UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
February//4//2022
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Tim O’Reilly’s Interview. Hailing from the Fast Company, this article documents an interview with Mr. Tim O’Reilly, on a variety of topics, but covering some hot subject matters such as centralization of technology, Web 3.0 and what to be expected of the near future. Web 3.0 is a term coined in 2014, by individuals associated with cryptocurrency, and as such its definition incorporates aspects deeply tied to it, while also emphasizing the whole concept of decentralizing the internet and the technology that sustains it and making the web more user specific. Well worth a read and the reflection. Highlight of the article includes:
“Web 2.0 was not a version number, it was the second coming of the web after the dot-com bust. I don’t think we’re going to be able to call Web3 “Web3” until after the crypto bust. Because only then will we get to see what’s stuck around. In 1999, you couldn’t tell whether Pets.com or Whoopi Goldberg’s Flooz currency was going to be a big winner because they all had this huge market cap. That’s a key point I keep trying to remind people of. This is why I’ve been suspicious of Web3. All anybody ever talks about is valuations. And valuation has very little to do with actual economic impacts. There were all these companies that had enormous valuations (for the time — they’d be small valuations today) that weren’t real businesses. And as soon as the capital dried up they went away. I think that we’re seeing just how much air can come out of the tires. There are going to be some things that stick around because they were real businesses. In two or three years is when I think we’ll be able to say, “This is what Web3 is” — if it’s anything.”
2.
Great Leadership and Sharing Failures. Another relevant article from Inc. Magazine on the topic of leadership, this one in particular going into the power of sharing information on failures, vulnerabilities, and lessons learnt from such situations (courtesy of author Daniel Pink). The article reinforces the topic of authenticity, but also of creating engaging conversation between teams, one that is grounded in trust and transparency. Well worth the read. Highlight of the article includes:
“Pink explains that there’s a widespread perception that when we share negative information about ourselves (our failures, our bad habits, our vulnerabilities), people will like us less. But it’s one that 30 years of research has disproven. “I think there’s something healthy about leaders talking about their regrets with their team, and then talking about what they have learned from that regret, what lesson they derive from that regret, and how they’re going to apply it going forward,” he says. Doing so might not only drive a useful conversation — but also kindle better communications in the future, as you’ve shown vulnerability as a leader. That’s a lot of positive potential from one big, blobby, amorphous emotion.”
3.
Lessons from a Rebranding. Interesting case study from Shannel Wheeler focused on a rebranding effort that took place during the course of three months. The case study exemplifies the process surrounding such initiative, and how strategy trickles into everything the teams work on. Much like Product Design, it involves much research, but also considering content, its distribution, formats, to name but a few aspects. Well worth reading and reflecting upon. Highlight of the article includes:
“There should be a reason or message behind a design. What’s the purpose of the project? When refreshing a brand, there needs to be an overall goal and vision for what you want the redesign to achieve. Design decisions should be based on business goals, research, and discovery, not simply because “we like how it looks”. For us, the current brand did not fully express the level of sophistication that the company had reached, and the superhero theme did not reflect the new products, services, and growth that we had attained. In order to be perceived differently, we had to look differently.”
