Frank Vrtar - CSM, CSPO

As I refine my hiring process I have question. What would you guys prefer? 1) In person/remote 30min white board session 2) Challenging design assignment done over a week 3) Mock podcast recording where we have a conversation about design.

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GitHub makes collaboration and communication easy when it comes to design systems. We use issues and discussions to track bugs and questions, it helps us build a knowledge base. These tools are surprisingly absent in our design tools, and this needs to change. I am going to change that. #ux #designsystems #equalityintools

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I finished the Practical By Design, Current State Blueprinting: Intro to Practical Service Blueprinting course. I am looking forward to applying this new (to me) strategy for my next Service Blueprinting project. Next up: Future-State Blueprinting. https://lnkd.in/eXUdHFwf

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Portfolio tip for design leaders: Unless your values/leadership style/‘how I lead’ slides are unique or clearly showing why they make you a good fit for this specific role, skip all that in your portfolio presentation. It’s a waste of time and if it sounds like what all the other candidates are also doing(which is true 90% of the time), it will make you blend in. Not good: Generic words like empathy, team building, servant leadership etc Good: Super specific values that apply to this role Better: Super specific values that are actually then evidenced in the work you will shortly present

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I'm a big fan of Ben Callahan and the "The Question" sessions. I'm also a big fan of Dan Donald, who's co-hosting the "design systems failures" topic. On this topic of missing the mark with *building the thing your org actually needs* not "here's what the 'how to design system' article told me", I humbly submit this HFWNW (hopes, fears, working, not working) framework/model and activity as one of many ways to start that data gathering and synthesis journey. I was lucky enough to present it during Figma's Schema event last year. Give the talk a watch, if you're interested (its only 20m) and download the provided resources to try it at your org/with your team: https://lnkd.in/g-Jj6Ede

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Friendly reminder: names/architecture/conventions/syntax matter. The specifics matter less than you might think, but it's crucial to make decisions, stick to them, document them, and cultivate shared understanding. #frontend #uxdesign #designsystems #uidesign #digitaldesign #development

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Last minute, who else is virtually attending VS Code Day today? Registration is still available, it’s free, and it starts at 12:00pm Central Time. DM me if you go so that we can discuss after! // I’ve been using VS Code as I learn JavaScript. It’s a lightweight text editor that, with a combination of the right extensions and Chrome, has set me up with a great (and free) Integrated Development Environment (IDE) as I start writing JS. https://lnkd.in/gXPY_qgx

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It's heartening to see how many media sites in SpeedCurve's Page Speed Benchmarks have sub-2.5s LCP times! For some of the sites with poorer LCP, perceived #webperf / #ux isn't the issue. They're fast to start render. The main culprit is that the LCP element is just wrong. The takeaway: don't just look at the numbers for your performance metrics. Visually validate them to make sure they're measuring the right things! https://lnkd.in/gG5zEK4u #pagespeed #sitespeed #corewebvitals #webperformance

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Nick Hahn and I are going to be cohosting a webinar on May 22, at 1PM ET / 10AM PT called How to Craft a Business Case for Design System Investment. The title is a bit of a mouthful but we promise to be succinct in our discussion. We all know that design systems have tremendous potential to drive innovation, competitive advantage, deliver ROI in terms of time and costs, and generate revenue for organizations, but how do you get executive buy-in to build a design system that can live up to its potential? We'll cover topics like... - Measuring value with metrics that actually matter - All the ways design systems add value and drive ROI - and, of course, how to build a business case for investment in your design system. Registration link in the comments (because, you know LinkedIn)...

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Just attended a UXR session where we discussed the state of UX Research. While it's been around for a few years, it's still in its infancy. Early adopters of the practice are already seeing a significant competitive advantage. In fact, in the next 10 years, it's likely that every company will have a UX Research team. Don't be left behind - invest in UX Research now to stay ahead of the game! #UXResearch #UserExperience #CompetitiveAdvantage

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Simple portfolio presentation tip for design leaders today: Include something about why this job. Why do you want it? What do you like about it? Don’t overcomplicate. I added one slide at the end when I applied for the Maps role. Idea is it helps you confirm what you think this role is going to be about. AND, it tells the interviewers you understand the challenges and the landscape.

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The second part of my article on the value of explicit design rules is here. In it I dive head first into example in layout, position, ordering padding and margins with examples from various design tools. In the end of this part there's also a treasure trove of links to other insightful people writing on adjacent subjects. Hope you find it interesting and be swayed to try tools that allow for more expressive explicit design rules. https://lnkd.in/dmGpUHU6

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This article came up in discussion today with our UX Team and I feel like there's a bit of "blaming the victim" going on here... 🤔 Most of the cases the author points out are misuses of placeholder text (e.g. using instead of labels or help text) or poor design choices, like the styling looking too similar to typed values. I would argue that designers abusing the component does not make the component itself harmful for usability. We've used placeholder text to inform users when e.g. a field offers typeahead functionality or will perform a search, and I think that's helpful for the UX rather than harmful. What are your thoughts? https://lnkd.in/dGKM5iMn

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Good reminder. What cultural & process norms do you suggest to help cultivate shared understanding?

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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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This is likely why your product sucks. You are cramming way too many features into one interface. I have a rule. It’s called the “Rule of Two”. You are only allowed two OBVIOUS features per interface. Obvious features dominate visual and mental space. They’re pricey. They’re pricey in terms of real estate. They’re pricey in terms of cognitive load. They’re pricey in terms of attention span. You’ve used products with more than two “obvious features. How did they make you feel? Anxious? Frustrated? Lost? For example, take a look at the remote control on the left. Overwhelming anxiety. Don't be the brand that gives your customers overwhelming anxiety. Don’t be the brand that makes "SB-IR Remote-HH." Master the subtle art of feature prioritization. You'll destroy competitors. And, you will make your customers fall in love with you. sinpl rlly 🥂

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Whether you’re a UX designer or a leader with an innovation project on the horizon, utilizing prototypes will help get your innovation ideas through to users and stakeholders. In "A Field Guide To Great UX Prototyping", Akendi's own Jonathan Pusic, UX Architect, shares how he thinks about prototyping, the benefits of different types of prototyping, and how to apply them to your own projects! 🗝️ Here are some key takeaways: ✔ Prototypes are meant to make your concepts visible ✔ Prototypes don’t have to be sophisticated or fancy ✔ Pick the right prototype for the right purpose, at the right time “Don’t add flames and a spoiler when you’re still deciding what kind of car to build.” How can you make the most of prototyping? Leverage dedicated experts to guide you through the product ideation and prototyping journey. Find out how to utilize the right prototype at the right time be reading the full article: https://lnkd.in/eb62kDDH #research #ux #blog #prototyping #experts

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Worth revisiting this article on the importance of Labels in Forms, from an accessibility perspective and overall product experience. https://lnkd.in/eSyAwf48 #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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Seriously thinking about creating our own UI kit at Designme. Available kits are great but there's always something missing for what we need. We got the resources to build it internally, and maybe package it for others, if there's demand for that. Do we need another UI kit, though? What do you feel is missing most?

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