The things we use and consume may satisfy the first four levels of needs in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but they will never provide us with the characteristics, outlined below, which help us identify the attainment of self-actualization. Take all the safety, love, etc. you like; for all their impor
To improve the chances that your design will engage an audience, we must focus on how it can stand out. To do that, we need to know who our audience is. There’s no room for “everybody” when we’re targeting: far from it, so we split “cultural groups” into many divisions or co-cultures and aim at thos
Factors specific to the things we use in our everyday lives influence how we feel when we are using them. It is, therefore, the role of designers to both understand how we are affected by the products they design, and how they can be developed to (on a small scale) improve the associated user experi
Carrying out user interviews can be chaotic! You must handle a lot of things at once to ensure that your participants are comfortable and that you get valid results. You must listen to what your participant is saying while also keeping track of where to go next, which questions you haven’t asked yet
A freelance and business-to-business contract sets out the relationship between a business owner and client. Knowing how to draft a contract is one of the most important skills a freelancer and entrepreneur must have – a contract protects both the business owner and the client when it is well-design
We’ve found five great inspirational websites for freelancer designers – these can provide insight into how to construct your own website and online portfolios. However, please don’t copy them but rather seek to emulate things that you think work well.RadiumCosmin Daniel Capitanu of Romania runs Rad
We all have weaknesses; no one is born with all the strengths and characteristics required to run a successful business. So how do you overcome your own weaknesses? The trick is to use three simple methods to deal with those weaknesses. These methods will significantly increase your chances of succe
Don’t focus your marketing efforts on “buy from me”; it’s irritating, and it doesn’t work. Look to tell a story that embodies your customer’s worldview and the sales will come. Authenticity and believability play a key role in this. A marketing story is a way of conveying complex and intangible idea
In this, the second part of our examining Gestalt principles, we’ll look at another Law – the Law of Proximity. This one is especially useful as it deals with how our eyes and brains draw connections with design images. Of course, connecting is also important to us – that’s what we want to make happ
Let’s End the Year on a High: Get 25% off UX Courses for the Whole of 2020.The end of the year brings about a time of reflection, appreciation, and forward planning. You might review what you’ve achieved over the past 12 months… or think ahead to your goals for the upcoming year, for instance. Alter
A big part of a UX Designer’s career is spent communicating his/her findings to other members in a UX team. But to make a career in UX design, one type of communication you will have to master is the ability to showcase your design skills to the people who are likely to hire you. To achieve this, UX
Pricing freelance and business-to-business work (B2B, i.e., business that is conducted between companies, rather than between a company and individual consumers) can be very hard when you’re just getting started. Charge too little, and you’ll starve; charge too much, and you won’t get enough work. Y
The design team behind the Interaction Design Foundation got a chance to review UXPin – a collaborative UX Design tool – and here is our review (spoiler: it’s awesome!)To fully appreciate a tool like UXPin, it’s important to understand the context in which it exists. With the digital revolution rapi
In the Ideation stage, design thinkers spark off ideas — in the form of questions and solutions — through creative and curious activities such as Brainstorms and Worst Possible Idea. In this article, we’ll introduce you to some of the best Ideation methods and guidelines that help facilitate success
Mobile platforms are both limited in terms of their user input and also, in other ways, vastly superior to traditional laptops and desktops. Designing apps or web sites for mobile means taking into account the differences in the way that users can interact with a device and shaping the experience of
Whether you're contemplating a transition into UX Design, or considering the next stage of your UX career, the biggest question you'll face is that of what your next step should be. It can be daunting to find an answer to this question, especially when technology moves faster than you can keep track
Ever wondered how you can get greater support for UX design within your organization? Ever considered a mid-career transition into design? Ever worried that your design skills might come up short when you work with unfamiliar new technology? These are common concerns in the UX design industry, but i
One of the most exciting things about designing virtual and augmented reality experiences is all the things you’re able to do as a designer. You can take advantage of all of the user’s senses in design, you can create first-person stories, and you can overlay reality with any virtual object you can
Whenever you design something new – be it an interface, service or a product– you should start with a plan for what you want the user’s experience to be like. Having a clear goal for what you want the user to feel and achieve during the interaction will help guide you through the myriad of different
This is a question we hear a lot. Unfortunately there’s no simple answer to this question. Firstly, that’s because there’s no globally agreed definition of the two terms. That means that our explanation often needs to change depending on the user’s perspective. Secondly, it’s also because there’s a
