🥰 Pour Your Heart Into It 🏋🏿♂️ My New Work Club
Let’s delve into how Service Design made Switchyards redesign the third-place concept, also check the best ways to use or not use Modal Windows and this comfy magazine from Australia that I love 🦘
Hello people, in this issue, we’ll look at…
- ⚾️ The Third Base in your life
- 🪟 Optimize your Modal Windows,
- 🔑 Make your website more engaging,
- 👨👨👧 Independent for Dependents,
- 🍟 and extra things to bite it…
🛋️ Not just another coffee shop
Have you heard of the “third-place” 🛋️ concept by the Starbucks founder, Howard Schultz? It’s basically a chill social spot that’s different from both your 🏡 home (first place) and 🏢 workplace (second place).
📖 I read the book “Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time.” years ago, and this concept always stuck in my head, how Starbucks created a warm and inviting atmosphere in their stores with comfortable seating, soft lighting, and music playing in the background.
For Starbucks, creating the “third-place” 🛋️ experience was crucial to their success. It was designed to be a 👯♂️ community gathering spot where people can connect with each other and escape from the stress and routine of their daily lives. It became more than just a coffee shop; it became a destination where people could connect and relax.
From coffee shops to WeWork
But years passed, and people started using ☕️ coffee shops as 👨🏾💻 co-working spaces. But some places are not designed for it. For example, I love going to Perc or Brash x HUGE here in Atlanta, but they are not designed to work. And you don’t feel comfortable leaving your stuff, such as your expensive MacBook 💻.
🌍 At the beginning of the year, I got a WeWork global pass which made my life easier. Anytime I need a workspace, I just use the app to book a spot and work, and in the end, it is cheaper than going to a coffee shop. The coffee is not the best, but it is convenient.
But my feeling is that moving to a WeWork environment, you are still in your workplace (second place, not a third place), and I was missing a cool spot to work and socialize in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.
And now for a work club 🏋🏿♂️
👀 So I found (or they found me) through Instagram, and I was hooked. I made a visit to Switchyards (Adair Park) with my sister last week, and I got a pass, and since then, I have already worked in the Decatur and Virginia-Highland locations.
It’s so beautifully designed, and they are open 24/7 in some great neighborhoods in Atlanta. They are very local, and that’s why I love them. The deep-focus area reminds me of a library where people work quietly, and I love that people respect it.
This is a real redesign of what a third place means since I read it from the Starbucks book, and ☕️ drip coffee is better than Starbucks and WeWork.
And like any other community, there are some rules to follow, but it makes the place always comfy with a welcoming vibe. And on top of that, you feel only locals know about it.
If you wanna learn more, visit the website, follow on Instagram, or say hi by email. And let them know that Juno told you about it 😉.
The Service Design of all this
Switchyards is a great example of how design thinking and service design can be used to create a successful “third place” experience. By understanding the needs and desires of their target audience, they were able to create a space that fosters creativity, collaboration, and community. They focused on design elements such as comfortable seating, a welcoming atmosphere, and high-quality coffee to create a comfortable and inviting environment that people want to spend time in. Additionally, they implemented rules that ensure a respectful and productive environment for everyone, which contributes to the overall positive experience.
Switchyards’ use of design thinking and service design is a great reminder that even seemingly small details can make a big impact on the success of a business or experience. By putting the needs of their customers first and designing an experience that meets those needs, Switchyards has created a unique and successful “third place” experience.
If you’re interested in learning more about design thinking and service design, I highly recommend checking out the following books:
- Service Design: From Insight to Implementation: provides a comprehensive overview of service design and how it can be used to improve customer experiences. It covers topics such as customer research, prototyping, and implementation strategies.
- Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience: this is a great resource for designers who want to effectively communicate their design decisions to stakeholders. It provides practical advice and tools for presenting design work in a way that is clear, concise, and persuasive.
Both of these books are excellent resources for anyone interested in improving their design thinking and service design skills.
🦁 Modal Windows 🪟
Where do they live? What do they eat?
Modal windows in UI? Not always the best idea. They’re those annoying pop-up windows that show up while you’re browsing a website. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.
Sure, they can be useful for getting user feedback or making sure the user really wants to do something, but let’s be real. They’re usually just a pain 😩. They interrupt the user’s flow and can be frustrating to close. And don’t even get me started on the ones that don’t have a visible close button.
So, unless it’s absolutely necessary, it’s probably best to avoid modal windows altogether. Your users will thank you 🙏.
Cons of using modal windows in UI:
👎 Modal windows can be disruptive and annoying to users, especially when they appear unexpectedly or frequently.
👎 Modal windows can interrupt a user’s workflow and make it difficult for them to complete a task or remember where they left off.
👎 Modal windows can be confusing if they don’t provide clear and concise information or if they use technical jargon that users may not understand.
👎 Modal windows can be inaccessible to users who rely on assistive technologies like screen readers or keyboard navigation. (One of the most important🎗️)
👎 Modal windows can be difficult to close if the close button is not easily visible or if the window is not optimized for mobile devices.
