Episode 31 – Defining a design strategy that works!

This week, Chris and Jon are back with another topic from the listeners! This time, we’re talking about how to define a design strategy at the beginning of a project. Later in the show, we discuss measuring your designs by using metrics and data. Lastly, we close out the show with our stories of “Good UX of the Week”.

As a small bonus for our website viewers, here’s a downloadable PDF of Dieter Rams’ 10 Principles of Good Design for you to hang up on your cubicle wall!

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Episode 29 – Usability Testing and User Experience

This week, while Jon is busy editing his new book, Chris spends some time talking (ranting) about usability testing, and addressing some of the common myths about it. It’s a bit of a long show, so just be warned… 😛

Stuff mentioned on the show:

Discuss what you heard!

Please also join us on Blab to discuss today’s show! It’s later today at 8:00 Pacific.

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You can also reach us on Twitter:

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Episode 27 – UX Design Mentorship with Michael Darius

This week, we were LIVE on Blab with Michael Darius, formerly a designer at Apple, to discuss UX design mentorship! This is the audio version of everything that we discussed. Thanks to the team at Blab and Michael for a great evening of discussion.

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Episode 26 – Stop having bad critiques!

This week, Chris and Jon talk about design critiques! If you ever had a difficult time both giving and receiving critical feedback on design, listen to this episode! Even if you’re not a designer, this episode is full of helpful information to be a better participant in a design review which will help improve your product overall!

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Episode 25 – How to design a great portfolio

This is it folks! We made it to episode 25 and we definitely couldn’t do it without your support!

This week Chris and Jon discuss one of the most difficult design projects of them all, portfolios. We talk about what they are, how they can help move your career forward, and how we’re faring on this journey to portfolio greatness!

Chris’s Portfolio

Jonathan’s Portfolio

P.S. We built our portfolios using Webflow, heres a referral link if you are interested.

 

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Episode 20 – Nielsen’s Usability Heuristics: Part 4

Jon and Chris wrap up this series on usability heuristics. Lots of good information about how to handle error messages and help documentation, and how important user assistance is to good design.

If you missed the previous episodes you can start at episode 1 of this series on Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics.

Today we talk about 9 and 10!

Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.

Help and documentation
Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user’s task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.

 

Episode 19 – Nielsen’s Usability Heuristics: Part 3

Thank you to our sponsor: Resource Guru – team scheduling simplified. Try it free at resourceguru.io/designreview and use the code designreview3

Also, thanks to the SJSU library for (inadvertently) hosting us!

It’s part 3 of our 5 part series on UX fundamentals laid out by Jakob Nielson: 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design

If you missed part 1 & part 2, feel free to catch up after this episode. You won’t need to have heard the first two, but they cover 4 other important UX principles.

Today we will be discussing:

Error prevention
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.

Recognition rather than recall
Minimize the user’s memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.

As always, we want to hear from you so leave your comments below! You can also reach us on Twitter:

Chris: @machinehuman

Jon: @DesignUXUI

So let us know what you think!

 

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Episode 18 – Onboarding!

Sponsored by Resource Guru – team scheduling simplified. Try it free at resourceguru.io/designreview

Having good onboarding is critical to the success of your product. This week, Chris and Jon talk about onboarding! What is it? Why is it so important? Chris asked on Twitter what questions people have about it. So later in the show, we also answer those questions about what makes a good onboarding experience. Thanks to everyone that wrote in!

If you have more questions about onboarding, get in touch with us on Twitter! We may do another onboarding show in the future!

You can also just contact us via email on our Contact page. We are always happy to hear from you guys!

We discussed a bunch of different apps on this show. They are:

  • Carrot
  • Candy Crush
  • Jawbone Up
  • Sketch
  • Meerkat
  • Mailbox
  • Rooms

To get updates on show happenings and other useful show-related content, follow the Design Review on Twitter!

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Episode 17 – Nielsen’s Usability Heuristics: Part 2

It’s part 2 of our 5 part series on UX fundamentals laid out by Jakob Nielson.

If you missed part 1, you can find it here.

User control and freedom

Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked “emergency exit” to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo.

Consistency and standards

Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.

10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design by Jakob Nielson

The apps are:

Webflow

Carousel by Dropbox

 

Chris’ Project: Designers and Shoes

Jonathan’s Book: Tragic Design 

 

As always, we want to hear from you so leave your comments below! You can also reach us on Twitter:

Chris: @machinehuman

Jon: @DesignUXUI

So let us know what you think!

 

 

Enjoying the podcast? Don’t miss part 2 of out study on Nielsen’s Usability Heuristics! Sign up to get notified of new episodes.

 

Episode 14 – Acorns app with David Keegan, Director of Design at Acorns

This week, Chris and Jon take a look at a new app for investing, Acorns! We also bring on David Keegan, Director of Design at Acorns, and talk about the highs and lows of using the app plus interview him on working at Acorns. Stick around! You won’t want to miss this show!

Try Acorns yourself, download here

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