UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
March//19//2021
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Showcasing Diverse & Robust Design Systems. This article from author Lillian Xiao, is a thoughtful compilation of a series of relevant Design Systems that have been built by different and renown companies on the market. Some of these Design Systems include Google’s Material Design, Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines, Salesforce Lightning Design System, Atlassian’s and Adobe’s to name but a few. It’s an article which functions as gateway of exploration to these diverse Design Systems, and a good resource to keep around when wanting to educate, or even understand the intricacies of a considerable Design System. Highlight of the article includes:
“With the help of design systems, a designer can quickly mock up a series of prototypes with ready-made UI components. A programmer can copy and paste a pre-tested code snippet to the page they’re working on. A marketer can easily find content guidelines and brand imagery to craft their email. When these efforts are combined, they result in a consistent brand identity and cohesive experience for the end customer. Design systems also require careful up-front deliberation from programmers, engineers, designers, researchers, writers, product managers, and company leadership. By codifying the most important brand values and beliefs, teams can work together more effectively through a shared vocabulary and approach to evaluating their work.”
2.
Survey Response Biases. Very interesting article from author Jack Delaney on the topic of Biases in Surveys (and research endeavors). This is particularly relevant, since surveys are an important tool to capture feedback, and therefore require a particular level of insight when crafting the questions, and defining what the expectations are from any particular engagement. The author details biases such as Acquiescence, Demand Characteristics, Social Desirability, Question Order, to name but a few, and later on addresses recommendations on how to overcome these issues. Highlight of the article includes:
“Acquiescence bias (also known as “agreement bias”) is a type of bias where people tend to agree with a statement or answer “yes” to a yes/no question regardless of what they believe. Why does this happen? Because subconsciously or not, most folks like to be seen as polite and likeable (and our memories are super unreliable.) People also tend to look for information from their own experiences to support a positive response. Lawyers deal with this often when questioning a witness. If they ask a question like “Did the man have a blue shirt on?”, even if the person doesn’t remember, data tells us people are more likely to say yes than no.”
3.
Q&A with the CPO/Co-Founder of Dishpatch. Great interview hailing from the Marvel Blog, this time around with James Terry, the Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Dishpatch. This interview is filled with insight into how Dishpatch goes about figuring out their product solutions, how Marvel plays a role in enabling their efficiency and finally how Terry envisions the Design discipline and craft evolving in the near future. This interview is well worth a read for its insight, candor and even product ties with Marvel itself. Highlight of the article includes:
“Consumer expectations of design are much higher than they used to be. Historically there were a lot of companies who had shit design and got away with it. But the tide is changing with consumers. I think everyone now feels like they should be buying from companies that have a good visual identity. For brands, good design is now almost table stakes I feel like that will become more and more commonplace. I mean, people now laugh at Microsoft because their UX is awful, their design is awful. They’ve got so many products, and it’s taken them so long to move towards a better visual identity, they literally get laughed out of the room.”
