UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
December//17//2021
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Having Unrealistic Expectations. Interesting article hailing from The Fast Company and author Herbert Lui, on the topic of Unrealistic Expectations and how they play a role in being a catalyst for many of the strategies we put in place for our professional lives and even work processes. The interesting aspect of this article, is how it ties the component of unrealistic expectations with the fact that these, at times unattainable goals, can function as an incentive to create alternative paths, directions, which allows us to get to the same destination. Flexibility/Adaptation is one of the qualities of long lasting brands, and is also something very much applicable to our own careers and paths. Highlight of the article includes:
“While it’s often important not to overestimate or delude yourself — not to constantly fake it till you make it — more important is not to underestimate yourself. Even if your vision of the future might be considered an unrealistic expectation for now, you need to start gathering the evidence, experiences, and connections you need to make it happen. Sometimes, even if there’s realistically a 10% chance of success, if it’s important enough you should give it a try. Be optimistic, but also honest with yourself. Keep the important things in mind, and steer yourself to the best outcome possible.”
2.
Cognitive Bias. Interesting article from Jon Yablonski on the topic of Cognitive Bias. While there are listings of these biases on Wikipedia, and earlier this year, there was an interesting article focused on the book from David Dylan Thomas, this article manages to summarize biases Designers have to contend with as they embark on Product Design journeys. Well worth reading through and getting more insight into what Cognitive Bias is and how it impacts Product solutions. Highlight of the article includes:
“Mental shortcuts such as the availability heuristic most commonly occur when we need to make quick decisions and therefore rely on information that is easily recalled. This falls within the category of System 1 thinking, or the mental events that occur automatically and require little or no effort. When we let this bias drive our design decisions, it can easily lead to setting goals based on what’s easy to measure (versus what’s valuable to measure) or blindly mimicking competitors as a result of ‘competitor research’.”
3.
Salary Guides. I’ve highlighted earlier this year, the Invision article on salaries in the Product Design/UX Design world, and this article hailing from author Nick Babich is a great companion to that piece. This particular article focuses not only on the nuances between different roles being considered in the market, but also the always murky subject that is salaries. Part of being a solid professional, on par with being self aware, principled, deliberate, focused and adaptive, is also knowing your worth. And how the market is trending & behaving. This article showcases some interesting insights into this topic, which you can compliment by looking at salary reports from Creative Circle, Coroflot and Vitamin T, to name but a few. Worth reading. Highlight of the article includes:
“”UX Writer” is a relatively new role in the field; it emerged as a response to the growing need to prepare user-focused content in digital products. The UX writer is responsible for the text we see in products. Well-crafted text can significantly improve the user experience of a product. Sometimes the role of UX writer mixes with the role of marketing writers, and it’s vital to understand that those are two different roles. A UX writer creates content for people who already use a product (writing content to improve the experience of existing customers). In contrast, a marketing writer is responsible for writing promotional content to attract potential customers (i.e., writing texts for ad campaigns). The role of UX writer is mainly relevant to large companies with dedicated design departments. In small and midsize companies, UX designers typically work on content.”
