Cory Watilo

I'm still thinking about Dovetail's AI release from last month... ...because I think it's one of the best examples we have of the power of agentic UX. It's not that any one feature is supremely valuable. Imagine if Dovetail had just shipped one of these features, like suggested highlights 🥱. That would have been a snooze. (This is how most companies are approaching AI UX right now.) Instead, Dovetail looked at each step of the user journey and figured out how an AI agent could pull cognitive weight 💪 from end to end. 💪 ✨ Magic Transcribe ✨ Magic Summarize ✨ Magic Highlight ✨ Magic Cluster ✨ Magic Search Yes, it makes implementation more complicated. But we know the power of a holistically designed experience: the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Together, these features transform the UX from a solo SaaS endeavor into a partner-based journey. Dovetail's features are still early-stage (they acknowledge the quirks), but it gives us a vision for the future of agentic UX. And boy, do we need a collective intuition for what that looks like. Two other predictions about the agentic future of UX: 1️⃣ I don't think an AI agent has to autonomously take actions on the user's behalf to be defined as an "AI agent." Every experiences will blend autonomous actions and passive support...based on the user's comfort and difficulty of the task. 2️⃣ I don’t think it matters if the AI agent is labeled as an “agent” or if it exists as a collection of unbranded agentic features. (As long as agentic workflows are supporting throughout the user's journey.) ----- Follow Empathy & AI for more ✨ Research, Design, Humanity in the AI era. ✨ ----- #innovation #userexperience #ai #artificialintelligence #genai #humancenteredai

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Specifically for SaaS companies👇 Nobody wants to mess up their agency decision. The difference between GOOD and a BAD agency... → It’s rarely of good design quality. Bad agencies often offer: → Trendy design → Subjective approach → Little to no reporting → Slow response times → Bad communication → No project management → No action plan to fix issues Good agencies often offer: → Functional design → Data-driven approach → Detailed daily reporting → Same-day response times → Good communication → Good project management → In-depth action plan to fix issues Key point: The level of service delivery can often be the same/similar when you're looking for an agency. It’s more about how the agency communicates and how the service fixes problems for your business. Remember that. Anyhow, hope this helps someone! Repost if so. ♻️ 

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One thing I noticed: People don't buy **just** shiny objects. It has to solve a problem (or a pain) Having low CTA influence? Remake the CTA section. Losing readers when they open your platform? Remake the structure - make it intriguing. Low return rate? Re adjust the brand/positioning. Okay okay, let's put it in simple terms: You have a 2 door sporty coupé (normal CEO startpack) All of a sudden (or not) you realize you have 3 kids. You go and buy a 7-seat SUV (just in case 😉 ) Yea it may not be a great looking one, compared to your coupe, But this SUV - it's essential for your family. You didn't buy it because it had heated Alcantara seats. Nor did you buy it because of the "2023 model 10% off sale". You absolutely needed it. See where I am going? Comment "yes", and I will give your website a 30min audit.

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Etsy was recently seen A/B testing AND eventually shipping a more visible search with the help of a higher contrast orange background button color (instead of a ghost-like icon only approach). Full screenshots: https://lnkd.in/gVJThW3W Now I don't work for Etsy (as much as I'd love to design some experiments for/with them) so we can't see the actual numbers beyond this feint probabilistic residue from the public domain. However, the amazing Andrey Andreev who runs experiments at Metro recently ran a very similar one and shared a solid result on GoodUI - with a positive impact to sales and searches. N = 896,009 SRM Check = Pass p-val on Increased Sales = 0.0139 (I know some people might like this to be even lower for a primary metric; but there is also reinforcing evidence on increased searches with an even lower p value at "ultra stat-sig" levels using Ron Kohavi's language; p < 0.00000001). I inverted the a/b test and categorized it under the Filled Vs Ghost Button pattern - further weakening the ghosts and strengthening the high contrast filled button styles on multiple metrics. https://lnkd.in/gmD8Exvc Thanks Andrey for a somewhat of an unintended replication, as I know your source of inspiration came from somewhere else on this one. :) Have you tested anything similar or different. If so, what did you discover? I'd be super curious to see more examples where increases to search have either ❌ failed or ✅ succeeded. Please share independent of outcome. ps. We also have a handful of similar "visible search" experiments where companies tested adding or hiding search: https://lnkd.in/gvWqzrK5 - further supporting this direction. [EDIT]: Note the additional confounders / variables in the Metro test - a stronger border, a change in background color of the search box as per Jakob Nielsen comment. They may be similar along the lines of the increased visibility theme - but possible additional variables nevertheless. #experimentation #ecommerce #replication #optimization #ui #ux

