UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
April//21//2023
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Using Color. Highlighting this great article from Kelley Gordon published on the Nielsen Norman Group website on the topic of Color and its application in Product Design (and storytelling). The author pointedly explains the baseline of color (the color wheel) followed by a quick explanation on color theory, including harmonies (colors that are analogous, complementary, split-complementary, triadic, monochromatic). There are also recommendations on how to use color, namely being selective about the number of colors utilized (3 is the number recommended) and its hierarchy. Which when it comes to Product Design is both sensical and pragmatic. Worth reading and saving. Highlight of the article includes:
“While there is a plethora of popular articles on the internet that will elaborate on the meaning of various colors, there is little real research that proves a universal effect of a particular color on emotions. In general, while with the advent of globalization certain colors may have achieved standard meanings (e.g., red for stop, green for go), it is safest to assume that color interpretation will vary from culture to culture. For example, what’s the color of money, red (China) or green (USA)? Also, keep in mind that some individuals may not be able to distinguish between certain colors due to color blindness. If you are aiming for an interpretative meaning of colors in your design, then (a) be aware that it will likely not work worldwide and (b) run additional user testing to make sure that your color interpretation matches that of your users.”
2.
Information Visualization. Interesting look through the major milestones which the discipline of Information Visualization has experienced throughout history. It’s a brief article which also serves as a preamble for the Interaction Design Foundation’s course on this topic, but it’s a healthy reminder that users’ needs in terms of consuming information have evolved, and with it the need for the information representation to be constantly refined (including being more parsable and easy to consume). Highlight of the article includes:
“Then in the late 1950s and 1960s the adoption of the programming language, FORTRAN, which was the first “high level” language began to enable the creation of computer processed statistical data — greatly increasing the volumes of information to be processed. FORTRAN would move with the times and remain a language long after the original punch card entry systems (see below) were obsolete. In the late 1960s the process of creating information visualizations by computer was underway and the first statistical applications began to emerge in the early 1970s.”
3.
50 Best Workplaces to Grow a Career in the US. The Linkedin Team has been publishing this list for the past 6 years, and this year the 50 Organizations that bubble to the surface, include a roster of the usual suspects such as Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Accenture, to name but a few, all of which seem to have been going through their volatile existence moment which includes series of considerable layoffs (interestingly enough, Meta doesn’t appear on this list). The Linkedin team managed to pepper this list with insightful information on each Organization listed, including their stance on remote work, locations and how they focus on upward mobility. Highlight of the article includes:
“Our methodology uses LinkedIn data to rank companies based on eight pillars that have been shown to lead to career progression: ability to advance; skills growth; company stability; external opportunity; company affinity; gender diversity; educational background and employee presence in the country. Ability to advance tracks employee promotions within a company and when they move to a new company, based on standardized job titles.”
