Why you didn’t get that UX job interview.
Let’s say I’m a recruiter — or a UX hiring manager — looking at your UX portfolio. If the story it’s telling looks and sounds like one I’ve already heard a thousand times before, I’m moving on. No matter how great the work lurking under your cover may be, my...
3 reasons most UI Design is pretty — but ineffective.
Even the best-looking UI design can still be nothing but an obstacle, an unusable collection of nice-looking elements. Everything a user sees onscreen does one of two things. Each element either: Illuminates the path to their desired outcome and helps them get there...
Innovation, entrepreneurship, punk rock and why I do what I do.
A young design student recently contacted me to ask if I’d be willing to do an interview on the topics of innovation and entrepreneurship. My answer to these things, especially when it comes to students is always “of course,” so we got to it. He sent...
Am I too old for UX? (Tuesdays with Joe, Episode 12)
Today’s UX question comes from an experienced designer who’s wondering, like a lot of us who are past 40, if he’s too old for UX. Jim is increasingly feeling lost in the mad rush of design agency life, and is beginning to question whether or not he still...
Introducing the MAKING UX WORK Podcast!
Hey friends! I wanted to let you know that I’ve just launched the inaugural episode of my new podcast, MAKING UX WORK — and you can listen to it right here. It’s a little different than most of what’s out there, because my guests aren’t the “rock stars” of UX,...
Are UX Interview “Exercises” Crossing the Line?
I’m increasingly troubled by stories from young Designers and UXers about UX interview “exercises” potential employers are asking them to do. Specifically, I’m seeing too many instances where, to my eyes, it looks like these organizations are asking...
The difference between amateur and professional design
Today’s fast food for thought re: #design and #UX. If the conversation is around how good the design is or how it looks, it’s the wrong conversation. The shift depicted here marks the difference between amateur and professional design.
Words matter: why notification messages could kill Dropbox’s UX
As many of you know by now, Dropbox recently completed a large-scale brand overhaul. Dropbox says of their new branding is about “shifting the conversation around work,” offering this explanation: “Our users run the gamut from business professionals to scientists and...
Want stakeholder buy-in? See UX their way.
A few years back, I read a book (whose title I can’t recall) that delivered this absolutely GOLD nugget of wisdom regarding the struggle to get stakeholder buy-in for UX and Design: Most people in management or executive positions can’t truly see what’s broken,...