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I flag brand integration as a critical skill for product designers to develop–it’s a versatile ability to add to your skill set. I’m not talking about learning how to create a brand (logo, color palette, typography, etc.). The skill I advocate designers to cultivate involves the ability to assess and understand all attributes of an existing brand–visual identity, voice/personality–and skillfully integrate those elements into the product experience. Do this, and you add tremendous marketability to yourself because you will know how to ensure that marketing's brand-led first impression will make a seamless handoff to the product experience. We’re in a state where, like Moore’s Law, there is exponential growth in the importance of branding for all businesses, not just corporations. If you know how to wield it in the design of the product experience, you will distinguish yourself.

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Figma's pricing makes no sense for agencies that work collaboratively with clients. Even if they aren't making edits, to see dev mode a user must have a paid design seat. 🤦‍♂️ Even if they pay for an account themselves, you need to pay for them again to have edit access to your file 🤦‍♂️ Very shady way of doubling up on fees - the opposite of what originally was a huge driver of Figma's success. Do better, Figma

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I'm giving away a FREE in-depth UX audit! If your website or mobile app is a bit...well, clunky, and your users get lost or frustrated trying to find what they need, I will help you with that for free. I'm launching a new UX audit tool called Guidesight, and I'm looking for a brave business to test it out. What's in it for you? 💫 A free in-depth look at your platform's usability (fancy way of saying "how easy it is to use") 📊 Actionable insights on how to make your website a user-friendly conversion machine! 🤙 Bragging rights for being an early adopter of a super cool new tool Interested? Drop a comment below with "Free UX Audit"! And if you know someone who might benefit, share this post with them!

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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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With Adobe, Figma, and others adjusting policies to support the training of LLMs (which you can totally opt out of btw), it's interesting to witness the design zeitgeist recognizing how business goals influence designers and the importance of data integrity in design. Taking it a step further by replacing "designer" with "human" allows us to connect with everyone we design products for. The practice of design operates at the intersection of business and human activity, a concept we are on the brink of internalizing at a profound level. Embed this and act accordingly! #businessvalue #dataintegrity #design #ux #productdesign #ai #llm #figma #adobe

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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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Are you considering hiring an Agency to design (or redesign) your website, app, SaaS or enterprise product? Don't skimp on UX. "UX" gets thrown around a lot these days. How can you be sure you're not just paying for a buzzword when reviewing an agency quote? Here are some of the key qualifiers I use when helping teams evaluate an agency partner: 1. Decision-Making Process - Understand Their Approach: The terminology they use is less important than their approach. Ask for a walkthrough of their process from start to finish to understand the "how" and the "why." - Speak to Key People: Ask to speak directly with the strategy and design lead. This could be one or multiple people in a Strategy, UX, or an equivalent role. 2. Past Project Success and Learnings - Evaluate Successes and Learnings: Knowing how past learnings have driven improvements over time is essential. Look for examples of how these learnings have benefited their internal processes or clients. 3. Show, Don't Tell - Request a Documentation Demo: Ask for a sample planning and process document walkthrough. This helps you understand how decisions are made based on available information. - Evaluate Their Experience: If the agency can't provide satisfactory answers or explanations for most of these questions, it may signal that it lacks the necessary experience despite having a "process." 4. Budget Breakdown - Clarify Line Items: "Discovery" or "UX" should not appear as a simple line item in the agency's quote without a detailed explanation. Ask for specifics. - Ensure Adequate Time: Be cautious if little to no time is allocated to discovery or making informed design decisions. These are crucial for a successful project. By thoroughly evaluating an agency's decision-making process, past project success, and ability to demonstrate its approach, you can ensure that you are not just paying for a buzzword. Don't settle for less when it comes to UX. Your team, users, and your business deserve the best. ✌ ----- Designing or refreshing a product? Let's connect. Send me a message. #UX #DigitalProduct #BusinessStrategy #ProductDevelopment #CustomerExperience #ROI

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Two new Layerbeam features for Vision Pro ✨ I've had great conversations with Figma designers over the past couple of weeks. Two feature requests kept popping up so I built them: 1. Scale check: See the window scale % as you resize it. This lets you preview app designs 1:1 or scale up/down as you prefer. 2. Transparency: Hide the native visionOS window background. This is useful when working with ornaments or non-standard app designs. For early access please DM me your email address and I'll add you to the TestFlight! #SpatialComputing #VisionPro #Figma

