Notes
Collection of notes about user experience design.
Shape of design
I've just started reading Frank Chimero's book. I have a strong feeling it will be a great read! Big fan of his writing, the fluidity, depth and metaphors he uses in his work. A talented writer with a dimensional thought process and a clear, authentic voice.
"Design is imagining a future and working toward it with intelligence and cleverness. We use design to close the gap between the situation we have and the one we desire. Second, design is a practice built upon making things for other people. We are all on the road together."
Learning is about changing your mind.
“Knowing has become obsolete. [ ... ] Learning has become our true currency. We’re not knowledge workers. We’re learning workers. If you aren’t actively trying to learn, no one can help you. If you make it central to your professional life, no one can stop you.”
Source: "The adaptable leader is the new holy grail - become one, hire one"
Framework thinkers
"Most companies are disorganized and chaotic. Meetings run long, with no discernible purpose and no clear action steps. Initiatives are loosely organized, following processes that are made up as they go. [ ... ] Framework thinkers are able to bring clarity to situations. Good frameworks focus everyone’s thinking, allowing the team to drown out the noise and hone in on the questions that really matter. [ ... ] You become the person who might not have all the answers, but who can consistently leverage great processes to arrive at them."
Source: The power of framework thinking on Medium
About Ambiguity
Being able to navigate effectively through uncertainty, dwelling in, and clarifying the problem space gradually in order to reach clarity, reduce ambiguity. Ambiguity is part of our job as UX designer. Embracing it, feeling comfortable with the unknown is essential for both problem-finding and solving.
Loved the course from Stanford edu on 8 core abilities to develop confidence, inspire, take risks and persevere through ambiguous and tough projects - throughout a career or even our lives!
On talking about yourself
Starting my day by reading an old article from Julie Zhuo on "how-to-talk-about-yourself-in-the-best-possible-way", which resonated with me.
I grew up in South Korea. My upbringing was heavily influenced by East Asian cultures, and being humble has always been one of the most important virtue I valued. Naturally, this had an influence on how I talk about myself - whether in a professional or personal context. This meant minimizing myself, my achievements, and my efforts, using words like "I am just a....". But, why hide or play down? Why leave out the facts of my achievements for humility's sake?
Quotes I liked from the article:
“If you’re telling a story where the facts emerge naturally, don’t try to hide or play down the awesome things you did because of modesty.”
“Get to know yourself and what your most authentic and interesting responses are for the common questions you’re asked.”
“Repeat to yourself: my story is interesting because my experiences and thoughts are uniquely mine.”
Leadership is over-glorified
"Yes it started with the shirtless guy, and he'll get all the credit, but you saw what really happened: It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader. There is no movement without the first follower. We're told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective. The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow. When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in."
Source: First Follower - Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy from Derek Sivers
Planet-centric design
From human-centric to planet-centric design. Planet-centric design is a dramatic shift in perspective. We need to move from egoism to ecosystems.
Source: What is planet centric design from Samuel Huber
Steve Jobs - The lost Interview
“People get confused; companies get confused. When they start getting bigger, they want to replicate their initial success. And a lot of them think, ‘Well, somehow, there’s some magic in the process of how that success was created.’ So they start to institutionalize process across the company. And before very long, people start to get confused that the process is the content. And that’s ultimately the downfall of IBM. IBM has the best process people in the world. They just forgot about the content. And that happened a little bit at Apple, too. We had a lot of people who were great at management process. They just didn’t have a clue about the content. In my career, I found that the best people are the ones that really understand the content. And they’re a pain in the butt to manage! But you put up with it because they’re so great at the content. And that’s what makes great products. It’s not process, it’s content.” - Steve Jobs from The Lost Interview
If a picture is worth 1000 words, a prototype is worth 1000 meetings - Tom & David Kelley
If you think of the interface as the experience, you are missing the point. Forget about the notion that experience can’t be designed, we can only design for experiences. I get it. But if we are to design FOR experiences we need to move beyond the interfaces that empower and constrain those experiences.
In the current age of Lean though, interfaces doesn’t express value. The value is not in the interface, but what the interface delivers.
I’m not suggesting that experience designers don’t need to design interfaces. Interfaces are the execution of the filming, sound, set production, etc. of our stories, [ ... ]
Source: It's not the interface that makes the experience" - Medium Article By Dave Malouf