A nice page of good tools:
Saved links
A saved link is not an endorsement. It's just a thing I read or thought about reading.
"Your company can have content strategists, content designers, UX writers, information architects, content managers, and more. Trying to apply a one-size-fits-all job title to anyone that does any kind of content work at all is unnecessary and unhelpful."
“If an AI passes the Turing test, it fails. If it talks to you like a normal human being, it’s probably safe to conclude that it’s just a glorified text engine, bereft of self.”
I’ve written about why we need to change the way we describe bad design patterns - and what to say instead. Thanks to @candiwrites and @CuriousScutter for making me aware of this issue in the first place. ⚠️ Content warning: racist language
TIL: Brandolini's law "The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude larger than is needed to produce it."
@Carnage4Life Sounds like they’re posthumously ripping off Aaron Swartz without saying as much and without the context
"As for web “pages,” they’ve been a good metaphor to help us get our heads around the mind-blowingly surreal fact that we now have so much knowledge instantly available at our fingertips. But it’s time to move on."
@apenwarr The boxiness is their new "design language". Like Volvo's from the 80s.
RISE (Representation, Inclusion, Social Impact, Equity) is key to our mission of building a workplace we can be proud of @GustoHQ. As part of that commitment, we release an annual report to keep us on track. Read the 2022 RISE Report:
Bass Harbor Head Light Station, Maine Prints available at link in bio: Canon EOS R 16mm @ 8s, f/16, ISO 100 EF 16–35mm f/4L IS USM 6-stop ND filter
“AI-Generated Images from AI-Generated Alt Text” My attempt to use AI to demonstrate the problems with relying on AI. An exercise for people who can see the imagery, though I hope the alt text is useful (feedback on alt text always appreciated).
“Use the active voice to transform your design system documentation”
It has been a tough day. I returned from the funeral of a dear friend. Everyone has a different framework for handling grief. Writing allows me to cope with loss, sadness & pain. Today, I share my story about @vgill, who passed away last week. RIP!
This is my new favorite generator
"Longtermism" is a moral perspective that says "Future people count. There could be a lot of them. We can make their lives better." According to William Macaskill as expanded in this recommended interview.
Knowledge retention is key for product development “Here I was thinking that all my work had died when I stopped working on it. But in reality, it remained valuable to others and would outlive me through their work.”
Untitled (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/14/business/worker-productivity-tracking.html)
Productivity tracking is on the rise in the American workforce, with penalties from lost pay to lost jobs. But are these new clocks even accurate? by @jodikantor +me, produced by @alizauf and @iamrumz
A fun thing we did at work today was share "personal user manuals" that talk a bit about who we are, how we like to work, what gets us excited, and what bums us out. (Shout-out to @PracticeLibrary for the nice write-up/template!) Here's mine! :D
Affordance! Physical buttons outperform touchscreens in new cars, test finds | Vi Bilägare
Even being a "science-based, data-driven" org, doesn't guarantee a continuously learning org. “We saw during COVID that CDC’s structures, frankly, weren’t designed to take in information, digest it and disseminate it to the public at the speed necessary"
“Similar to how Steve Jobs helped to bring the power of computers to a personal scale, micromobility gives people the freedom of urban mobility. So that’s the birth of the word micromobility.” The latest by @asymco: The Obligatory Origin Story
Wrote about how adopting the mindset that all communication is lossy paradoxically makes it less lossy:
i wrote about taking a break from new york, melting down about capitalism and getting out of my flop era
“I would suggest to everyone is to learn history. A couple of studies suggest that learning history, learning about discrimination in the past, helps us see it in the present & be able to perceive it & understand it better in the present.” —Jessica Nordell
Is Structured Content a Hammer? Spoiler: No. It's a toolbox. And I completely agree! via @contentrulesinc
EPUB version of Abby Covert’s new book:
New antitracking tech in Samsung's latest web browser. My take: Everybody sees Chrome as as laggard here, and this is the way to differentiate and appeal to browser users. Curiously, Samsung shows it blocking 68 tracking attempts on Samsung's own website.
The magic of Twitter: this tweet incited a visit to the extremely interesting @augmentaltech. They're a young hardware company working on a lightweight retainer which offers a tongue-trackpad and 6-axis motion sensing. Notes on possibilities:
@Iwillleavenow Appears it’s based on surveillance advertising investors’ profits and marketing budgets.
