UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
September//22//2023
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90956036/the-ai-era-of-computing-is-still-in-the-design-phase
AI and Computing. Very interesting article hailing from the The Fast Company, based on the “Design in the Age of AI” speaking engagement that was held in their Innovation Festival. The article from author Jesus Diaz covers some of the statements professed by some of the speakers, including Catherine Courage from Google, Nona Yadegar from Snap and Jason Yuan from New Computer. All these quotes give an indication to all the potential that lies with AI, and how it can impact the democratization of information, its impact with Chatbots, and as Mr. Yuan mentions in the quote below, how these relationships between computers and users can expand beyond text prompts. These are interesting insights for what may be coming, and it’s well worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“Yuan, a former Apple designer who is still developing his AI-based computing platform, believes that, in the near future, humans will form relationships with their computers that go beyond mere utility. For that reason, he thinks human language will remain the richest form of communication, and it extends far beyond a text prompt. Tone of voice, posture, gestures — all these things will play a part of communicating with an AI bot because they are part of human expression. Yuan believes chatbots will eventually be multimodal. They will be aware of your context at all times, tell you things like what lighting makes you look bad when you are trying to take a selfie, or evaluate you like any human friend might. All of these inputs will be synthesized and interpreted in real time. “Next generation hardware will do it,” he said.”
2.
New Product Experiences. Very interesting article from author Shubham Agarwal published on the Shaping Design blog, focused on the array of innovative tools that are rapidly changing users’ habits and challenging the status quo of big tech. The article highlights tools such as Arc, Coda, Shortwave, to name but a few, as examples of what emerging technology can effectively deliver to its users, changing their habits and expectations, and in the process, disrupt what big tech has been shaping and building in the last few years. Well worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“So far, Big Tech has taken either of the two approaches to compete with the wave of new, indie apps: they either borrow their best offerings, like in the case of Microsoft Loop and Google’s “smart chips,” which are heavily inspired by Notion and Coda, or they acquire startups to get a headstart, as Salesforce and Adobe did when they bought Slack and Figma, respectively. Many of these startups, Alli analyzes, have taken off because they’ve removed layers of abstraction from traditional software and built simpler experiences for users. “Such innovation sends signals to Big Tech and beyond and so the cycle continues,” she adds. Though designers like Alli are excited that UX and UI have taken on a much bigger role in product development, they believe there’s still a long way to go. What she hopes is the industry continues to “recognize the importance of this work, understand how it’s derived, and strive to create solutions and products that are more accessible, ethical and mindfully made.””
3.
Product Analytics and Digital Transformation Strategies. Another article from the Pendo Blog and author Pippa Armes, focused on the topic of Analytics as a means to empower effective Digital Transformation Strategies. While the article is obviously a plug for Pendo as a product solution satisfying this need, it’s nonetheless an actual accurate statement. Analytics and uncovering users’ journeys while utilizing a product solution is fundamental to not only understand the evolution of that same solution, but also capture further opportunities for growth and further cementing adoption. Well worth reading through, even with the obvious product plugs. Highlight of the article includes:
“Leveraging product data — and understanding the journeys your users take within your product — is a critical first step in becoming more customer-centric. And it’s not just about the number of clicks you see on a certain button within your product — it’s identifying the outcomes users are trying to reach by clicking on that button, and then optimizing their experiences accordingly. By starting with a foundation of product data, product teams can measure and validate whether the features they’re focused on are actually delivering value to users, or simply checking a box. They can use both quantitative product analytics and qualitative customer feedback to get the full picture of the user experience, and optimize or build features to solve the challenges customers are really looking to solve.”
