Weekly roundup of UX nuggets to stay up to date in the design industry. Want updates? Sign up for the UX newsletter here.
Are UX Certifications Worth It? [Link to New Guide]
There’s a plethora of training options when a career changer enters the UX field, and UX certifications are no exception. In this post, Tara York covers the what, why, pros and cons of certifications.
Super worth the read if you’re trying to compare between all the options of getting “educated” in UX.
#badUX [The modern web is becoming an unusable, user-hostile wasteland]
To be able to create user experiences, a designer requires a few things: who the users are, some of the users’ interests, and some of the users’ habits. With that research data, content can be tailored and behavioral patterns are picked up so that the product can be better improved upon.
But the question is: At which point do we reach the breaking point? Abid Omar thinks that we are very close because slowly as we’ve been trying to make the online user experience better, we are making it more exclusive and less available. To support his thought, he cites examples from Facebook, Twitter, and Medium. To be able to gather this information, users must follow the steps to create an account to access the full features and it no longer is a fun experience.
For more grumpiness and poor user experiences, visit Grumpy Website.
Color Psychology [How the world’s ugliest color is stopping people from smoking]
Most of us are familiar with basic color psychology – calming blues, red represents danger or romance (or both!), green is healthy, etc. But what color will lean smokers off from buying cigarettes? The brownish-green Pantone 448 C – or “opaque couché”.
While this shade of brown might have been the choice to 70s couches, curtains, and wallpapers, it is no longer the case. It has since developed a very negative reputation of being associated with ‘tar’, ‘dirty’, and even ‘death’. So if you’re planning to do some remodeling, maybe consider a color besides Pantone 448 C.
#overwhelmed [The UX Buffet – How to Learn UX Without Going Insane]
The field of UX, just like other areas of tech, is constantly expanding and at times, it can be hard to keep up. And if you are new to UX, it may be overwhelming to distinguish all of the disciplines and niches. But it’s OK.
This UX Beginner exclusive explores 5 steps to get started in UX without feeling like you’re drowning in content:
- Survey the Landscape
- Know the Process
- Find your entry point
- Go deeper
- Apply your knowledge
If you’ve been working in UX for some time and notice frustration, sadness, fatigue, fear, anger, etc. You might be feeling burnout. Olga Wojnarowka writes in the UX Collective a discussion on Burnout: the ugly side of UX. Beyond the beautiful designs and great experiences, there is someone struggling for various reasons: stress, lack of interests, overwork, etc. This article could help shed some light on when it’s not butterflies and rainbows for UX designers.
Steal like an artist [Learn UI Design by Copying]
Austin Kleon’s Steal Like An Artist is a New York Times best-seller because it presents 10 transformative principles that are so backward from what we were taught in school. As a designer, UX Beginner explains why these principles make a ton of sense because you are practicing by deconstruction, training your eye, and referencing great examples.
However, once you have the fundamentals of UI design under your belt, you should consider the best practices of design. Kathryn Whiteton shares The Risks of Imitating Designs (Even from Successful Companies) in the Nielsen Norman Group because not all examples should be copied. She cites examples from Google, Apple, and Amazon to showcase that just because successful companies are designing this way doesn’t mean that their designs are 100% accessible and user-friendly.
Design Community [Dribbble Pro worth it – does it?]
Dribbble and Behance are household names when it comes to leading design communities. They both offer work opportunities and daily inspiration. It’s OK if you want to just stick to Pinterest but just know that what makes these sites stand out is work processes and case studies shared by other designers.
Dribbble is a freemium site – as a user, you need to be drafted by someone with an invite code to be able to share your work and comment. This small step is to ensure that the work being posted is worth looking at. Kanhaiya Sharma takes it a step further and discusses the Dribbble Pro Feature where you are able to transform your work into a business with more account stats and membership perks.
Designer’s Toolkit: The Design System Checklist
Design System Checklist is an open-source checklist to help you plan, build, and grow your design system. It’s a collection of best practices that have been organized into categories for you to easily plan out your system for the most efficient work.
Remote UX Jobs
Build.com is seeking a UX Designer to join their thematic product team in creating products for their customers. While this position is everything a UX designer should perform, it does ask for a basic understanding of HTML and CSS. Additionally, Github experience, as well as JavaScript, Node.js, and ReactJS experiences are a plus in this role. If you’re interested in front-end with some experience, this might be the happy medium for you!
Toggl is a team productivity time-tracker that helps you get things done! Their team is in need of a Product Designer to help them elevate the user experience of time-trackers by helping users simply increase their productivity. To apply, you’ll need to take a 20-minute test and include a portfolio link so make sure you are ready! Some perks to note are a laptop and budget for setting up your home office, support for buying tools you need for doing your best work, and opportunities for training events.
iPresence is a Canadian-based multimedia company that provides clients with marketing, design, and development solutions. They’re looking to expand their design team with the help of a Product Designer to improve current sites and apps. Please note that you’ll be designing sites and apps for the adult industry. If you are OK with NSFW (not safe for work) imagery while designer and have experience working on e-commerce sites, especially classified ad listing sites, you could be the designer they’re looking for!
Remote Senior UX Designer Positions
MondayVC is a white-label job board and talent network for venture capital funds and startup accelerators across the work. They’re looking for a Senior Product Designer to join their fast-growing team to help rebrand the company and launch many new products in 2020. Why this is a remote company operating from 7 countries, this position does as for you to be working in East Coast Time (NYC Time Zone).
SimpleTexting is a web-based platform for SMS marketing and business texting. They’re looking for sophisticated, experiences, and collaborative Product Design Lead to join their product team to guide the design process across the whole product. This position will require work output of a single design and exceptional skills in visual design.
Pachyderm is an open-source data science platform looking Senior Enterprise UX/UX Designer to product visual design that provides a satisfying experience for users. You can check out their product on Github! In this role, they are seeking a strong visual designer to also help create the foundation for visuals and brand identity.
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