Design

Option overload is the enemy of decision-making.

So much so that many users will behave in ways that actively undermine their own self-interests if it means they can avoid choosing between unclear options.

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Design

Many companies (and government agencies) assign customers ID numbers.

This is completely reasonable. At certain scale, when correctly ascertaining identity is vital, a unique identifier is a basic requirement.

But most companies don’t even try to make the user experience around ID numbers easy.

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Design

I recently designed a logo for Swish:

We wanted the logo to feel modern, yet playful, so I designed a simple icon and used a clean, iconic font.

The only problem? The word swish is relatively asymmetrical. The word ends on an ascender and has no descenders.

Ascenders are the parts of certain letters that extend above the baseline.
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Design

From a UX perspective, there are at least two kinds of nitpicking.

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Design

Too many companies view experience design as a tool for tricking users into doing things they wouldn’t do otherwise.

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Design UX Engineering

Prototyping is a key job for ux engineers and product designers. But with an endless list of prototyping tools to choose from, it can sometimes be hard to know where to start.

This post compares the top prototyping tools of 2019.

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Design UX Engineering

Many designers overlook one of the best features of Sketch: prototyping.

Prototyping in Sketch is a quick, in-app alternative to tools like InVision, Marvel, and Adobe XD. And if you already own Sketch, it’s free.

Here’s a quick guide to building your first Sketch prototype in just 5 minutes.

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Design

Many design thinkers have written about decision fatigue.

The more choices a user needs to make, they argue, the less likely they are to complete a task.

Often, this is true. Users find endless choices without clear differences overwhelming.

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Design

I often see new product designers make the mistake of placing undue emphasis on demographics.

“This product is is for millenials.”

The problem this creates is that it inherently makes discussions vague. Demographic groups are rarely useful in product discussions because members of demographic groups rarely move as blocks.

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Design

How much confusion, frustration, and angst can be attributed to this single little message?

Is this the most emotionally charged UI element in history?

Seen 11:23pm.

Sometimes a UI element is more than just a UI element. Sometimes you introduce functionality with unintended consequences. Sometimes your work causes actual harm.

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