Doug Collins

UX research design takes the guesswork out of design decisions and puts customer-sourced data and information at the core of your processes. #UXResearch #DesignIndustry #Data

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If you are a UX Researcher (or just in UX) and curious about how to put together a good portfolio, this article sheds some light on the topic and has some great examples to use as inspiration.

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The fee for standing on another's shoulders is making our own shoulders wide enough to climb on. Generalize that component, Document that design decision, Name that entity, You know #DesignSystems #Documentation #ProductDesign #workflow

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Figma’s ConFig ’24 released several new features that caused many to continue to sing their praises. However, there is a trend their business model that is problematic. New features are initially available to all in beta. Once the feature goes into production, there will be a charge to use the new feature. Figma seems to be building an a la cart feature menu creating a nickel and dime growth strategy. The problem is that Figma has already surpassed the exorbitant pricing of Adobe products. Has Figma considered the full spectrum of their user base? While some enterprises may be able to float that price tag (For managers, it still can be a hard sell for budget approval), small businesses and independent designers will find the cost to be challenging or prohibitive. While Figma may generate some initial profit, it may not work in the long-term once the romance is gone.

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✨ It's not about the artifact, it's about the insight. ✨ Heidi Trost shares her experience with personas that made an impact. 📝 Instead of complex deliverables, she focused on capturing core insights in a few simple phrases in an infographic. These insights tied behaviors to business goals – and that’s what resonated. 📊 It wasn’t about how it looked, but how well it communicated across the team. 🌟 #UXResearch #BusinessGoals #EffectiveCommunication

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Worth reading through this article on the ever important topic of Accessibility. https://lnkd.in/e8JamZSS #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Highlighting my new article on the timeliness of the Design Process and the standards that drive its evaluation. https://lnkd.in/ee_X-kqP #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui #ai #genai 

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Interesting article on the topic of recommendations on enhancing mixed research methods. https://lnkd.in/e2JpVSKR #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui #ai #genai 

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Interesting article on the topic of Customer Experience and leveraging more than Net Promoter Scores to improve client experiences. https://lnkd.in/ezeN_NDC #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui #ai #genai 

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A new issue of my newsletter on Design, Innovation and Technology is out now. Please check it here: https://lnkd.in/efAhckE3 #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Interesting integrations of AI into Adobe's InDesign product. https://lnkd.in/e3h-5uq4 #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Interesting article on the differences between Product and Web Design. https://lnkd.in/er2Xrp4P #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui #ai #genai 

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Names are incredibly powerful. Learning the names of things is how we begin to communicate as humans. Names empower objects with purpose and meaning. It is no different in UI. Layouts will often require many divs and containers. When designing a layout, I’ve found it helpful to slow down and think about why I’m creating a new frame in the first place. Giving a UI element a name helps with my own understanding of what its purpose is. Not only that, but a well-named and organized layer list acts as its own documentation that both designers and developers will appreciate. #figma #uidesign #designtips

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As a VA Lighthouse Alumn, I cannot say enough positive things about Dave and how incredibly impactful this opportunity is. AMA about building the developer experience at the VA. VA’s digital transformation strategy https://lnkd.in/gjPsBBsv

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I recently wrote about design system metrics, including adoption. Adoption can be pushed as a mandate. Having seen hundreds of design systems up close Dan Mall points out that there is no definitive evidence that high adoption doesn’t hurt. But, it certainly doesn’t differentiate between useful design systems and that frankenstack monster that has documentation in Excel with hundreds of links to a private Git repo along with multiple swim lanes with infinite scroll. The only reason why adoption persists as a common metric is because even really bad design systems have the ability to generate significant value. Full article in the comments.

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I talk about quality of outcome not being defined by prescriptive rigidity of process in my new talk "Design is 'Connection' Made Manifest." In one instance—as part of a case study on an enterprise-level product design process my team worked on—I reference personas, ultimately as a metaphor for giving a "soul" to a process. For example: connecting with those who will ultimately engage with what we're creating to better understand their needs, rather than letting AI prescriptively articulate perceived pain points along a journey. In the talk, the metaphor is used toward a hiring capacity, on a person's first day: where we can give a "soul" to the process of welcoming a new employee by designing a bespoke—empathetic—experience (see 'The New Day One' from my first book "Cultivating a Creative Culture"). We've all been that person on a first day where expectations from interview process promises did not align to the experience and environment we tangibly stepped into. As such, we want to demonstrate in actions over words our values and respect for this person who is joining our team. After giving the new talk at Seattle Design Festival last month, a recent University of Washington graduate in the audience asked me a question about personas in that metaphor I used (see the video clip below)—some of their professors effectively said personas are a great tool, others said the exact opposite. My answer was essentially this: it's about driving the most effective outcome, rather than how the "means" ultimately materializes. Connecting with those who will engage with what we create, understanding their needs and challenges, and ensuring they're advocated for along the way is what's paramount ("personas can be fine" as the aggregate of those values, was my immediate 2 cents). Being more strategic about the "why" and "what", less prescriptive about the "how." Going further, this mindset echoes my take on tooling: we're bigger than our digital tools. We're not defined by our tools. As long as I've led design organizations—and now via my own design organization in Anomali by Design—"how we get there" is less defined / "enforced" by rigidity of process. We're not dropping the stone tablets on the table at the onset of an engagement and chiseling our precise steps or selected tools, in advance, into granite. Whatever drives the objectively highest quality, all-living-things-centric, most goal-aligned outcome is what's to be cultivated. Respected. And as an actions-based and hierarchical leader: to be supported at the client and organizational (timing / expectations-setting) and team (support / needs) levels. Ensuring we're *able* to have the necessary time to cherish this malleability as an essential part of our ethos and process. More on these themes next month (Oct. 10th) for the "studio version" of my talk at AIGA Design Conference: https://lnkd.in/gaygHpes #productdesign #ux #designconference

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Interesting read on the topic of "defending" the Design process. https://lnkd.in/eUB9f83J #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Worth re-reading this article on Commitment Levels that users have with products/services. https://lnkd.in/e4NSce83 #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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