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Truth About Design
Candid truth and guidance for the design industry
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Working From Home In A Global Crisis: Rules for Mental Health and Design-Productivity
Working From Home In A Global Crisis: Rules for Mental Health and Design-Productivity
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many parts of the world to work from home. For many people, it’s the first time they’ve ever worked from…
Jamal Nichols
Apr 5, 2020
If Engineers Talk To Users, Do We Still Need Designers?
If Engineers Talk To Users, Do We Still Need Designers?
At my current job at Facebook, I’ve been fortunate to work with engineers that do their job at the highest level and that understand the…
Jamal Nichols
Feb 12, 2020
Unpaid UX Work Disguised As “Design Exercises”: How To Handle It
Unpaid UX Work Disguised As “Design Exercises”: How To Handle It
After a very enjoyable initial call where I had a great rapport with the interviewer, she explained that the next round of interviews was…
Jamal Nichols
May 7, 2019
Gorilla User Testing: Using Primates To Advance Human-Centered Design
Gorilla User Testing: Using Primates To Advance Human-Centered Design
In the world of UX Design, Guerrilla User Testing is a well-known and popular technique for gathering user research on a shoestring budget.
Jamal Nichols
Mar 31, 2019
Great Design Vs Good Design: What’s The Difference? Here’s The Truth
Great Design Vs Good Design: What’s The Difference? Here’s The Truth
The lowest common denominator for interface design has risen over the last decade. You see a lot less of this now:
Jamal Nichols
Mar 24, 2019
Terrible UX Design Job Descriptions (Or: How To Avoid Bad UX Design Jobs)
Terrible UX Design Job Descriptions (Or: How To Avoid Bad UX Design Jobs)
Terrible UX Design jobs are flooding the market right now.
Jamal Nichols
Mar 11, 2019
Confidence As A Designer: How To Build It
Confidence As A Designer: How To Build It
“I feel like I don’t belong here” “Everyone else is so good, I don’t know if I’ll ever reach that level” “How in the world did I get into h
Jamal Nichols
Mar 4, 2019
Design / UX: Customer Delight — The True Meaning (It’s not cool animations)
Design / UX: Customer Delight — The True Meaning (It’s not cool animations)
The term “Customer Delight” is being thrown around a lot lately. The little apps you’re making are to be “usable, useful, beautiful and…
Jamal Nichols
Feb 25, 2019
Ageism in Tech: Why Older Designers Are Better Than Younger Designers
Ageism in Tech: Why Older Designers Are Better Than Younger Designers
Ageism is a huge issue in the tech industry. People over 50 are seen as “too slow” to keep up with the fast pace of the industry, they…
Jamal Nichols
Feb 18, 2019
The Three Types Of Designer: Carpenter, Artist, and Entrepreneur
The Three Types Of Designer: Carpenter, Artist, and Entrepreneur
Video version of this article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvZtqtkzIFA
Jamal Nichols
Feb 4, 2019
The Type Of Person That Succeeds At Freelancing
The Type Of Person That Succeeds At Freelancing
Only a certain type of person succeeds at freelancing. If you’re not that type of person, don’t do it. Here’s what I discovered what makes…
Jamal Nichols
Jan 31, 2019
Designers: stop saying “yes”, start asking “why”
Designers: stop saying “yes”, start asking “why”
Summary: Clients don’t want you to do what they tell you — they want you to listen to what they say, then use an insight-driven design…
Jamal Nichols
Jan 24, 2019
The Most Important Question to Ask Before Taking a New Job
The Most Important Question to Ask Before Taking a New Job
I’ve been interviewing at a lot of companies lately. A big part of doing well in the interview process, is being able to tell a compelling…
Jamal Nichols
Jan 21, 2019
Design / UX: Getting That First Job
Design / UX: Getting That First Job
Summary: Focus on the work first, job applications and marketing second. The most important component of getting work as a designer, is…
Jamal Nichols
Jan 17, 2019
27 Designers Worth Listening To (incl. 11 You’ve Never Heard Of)
27 Designers Worth Listening To (incl. 11 You’ve Never Heard Of)
There’s two big problems with most of the design communication on the internet right now: inexperience and pretentiousness.
Jamal Nichols
Jan 15, 2019
Design / Freelancing: The Brutal Truth
Design / Freelancing: The Brutal Truth
Freelancing is a topic that junior designers frequently ask me about. They hear a lot of jazz about being location independent and working…
Jamal Nichols
Jan 8, 2019
Design / UX: No one cares as much about your designs as you do
Design / UX: No one cares as much about your designs as you do
This excitement would inevitably turn into frustration when I showed it to a client, and they didn’t see how clever my solution was, and…
Jamal Nichols
Jan 6, 2019
Design / UX: Specialists vs Generalists — What’s Better? Here’s the truth
Design / UX: Specialists vs Generalists — What’s Better? Here’s the truth
When I’m out teaching, I frequently get asked “What’s better? To be a jack of all trades designer, or someone that specializes in one…
Jamal Nichols
Jan 5, 2019
Design / UX: Get Stakeholder Approval — Simple Ways to Do It
Design / UX: Get Stakeholder Approval — Simple Ways to Do It
As a design professional, it’s important to take responsibility for your part in managing a client relationship. The better you are at…
Jamal Nichols
Dec 28, 2018
UI Design Tools: The Ones You Actually Need (December 2018 Edition)
UI Design Tools: The Ones You Actually Need (December 2018 Edition)
One of the top questions I get when I’m mentoring students is, “What tools should I use? Sketch? Photoshop? What about Adobe XD?” (They…
Jamal Nichols
Dec 12, 2018
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