Designers love methodologies! Give us a problem to ponder, and we will immediately start gathering users stories, plotting empathy maps and building interactive prototypes to test out ideas. We swear by these techniques, and yet most of us are reluctant to apply them outside of work. Why is this? — I have a spreadsheet for all important relationships in my life. Every time I mention this to a new person, it usually leads to an awkward silence, confused looks and a rapid change of subject. For some reason, so many of us have internalised the belief that strategy belongs in…

This is such an interesting topic, thank you for providing a thoughtful overview. I find it fascinating how differently people interpret the basic five-star rating system depending on the context in which they encounter it. If I'm searching for or reviewing a restaurant on Google, I'm aiming for five stars…

Digital accessibility is on the rise. Since meeting the basic accessibility standards became a legal requirement and not a mere nice-to-have, more and more organisations are questioning how well their digital interface serves users with disability. — The case for accessibility The truth is, unless your product is specifically aimed at users whose physical or cognitive abilities are likely to be impaired, such as the elderly, chances are, you have not given much thought to the accessibility of its interface.

Defined by the ‘king of usability’ Jakob Nielsen, the ten heuristics are broad principles underpinning excellent user experience. While they’re typically discussed in the context of digital interfaces, these heuristics are relevant for all aspects of interaction design, including games. — In this article, I will review each of the ten usability heuristics and discuss some interesting examples of applying or deliberately breaking these rules in both computer games and boardgames.

Anyone who had the pleasure of filling out a long and complex form has likely encountered them: the last step in the process, the final chance to correct your answers before the point of no return. This seemingly common UX pattern comes with a bunch of design challenges, so let’s unpack. — What is it? The final step in a form flow that plays back all the information gathered thus far, offering the opportunity to review and edit it before submitting.

Working in a fast-paced agile environment with a focus on quick iterations and MVP milestones, teams inevitably accumulate design debt. Find out what it is, why it exists and how to deal with it. — What is design debt? A lesser-known cousin of the technical debt, this term refers to all the product design imperfection that accumulate over time. It can take many forms and cover both the product and the process:

You need a portfolio in order to get work, and you need work to grow your portfolio. Many early-career designers are caught in this catch-22 with no obvious way forward. Here are six ways to grow your design portfolio from obvious to more imaginative. — Personal projects You don’t need to get commissioned in order to do design work! If you have an idea for a new digital product or came up with a way to improve an existing one, go ahead and turn this into a case study.

The world’s largest language learning platform recently rolled out a major update to its 50M active monthly users. The new “path UI” aims to simplify the learning experience, but it comes with some major usability flaws. — I have been using Duolingo for almost a decade, which is long enough to remember that Duo didn’t always look as cute as today. Over this time, the platform underwent major changes, most of which seemed a little annoying at first, but grew on me quickly. …

Creative challenges are great opportunities to improve your craft, build portfolio and be part of a vibrant community of makers. Here are eight tips for getting the most out of the experience! — Over the past month I took part in the classic Inktober challenge which sees thousands of artists from around the world sharing their ink drawings in response to daily prompts. I’ll be honest, this wasn’t my first rodeo. …