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Don't delete me 🥺 When trying to uninstall Opal (a screen time management and app-blocking app) it shows you a motivational message and text asking not to delete the app. I'm sure it reduces churn* but I'm not sure if this feels borderline desperate? What do you think? Genius or cringe? —---------- I'm Yitzchok, UX strategist and designer. 👋 Ever wondered how a tiny screen shapes our choices, emotions, and connections? I explore the unseen magic in user experiences. Join along. Follow hashtag #BehindTheApp

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Today's web is, and has been, in a period of visual design stagnation—but it needn't be that way. During my conversation w/ Brendan Jarvis 🇺🇦 on #BraveUX, I talked about when I feel the pivotal time in the modern design timeline was when we (as an industry) started to step back from creative exploration—and why. Does mobile first thinking, and modern viewport considerations, mean we've needed to scale back on cross-platform high-bandwidth design? Absolutely—but progressive enhancement allows us to create more robust experiences tailored for larger viewports and higher bandwidth connections. Do design systems restrict free form creativity? Yes: by design. But that doesn't mean the system itself can't be creatively built while still maintaining cohesion. As I wrote in my book "In Fulfillment: The Designer's Journey": "Design, as it’s applied to the digital landscape, is in dire need of thoughtful layout, typography, and visual engagement that goes hand-in-hand with all the modern considerations we now know are paramount: usability. Accessibility. Load times and bandwidth- sensitive content delivery. A responsive presentation that meets human beings wherever they’re engaging from. We must be mindful of, and respectful toward, those concerns—but not at the expense of creativity of visual communication or via replicating cookie-cutter layouts." Listen to my conversation with Brendan on Brave UX episode 132: 🎧: https://lnkd.in/eWH9ANG3 #ux #design #creativity #designsystems #uxdesign #podcasts #business

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Many designers fall into the trap of getting way too attached to their own designs. David Fano has seen designers get caught up in all sorts of stuff: — Buttons that look cool but don't really do much — Interfaces that are more flash than substance — Design systems that are more complicated than they need to be The thing is that none of that matters if you're not solving the user's actual problem. The best product managers know that the user is king. They focus on solving the user's needs, not just making things look good. It's easy to get lost in the weeds when you're deep in the design process. You might find yourself going down the rabbit hole of pixel-perfect layouts and animations that are super on-trend. But that’s how to lose sight of why you're designing in the first place. Your job is to make the user's life better, not just to make something that looks cool. As designers, we need to be real with ourselves: — Does this feature actually make the user's experience better? — Are we solving a problem that users actually have? — Or are we just geeking out over our own design skills? Always keep the user front and center. — How do you balance making great designs with actually solving user problems? Watch the full episode with David for more talk on user-centered design, now live on our new content series at minimumviablepodcast.com.

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Such a nuanced change in Firma is really a silent disruption rolled out slowly. For now this type of genAI relies on humans for training, but before long it'll get more precision data and will savvy up to test UX elements on the fly, iterate features and dynamically reassemble user experience based on behavior and market data. Localization capability will be a brilliant vector for design tech like Figma. Incorporating a deep knowledge and cultural best practices into a language model will unlock a new level for scaling startups.

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CASE STUDY ALERT: Buckle up for an ecommerce UX case study that'll make you go, "whoa." We took one site that wasn't converting. 🛍️ Money was being left on the table. By digging into the data, we saw the issue: UX was a mess. So we made these 5 tweaks: 1. Reduced steps to checkout from 5 to 3 2. Displayed payment options upfront 3. Added a progress bar to product pages 4. Put shipping rates on the product page 5. Improved overall design and layout And guess what happened next? - Conversion rate increased by 60%📈 - Average order value increased by 20% 💰 - Bounce rate decreased by 40% 🕺 Lesson learned: 💡 The smallest changes can make the biggest impact. ¯ So if you're struggling with conversion, take a step back and focus on your UX. It's always worth the investment.

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Before → After Want to keep users engaged longer? Check out these 6 game-changing improvements now. 👇 1. First impressions matter: make your website look premium and professional 2. Craft compelling calls to action: design meaningful, eye-catching buttons 3. Let users experience your product firsthand. Get them engaged with an on-site demo. 4. Display social proof. Highlight reviews from real customers who love your product. 5. Experiment and test. Connect analytics to discover what truly works 6. UX matters. Make your site intuitive for everyone

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