UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
June//23//2023
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
New Pay Transparency Regulations. Very relevant and pertinent article on the topic of pay transparency and regulations that got passed in the EU, aiming to bringing the inequalities in salaries to a halt. The article from Sandra O’Connell published on The Next Web essentially states that EU organizations have to share information on how much they’re paying men and women for work of equal value and take action if there’s indeed a gap. The aim for pay transparency has gotten a much needed boost since the pandemic, and it represents a clear attempt at bringing fairness to a topic that has long been voraciously kept out of discussion. Well worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“Such inequity has lifelong consequences. Unequal pay not only puts women at greater risk of poverty during their working life, it also contributes to the EU’s pension pay gap, which currently stands at 30%. The new rules make it compulsory for employers to inform job seekers about the starting salary or pay range of advertised positions, whether in the vacancy notice or ahead of the interview. Employers will also be prevented from asking candidates about their pay history. Making an offer based on pay history only perpetuates the wage gap. Once in a role, workers will be entitled to ask employers for information about average pay levels (broken down by sex) for categories of employees doing the same work or work of equal value.”
2.
Wikipedia Redesign. Another great article from The Smashing Magazine, this time around authored by Geoff Graham, who conducted an interview with Alex Hollendar and Jon Robson, both of whom led the project of redesigning Wikipedia. It’s a great case study showcasing what prompted the timeliness of the redesigning, alongside other aspects such as scalability (Wikipedia is more than just one single website), considerations on legacy of the brand itself, teams involved in the process, among many other topics. It’s one of those fantastic interviews where there’s a fair in depth analysis of what went into the redesign, with considerations on typography being discussed as well. Worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“So it’s not like something was severely broken, or data was pointing us towards a specific problem or opportunity. There were a few concrete things we knew could be improved, but the driving force was Nirzar’s intuition regarding some of these larger things. He had a great relationship with the Chief Product Officer, Toby Negrin, and our team’s Product Manager, Olga Vasileva, and found an opportunity to get the project started. And because it can be somewhat difficult to articulate these sorts of intuitions, Nirzar, Olga, and I made a little design sprint to help others envision and understand the types of changes we could start with and where they might lead us.”
3.
Effective Card Sorting. Another pertinent article from People Nerds, the dScout design blog, focused on Research. This article from Nikki Anderson-Stanier, focuses on all the details pertaining to Card Sorting. Which types of exist (Closed, Open, Mixed), which one to adopt, Moderated versus Unmoderated, Online versus in Person, the process of creating the cards, running the session and finally analyzing the results. It’s a thorough article which demonstrates the power this research technique has and the value it brings. Well worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“Would you feel comfortable and confident in defining terms, concepts, and categories for your users? Have you conducted previous research that would help you correctly identify those terms, concepts, and categories? If yes, you can then use closed-card sorting to evaluate the patterns better. If you are starting from scratch, or don’t feel confident in creating cards, I recommend going with either open or mixed-card sorting to first understand how users define these areas. Then you can follow up with a closed-card sorting after that. If you know that some concepts are validated, but others not, then go for the hybrid. If you want to go all out discovery, open will suit you best.”
