UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
May//27//2022
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
When and How to Use Freelancers. Very interesting article from The Smashing Magazine and author Paul Boag, on how to leverage the needs, selection and subsequent work being performed by Freelancers. The author details aspects pertaining to the motivations to bring Freelancers into the equation, how to select these professionals, how to align their expertise with the needs from the teams, and ultimately making sure their output matches the quality expected. The author also ponders on the needs to choose a freelancer versus Agency resources. Insightful. Highlight of the article includes:
“Another critical aspect of managing your outsourcing is to get the most value possible from your suppliers. Too often, people hire a freelancer or agency to push pixels or churn out code. That is a huge mistake as most suppliers have more to bring to the table. These are experts in their fields and have a lot of advice and experience. To maximize the return you get from outsourcing, encourage your suppliers to be proactive, make recommendations and even challenge you.”
2.
Redefining Success. Author Lennart Overkamp discusses on the A List Apart website how Designers should rethink how they measure success. He addresses moving from aspects/factors such as desirability and feasibility to others such as accountability, responsibility and integrity. It’s an interesting reflection since the author also highlights focusing on aspects such as equity, sustainability and well being. All of these are excellent points which align with important aspects pertaining to the impact of solutions being pushed into the market, and what is their impact on society in general, and communities less favored in particular. The larger question ultimately lies with: how can Design and effective Product Solutions bring more well being to the world, while also solving business needs. Well worth a read. Highlight of the article includes:
“There’s another important message here. Even if we set an objective to build a calm interface, if we were to choose the wrong metric for calmness — say, the number of interface elements — we could still end up with a screen that induces anxiety. Choosing the wrong metric can completely undo good intentions. Additionally, choosing the right metric is enormously helpful in focusing the design team. Once you go through the exercise of choosing metrics for our objectives, you’re forced to consider what success looks like concretely and how you can prove that you’ve reached your ethical objectives. It also forces you to consider what we as designers have control over: what can I include in my design or change in my process that will lead to the right type of success? The answer to this question brings a lot of clarity and focus.”
3.
Considerations from Founder Led Brands. Hailing from the WebDesignerDepot, this article written by Andrew Gazdecki turns out to be simultaneously inspirational and informative, but also promotional/reverential and somewhat superficial. The author provides brief insights into what makes some of these Organizations compelling, particularly the direction and principles stemming from its leaders, including Tesla, Block, Canva and Spanx, though he fails to provide a wider canvas where the not so positive points are also adequately illustrated. As it stands, it’s an interesting insight into some of the habits and philosophies of professionals who have successfully pierced through market needs to become immensely successful at what they do. Highlight of the article includes:
“Dorsey is known for optimizing ways to stay productive and focused throughout the day. He manages through unconventional tactics like communicating only through voice memos on his phone that he runs through transcription apps. He says this prevents him from being sidetracked by distractions on his computer. I think that kind of mindfulness is necessary now more than ever. Dorsey tries to bring this level of focus to his interactions with his employees too. I saw a great quote from him in this article discussing computer-less meetings at Block.“When phones are down and laptops are closed, the team can discuss any issue at hand without distraction. We can actually focus and not just spend an hour together but make that time meaningful — and if that time is 15 minutes, then it’s 15 minutes and then we move on with our lives.””
