Why this minority prefers to work at small companies
_______________ is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
On the surface, this should be comforting. A legalese statement that says to me, “Hey African American male, your resume is in great hands! We’ve talked about it here and nobody is going to discriminate against you. We’ve had an hour of diversity training and there’s no way that our personal biases…
Stuff my Momma taught me
My Mom gave me great advice when I began working. Always document your successes (and failures). But did I listen to her? Nope.
Creating a portfolio has changed since I started designing. I‘m positive that I can dig up a printed portfolio from when I started from a cardboard box somewhere. But I wont. The thought of seeing work that old is terrifying.
Everything is digital now. And so much easier. Just grab some screenshots of the work, slap it on a website, and done. Easy peasy. But not lately. The role of a product designer requires critical thinking that…
Or, “I’ve already tried that.”
This is what my method of design often is called. The first time I heard it, I have to admit, I took offense. I’m used to having my designs critiqued, and debating ideas, but my process? This was a first.
It put me in a funk. On my next project I tried to just focus on a couple ideas only to try to clean up my process. It was a disaster. I wasn’t thinking things through properly, I missed obvious choices, and I wasted time. This got me thinking about why I work this way.
It all starts with why.
…
A view of the process from research to wireframe
I received my first homework for a UX Design position.
The homework that I took on was a dashboard. In hindsight, probably not the best project to take on unless you already have an intimate knowledge of the software you’re building it for or have a very detailed spec sheet to work from. Creating a dashboard with limited information just doesn’t work. But, this is just homework and the goal is to show my thought process and steps. Onward!
First off is gathering all the materials needed to layout this dashboard.
From a brief telephone call, here’s what I know that’s pertinent to the wireframe:
- The dashboard if for an…
Maximizing new blogging platforms to grow an interested audience
The vast majority of any blogging tips will tell you to start with a platform such as Wordpress, Blogger, Tumblr, yada, yada. It’s wrong.
Unless you have a business to attach the blog to, or have an existing audience waiting with baited breath for your next words, you should focus on new platforms. Platforms such as Medium, Svbtle, and Inkgrph, which allow you, the content creator, to focus on one critical component of a blog, creating content.
Blogging and writing are skills; most people wont be able to jump on from 0 and become a sensation overnight. It…
It’s not all about drawing wireframes
Empathy. Yes, empathy! Empathy allows us to relate to others. And for design, to put ourselves in others’ shoes to try to understand how we can make the product we’re working on work for them. If you want to be a UX Designer, understand that not every product you work for will only be made for you.
“Empathy is a tool for building people into groups, for allowing us to function as more than self-obsessed individuals.”
- Neil Gaiman
The realization of the importance of UX couldn’t have come at a worse time. With people taking selfies at funerals, it’s…
Rashaad
Product Designer @Slant. Yup.