👎 Modal windows can be used to trick users into taking actions they don’t intend to take, such as subscribing to a newsletter or downloading an app. But most of the time, this is the intent of the website.
Overall, while modal windows can be useful in certain contexts, it’s important to use them judiciously and ensure that they enhance the user experience rather than detract from it. Take some minutes to explore this website to learn some alternatives to Modal Windows.
Alternatives for Modal Windows by ModalzModalzModalz:
👉 Non-Modal Dialogs: Use them for non-critical interactions that don’t block the user (like toasters).
👉 Go Inline: Present your content inline to be less disruptive.
👉 Expanding Elements: Use expanding elements, such as accordions, toolbars, tooltips, or sliding sidebars (or modeless elements).
👉 New Page: Lead the user to a different page to isolate the interaction without losing access to functionality such as navigation.
👉 Undo Patterns: Instead of, for instance, confirmation modals, consider using an inline “undo” option to speed up the users’s interactions.
And other extras:
👉 Popover Windows: Use small windows that appear next to or on top of the content and are dismissible by clicking outside.
👉 Progressive Disclosure: Reveal additional information or actions progressively, in context, and only when needed.
👉 Dropdown Menus: Use dropdown menus to provide additional options, submenus, or filters.
👉 Persistent Bottom Sheet: Use a fixed, always-visible sheet at the bottom of the screen for interactions that must persist across different views or pages.
👉 Floating Action Buttons: Use a single, prominent button that floats above the content and triggers a context-specific action.
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🤯 Unpacking Consciousness: How Understanding the Fundamentals Can Enhance UX/UI Design
Understanding consciousness and its relationship to the human experience can be valuable for UX/UI Designers in a number of ways. By acknowledging the subjective experience of consciousness, designers can create interfaces that are more intuitive and easier for users to navigate. They can also design interfaces that are more engaging and emotionally resonant by taking into account the role that consciousness plays in shaping our experiences. Additionally, designers can explore the ways in which consciousness interacts with technology, such as the use of virtual and augmented reality, to create more immersive experiences for users.
Let me break down some principles of consciousness and how they can be applied in UX/UI Design to create better experiences:
- Principle of structural coherence: Our experience of consciousness is structured and interconnected. This principle can be applied to UX/UI design by emphasizing the importance of a coherent and consistent design, where all elements work together to create a unified user experience.
- Principle of organizational invariance: The complexity and organization of our consciousness are independent of the specific physical substrate it arises from. In UX/UI design, this principle highlights the importance of designing interfaces that can adapt to different devices and platforms while still maintaining the same level of organization and usability.
- Principle of information integration: Consciousness arises from the integration of information across different regions of the brain. Similarly, in UX/UI design, integration of information from various sources, such as user data, feedback, and contextual information, can help create a more personalized and intuitive user experience.
- Principle of exclusion: Consciousness focuses on a limited subset of available information, excluding other information. In UX/UI design, this principle highlights the importance of designing interfaces that prioritize the most relevant information and minimize distractions, allowing users to focus on their intended tasks.
- Principle of subjective experience: Consciousness is a fundamentally subjective experience. In UX/UI design, this principle emphasizes the importance of designing interfaces that consider the user’s emotional and subjective experience, creating experiences that are both intuitive and emotionally satisfying.
- Principle of dynamic interaction: Consciousness arises from the dynamic interaction between cognitive and neural processes. Similarly, UX/UI design should focus on creating interfaces that facilitate dynamic interactions between users and the system, enabling users to achieve their goals efficiently and effectively.
- Principle of structural realization: Consciousness is realized in the brain through a specific pattern of neural activity. In UX/UI design, this principle highlights the importance of designing interfaces that leverage the latest technologies and design patterns to create experiences that are not only functional but also visually engaging and aesthetically pleasing.
🥗 👩👩👧👧 Independent magazine for dependents
Adulting can be tough, but parenting takes it to a whole new level. 🤪
I stumbled upon this publication/magazine Hello Lunch Lady at BOBO Intriguing Objects store here in Atlanta, and let me tell you. The layout and content are just so enjoyable; it’s like a warm and cozy hug. I’ve even caught myself reading it for hours!
It was created by Lara and Lou from the content agency, We Print Nice Things, and they’ve really done an amazing job. So, if you want some great content and a beautiful design, go check it out!
P.S.: Remember, don’t be too hard on your parents. They’re dealing with a lot (especially you, you little pain in the butt 😜).
🍟 BITes
🤖 So get this: the so-called ‘Godfather of A.I.’ just left Google and he’s warning about some serious dangers ahead. It’s a super interesting article, but it’s crazy how most people still see A.I. as just a tool to enhance their skills, even with all the potential harm it can cause.
📚 Check out these 135 FREE ebooks on User Experience, Usability, User Interface Design, and more! All of them are available for download and completely free. Happy reading!
🗳️ Elections are around the corner in several places in the world, and with the rise of AI, we can expect to see a lot of fake news spreading like wildfire. And they are taking the propaganda design to another level to engage people.
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See you next week!
Juno
Designer, writer, educator, UX/UI advocate, and mentor for startups.
