grid

3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024

Design By Carrie Cousins 2 days ago From atypical typefaces to neutral colors to unusual user patterns, there are plenty of new website design trends to try this month. Spring into a new website design aesthetic with some of the hottest trends of the season. Some of the things we are seeing right now are… Continue reading 3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024

Company culture is more than just office perks

How product culture and company culture are intrinsically related. Image by Creative Lab @ scop.io “Company culture is the backbone of any successful organization.”—Gary Vaynerchuk A goal is something to aim at Company culture is a powerful hiring magnet and a common discussion topic both in- and outside of companies. It starts with providing good environment and… Continue reading Company culture is more than just office perks

The loss of the process in the name of progress

“Making it” or “making” in the creative world. “Life is about the journey. Not the outcome.” A somewhat cliché but also true statement that can be applied to both life and the work we do as creatives. “Creativity is about the journey. Not the outcome.” But in a world that tells us to produce MORE, and… Continue reading The loss of the process in the name of progress

30 Free Xmas Graphics

Compilations By Louise North 4 days ago We’ve reached that time of year when all marketing is on a singular theme: snow, presents, and turkey (or nut roast, if that’s your preference). These last few weeks running up to the Christmas break can be an endless trudge through grey, cold weather if you’re in the… Continue reading 30 Free Xmas Graphics

Making Waves in India 2023: Why Accessibility Deserves a Spot on Tech Giants’ Radar

India has a new rising economy that is catching everybody’s attention with its development, innovation, and growth. But we won’t be talking about what’s out there on the internet. We will be diving deep into a topic that’s making waves and deserves a prime spot on the radar of tech giants – Web Accessibility. Now,… Continue reading Making Waves in India 2023: Why Accessibility Deserves a Spot on Tech Giants’ Radar

3 Common Color Accessibility Issues One Can Easily Avoid

Color is often used to evoke emotions and emphasis. That’s one of the reasons why designers see color as an important element in their work. Colors communicate messages on both psychological and visual level. The importance of color is undeniable, but is basing the message solely on color the right thing to do? This post… Continue reading 3 Common Color Accessibility Issues One Can Easily Avoid

30 Amazing Chrome Extensions for Designers and Developers

Compilations By Robert Reeve 2 days ago Searching for a tool to make cross-platform design a breeze? Desperate for an extension that helps you figure out the HTML code of that fantastic color palette? Looking for a trick that will supercharge your productivity this year? We’ve got you covered. Chrome extensions are the bread and… Continue reading 30 Amazing Chrome Extensions for Designers and Developers

The extended designer, and the design machine

The Extended Designer spends less time making products, and more time making progress. The Extended Designer spends less time making products, and more time making progress. 2023 has been Generative AI’s breakout year, but that has been greeted by some fairly mixed responses, particularly from Designers. As the terrain we all live on reconfigures around… Continue reading The extended designer, and the design machine

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

From Image Adjustments to AI: Photoshop Through the Years

Tech By Max Walton 2 days ago Remember when Merriam-Webster added Photoshop to the dictionary back in 2008? Want to learn how AI is changing design forever? Join us as we delve into the history of Photoshop, from its early beginnings right through to the dawn of artificial intelligence. Photoshop is nothing short of a… Continue reading From Image Adjustments to AI: Photoshop Through the Years

Designing safe and trustworthy AI systems

Designing for safe and trustworthy AI Why human oversight to make up for AI errors doesn’t work and what we can do instead Illustration created by Cara Storath in Midjourney As much as AI is powerful, in some cases it can be misleading or wrong. A realization that came too late to a New York lawyer,… Continue reading Designing safe and trustworthy AI systems

The usability problem with prompt-driven AI

As the GenAI hype dust settles — it’s time to start thinking about usability and the opportunity it presents to address declining engagement and retention. Source: Pexels GenAI represents a new paradigm in User Interface Design and a radical shift from Command-Based Interaction Models and Graphical User Interfaces which have dominated the last 50 years of computing.… Continue reading The usability problem with prompt-driven AI

