UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
October//29//2021
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Establishing a Culture of Accountability and Responsibility. Another pertinent article from Inc Magazine, courtesy of author Martin Zwilling. This pertinent article focuses on the topics of accountability and responsibility, and how these qualities should permeate across the organization and all its teams. Those 7 points include focusing on communication, providing accurate assessments, delegating control, providing a safe haven for discussion, to name but a few. All these sensical points allow for a strengthening of the team’s culture, and also of the Organization itself (ensuring further retention and growth of its talent). Worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“First of all, you need to be a role model for accountability. That means full transparency and no excuses for issues and activities that are obviously in your domain. It also means recognizing, supporting, and rewarding someone who has assumed full responsibility, and not penalizing unexpected results. For example, Starbucks’s chief executive officer, Kevin R. Johnson, was quick to accept accountability for a racial profiling incident a few years ago, rather than claim a field team member was at fault. He closed stores for a day to update employee racial-bias training.”
2.
Making Hybrid Work Arrangements Functional. The articles on this topic will continue to pop up, and while at times they touch upon similar concepts — flexibility of course — it’s still worth taking the time to read this particularly insightful one from The Next Web. The article sheds light on research that has been conducted pertaining in office versus remote work, focusing on productivity, with the latter delivering better results. The article is an interesting reflection on understanding where the strengths of each arrangement lie, and what can be effectively done to potentiate hybrid work, even considering its pitfalls (mostly tied with security concerns for instance). Highlight of the article includes:
“Meeting too often or with little purpose — that is, meeting for the sake of meeting — leads to fatigue and burnout. Not everyone needs to be at every meeting, yet finesse from management is required to make sure no one feels left out. And meeting-free days can help with productivity and allow employees a block of uninterrupted time to focus on complex projects. Listening to employees is critical to making sure the hybrid environment is working. Continually seeking feedback, through one-on-one conversations, focus groups or human resources surveys, is important too. So is recognizing and rewarding employees with in-person or virtual kudos for their achievements. Performance incentives, such as financial rewards or tokens of appreciation including food delivery, help develop a supportive culture that increases employee commitment.”
3.
A Guide to Responsive Web Design. Very thorough article from author Nick Babich on the topic of Responsive Web Design. The author details aspects such as breaking points, media queries, image formats & quality, font challenges & choices, but also compiles a series of strategic aspects to consider when crafting Responsive Driven Product Solutions. Again, it’s thorough, detailed and worth an avid read. Highlight of the article includes:
“Responsive web design isn’t just about making content fit, it’s also about creating more comfortable interactions for your users. In the case of mobile devices, typing is one of the most painful parts of the user journey.Small screens make typing hard and error-prone on mobile devices. Whenever possible, try to use pre-fill data in online forms. The great thing about mobile is that you can utilize some of its hardware capabilities.”
