Writing

Making your design thinking process visible is crucial for learning and improvement for yourself and those around you.

In his essay “How to Do Great Work,” Paul Graham argues that there is a recipe for greatness that applies to many fields.

Hard and soft systems methodologies are two approaches to tackling problems, but they differ in their focus and how they handle complexity.

Systems thinking provides the framework for understanding the big picture, while design systems are the tools used to build a consistent and efficient design experience within that framework.

Love him or hate him, Jeff Bezos’ management style and philosophy is noteworthy:

Creativity in interaction design is the fuel that drives innovation in how people interact with digital products and services. It’s not just about making things look pretty (although aesthetics can play a role). It’s about finding original and valuable solutions to user problems.

Reducing errors in user experience (UX) design is a multi-pronged approach, with strategies to prevent mistakes from happening in the first place and help users gracefully recover if they do occur.

There are two main reasons why designers should avoid using colour alone to convey meaning:

In service design, there’s a constant push and pull between delivering a service quickly (speed) and ensuring it’s delivered well (quality).

Including everyone in the decision-making process is a balancing act.

“When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that in itself is a choice.”—William James

“Recognise that 1) the biggest threat to good decision-making is harmful emotions, and 2) decision-making is a two-step process (first learning and then deciding).”—Ray Dalio.

“Do the cheapest thing” is a good starting point for testing your design ideas.

Understanding how to think things through—to push your mind past the first step—can help you solve problems and make better decisions.

Qualitative research (qual research) isn’t a bad way to run A/B testing, but it’s not the entire picture. A/B testing relies on quantitative data—numbers—to tell you which variation of something performs better.

The three faces of trust: Disposable, interpersonal, and institutional

“In a classroom, the teacher learns the most” highlights the importance of student-centred learning and how it fosters growth for both teachers and students.

In design, a “clear path to completion” refers to how easily a user can understand and navigate a process to achieve a specific goal. It’s essential in interfaces like websites, apps, and forms.

“Design = making sense + giving form” is a great way to think about design. It captures two crucial aspects of the design process:

Russell Ackoff’s statement in Management f-Laws presents a counterintuitive approach to problem-solving.

There’s merit to the idea that dissolving a problem can be preferable to solving it.

In Russell Ackoff’s book Management f-Laws, his statement, “Viewing things differently is not a defect; it is an advantage,” challenges the common assumption in organisations that conformity is a positive trait.

The saying “practice makes perfect” is familiar but not entirely accurate.

Continuity, consistency, and coherence are fundamental principles in service design. They work together to create a seamless and positive user experience.

We often discuss high performance in the context of sport. But what is high performance in the context of design?

This statement captures a fundamental principle in the design process: the focus of feedback shifts as the fidelity of the design increases.

By focusing on outcomes, user experience (UX) teams can demonstrate the value they bring to the table. They can show how their work is directly contributing to the success of the product and the business.

There are a couple of reasons why UX (user experience) outcomes can be better goals than just focusing on business outcomes:

In a world obsessed with data, how do we advocate for design’s profound, yet less tangible, impact on business success?

This powerful quote by Eleanor Roosevelt speaks to our power over our self-worth. She emphasises that others cannot determine our feelings of inferiority unless we allow them to.

How can we, as designers, establish a clear connection between our designs and the business context?

What if we could pinpoint the exact impact of our design choices on user and business outcomes?

The statement “the desired state of the system is influenced by the perceived state” is a powerful one with applications across many fields, from psychology and engineering to economics and social systems.

Most people fail not because of lack of effort but because their goals are in discord.

OKRs are not a substitute for a well-thought-out strategy.

We are not perfect decision-makers.

The Tragedy of the Commons is a concept in economics and ecology that describes how individual users, acting in their short-term self-interest, can collectively overuse or deplete a shared resource, ultimately leading to its destruction and harming everyone involved.

Words are the unsung heroes of design, silently transforming thoughts into prototypes.

The moment you realise creativity is boundless, your perspective on creation and innovation shifts forever.

Prototyping is a powerful tool for organisations, offering a treasure trove of valuable benefits at various stages of development. It allows for informed decision-making, reduces risks, improves product and service quality, and ultimately helps create successful and sustainable organisations.

Being curious is an essential trait. It makes you a more open-minded, adaptable, and well-rounded individual.

Behind every All Blacks victory lies a philosophy equally applicable to design.

A comprehensive plan—with goals, initiatives, and budgets–is comforting. But starting with a plan is a terrible way to make a strategy.

“The behaviour of a system is its performance over time—its growth, stagnation, decline, oscillation, randomness, or evolution.”—Donella H. Meadows

In her book “Thinking in Systems”, Donella Meadows lays out three fundamental truths about systems that shed light on how we understand and interact with the world around us.

“A system is a big black box Of which we can’t unlock the locks, And all we can find out about Is what goes in and what comes out. Perceiving input-output pairs, Related by parameters, Permits us, sometimes, to relate An input, output and a state. If this relation’s good and stable Then, to predict, we may be able, But if this fails us—heaven forbid! We’ll be compelled to force the lid!” —Kenneth Boulding, economist

The “question protocol” in UX design is a tool to assess the necessity and usability of form fields critically. It helps ensure you only collect essential information, minimising friction and maximising user experience.

What makes specific systems thrive in complexity and change, consistently achieving their goals with remarkable efficiency and adaptability?