My Favorite 15 UX Articles of 2017

I curated a list of great User Experience articles published in 2017.

1. Creating Usability with Motion: The UX in Motion Manifesto
   As a UX or UI, designer, how do I know when and where to implement motion to support usability?
2. How Design Thinking, Lean and Agile Work Together — Hacker Noon
   Some lessons learned from applying Design Thinking, Lean, and Agile in the wild.
3. Flat UI Elements Attract Less Attention and Cause Uncertainty — Nielsen Norman Group
   Flat interfaces often use weak signifiers. In an eyetracking experiment comparing different kinds of clickability clues, UIs with weak signifiers required more user effort than strong ones.
4. UX Research Cheat Sheet — Nielsen Norman Group
   User research can be done at any point in the design cycle. This list of methods and activities can help you decide which to use when.
5. UX Mapping Methods Compared: A Cheat Sheet — Nielsen Norman Group
   Empathy maps, customer journey maps, experience maps, and service blueprints depict different processes and have different goals, yet they all build common ground within an organization.
6. Optical Effects in User Interfaces (for True Nerds)
   How to make optically balanced icons, correct shapes alignment, and perfect corner rounding. Over 50 pics included!
7. Personas vs. Jobs-to-Be-Done — Nielsen Norman Group
   Jobs-to-be-done focus on user problems and needs, while well-executed personas include the same information and also add behavioral and attitudinal details.
8. Mega Menus Work Well for Site Navigation — Nielsen Norman Group
   Large, rectangular menus group navigation options to eliminate scrolling and use typography, icons, and tooltips to explain users’ choices.
9. User Research is Overrated — Muzli -Design Inspiration
   Up-front User Research is a form of Product Procrastination. It’s busy-work, it’s a way to avoid making hard decisions. It delays the need to make something tangible. Here’s why.
10. Comparison Tables for Products, Services, and Features — Nielsen Norman Group
    Use this versatile GUI tool to support users when they need to make a decision that involves considering multiple attributes of a small number of offerings. Consistency in content, scannability, and a simple layout are some of the most important qualities of successful comparison tables.
11. Date-Input Form Fields: UX Design Guidelines — Nielsen Norman Group
    Date-entry fields must be unambiguous and support task completion by using the right design pattern. Small design changes can prevent big user errors.
12. Don’t Use Split Buttons for Navigation Menus — by Nielsen Norman Group
    Menu on hover, category landing page on click: we discuss challenges and solutions for replicating this pattern on touchscreens.
13. Flat-Design Best Practices — Nielsen Norman Group
    Flat designs often suffer from usability problems and cause click uncertainty because of lost signifiers. Avoid these negative side effects by consistently and clearly differentiating between clickable and unclickable elements.
14. The Top 10 Misconceptions about Design Sprints — Muzli -Design Inspiration
    There are people in the design industry who think Design Sprints are just a fad and overrated, and that’s fair. Skepticism is generally a good quality to have, especially for designers. Having these kind of robust debates is valuable. This article highlights 10 misconceptions about Design Sprints.
15. Best Practices for Search Results — UX Planet
    The results page is a crucial piece of the search experience: it presents an opportunity to engage a dialogue that guides users’ information needs. In this article, Nick Babich shares 10 practices that will help you improve the search results UX.

Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash