Hello UX enthusiasts! When I started in UX Design, I was driven by the passion for creating simple solutions for the user. I thought everything should be truly "user-focused." And I am still driven by the goal of simplifying solutions. But something has changed. If we only focus on one specific area, we become experts. My clients turn to me for a quick "expert opinion" and "best practices". But: UX design is more than just “best practices”. The truth is, UX design is way more complex than...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hello my dear, Our industry keeps us on an ever-changing journey. According to this NNG survey, continuous learning is something that attracts most UX designers to their jobs. However, one thing doesn’t seem to change: integrating UX and usability work stronger in various organizational projects. This in-depth study on UX Professionals’ Work Practices, published in the Journal of User Experience Volume 15 (2020), captures some interesting findings. How do we grow our UX impact? UX design,...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Feedback is food for growth Getting feedback on your design solution is a crucial aspect of a UX designer's work. Wether you collect input from your design team, from stakeholders or clients - you have probably found yourself in feedback sessions many times. Feedback is important for us to grow and stay creative. But not every feedback session is productive or provides a useful outcome. Here are some tips on how to make the most out of your sessions: Tips for synchronous feedback I find...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Kick-off meetings: the evergreens They are part of every new project and they define a new beginning: kick-off meetings. The best kick-off meetings I attended were longer working sessions. They would involve the team to dive in, get their hands dirty, start to interact with each other. Most of the kick-off meetings I attend are very much the opposite: they are a lengthy form of saying hello to each other and talk about some communication and project management principles. The biggest...
4 months ago • 2 min read
How do we collaborate in difficult environments? Collaboration is such an important element in product design. Establishing and maintaining a harmonious relationship within a team can be a complex challenge. Remember the last time you had to or wanted to work with other people but struggled to connect or to get things going? As a consultant working constantly with new teams, I have experienced a lot of difficult teamwork situations. What can we do to overcome initial challenges and build a...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, my beautiful friends and fellow designers (or those who want to be designers). How do you grow in your career? It starts with your mindset Your thoughts define your behaviour. So, when we talk about growth, we also have to look at our mindset. Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? In Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck describes the two belief systems: a fixed vs a growth mindset. With a fixed mindset, you believe in limited abilities and that you can't do...
4 months ago • 2 min read
How do we measure UX impact? I got into the field of customer-centred design as a usability consultant back in 2004. As a usability consultant, you do a lot of testing - and you measure. You measure task completion rate, the time it takes to complete a task, the number of errors, and the perceived satisfaction. Coming from a cognitive & behavioural science background, this made a lot of sense to me initially. We have some hypotheses (our product will make our customer's lives easier through...
7 months ago • 1 min read
Solving the wrong problem Hi friend, I want to share a little story: A longstanding client of mine struggled with their online sales: they saw a constant decline over a year. They updated and tweaked the website, but it didn't change much. They set up a roadmap and collected a bunch of ideas on what to change over the next 12 months. Because they had so many initiatives, they were looking for external help - and reached out to me. I was asked to help with the redesign of their mobile app,...
10 months ago • 4 min read