Many businesses start with the end-point in mind; “We need a mobile app or a mobile website!” They do not consider why their users would want it. Having a mobile website or app isn’t the key to success—you must provide value to your users. When you take a user- and task-centered approach to mobile (
Heuristic evaluation is the activity of using a set of guidelines (heuristics) to evaluate if an interface is user-friendly. Let’s look at what heuristics are and how you can conduct a heuristic evaluation to improve the usability of your designs.What are Heuristics?“Heuristics” simply means guideli
The term “case study” sounds a little boring, doesn’t it? What if, instead, it were called a “design story”? Well, that’s exactly how you should think of it! Approach your UX/UI design case studies like stories, not just a list of tasks you completed. You will not only make your portfolio easier and
Have you ever read and re-read something over and over and still didn’t understand it? Unless it was a book on advanced nanoengineering, it probably wasn’t your fault. Much of the writing you will read in your life will be unnecessarily complex or vague. Surprisingly, however, it’s easy to write eff
One of the biggest challenges facing designers is how to begin and how to further their design education. Do you go for the university degree or book-learning or e-learning or pay for classroom learning? While we all have some natural preference for one (or more) of these learning methods, one thing
Storytelling breathes life into design. It turns design documentation into design adventures. If you can absorb recruiters in the narrative of your portfolio, they won’t want to put it down. A compelling story will lead to more interest, more job offers, and better positions. That’s why you should t
If you already have an online UX/UI design portfolio, do you need a PDF version? The answer is – yes; it is better to be safe than sorry! Some hiring managers like to see a more detailed PDF portfolio after reviewing your online portfolio, while some job applications may request an upload instead of
You’re new to UX design and on the hunt for your first job. You face a familiar paradox—to get a job, you need a portfolio, but to build a portfolio, you need a job. So, how do you solve the problem? It’s simple—even without UX experience, you can easily create job-landing case studies for your port
When it comes to any school of thought surrounding a new concept – there comes a point when there is a body of “accepted knowledge”. That body of knowledge then becomes sacrosanct and instead of being treated as a guide to inform our work – it becomes practical dogma. It is worth challenging such my
As designers, we can use color to guide our users in the right direction to accomplish a task effectively and efficiently. But some designers who focus more on their company’s needs than their users’ can twist things so that colors turn into a bewildering nightmare, hiding buttons and information us
As UX designers, we have a lot on our plates. The term “UX Unicorn” exists for a reason. We are responsible for our clients’ goals as well as our users’ needs. You might ask then, why should you think about Accessibility in your UX Design process?Imagine going into a design workshop and telling your
For as long as we’ve been running the Interaction Design Foundation, we’ve been asked many of the same questions: for example, “I know nothing about UX Design; can I still benefit from your courses?”, or, “Can I use my graphic design experience to become a UX Designer?”.Rather than answering these c
Don’t Make Me Think is the title of a book by the HCI and Usability engineer Steve Krug. It teaches UX designers how to deliver great user experiences in a very simple and accessible way. Since its release in the year 2000 it has become one of the defining texts in the industry and an invaluable gui
It’s fairly safe to assume you want your products to actually work, right? Then you need to start the design process with empathy — one of the most important elements in both design thinking and the wider area of human-centered design. But what is empathy exactly, and why is it so vital? Let’s take
What does a UX designer actually produce? Here’s a map of the most common UX deliverables, the things you'll make day to day, from early research through testing and launch. You won't make all of the deliverables from day one, and you’ll most likely not make them alone, so think of this as a guide t
Most designers are familiar with non-disclosure agreements. Usually, your employer asks you to sign such an agreement to prevent you from revealing confidential information. But when you write your UX case studies, your NDAs suddenly seem like an obstacle. How should you write about your design proj
The SCAMPER method helps you generate ideas for new products and services by encouraging you to ask seven different types of questions, which will help you understand how you can innovate and improve existing products, services, problems and ideas. Here, you’ll learn how to use the method. SCAMPER i
Hybrid apps offer versatility across different operating systems, and web apps boast simplicity in development. However, certain users tend to have a better experience on native mobile apps. Since every type of app has different use cases, we will discuss the critical aspects of choosing between nat
The mobile web means many opportunities for start-ups, from bootstrapped home-based ventures to those with venture capital funding. But where do you start to get the ideas to build that first app? According to Steve Blank, you get out of the building. Only when you meet and understand potential cust
Now that we’ve started covering the topic of proportion in design (beginning with the Golden Ratio article), let’s look at another vital subject. Getting a firm grasp of the Rule of Thirds will empower you to fine-tune your eye to bring out the best of the elements in your design by placing them whe
