Three lifelines to call on when you’re feeling stuck creatively I’ve been a professional designer for over twenty years, working across a wide range of media: UX/UI, motion, branding, web design, mobile apps, and creative coding. Most lately, I’ve been developing my font design practice. Design is a long journey of exploration and growth. You… Continue reading How to ‘un-stuck’ your design work
Tag: world
I sent an email, but nobody read it. So I sent out an invite.
When it comes to group dynamics, there are two key factors that play a crucial role: task-oriented and maintenance-oriented behaviors. As you plan your team’s agenda, consider how these factors influence the dynamics and productivity of the group. midjourney 2023 / prompt: Google calendar full of meetings “Not another meeting…” or “this could have been an email…”… Continue reading I sent an email, but nobody read it. So I sent out an invite.
Think Inside the Box: How Accessibility Shapes Digital Product Design
Think inside the box: How accessibility shapes digital product design How constraints ignite creativity, spark innovation, and why accessibility is a uniquely effective constraint everyone should embrace. “Design depends largely on constraints.” — Charles Eames Access to digital technologies is a fundamental human right¹ and legal obligation². In an ideal world, there would be no need for more justification to… Continue reading Think Inside the Box: How Accessibility Shapes Digital Product Design
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!
How ‘collective illusions’ influence decision making
How our perceptions of the world around us and the groups we work in may be misleading This week builds on our previous post on cognitive illusions and perception errors. optical illusions help illustrate how blind we are to the cognitive heuristics we use to make sense of the world around us. What they show is… Continue reading How ‘collective illusions’ influence decision making
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
Innovative Home Decor: How Custom Neon Signs Elevate Interior Design Strategies
“There’s No Place Like Home” LED sign by VoodooNeon.com Introduction to innovative home decor In recent years, the world of interior design has seen a significant shift towards innovative and unconventional home decor ideas. As homeowners, we are always on the lookout for unique ways to express our individuality and creativity in our living spaces.… Continue reading Innovative Home Decor: How Custom Neon Signs Elevate Interior Design Strategies
AI? Artificial Intelligence? Accessible Intelligence!
What We Can Look Forward To in the New AI World The Journey For the uninitiated, the concept of AI could seem new, but I can remember learning the term in the late 1980s when I took a course in LISP. LISP is a computer language originally developed over sixty years ago at MIT and… Continue reading AI? Artificial Intelligence? Accessible Intelligence!
The purpose of a system is how we shape it
We are not masters of our information, but we can be if we build information systems shaped like human consciousness. Why are our information systems places where ideas go to die? Why are they clogged with shallow, soulless filler? Why can so few of us, and fewer organizations, gain any level of mastery over our… Continue reading The purpose of a system is how we shape it
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
An urban planner’s guide to designing software
Urban planners have been designing for human experiences for nearly 200 years, UI/UX designers can learn from this It’s July of 2016. The augmented reality game Pokémon GO was just released. Within days, millions of teens and Millennials are suddenly spending hour upon hour outside in search of rare Pokémon, battling one another, and living in… Continue reading An urban planner’s guide to designing software
AI is about to kill creativity
AI has a massive disruptive quality on the creative sector. Is AI going to benefit us, or will it create a new dark age for innovation? The Aeolipile (left) and the Steam engine (right) on a section of Bosch’s masterpiece The Last Judgment (Wikimedia) In the early first century, the first steam engine was invented… Continue reading AI is about to kill creativity
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
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 a chef with no customers built one of the world’s top restaurants
The answer? Serve soup made out of soil. A brilliant lesson in brand strategy. Soup of the Soil | Photo: Narisawa As a professional in the creative industry, I find the world of chefs and cuisines directly relevant to what I do—brand strategy and creative direction. Being a chef, especially a gastronomy chef, is a… Continue reading How a chef with no customers built one of the world’s top restaurants
Character creation UX
A guide to CCIs in game design. Walking dressed cyberpunk in a cyberpunk city by Paola Ascanio via MidJourney Character creation is an essential aspect of most video games, allowing players to customize their avatars and immerse themselves in the game world. As a user experience (UX) designer, your role in game design is to create… Continue reading Character creation UX
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
The UX of Sweetgreen
Sweetgreen seems to have its mind in the right place when it comes to embracing present and future technologies to offer an amazing UX. Image by Sweetgreen. Sweetgreen has come a long way since opening its first Washington, D.C. salad bar in 2007. 15 years have passed, and they are now on track to reach over 200… Continue reading The UX of Sweetgreen
Software accessibility for users with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)
When discussing accessibility, the first person that pops into the minds of people is probably a person in a wheelchair. Thinking about software accessibility, the next two types of disabilities might come into mind are blindness and deafness. These are three types of disabilities most people commonly think of when talking about accessibility: blindness, deaf… Continue reading Software accessibility for users with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)
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
What did Victor Papanek leave for UX designers in “Design for Real Word”?
In the “Back to basics” series, I would like to rediscover the content of the textbooks I read at the beginning of my industrial design studies. I am a supporter of wise (prudent) use of the achievements of the predecessors, which is why I re-read these valuable, twentieth-century books on design and try to extract… Continue reading What did Victor Papanek leave for UX designers in “Design for Real Word”?
BeReal: the social network that wants to change the world
Self-made picture of my BeReal account. Lately, one app has been steadily occupying the first position by downloads in both IOS and Android, making headlines virtually in every newspaper and being the latest buzzword. Can you recall? It is called BeReal. BeReal, which promotes itself as a spontaneous and low-fuss social media platform that offers… Continue reading BeReal: the social network that wants to change the world
What a robbery taught me about validating assumptions in UX
A reminder to test assumptions when building or designing. At 2am, on Thursday, 10th November 2022, armed men broke down the door to my apartment and then the door to my bathroom where I was hiding. They carted away with my laptop, iPhone, and half my sanity. I wouldn’t say I saw the robbery coming, but… Continue reading What a robbery taught me about validating assumptions in UX