Not saying ‘yes’ is most likely a ‘no’
This week’s roundups: Accessibility Maze, 2 Kinds of People, Creative Confidence, and more!
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[ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS]
How do designers say no without saying no?
Whether you’re a designer or not, saying no is a fantastic skill to develop because… it’s not realistic to do everything. The reality of it is that not every time, task, idea, or practice is practical for solving the problem at hand so it is important to be able to seek out the reason to support your ‘no’.
For example, a common ‘no’ can be a response to extra tasks. While you might be a people pleaser and feel obligated to accept, you don’t have to agree to additional work if you cannot deliver. You might say “I have a more urgent priority right now” or “I don’t have time to work on this project with an upcoming deadline for something I’m currently working on.”
Understanding when and how to say no will promote better work-life balance and working relationships for a better work experience!
[ACCESSIBILITY]
Accessibility Maze
Like escape rooms? Here’s a fun one: Accessibility Maze. Using only your keyboard — arrow keys, enter key, and ESC key, you will interact with items, collect diamonds, and solve puzzles to overcome the maze. While you’re having fun, keep in mind the accessibility tidbits between each level!
[DESIGN PODCAST]
UI Breakfast Podcast. Episode 225: Design for Non-Designers with Tracy Osborn
Do you freak out when doing a talk? Not everyone is a great speaker so it takes practice to articulate in front of others.
Tracy Osborn, author of Hello Web Design shares how she also gets nervous speaking when she travels to conferences. She shares some of her tips that help her feel comfortable meeting others in the industry.
[ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS]
UI & UX micro-tips: Volume nine
Here’s a collection of 6 tips to help you improve designs — look carefully at the image comparisons in the article to spot why the difference matters:
- Whitespace is a design element. So use it well.
- Maintain a suitable contrast ratio between light text and images.
- Get the perfect Vertical Rhythm for your Headlines and Body Text.
- To determine the readability of your chosen typeface, use the x-height or Il1 test.
- Depending on the size of the text block you use, adjust your line height accordingly.
- Keep your text color palette simple and just use Tints & Shades.
[SOMETHING FUN]
2 Kinds of People
Here’s something fun to think about — 2 Kinds of People are a small collection of type A and type B personas. They’re hilarious, relatable, and a great conversation starter.
[UX QUOTE]
“Tunnel vision can kill creativity.”
- Ami Vitale, photographer
[WATCH THIS]
Miro relies on its own product across the board
Chief Marketing Officer of Miro, Paul D’Arcy, leads a discussion with Miro leaders Iris Latour, Pete Lim, and Melissa Halim. The speakers share how the usage of Miro within their projects has led to the new successful features and tools being added. Learn how Miro articulates their ideas and values to users so that we can be informed with their updates and empowered to continue collaborating.
[BOOK RECO]
Creative Confidence
Written by David Kelley and Tom Kelley, this book is about bringing customers on the journey with you. From their work at IDEO, the Stanford d.school, and with many of the world’s top companies, our authors can share with us countless stories about how we can use our creative potentials to solve problems. Creativity and confidence are two great powers to have in the design industry.
[DESIGN TOOL]
Lunacy
Lunacy is a new graphic design software tool for Windows, macOS, Linux by Icons8. Users can open and edit design files easily and use the built-in vectors, photos, UI kits, and more to start designing wireframes and mockups.
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