“Writing is not the artifact of thinking, it’s the actual thinking process.”
So many thoughts …
We've also shipped a new alpha Type component. Previous Type components were only used 8% of the time in custom admin components. The new Type component has a bigger range of sizes and styles to address those gaps.
I started The Nature of Software shortly after Alexander passed away on March 17, when I realized that while we in software love design patterns, you see very little talk in the industry about what he did *after* patterns:
(500) https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/13/23349876/the-verge-website-redesign-new-newsfeed-blogs-logo
Congrats to my former pals at @verge on the launch of their ambitious site redesign, which is aimed at building community and fostering conversations (and maybe convincing you to spend a little less time on Twitter)
Projects have scope creep; companies have… focus creep?
Thanks @justinmfarrugia for sending me this talk/article from @Padday with a more realistic perspective about a designer's role in an organization which isn't emphasized enough.
"UX researchers often fall into a trap — we rely too much on familiar techniques like interviews and usability tests. In our experience, the bulk of key insights come from observing users in their work context." Great guide from @Aartitoday
It’s been incredible to use Figma since it’s early days and watch it totally take over the industry to become THE tool in a few short years. It really showed the power of the web + collaboration would win. amazing exit for an amazing team
@alexstran @browsercompany ! Unfortunately I don't have any invites right now :(
RT @movie_pundit: Here is a list of resources I've collected over the years to help you learn more about inclusive design.
@librarythingtim @jeffmacintyre So *this* explains why looks the way it does on my phone 😂 (Also, hi from a fellow Portland Mainer!)
RT @mulegirl: A huge source of confusion in design research is the difference between research questions and interview questions. This costs time and money and I rarely see other people talking about it.
Sustainable Data by Jan Chipchase What is Reading For? by Robert Bringhurst
Sustainable Data by Jan Chipchase What is Reading For? by Robert Bringhurst
Surprised, unsurprised, and delighted by the patterns which connect Christopher Alexander's Nature of Order, Bateson, cybernetics, etc. I haven't read Nature of Order, but I'm getting a tantalizing taste through @doriantaylor's The Nature of Software.
@doriantaylor Getting a 403 forbidden error when trying to use 🤔
@Carnage4Life The global pandemic has been quite the confounding variable. There’s so much fraud & snake oil in targeted advertising. The bubble has been getting ready to burst for over a decade. I worked in, with, and on adtech just long enough to see it and get out.
@suresh_dot_com @Carnage4Life Good point. This piece explores some of that data. As far as I can tell, it appears ATT is a very convenient scapegoat. Relatedly, I've never seen an equitable behavioral targeting ad campaign outperform opted-in demographic/contextual/geo/tech targeting
Very much missing @sayhi and these days. It wasn’t the platform we deserved, but it was so nourishing. Anything like it out there now? @craigmod
@doriantaylor Prescient:
I think about this a lot. Brings to mind @frank_chimero’s From the Porch to the Street: “…there is some value to Twitter, but the social musing we did early on no longer fits.” “…if you’ve been on Twitter a while, it’s changed out from under you.”
“When I choose to see the good side of things, I’m not being naive. It is strategic and necessary.” Haven’t seen the movie but this resonates deeply.
“Solve a puzzle by gaining a new understanding of relationships between elements. Experience creative breakthrough after re-framing a situation. Understand a challenging concept after finding an analogy that integrates new ideas into existing knowledge.”
“Big data is not a priority anymore, in my opinion,” said Stanford computer science professor Carlos Guestrin. “You can solve complex problems with little data.”
@janchip @cityofsound @theasnow I'm also interested in buying a physical copy. I found the PDF of Designing Missions on the Vinnova site.
@halvorson @BrainTraffic Are you familiar with Content Strategy 101 Kristina? 🥲
Relatedly, the relational planning model is a fascinating adjacent rabbit hole.
The comprehensive organization and analysis of the information The potential consequences of each option The probability that each potential outcome would materialize The value (or utility) placed on each potential outcome
Can't have one without the other.
"Web 1.0 started as a streaming publish-to-read medium; web 2.0 has established itself as a publishing platform for everyone. Now web 3.0 is said to be a technologically advanced Internet, where the user executes and the machines do the thinking."
Unfettered brilliance