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)
Tag: without
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
WWDC 2023 Accessibility Goodies for Developers
This year, Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) was a big deal! Among the many announcements this year, Apple introduced the new Apple Vision Pro headset which has arguably and understandably stolen the show this year. Although Vision Pro may be the big talk of the town post-WWDC, there was also a myriad of exciting… Continue reading WWDC 2023 Accessibility Goodies for Developers
Facilitating effective ideation meetings
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Designing engaging and productive gatherings Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash In today’s hybrid work landscape, meetings have become abundant, but unfortunately, many of them still suffer from inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Specifically, meetings aimed at generating ideas to address various challenges related to people, processes, or products encounter recurring issues. The lack… Continue reading Facilitating effective ideation meetings
Good UX is not enough without a proper communication plan
To make a design thrive, you should support it with strategies to make it even more robust and accepted. There should be a coexistence between a practical design that should be free of explanation (invisibility) and effective communication (notoriety) Like many designers, I’ve been practicing this mantra all my career: “Good design is invisible,” but… Continue reading Good UX is not enough without a proper communication plan
Are we there yet? WCAG 2.2 is at the Candidate Recommendation v3
If you’re a regular reader of the Deque blog, you may be asking yourself, haven’t I read this already? Well my friend, you may have. In September 2022, WCAG 2.2 reached the Candidate Recommendation (CR) stage for the first time. Then on January 25, 2023, WCAG 2.2 entered a second round of CR. And, you… Continue reading Are we there yet? WCAG 2.2 is at the Candidate Recommendation v3
Card sorting with visually impaired participants: how to overcome accessibility barriers
A guide to conducting card sorting with participants who are visually impaired. Photo by Author; generated using Stable Diffusion. Card Sorting is a UX research method used to understand how users categorize and organize information, which reflects how they expect information and content to be organized on a user interface. In this method, participants are… Continue reading Card sorting with visually impaired participants: how to overcome accessibility barriers
Choosing humanity over automation
Navigating the role of AI in design discipleship. Designers can learn AI skills and practice similar techniques as UX researchers. Pain is a part of the design process, and designers should choose which pain they are willing to endure to achieve their desired outcomes. And they can learn intangible values from their masters to become… Continue reading Choosing humanity over automation
How to design generative AI experiences to be truly helpful
From bullsh*t generator to ultimate copilot. Photo by Rolf van Root on Unsplash Suddenly, news about Generative AI is everywhere. People talk about how ChatGPT reached 1 million users in a record of 5 days, how Goldman Sachs predicts that AI will impact 300 million jobs, and how the new Bing goes “unhinged”… All the hypes aside,… Continue reading How to design generative AI experiences to be truly helpful
The way you make me feel — how to set up in-app feedback
The way you make me feel — how to set up in-app feedback The success and longevity of an application depend on positive user acceptance. In order to integrate the users’ problems, needs, and expectations, it is necessary to continuously collect and analyze their feedback. From the various possible feedback channels, I have mapped the best practices for… Continue reading The way you make me feel — how to set up in-app feedback
How people read online
Tips for accessible text. What makes a text nice to read? To know more about this, it is important to take a closer look at how people are reading. Additionally, it may be the case that someone is impaired, physically or mentally, to read a text. How does it work? Saccades, fixations, and breaks The reading process… Continue reading How people read online
Turning users into AI, UX personality test, modeling components in Figma
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers. Modern products often have a large amount of user research data from different sources: user research interviews, intercom conversations, customer e-mails, surveys, customer reviews on various platforms, and whatnot. Making sense of all that data is a challenging task. A traditional way to do that is to maintain a… Continue reading Turning users into AI, UX personality test, modeling components in Figma
Can technology generate serendipity?
Serendipity by design Ideas for applying serendipity principles in the digital world (I) An (un)expected discovery I love flea markets. Whenever I go there, I usually don’t look for anything specifically; I am just opening myself to chance, to discovery by luck. I suppose most of the people coming to this place do the same: they expect… Continue reading Can technology generate serendipity?
5 Web Design Trends You Need to Be Aware of in 2023
Posted · Category: Best Collections, Design The beginning of a new year is typically a time when we plan to find ways to make life a little better. The same applies to web designers who look for new and better ways to make their designs more engaging and productive. In this post we will look… Continue reading 5 Web Design Trends You Need to Be Aware of in 2023
Twitter layoffs, meeting fatigue, Taylor Swift’s AI, Apple accessibility
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers. “Any of us could face what our colleagues at Twitter faced yesterday. Some of us already have, and some of us will in the future, especially if you stick around the profession long enough. It’s a good reminder that, whether we realize it or not, we’re in this together. We… Continue reading Twitter layoffs, meeting fatigue, Taylor Swift’s AI, Apple accessibility
How playing improvised music can train the ability to synthesize in design
Improv form #1. Drawing by Alexander Pryshyvalka (Instagram) My experience with Minsk Improvisers Orchestra I was always certain that only those who are trained in understanding musical notation and playing music instrument, are allowed to create music — only these special kinds of people are eligible to be called musicians. I’m not one of this special kind… Continue reading How playing improvised music can train the ability to synthesize in design