Design Thoughts / User Experience

When I started AJ&Smart in 2011, UX Design was still so misunderstood that I spent the next 3 years just explaining to my clients (while also defining it to myself) what it actually was and why it was valuable. It was also extremely difficult to hire good UX designers, as there was nowhere to really learn what was required for… Read More ￫

Did you read that Sidebar article about UX Writing? Did you see the new augmented reality software that Apple created? Have you seen Android’s new design pattern? Did you see the latest Google I/O talks? Have you read ‘Hooked’ ? You been on Dribbble lately? Did you complete that online UI course with Design Labs? Did you see the latest intercom… Read More ￫

One of the greatest information processors we deal with in our everyday life cannot be seen or touched. It cannot be bought or sold as well as taken from other people; however, it can be developed and strengthened by many ways. It cannot be easily described but belongs to the most precious features of human life and determines perhaps any… Read More ￫

You are conducting user research — whether you know it or not As a UX designer, I have heard lots of reasons why not to conduct user research. Usually, I hear the classics, ‘we don’t have enough time’ and ‘we don’t have enough money’, but occasionally I’ll also get ‘users don’t know what they want’, or ‘you’re the UX expert —… Read More ￫

We are all looking for self-expression and inspiration. We express ourselves through fashion, music, art, and through furniture. Houzz is an interior design app that has thousands of furniture inspirations for users to express their styles. After talking to friends and interviewing users I found that out of the people I talked to there were 3 main categories: New-movers furnishing… Read More ￫

7 design principles that help users perceive your work in a more effective manner

Apparently, UX people love to argue. There are always topics that end up in endless debates. Just try one of the following questions as a conversation starter when meeting a designer: “Is material design good or bad?” “What is the best prototyping tool?” “Should I really never put a carousel on a website?” What you’ll find is that responses might… Read More ￫

A guide for making your career in UX design.

Right now is a very interesting time to be a copywriter in the UK. As an industry, copywriting seems to be going through something of an identity crisis. On the one hand, you have the copywriting old guard: extremely skilled and experienced craftspeople who cut their teeth in the Golden Age of Advertising or have followed in the footsteps of… Read More ￫

When I started working as a Junior UX Designer, I was a fish out of water. My knowledge about technology was limited. In meetings I would keep hearing these words, but had no clue what they meant. I’d get back to my desk and google what I’d heard, hoping no one would spot me! Overtime, I found there were lots… Read More ￫

This is a resource guide to complement the ‘Intro to UX Design’ course run by IF Academy. Visit their website for upcoming course dates. Also see Part 2 (Agile & Lean UX), Part 3 (UX Research) or the full Table of Contents. In this article we cover: What is a good user experience design? The need to balance business, user and… Read More ￫

As a designer, your toolbox empowers you to do research, define personas, explore UX patterns, lo-fi sketch, and even refine what agile design means. It’s time to apply these skills to the one product that needs it most – yourself. Before you embrace this concept, let’s paint a picture. You’re a design consultant and you’ve been hired to lead the… Read More ￫