Archive
Design, futurism and systems thinking.
2024
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5 factors slowing down your design team and how to fix them
Diagnosing the causes of slow design teams with low-quality output involves a comprehensive understanding of various factors that can hinder team performance.
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Conversion rate is way more complex than you think
It is one the most oversimplified and harder to track metrics.
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User research: Clarity before tools
Before getting into tools, get clear on the goal of your research.
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How do you deal with being wrong?
Scientists, engineers, architects, school teachers, judges, can all be wrong. Designers are wrong a lot, too.
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Writing is a tool for thinking
Writing is often underestimated as a tool for thinking through problems.
2023
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Why Default Settings Matter More Than You Think
People stick to defaults when that feels easier than changing them. That's why it's so important to nail your product's defaults. You get there by getting a deep understanding of your user's struggles. It's not easy, but it's incredibly gratifying for you and them.
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Consolidation is your weapon against entropy
Entropy is the tendency of systems to become chaotic over time.
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Towards design convergence
As industries mature, the solutions to their problems start to look similar.
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Start by writing
When people can share their thoughts in written form, they become more invested in the collective success of the project.
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Don't take processes for granted
If you ever worked at a company where things seemed to flow, chances are one or more folks intentionally built and tweaked a foundation to make that happen.
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On being a leader
Leadership is about finding the best way to move forward and inspiring others to join you on that journey
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Augmented designers are the future
AI's integration into design has already begun, and those who learn to work alongside these tools will lead the way.
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Pieces of logic should be part of your product's design system
Treating logic as building blocks will allow you to keep an eye on where redundancy can be reduced to maintain a cohesive experience across features.
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Repetitive work should be automated
The modern design workflow is full of repetitive tasks that could easily by automated.
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Fighting cognitive noise
We need every bit of focus in order to produce great work. Yet we are surrounded by an army of distractions robbing us of our precious mental energy.
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Gmail shortcuts cheat sheet
You came here for the shortcuts so let's get to them.
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Idea-to-action time (ITA)
Minimizing the time between ideas and action to get the most out of our creativity.
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In-File UX Documentation
In-file, UX documentation is a layer of information that isn’t part of the design itself but helps everyone to understand it better.
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The Best Product Design Resources
A list of resources to learn product design that I wish I had when I started out.
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Fixing Font Issues in macOS
Getting rid of the annoying 'name' table usability error.
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My Favorite Google Chrome Shortcuts for Mac
Most of us use Chrome all day, every day. It makes sense to spend just a bit of time learning how to use it more effectively.
2022
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Why put dots in a virtual canvas
Why is it such a common design decision to use dotted canvases? And what is a digital canvas anyway?
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Balancing Cognitive Load and Discoverability
When we're designing an app's information architecture, whether we're aware of it or now, we're trying to draw a line between discoverability of options and cognitive load.
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4 Factors That Affect How Users Make Decisions Inside Your App
Two really great decisions are better than dozens of okay decisions. And they certainly hurt less than a bunch of poor decisions.
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What is Async Communication?
Asynchronous communication, or async for short, is when you ask for something without expecting an immediate answer in return.
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About Risk in Product Development
The further you’re into the product development cycle, the less you can affect its outcome.
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Design Systems Reads
My personal recommendations for the topic of Design Systems
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Speed, Consistency, and Scalability: The 3 Pillars of Design Systems
One of the most essential parts when trying to get organizational buy-in for a design system initiative is articulating the benefits it will bring to the business.
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Design Dependencies & Reusable Flows in Figma
Modular flows that can be shared and reused across teams
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Build Your First Website Without Losing Your mind
It’s never been easier to build a website. It’s also never been more confusing to get started either.
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The Commoditization of UX and the Rise of Design Strategy
The remedy against featuritis is a good strategy
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Modular Design Process: A Brief Intro
A reference template for building a scalable design process through swappable modules.
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Streamlining Client Onboarding
An effective client onboarding process saves you time and is an essential part of your client's experience.
2021
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The SaaS Model for Designers
This article is a quick introduction to the software SaaS model for designers. This can be your starting point in expanding your understanding of the products you design for and the economies that make them attractive business models.
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Speed Up Your Design Workflow With Alfred
You can think of Alfred as the pro version of Spotlight. It has some fantastic features for quickly searching files and launching apps, yet it can do so much more.
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Design & Content Creation on the M1 Mac mini
The M1 Macs have been getting a lot of attention among designers lately. And no wonder.
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Leading Future-Ready Asynchronous Teams - itoday Apéro
Remote work opens a world of possibilities for companies of all sizes. It allows people to choose the working environment where they feel happiest and most…
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The Consultant Mindset - Interview w/ Laura Khalil
In this episode of the Growing Design Podcast, Laura Khalil walks us through her career as a successful marketing consultant. From working with startups to…
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Share What You Know - Interview w/ Zach Hill
In this episode, Zach Hill and I chat about sharing what you know, how to be more effective when selling design outcomes, and the importance of always having a…
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Brand Science - Interview w/ Stæven Frey
Stæven Frey is the principal and Senior Brand Strategist at Quantum Branding, a strategy-focused branding agency based in Nashville, TN. In this episode…
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UX Lead Generation E-Mail Course
As of 7 August 2021 - this course is no longer available as an email course. Instead, I will be posting all of its content as a series on my blog and on my…
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Sales Enablement - Interview w/ Crystal Nikosey
Crystal Nikosey explains the concept of Sales Enablement and how to implement it in your agency.
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Don't Compete, Specialize
I hear a lot of UX folks worry about competition.
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Inbound Vs. Outbound For UX Agencies
Many UX agencies struggle to generate new business to survive, let alone grow consistently.
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Design Sprints - Interview w/ Steph Cruchon
The following is a transcript of my interview with Steph Cruchon on the Growing Design podcast.
2020
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De-Commoditizing UX Design by Charging More
A well-known commodity good that lots of producers sell to lots of buyers for a standard price.
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Value-Based Pricing For Designers
Value-based Pricing is a pricing strategy in which you charge for your services in proportion to the value that they represent to your clients.
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Managing Remote Teams Best Practices
Managing a remote team is, in principle, very similar to managing a team in a physical location. In both scenarios, Motivation, communication, and performance…
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Top 5 Best Tools For Remote Work
If you have never worked remotely, It can take some time to adjust your workflow. Collaboration in a remote work setting can be significantly different from…
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A Guide For Vetting Bad Design Clients
Working with bad design clients sucks. They treat you as an order taker, ignore your recommendations, always try to squeeze a much free work as possible from you, and they pay late, if ever.
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Contrast And Human Perception In Design
Designing better experiences by understanding how we see the world.
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How To Define Your Design Strategy
Building a design strategy requires you to create your entire corporate strategy around design thinking and human-centered design (HCD) principles. Define a…
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In-Chair Hours Are a Terrible Way to Measure Productivity
Many people coming from a non-remote-friendly workplace have had to suddenly switch to remote-only due to the 2020 pandemic.
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What is Design Strategy and Why Do You Need It
My intention with this article is to offer business owners and product folks in the tech industry an introduction to design strategy, centered on the tech…
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Data Alone Doesn't Make Delightful Experiences
Knowing that only 40% of the participants are able to complete a task doesn't say why users had trouble with that task or how to make it easier.
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The Perfect Lightweight Setup for Digital Nomads
I’ve been working as a digital nomad for about four years now, and during this time, I’ve been collecting advice on travel-friendly gear that would help me have a decent setup without breaking my back.
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User Experience And Cognitive Load: When Less is More
Have you ever been overwhelmed by a restaurant menu with way too many dishes and options?