Bill Croson

I'm in a UR, UX bubble, so I have a question about life outside... Do other specialisms in technology, for example Business Analysts or Solution Architects to name but two, debate the merits or otherwise of using AI in their work as much as the UR and UX folk? If they do, can someone point me to some points of view from outside my bubble. (if only I could be bothered to make an AI image of me in a bubble to illustrate this post.)

13

3 Comments

I've been working on some service design patterns with Dave Skinner for his project Design Patterns for social housing - https://lnkd.in/eC9p5RRv A service design map is often inaccessible - the designers will have worked hard to capture all the stages but the map will be a PDF or a diagram which doesn't easily resize to fit your phone. Your audience can't resize the text. It can't be read by screen reader software, either. As a solution: try making the map into an HTML table with two columns. For a mobile view, make each row resemble a card. Sorted! 😎 Hire interaction designers to find ways of putting content online. 😇 Transcript: 1. A numbered service stage with a representative icon Describe the stage in detail. Capture any pain points and improvement ideas. "Include verbatim quotes from research." Optional: include an emoji for how the person is feeling at this stage. Backstage - a policy or legal factor (grey) Backstage - a technical factor, such as a database (green) Time-based process (blue) Pain point or blocker (pink)

16

5 Comments

Genuine question: why isn't disambiguation seen as the standard for UI design? Isn't half our job accessibility and adjusting our design to help make the experience easy for anyone to access? We should be encouraging fonts that focus on disambiguation and readability more often. Here are some that I reference a lot: Inclusive Sans: https://lnkd.in/dfFgcCZv Atkinson Hyperlegible: https://lnkd.in/daHsTbYf Inter Variable's Disambiguation Feature: https://lnkd.in/db9C3P2C

2

Last week I put out a call to arms around entry level roles in UCD/Service Design. Here’s a summary of what I think could help next year: 🧠 Sharing knowledge: People writing more about what their organisations are doing and sharing this so others can borrow their approach. Rachel Bucknall committed to doing this, it would also be great to hear from Simon M. re the apprenticeship at HMRC. 📧 Visibility of roles: Matt Jukes has committed to sharing more entry level roles in his jobs newsletter but we need to send them to him. Let’s not avalanche him so maybe if you see something on here tag Matt. I’ll be sending anything I see his way directly.  ✏️ Opportunities to get project experience: It sounds like Adam Haesler is running a great initiative in this space and I will be personally exploring how I can offer shadowing opportunities next year. I’d be keen to hear from any other freelancers who are up for doing this alongside me. I also think there is room here for the design agencies out there to be offering (paid) placements.  💬 Access to advice: I’ve been running free walk n talks for people looking to get into the industry for years now. It looks like other freelancers like Ella Botting are keen to replicate this model and I’d love others to borrow it too. 👨‍💻 Shifting procurement: This is a biggie but a key part of the puzzle that Martin Wright, David Robson and Ray Newman brought up. Building this in as a procurement criteria, changing the narrative between suppliers and clients and agencies taking the hit were all mentioned as solutions. Things are not going to change over night, I recognise this. However it’s heartening to see the conversation start to shift from problems to solutions. I do think this is a drop in the ocean however, and some key voices are missing. So, how do we continue to make progress in this space? Do I need to ‘run a thing’ next year?! #servicedesign #ucd #entrylevel

32

11 Comments

#Wireframing seems to be a bit of a lost art these days with #Designs often seeming in a rush to reach a higher fidelity state through tools like Figma or frameworks like the GovUK #Prototype kit (https://lnkd.in/eaxNmfzk). But the benefits of working in a lower fidelity to bring forward design ideas for discussion or to allow for earlier testing can be invaluable to a Team. So, if you are interested in how #Wireframes can support the work you are doing, here is a round up of tools to make use of. ⤵ 🔸 Balsamiq - One of the pioneers in the field of digital wireframing and still producing an excellent product and set of associated resources - https://balsamiq.com 🔸 Tiny UX - A #MobileFirst wireframing tool - https://www.tinyux.app 🔸 Excalidraw - An in-browser wireframing tool that offers live #Collaboration - https://excalidraw.com 🔸 Frame0 - A new to market tool that allows you to make hand-drawn style wireframes quickly and easily. - https://frame0.app 🔸 Wire Frame Sketcher - A wireframing tool that helps #Designers, #Developers and #ProductManagers quickly create wireframes, mockups and prototypes for desktop, web and mobile applications. - https://lnkd.in/e-zxCb5U Do you use a wireframing tool not listed above? Or do you have any great tips and advice for those looking to make more use of wireframes in their design process? If so, please share in the comments. ⤵ Thanks.

6

What you need to know if you’re a designer thinking of getting into management → https://lnkd.in/eaH4jFae Design manager or design lead? 🤔 Here’s what it really looks like to take on a management role. From resourcing and stakeholder wrangling to the dreaded paperwork, this is a breakdown of the role and realities of the job. Is design management your next step? 📌 Team performance & stakeholder management 📌 Resourcing talent 📌 Crafting objectives 📌 Report performance & career progression 📌 Team cadence & schedule 📌 Meetings, meetings, & more meetings 📌 Admin

