Words, Shapes and People—Weekly Links
Every week, we compile a list of 5 great articles — one for every work day of the week. Want to suggest a post for this series? Let us know!
Monday: No Second Chance for First Impressions
Using a product for the first time can be revealing, but it is also by definition a one-time experience. As designers, we are often too knowledgeable in the systems we design to adequately judge the experience of someone who has never used them. That’s why user testing is so important for this phase and it is why case studies like the one Junyue Hua did for the Xbox Series S are so eye-opening to read.
Tuesday: Look Mom, Both Hands!
There are a thousand ways to use the web and some of them get more attention than others. One that is consistently at the bottom of the list is keyboard-only usage. The good news is: it is comparatively easy to put oneself into the shoes of a keyboard-only user. Tori Riemersma shows how big the differences in experience can be by comparing two big online retailers.
Wednesday: Wise Words
User interfaces are mostly text. While UX writing has emerged as a distinct discipline in the past decade, the psychological principles behind good UX writing have been the same for a long time. Kalina Tyrkiel showcases some of these principles in this handy overview.
Thursday: We shape our tools and then our tools shape us
Similar to UX writing, the rise of design systems has accelerated sharply in the past years. Among other things, this transformation has shown that we can’t just make decisions about visual design when looking just at one use case. Hayk An has pushed this concept one step further with Shaper, a case study of a UI style manipulator.
Friday: Qualitative Testing
Whoever you design for, however you write your UX copy and whatever tool you use to shape the UI, there is simply no substitute for qualitative testing. In this great overview, Kate Moran shines a light on all the aspects of qualitative testing.
And that’s a wrap! Have an excellent week and always be testing, shaping and writing!
