Working towards a community vs working towards things. — As a UX/UI/HCI/Product designer, you will work to solve problems for your users. In the mouths of many business start-ups, there is the discussion of the MVP — The Minimum Viable Product. Working towards things: The MVP A minimum viable product (MVP) is the idea that a product team should produce the simplest version of…

10 recommendations for how and why your portfolios should focus on how you think as a Designer. — At the beginning of Sep 2022, I had the honor of presenting to designers around the world via UXtalks and ADPlist.

A case for sketching-first UX — As a Product/UX designer and design educator, I have noticed a few changes in the way designers and students approach thinking through screen problems especially now that we have leaned into Covid for work-from-home and using our computers as our classrooms. Although the internet, group communication tools like Zoom, Slack…

A review of the opportunities with humans, computers, and software. — Whether you are a seasoned Designer (have webmaster in your CV) or new to the world of digital software product design (UXD, UXR, UI, IxD, IA, CX, LX, VD, FE, SO, PO, ML, AI, etc) the universe in which you can apply your craft and skills are continuing to grow…

A series of thought experiments for designers. — Exploring Zen Koans Zen Buddhism is renowned for its unique teaching methods that go beyond traditional discourse and logic. Zen Koans — In the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen Buddhism, koan refers to a question or succinct paradoxical statement posed to a student to help him or her seek the truth. A Zen…

Building a design habit of looking around > making > sharing. — “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working” — Pablo Picasso As a Designer (UX/UI/Product/IxD/FEDev/etc), you should be making a habit of looking around for inspiration through a diverse set of inputs: Creative industry (UX/UI/IxD/Product/Service Design/Graphic Design/Industrial Design/Architecture/etc) Media culture (Books, Music, TV/Film, Radio, Internet content, etc.)

A recap of what my UX/design writing has accomplished this year. At the beginning of 2021, I challenged myself to write 1 article per month. As this is not my full-time gig, I thought it would be a good way to give back to the design community, keep me thinking…

Ways designers and teams get stuck and the strategies for getting unstuck. — In case you have never seen the Stuck at Rabbit’s house by Winnie the Pooh episode. Watch before you continue reading. Solving problems are hard and inevitably a designer or design team can become stuck like Pooh Bear. Let’s discuss two ways…

3 prompts for infusing more user interaction as a designer — I was recently on Twitter (as you will) and saw this intriguing tweet from Scott Berkun. The insight into the nature of designers is poignant as I have experienced this insulation working from home as well as something I think every designer has to actively fight. The Problem