UI/UX Articles And Interesting Tidbits Of The Week
March//20//2020
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Remote Onboarding Practices. With the world in general attempting to secure and save lives, while mapping out strategies to overcome this tremendous challenge to everyone’s health and well being, the hiring processes have continued to evolve to reflect the ever changing reality. This article from The Fast Company, sheds some light and provides some good hints on how to successfully onboard new team members. Effective onboarding processes are fundamental not just from a Product Design perspective (since they translate into higher levels of adoption and retention from clients), but also from a team integration perspective (as the article suggests, onboarding is a crucial aspect playing a role in individuals assessing if there’s longevity in that engagement or not). Highlight of the article includes:
“While information sharing and engagement are certainly important, it’s important to balance it against the employee’s personal motivations, learning behaviors, and professional development goals. Be realistic and streamline the number of activities so that the onboarding process puts them on the path to long-term satisfaction and engagement. Use online tools, including scheduling software, internal communications platforms, and videoconferencing tools to make sure the important onboarding meetings happen virtually. But more importantly, keep the meetings as focused, engaged, and productive as possible.”
2.
Cross Cultural Design. Interesting article hailing from A List Apart. It specifically tackles the issues revolving around localization, specifically from a typographical perspective. When building multi-cultural products, which contemplate localization, choosing a font that renders multiple languages becomes a fundamental part of that process. This article provides some pertinent considerations, resources and examples to further cement this topic. Highlight of the article includes:
“Another common design tool you should consider is webfonts — fonts specifically designed for use on websites and apps. One of the main selling points of webfonts is that instead of putting text in images, clients can use live text on their sites, which is better for SEO and accessibility. They are simple to implement these days, a matter of adding a line of code or checking a box on a templating engine. The easiest way to get them on your site is by using a service like Google Fonts, Fontstand, or Adobe Fonts.”
3.
Redesign Exercises. Highlighting an article from a few years ago, which still resonates. The author tackles the topic of fictitious redesign work, and how these types of projects end up being more harmful than actually productive. That being said, he does indicate there is a small percentage of these that are worth considering, but the essence of the article veers towards: understand what the essence of UI/UX and Product Design is about. Re-Design efforts can take many shapes and outcomes, but for professionals who tackle these, keep in mind that you should describe what you’re setting out to do, the reasoning for what you’ve done, and the process by which a solution was achieved. Filing some of these initiatives under “UI/UX Exercises” can at times be a disservice for the organization or professional who produced that output. It can demonstrate a lack of depth, or understanding of a process, or disregard for testing or users. Worth reading! Highlight of the article includes:
“UI/UX work is not just about creating a beautiful picture. It’s about addressing your clients’ needs by providing new experiences for users and inspiring them to take action. It’s vital to do your research, discuss ideas with product managers, understand business needs, and check your assumptions. Only after all of that can you begin drawing. Let me explain why lazy redesigns are not good PR for you, how to compile an impressive portfolio without doing silly work, and where to find real-world experience on projects that make the world a better place.”
