Ref - Great piece by @anthilemoon on how there is no such thing as the right time to start and why you should start NOW.
Saved links
A saved link is not an endorsement. It's just a thing I read or thought about reading.
"I would argue that the idea of design approval is a relic of the past, that as web designers, we should be abandoning." — 5 Ways You Can Make Design Approval Easy
"Repair is the creative destruction of brokenness." —Elizabeth V. Spelman #kintsugi
Next up: The thing so many people get the most wrong about design research, especially organizations that are just getting started with it.
I haven't been able to do much writing about professional topics *at all* this year, so in this thread I will draw your attention to some greatest hits, in case they are helpful. First up. If you're going to run a survey, don't muck it up:
Guess what's coming out THIS month from our favorite author Allie Brosh?! 👀🎉 SOLUTIONS AND OTHER PROBLEMS...We're SO excited. September 22 cannot get here fast enough! Get your copy here:
For multi-platform design system documentation, find inspiration from: #clarity2020
For multi-platform design system documentation, find inspiration from: #clarity2020
Pay for value: Pay for the stuff you value. Cheap takes from the future to serve the present. By paying for stuff, you will allow the people who make it to live off their work rather than to live off advertising.
When it comes to online writing, my favorite example of a florilegium is @brainpickings which will forever be one one the best websites on the Internet.
Just checked a few old links in my old 'epic list of content strategy resources' and, reader, I'm sad to see so many of them 404ing
If you'd like to join my quixotic strategy-slash-experiment of posting articles on Facebook that encourage critical thinking without playing directly into the pre-digested framing and futile meme wars. I'll thread a selection here. This is a good one
I just opened the homepage in a new tab and got caught in an A/B test where there is no more distracting hero creative video or primary navigation but there are still 3 competing and distracting animations above the fold.
For whatever reason, I started writing a book about relational databases a couple years ago. I never finished it, but it's about 13,000 words. It's about 75% of where it should be. I'll finish it someday.
After years of only having few recommendations for @superfriendlyco clients to manage design tokens, we decided to build one. It's called Arcade, and it's the fun way to create, edit, and manage design tokens. Give us your email if you want early access!
"We should want to know if our patterns are optimizing for visual use cases at the expense of others…" @scottjehl
👏 @gruber on Facebook complaining about Apple doing the right thing: "The idea that we don’t dare do anything good for privacy that might reduce the efficacy of user-tracking ads because “pity the poor small businesses” is sophistry."
Three types of people who hold power in an organization: • Decision-makers – must be consulted or can make decisions themselves • Gatekeepers – control access to time or data • Makers – produce rare and valuable assets Great post from @tomcritchlow
Another shoutout to @dpatil for "Move purposefully and fix things" Also very important, but I think that purposefulness needs to come with a huge dose of diverse collaboration and pumping the brakes.
Low-Contrast Text Is Not the Answer
In one of the personally wilder turns in an absolute absurd year @Outlier is on the New York Fashion Week calendar:
AI content-deletion on social media platforms could stop journalists investigating war crimes, report: - via:@pressgazette
In the "where have you been all my life" category: @newsproduct launches a much-needed platform for product thinkers, "the missing link to creating sustainable journalism in the digital age." Especially excited to see @becca_aa leading the way. Congrats!
Refreshing:
The first tip: get some data. 🙌
- A purely browser-based privacy-first video tool capable of performing tasks like converting, compression, etc. without uploading your files using #WebAssembly.
Did you miss Kris Vanderwater of @acquia presenting "Your data model is terrible! Let me show you why." at #MidCamp 2020? Well good news for you, the recording is here:
modular, systematic order
Infographic: 50 Cognitive Biases in the Modern World
A great user experience only comes about through constant diligence and attention. If the organization isn’t paying attention, it’s unlikely they stumbled on one by chance.
Ecosystem maps can make the complexity of large organizations' content publishing efforts more accessible without getting bogged down in the details. @JoshLTong's new post looks at how to generate and use them…
Hey nerds, if you need a half-hour away from everything: Start reading this article on font-fallbacks, pause midway through to refill your coffee or tea, and then keep reading. Go slow. 🛻🪰🥷
💖 Ayo I made a new website! With my coworkers @FacultyCo! It's sick! And I'm proud of it! I'd love to hear what you think! 💖 👨🏼💻
“The past, present and future of UX writing and content design”—whew! This interview was the first time I’ve gone on the record about several of these topics. Thanks to @JasperPlatz at @stringshq for writing it all down so I didn’t have to. 😇 Enjoy!
Enabled native lazy-load by default for images
Earlier of piece of mine that touches upon the misleading use of the word "community" that often dominates the way Facebook talks about itself. Communities have reciprocal rights and responsibilities. Facebook groups are in-group/out-group strife engines.
CSS Guidelines (2.2.5) – High-level advice and guidelines for writing sane, manageable, scalable CSS
✍️ New post about @beep’s latest talk: On the Design Systems Between Us
Sliding Scale of Giving a Fuck
Missed the Accessible UI series with @una? We've got you covered! 📝 Semantic Markup: 🎨 Color: 🚘 Navigation: 🖼 Media: 🎢 Animation:
Missed the Accessible UI series with @una? We've got you covered! 📝 Semantic Markup: 🎨 Color: 🚘 Navigation: 🖼 Media: 🎢 Animation:
Missed the Accessible UI series with @una? We've got you covered! 📝 Semantic Markup: 🎨 Color: 🚘 Navigation: 🖼 Media: 🎢 Animation:
Missed the Accessible UI series with @una? We've got you covered! 📝 Semantic Markup: 🎨 Color: 🚘 Navigation: 🖼 Media: 🎢 Animation:
Missed the Accessible UI series with @una? We've got you covered! 📝 Semantic Markup: 🎨 Color: 🚘 Navigation: 🖼 Media: 🎢 Animation:
Using a Schema.org-First approach to build a single source of truth and a unified Content Management System #schemaorg #schemafirst #cms #API
From the archive: Accessibility is not what you think - #Over10YearsBlogging
"[C]ontent is not a feature. Content cannot happen after everything is designed. Content is what fuels the user experience. And you’ve got to start with it early." YAAAS. 👏 Check out this interview with @halvorson for more content zingers.
“We’d love to believe design speaks for itself, but a large part of the job is helping others hear its voice. Persuasive rationale—the why to your work—is what turns a great document into a great product.” @Cennydd #OldGold