I detest “User Experience.” Calm down 😮 I’m not hating on the field, on its practitioners (I am one), or on Don Norman, who invented the term back in the 80's. I detest “User Experience” the way Whitney Hess detests “Lean UX.” It’s specifically about the word “user” and the…

I feel like app designers’ attitudes on privacy have gone from 🤨 to 😒 & lately to 😳. It’s ok: 😌 here’s what you need to know. Summary (TL;DR) Privacy isn’t scary: it’s an opportunity to earn people’s trust. This is about how we handle personal data. Some data are…

People seem to think public speaking is reserved for the chosen few who possess a talent for it. Some of us are born with it, and the rest of us should just give up. I don’t agree. First, thinking that a great speakers are “just good at it” ignores the…

Dear Mom & Dad, I love you. I know you use the internet to buy things, send e-mail, check your Facebook, and watch porn (no judgments here!). That’s why I want to start a conversation with you about privacy, tell you why I think it’s important, and show you how…

A Design Framework for Sustainable Engagement — In the realm of human experience, it's clear that we are all looking to experience love, in one way or another. And love can be felt in any satisfying, empowering, meaningful experience we humans can have. True love can only come from healthy relationships, and if we want our products…

The Journey Map is known by many names, including Experience Flow, Customer Decision Journey, or User Experience Journey. Whatever we call it, each journey map is a story, and what makes stories effective makes journey maps effective, too. An effective Journey Map teaches us, is based on truth, and helps…

A while back, I watched Pixar’s Inside Out again with my partner and her niece. A great film, it poignantly illustrates some important lessons about life and the power of empathy in a fun, subtle way. If you haven’t seen the movie, it tells the story of the emotional life…

John Oliver makes fun of emotional intelligence in one of his segments; not in a witty, intelligent way, but in a bullying, ignorant way. It feels somehow out-of-character for the show that saved Net-neutrality. So, What’s The Problem? In this Last Week Tonight segment, John Oliver shows a clip that states this about Canada’s…

We respond emotionally to many aspects of physical objects. Here are three that digital things still don’t have. I got a thank-you note in the mail today. A couple of great friends sent it after crashing at my place in Amsterdam for the weekend. They could have sent an e-mail, or a Facebook message, or an SMS, or a…