9

3 Comments

Quite often you see advertised roles for "UI / UX" going about, where user interface and experience is grouped under one title. Many designers will know that these two disciplines, whilst sharing similarities, have distinctions that are quite important and often misunderstood, particularly when it comes to UX. You see this a lot in the web3 industry and with start-ups, where it's natural that in smaller teams designers will wear many hats, however this overlap runs the risk of missing out on the beneficial aspects that UX can bring to a business, relegating it to simply a front-end concern. UX includes many disciplines under it's umbrella, such as design, research and content. However it's goals really centre around making the experience the best it can be to answer concerns set out by the business / start-up / project. For example: - Improving onboarding is a UX task, but this leads to a higher number of users on the platform, a business metric - Creating a decluttered and straightforward user journey is a UX task, but this leads to higher incoming revenue, products sold etc. and potentially beating a competitor, a win for the business - Designing intuitive patterns is a UX task, but can create trust that makes the product more predictable, encouraging users to return and use the platform, another win for the business It is easy to see where UI and visual design fit into this, however it goes beyond simply making things look good, but ultimately making them function properly. A UX designer may never work on the final visuals, a UI designer may never work on user journeys and prototyping. Joel Marsh sums up the value UX can provide for project perfectly in his book UX for Business: "Value is User First, Business Second, and Always Both." #UXDesign #UIDesign #UIUX #WebDesign #ProductDesign #Design #Startups #Web3 #Crypto #Cryptocurrency #Blockchain

9

My first blog post! Take a look at the similarities between goldsmithing and user research 👩‍🏭 👩‍💻  I'd love to hear your thoughts

23

2 Comments

📘 ‘The Materials of Service Design’ - A new book from Johan Blomkvist, Simon Clatworthy & Stefan Holmlid that explores the materials of #ServiceDesign, discussing these materials as a means to explore what service design is and could be. https://lnkd.in/eKwjQWAn https://lnkd.in/ef_k-W-R

5

A very useful and handy Accessibility Checklist For Designers (PDF: https://lnkd.in/e9Z2G2kF) by Geri Reid and Dave Musson It provides practical guidelines for integrating accessibility into design from the outset.

2

Good advice here. Having built a component library (CL) I can attest to these problems. Things can and do "go south" during implementation. CL's are great and help reduce issues, but are not bulletproof, so do not be lulled into a false sense of security when using them. Nothing is accessible until it's been tested (and even then there may still be some issues). Accessibility is a (neverending) journey, not a "one and done" deal.

25

3 Comments

I hope the introduction of the European Accessibility Act (EAA) next year will see more products and brands build up from the principles of Accessibility and inclusion first and not just nice to haves. #designsystems #designsystem #accessibility #accessibledesign #ux #userexperience #productdesign #eaa #inclusion #designcommunity #wcag

18

1 Comment

Here are some free resources for getting your head into a content design mindset: • The UK Government Digital Service (GDS) guide to content design 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e8ey8h2W • The content design section of the NHS Service Manual 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e78eZ6FM • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eU9-fMtg • Readability Guidelines from Content Design London 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ehSFubpF • Sparck's complete guide to content design for product owners 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eEGmRWUR But (hard stare) don't just bookmark them – engage with them! Read a section a day. Take notes. Practice applying these principles to content you own. And present what you've learned to colleagues – I find running informal training sessions a great way to put a fire under myself when it comes to learning. [Image description: A cube on a tower with the letter I standing for "information".] #ContentDesign #content #design

45

UX tip to give only as little as needed marketing consents (when you have to go through the form anyway, i.e. when buying tickets online or opening a bank deposit) - fast: 1. Fill in the form 2. Don't check any marketing consent 3. Submit the form (just for checking) 4. Follow the red validation (these are mandatory fields) 5. Submit the form (successfully ✅) PS It helps to navigate and speed up the process, but remember to check out what you're giving consent for!

8

1 Comment

Many people don't know that these are questions that UX Research can get deeper on. Don't put your finger in the wind and guess...get real directional insights from the people you are trying to make clients. Posting to give further reach: 1. What’s THE biggest opportunity in our roadmap, and what can we expect it to yield? 2. What are the roadblocks we’re likely to have in product adoption, and how do we optimize those now? 3. Why aren’t my users engaging with (the product) like I’d expect, and how can we influence it? 4. Who is going to pay for that (software/feature)? And what specifically can I do to motivate them to buy? 5. If we build X, how is it likely to change the KPIs our leadership cares about (DAU, conversions, etc)?

2

1 Comment

I've been mulling on the question: Are design systems too slow? So much so, I've written a blog post about it. SPOILER ALERT: We have a problem with our design system. It's too slow! A link to the blog post is in the comments. Let me know what you think.

13

3 Comments

To ensure your designs and research are well-received, analyse your internal stakeholders and develop tailored personas on them. One of the biggest challenges for UX designers and researchers is communicating their work effectively to decision-makers and having it well received. That’s where internal personas come in. Just like you create personas for users, crafting personas for stakeholders helps tailor your communication to their needs, priorities, and concerns. 🔹 Product managers? Speak their language with ROI and time-to-market insights. 🔹 Developers? Dive into technical details and feasibility. 🔹 Executives? Show them the business impact in a clear, high-level format. By understanding your stakeholders’ goals, you can align your UX presentations to their expectations, making buy-in much easier. It’s all about effective communication and talking the right points that your internal personas are interested in. At DesignOps Aligned, we help UX teams navigate these challenges by optimizing processes for better collaboration and stakeholder engagement. 💡 Want to know more? Let’s talk. #UXDesign #Stakeholders #DesignOps #UserExperience

3

The other thing I've been meaning to post about here for ages is about a talk I did for GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day). It was called "Everyone Benefits from Accessible Design" with the aim to get designers and developers at Sky understanding why we must care about designing and building websites for accessible design. Morality, Business & Legality, preferably in that order. However, the most interesting part of that project was working with a lovely Accessibility Tester at Sky who is blind. I created the presentation in Figma, which meant he wasn't able to proofread it. So I copied it all into Word, setting it up to make sure it was fully accessible for him including writing alt text to all the images, correct semantics for titles etc. It was a great learning curve for me, switching my focus to being accessible internally and not just externally. After all it's a legal requirement for both, not just where the money is...

24

4 Comments