Making good decisions, UX sociologists, a new workflow for UI animations

“The genesis of agile was that we weren’t very good at software projects. Agile was one response to this, which became popular because it let everyone off the hook?—?‘let’s not think hard now; it can wait.’

The era of product management compounded the issue because it taught product managers to ‘follow the customer’ and the money would come. The logical flaw in that argument is that customers want gold plating of your product, and they want it for free.

We’re moving back to a world of higher interest rates, lower rates of return, and proper decision-making, and this story discusses how to make good decisions that don’t leave value on the table.”

Making good decisions →

Slow Research is dead → [Sponsored] Painful, Slow Research was passionate about slowing down product development, hiding in fragmented tools, hoarding knowledge in silos, and causing unnecessary friction for teams. They’re survived by Dovetail, the leading AI-powered customer insights hub that gives everyone on the product team instant access to customer insights, at any time. RIP Painful, Slow Research. Long live shared customer understanding.

Editor picks

• Designers need to get good at finding the right problem → Don’t jump to conclusions.
• UX is dead. Long live UX → The age of AI is an opportunity.
• Why aren’t there more UX sociologists out there? → Balancing psychology with sociology.

The UX Collective is an independent design publication that elevates unheard design voices and helps designers think more critically about their work.

How to improve a company →

Make me?think

• The relentless inevitable → “It was always inevitable that technology would come for designers. I am pretty sure we reached ‘peak design jobs’ somewhere in 2021 and the number of design jobs will decline or stay flat.“
• Fear as a game → “There’s a theory in the science of emotion that the only innate human feelings are valence and arousal. Valence can be pleasant or unpleasant; arousal can be high or low. You can map any feeling on a wheel called an “affective circumplex,” with the midpoint representing neutral valence and neutral arousal.”
• Experts vs. Imitators → “Think of all the money managers who borrow their talking points from Warren Buffett. They might sound like Buffett, but they don’t know how to invest the way Buffett does. They’re imitators. How do you tell the difference between an expert and an imitator?”

Little gems this?week

What UX can learn from 2024 Olympics fashion →

Designers: you need to read science fiction →

Let’s shitmix the algorithm →

Tools and resources

• Progress indicator UX → The use of progress indicators, from games to digital apps.
• Figma + Rive → A new workflow for UI animations.
• Fluid typography in design systems → A guide for designers & developers.

Support the newsletter

If you find our content helpful, here’s how you can support us:

• Check out this week’s sponsor to support their work too
• Forward this email to a friend and invite them to subscribe
• Share open positions on our job board
• Sponsor an edition