Why Unique ID Attributes Matter

Ambiguous IDs can cause both your developers and your users a lot of frustration, and may ultimately damage customer relations. A Little Background It’s one of the most common WCAG 4.1.1 violations reported by automated accessibility testing tools such as aXe, and it can cause a fair share of problems for your users. It happens… Continue reading Why Unique ID Attributes Matter

Housing, It’s a Human Right (Part 1)

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 1)

How to navigate the insanity of behavioral science

I recently published a scientific paper on the Interactive Behavior Change Model (IBCM). The IBCM is a behavioral science system I developed during my doctorate studies. It is comprehensive, with an intuitive, theory-based structure that is easy to learn and grounded in the science of building digital products. But best of all, it’s an excellent choice… Continue reading How to navigate the insanity of behavioral science

How to create a color ramp used in design systems

Whether you’re a brand designer putting the finishing touches on a color palette or a product designer laying the foundational work for a design system, I will walk you through how to create color ramps utilized in design systems. If you’re new to creating color palettes for digital spaces, check out my previous article, Color for… Continue reading How to create a color ramp used in design systems

Design for meaningful outcomes

Aim for quality outcomes, not just outputs — that’s how we can drive customer and business value! Designing for outcomes enables us to focus on customer needs and meaningful business results. “Start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology,” Steve Jobs once said. To write a compelling story, start with the ending as a meaningful destination.… Continue reading Design for meaningful outcomes

11 Free Website Builders to Try in 2023

Before we go any further, let’s get the whole ​‘all you need to make a website is a basic text editor and a browser’ thing out of the way before we start: Yes, it’s true, you can make a fully functioning, good-looking website with NotePad or TextEdit, but you also need a not inconsiderable level of knowledge and skill. And even… Continue reading 11 Free Website Builders to Try in 2023

Our desire for certainty can make us terrible planners

Memory, Image Theory, and the empty pursuit of certainty Midjourney Sometimes it feels like all we do is plan — and then plan for more planning. But what are the cognitive mechanisms we use to ‘plan’? and are they optimized for getting things ‘right’? If we were optimized to be right, we probably wouldn’t be so quick to… Continue reading Our desire for certainty can make us terrible planners

Our dangerous tendency to hold on to losing bets

Tools to mitigate commitment bias and overconfidence Midjourney Last week, we wrote about how ‘conviction’ is a very human attribute responsible for our powerful, yet irrational ability to almost will positive outcomes into existence; presumably against all odds. Today we’ll cover the dark side of conviction and overconfidence — and unfortunately, the more common tendency to overcommit and… Continue reading Our dangerous tendency to hold on to losing bets

Almost Ready! WCAG 2.2 is one small step away from being officially done!

A new version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is almost ready. WCAG 2.2 should be finalized in August 2023. This is a minor version update. If you are already familiar with WCAG 2.0 and/or 2.1, you probably have a number of questions. And we’ve got up-to-date answers! Why isn’t WCAG 2.2 ready yet?… Continue reading Almost Ready! WCAG 2.2 is one small step away from being officially done!

Exciting New Tools for Designers, July 2023

In this month’s edition, you’ll find new ways of using AI, some excellent new services for streamlining your work, plus some great new UI kits. Enjoy! Cosmos Cosmos is a brand-new, beautifully realized Pinterest alternative for creatives. You can use it to create visual notes, record design inspiration, and curate your visual world via plugins on the… Continue reading Exciting New Tools for Designers, July 2023

What Your Organization Needs to Navigate Canada Digital Accessibility Laws

A comprehensive guide to understanding digital accessibility requirements in Canada Digital accessibility is an integral aspect of equality and inclusivity, providing the same opportunity for all in the modern, digital world. In recognition of this, Canadian federal and provincial governments have implemented various legislative acts to ensure that individuals with disabilities have digital access without… Continue reading What Your Organization Needs to Navigate Canada Digital Accessibility Laws