Design Thoughts / Research

“Unseen research is wasted research” — Gregg Bernstein. As user researchers, we’re a lucky bunch. Every day, we get to be at the forefront of the many unique and wonderful moments that occur during our user research sessions. The delight, the frustration, the a-ha moments, the uncertainty. Everything that makes us uniquely human. It’s deeply satisfying leaving a research session… Read More ￫

It doesn’t matter how good you think your product is if your users don’t like it or find it useful. Ignoring the needs and desires of your users is like ignoring your product. The better you know your users, their environment, their needs, and the value they derive from your product, the better you can craft rewarding, satisfying, and engaging… Read More ￫

This essay is taken from an upcoming book by David Travis & Philip Hodgson titled ‘Think Like a UX Researcher’. You can find out more about the book here. It’s fashionable to blame poor usability on firms not doing enough customer research. On the face of it, this seems like the obvious cause of poor usability. If firms only did… Read More ￫

Everything you need to know about conducting useful user interviews Creating products based on your own needs is easy – if you’re building something just for yourself, you don’t need to talk to anyone else because you know what you want. It’s pretty unlikely that you’ll ever design a product for yourself. If you want to make a product that… Read More ￫

See Part 1 (Introduction to UXD), Part 2 (Agile & Lean UX) or the full Table of Contents. “In design, you’re solving for user needs and business goals. In research, you’re solving for a lack of information.” — Erika Hall UX Research isn’t as scary or intimidating as it may sound at first — we’re not writing a PhD or… Read More ￫

There’s no doubt that working on something we care about is both rewarding and exciting, especially if it aligns with a purpose close to our hearts. Sometimes though, our day jobs can’t always provide us with engagement on this level. For instance, only 30% of the U.S workforces report being enthusiastic and committed to their work. With 62% of 18–26-year-olds… Read More ￫

It is clear that intelligent algorithms such as deep learning, machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc. will have a major impact on the world. However, what isn’t clear is how these technologies can be used to solve real problems for people. At Philosophie we work on experiences that help humans in their day-to-day tasks. We hope to join the benefits of… Read More ￫