Writing

Inclusive design benefits everyone by creating products and environments that are easier to use, more intuitive, and accessible to a broader audience.

I cannot overstate the importance of accessibility features in design. They play a crucial role in ensuring everyone can effectively engage with products, environments, and technologies regardless of their abilities.

Inclusive design aims to create products, environments, and experiences accessible and usable by the widest range of people, including those with disabilities.

Designing user experiences that feel tailored without being creepy is a complex task that requires balancing personalisation with privacy and ethical considerations.

Ethical design isn’t just about creating a feel-good product; it’s about building a foundation of trust and positive impact. But how do you translate principles into action?

In today’s digital age, the things we interact with daily have a powerful impact on our lives and the world around us.

Note to self:

In service design, “Everything is a decision, even if it doesn’t feel like it” underscores the idea that every service aspect, from the smallest detail to the overarching structure, results from a deliberate choice.

The quote, “Creativity is asking the question no one has asked before”, captures a critical element of the creative process.

“What have we already tried?” is a powerful question that can lead to a more efficient and effective product development process. By focusing on outcomes, uncovering bottlenecks, and learning from mistakes, teams can make informed decisions and build better products.

The Funnel Experiment, devised by W. Edwards Deming, is a thought experiment we can use to illustrate the dangers of tampering with a process without understanding the underlying causes of variation.

Taiichi Ohno’s Toyota Production System (TPS) offers valuable lessons that we can apply to service design.

W. Edwards Deming created the Red Bead Experiment, a simple yet powerful tool that showcases the limitations of traditional management and the significant impact systems have on performance.

“The neglected leadership role is the designer of the ship. No one has a more sweeping influence than the designer. What good does it do for the captain to say, ‘Turn starboard thirty degrees,’ when the designer has built a rudder that will turn only to port or which takes six hours to turn to starboard? It’s fruitless to be the leader in an organisation that is poorly designed. Isn’t it interesting that so few managers think of the ship’s designer when they think of the leader’s role?”—Peter M. Senge

Roger Federer’s commencement speech at Dartmouth emphasises the importance of resilience, acceptance of imperfection, and maintaining focus on the present moment.

“Fall in love with some activity, and do it! Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn’t matter. Explore the world.

Facilitation is a core aspect of design.

The Feynman Technique is a method of learning that emphasises deep understanding and simplification of complex concepts.

Here’s an analogy: A design system is like a comprehensive cookbook, with a style guide being the ingredients section, the pattern library being pre-made recipes, the component library containing the individual ingredients, and the usability guidelines and design principles being cooking techniques and philosophies.

In product development, prototypes are preliminary versions of a product used to test and validate ideas before committing to full-scale production.

Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, silver, or platinum, embraces the philosophy of finding beauty in imperfection and valuing an object’s history and story.

The idea that familiarity enables the transfer of experience between similar products or services is grounded in several cognitive and usability principles.

Hayao Miyazaki, a revered figure in animation and storytelling and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, emphasises individuality and the importance of personal discovery with his quote: “Don’t follow the path of just one person; strive to find your own path.”

They both matter a great deal but in different ways. It’s more like a question of which comes first: the chicken or the egg? An idea without execution is just a thought experiment, while poor execution can squander a brilliant concept.

Richard Hamming’s quote, “You get what you measure,” highlights a fundamental principle in management, performance improvement, and organisational behaviour.

User experince (UX) debt refers to the accumulation of design and usability issues in a product or service that results from shortcuts or compromises during the design process.

The quote “Mistakes are life lessons often learned too late” captures a bittersweet truth about human experience.

Everyone in an organisation should know what design can do for their business—creating product value—but most people would say it’s to make things look pretty or easier to use.

Unlike lawyers, doctors, and psychologists, who receive extensive training in questioning techniques, designers must learn this skill while practising their craft.

In a world demanding agility and critical thinking, asking good questions is a crucial skill for designers.

Design is often considered an art because it involves creativity, intuition, and subjective decision-making. Designers use their skills to create aesthetically pleasing and functional products, spaces, or experiences.

Data is not just a tool but a powerful asset in a user experience (UX) team’s decision-making arsenal. It’s not just about numbers and charts but about understanding your users more deeply. By providing insights into user behaviour and preferences, data empowers designers to create user-centric experiences that are both functional and enjoyable.

“Make things open: it makes things better” is the tenth and last design principle in the UK government’s design principles.

While eliminating subjectivity in design reviews is unrealistic, there are strategies teams can employ to minimise its influence and ensure a more objective and productive discussion.

According to the Harvard Business Review (HBR), diversity and psychological safety are the key ingredients for a successful problem-solving team.

Design critiques are a double-edged sword. They’re incredibly valuable for improving designs (think more robust products, services, etc.) but can also feel unpleasant.

Creating genuinely successful services goes beyond just focusing on the human user. A core service design principle acknowledges the invisible and non-human elements contributing to a well-rounded and sustainable experience.

The idea of designers thinking like ecologists encourages a more holistic, sustainable, and user-centred approach to design. It’s not a replacement for existing design principles but a way to broaden a designer’s perspective.

The idea that a designer’s role isn’t “at the table” is a recent counterargument to the traditional view that designers must fight for a seat at the decision-making table.

Understanding how users interact with your product or service is crucial for creating a positive user experience (UX).

Choosing the right user experience (UX) metrics is all about understanding what you want to learn from your users and how it relates to your overall goals.

“The idea that there is an average user experience is harmful. We should focus on the extremes instead.”—Anon

Underestimating the importance of UX research can lead to many issues for a project, some of which can be pretty severe.

Users’ awareness of their wants and needs can be complex.

Toyota’s 14 guiding principles, also known as the Toyota Production System (TPS), go beyond just manufacturing and can be pretty insightful for service design.