Category: UX Craft
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Don’t be fooled by Figma ‘make design’ new AI feature
‘Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got I am still I am still Jenny from the block.’ That’s how the chorus of a famous J Lo song goes. I am a kid of the ’00s, but I believe this song’s message of staying true to your roots while evolving resonates with the design…
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Great design isn’t pixel perfect
I am a perfectionist, and I admit that. Is this my best or worst quality? Maybe it’s both. It’s a trait that defines a lot of who I am, not only professionally, but also personally. There’s a sense of validation that comes when you get something done to perfection that everyone enjoys. However, how far…
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If you are working in silo, you aren’t making an impact.
Just before the end of the year, I worked closer to marketing and sales teams, crafting pitch decks for potential clients. This is not the core job of a product designer in tech, but it does happen, especially when you are in a startup, and to be honest, I find it incredibly useful. As designers,…
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No one cares about your app, and this is why
Last week, I was having lunch IRL with some colleagues, and we ended up talking about our previous jobs. It made me remember when I worked as a Learning Designer for a large UK retailer designing staff apps. A time when I regularly visited shops to talk to staff, learn from them and observe how…
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9 books to start and grow your UX career
Getting into the design industry can be tough, and the information on the web can be overwhelming. Where can you start? What are the best resources available? When I first started my career, I found reading extremely useful. It allowed me to build a language around design, understand the industry and learn new skills I…
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Design critiques are important for teams’ growth
There’s nothing worse than people looking over your shoulder at your work and commenting on the designs open on the screen. If you are a designer, you know the feeling and have experienced it at least once in your career. From your manager or colleagues having a sneak peek at your designs and commenting when…
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Beyond Figma: the true role of a product designer
Want to become a better designer? Close that Figma file and think about the problem you need to solve. Don’t you know the problem? Then do some discovery. I often struggle to explain my job to people outside the tech world. Can you relate? I usually say I design websites and apps, but…
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Take your design skills to the next level: learn how to facilitate
Facilitation is the most underrated skill in the design world. Being able to facilitate conversations in meetings and workshops is one of the core skills of a Product Designer. You can apply facilitation techniques to conducting user research and/or user interviews to structure the conversation to understand your users’ problems and needs. The same…
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Redefining convenience: a closer look at what customers value most
Consumers don’t want a convenient shopping experience. They want more than that. Convenience is the typical word used to describe what customers seek in their shopping experience. This is often combined with ‘easy to use’ or ‘simplicity’ in the digital world. What does it even mean that consumers want a convenient experience? Nothing. These descriptions…
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Design as a communication tool: why keeping design files up to date is vital for teams
Designs are a great visual representation of how we can solve user problems. We create screens that illustrate what and how technology needs to work to allow users to perform specific tasks as seamlessly as possible. Most importantly, designs are the best way to communicate with teams, ensure we are all on the same page…
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What I have learned from 100 hours of mentoring
I have been mentoring and coaching for years because I love helping designers get into the industry or progress in their careers. It’s rewarding and I learn a lot from every single conversation. Helping designers with mock interviews and case studies, I noticed some patterns and started to note them down and categorise them. Here…
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UX Brighton write-up
Last week I attended the UX Brighton conference for the first time. It was the perfect opportunity to meet the design community in Brighton, and being at the Brighton Dome made the event even more special. The overall message of the conference was loud and clear. The design industry has evolved in the past years, and…
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What I have learned from running Design Sprints remotely
If you have landed on this article, I believe you already know what a Design Sprint is. In case you don’t, I’ll cover the basics for you. The Design Sprint is a design process that helps answer critical business questions in 5 days. This was created by Jake Knapp when he worked at Google Ventures…
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Are personas such a bad thing?
We all have love-hate relationships with people, places, activities and things. I absolutely love London! The million and one cultures, arts, fashion and nightlife. That’s what makes me fall in love with this city over and over again. At the same time, I deeply hate London! The commute when I get crushed on the…
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Should we change the way we recruit participants for Usability Testing?
Today, on my bus journey, I came across a very interesting article from Fabricio Teixeira (founder of UX Collective) on how relevant it is to split participants by gender when conducting user testing. In this article, Fabricio questions if gender affects the results of usability testing and raises doubts around some of the assumptions that…
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How do you challenge a business to achieve best UX decisions?
Has it ever happened to you that a company gives you a problem and tells you how to solve it? This could be fine (I guess) if the business can provide you with previous research that helps you make the right design choices. However, what do you do if the business hasn’t done any research…