3 tool combinations that will help get you up and running as a UI Designer.
This is a followup to my previous article discussing 5 visual tools for UX Designers. This week I’m going more specific and adding software recommendations to that designer’s tool belt. Let’s recap three items to note regarding these recommendations before continuing.:
- Tools don’t make designs better– you do! It doesn’t matter if you paid a lot of money for the latest software, or if you simply have a pencil and paper. Good work comes from thorough iterations, working through the design process.
- You don’t have to know them all. A good designer employs a variety of tools and also knows…
3 tips to assert yourself and the design process when you’re working for a client with low design maturity.
We’ve all been there. You find yourself working for a client whose level of design comprehension just isn’t quite there. It might be that you’re the first trained user experience designer they’ve hired and they’re used to working with graphic designers or people who just kind of fell into design tasks.
No matter how you got there, you begin to discover that you’re in an awkward position. You might find that you’re being given directives or tasks without having had any conversations determining your users, audience, or the problems you’re solving for. You might be given vague instructions or scoping…
Curb your user experience — you are not your user.
While watching a recent season of one of my favorite television shows, Curb Your Enthusiasm, I discovered that comedian Larry David had accidentally provided an outstanding (and hilarious) example of what can go terribly wrong when you skip user research and make assumptions about what other people want based on your own feelings and experience.
Who knew my favorite curmudgeon had something to teach us all about user experience design?
We often hear it said in the UX design world that you are not your user– but what are the ramifications of avoiding this advice? In an effort to get…
What you need to know before beginning your Bootcamp.
So, you’ve decided to switch careers and land that big salary. You’ve done your research and you know that how to get started in product design is by signing up for a UX design Bootcamp.
It’s no wonder that over 20,000 students were educated in 2018 by attending a Bootcamp. And with nearly 80% of those students landing jobs with an average starting salary of over 64k, it’s also no mystery that many people from a variety of backgrounds are looking at UX or coding as a way to jump into a more fulfilling career.
If you’ve already made your…
What they are, how they’re different, and how they’re the same.
I hear it all the time– from people inside and outside of the tech industry. Coworkers and clients often interchange UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) as easily as one might switch out street and road. But unlike the words street and road, which are accurately swappable, the UI and UX relationship is more like that of the square and rectangle– UX is the rectangle and UI is the square. Allow me to explain….
Squares and rectangles both fall under the geometrical definition of a quadrilateral, meaning they are shapes that have four straight sides. Rectangles are defined further…
Every journey begins with one step – but what if it’s the wrong step? Well, for folks who are just beginning their UX design careers, the way forward is not always clear. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are, however, a few simple points to keep in mind when you’re starting out that can help you get a jumpstart in the right direction.
These pointers are meant to be flexible and broad because everyone is different. …
5 things you need to know — from tools to policy.
Coronavirus (COVID–19) has swept across the globe as a forewarned yet surprising pandemic. While some countries are in complete lockdown, only allowing citizens out for groceries, emergencies, and medicine, other countries remain obliviously skeptical regarding the true impact of this virus.
People are already taking measures in the States and abroad to change people’s daily behaviors. One of those behaviors is something that many companies have been slowly changing for some time now– and that’s the everyday habit of going to work. According to the American Psychology Association,
When it’s done right, telework can improve employee productivity, creativity and morale…
A UX designer’s starter kit to designing and testing UI solutions.
Hot on the heels of the popularity of my last article discussing 5 research tools for UX Designers, this week I’m adding shimmer and shine to that designer’s tool belt by spotlighting the visual end of the spectrum. Let’s recap three items to note regarding these recommendations before continuing.:
What is Product Design?
Product design is the process of identifying real people with real problems, and using an iterative human-centered design process to create and validate solutions to those problems — thereby helping those real people achieve some sort of goal. Today, the term is mostly applied to the tech industry. So when we write about products, it’s digital products like apps or websites that help you accomplish something like Facebook or Google Maps.
It’s not as exclusive as you think.
One common myth about the product design world is that we designers started designing when we were babies. We grew up with a pencil and a notebook in our…
A UX designer’s starter kit to gather and synthesize data quickly
Just like an architect relies on a detailed set of blueprints to successfully execute a complicated building design, just like a woodworker, a plumber or an artist must have the proper tools to build a desk, fix the sink or paint a seascape, the UX designer needs certain tools as well. It stands to reason that in order to succeed in solving for an infinite range of user problems, a particular set of tools or steps in the process of success are required. A few things to note before continuing:
