Categories
Design UX

Master of Science in User Experience Design (MSUXD)…. CHECK!

First:

It’s official. I have graduated from Kent State University with a Master of Science in User Experience Design! Over the past 2 years there were many times that I considered not finishing the degree.

I often questioned why I was putting myself and my family through this. It wasn’t easy at this stage of my life. But with the support of an amazing wife Alexa Seretti, son, family, and friends I was able to get through it!

I can’t thank those that helped enough.

Second:

I have had people ask me, “Did you really need to get a Master’s Degree in UX?”

The short answer is NO. I have 13+ years experience of real world… hands on… in the weeds design experience that no class can teach or that no one coming from another field could match. I love my career so far but that’s not why I decided to do this.

The long answer is YES. I didn’t NEED the degree… I WANTED it. I wanted to have a refresh in the field… I wanted to continue to learn… I wanted to understand and get experienced in the branches of UX that I didn’t have a ton of exposure to (Research… Content Strategy… Information Architecture). As a UI designer by trade I knew I needed to round out my skill-set.

Most importantly, I wanted to be even more of an advocate for the user.

Now…when a fellow UX Designer or Manager or Director asks me that question, I wonder ‘What truly makes them qualified to call themselves a UX Professional?’  What qualifies anyone to call themselves a UXer? That is the real question the industry is going through at this point. There are a TON of posers out there (See Darren Hoods posts about this topic on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwhood). There are also a lot of people, unfortunatly, in positions of power in the industry who are potentially leading the practice in the wrong direction and hiring other posers.

I’m not saying the degree makes me a better UX Professional… but it sure as hell doesn’t hurt.

Categories
Design Mobile Strategy UX

Top 3 Must-Read Books of 2015 for Digital Creatives and UX Designers (and 2 more)

If you’re looking for a holiday gift for the designer in your life, here are a few highly recommended books that were published in 2015.

I can usually make it through 5-10 trade books a year. I’m not sure if that number is good or bad, but it’s an honest one for me. 2015 has been a great year for design books and I wanted to share my top 3 favorites. The list would be 5-strong but the last 2 I haven’t read yet as they were just released.

These are in no particular order.

RWD_danrose Responsive Web Design with Adobe Photoshop 1st Edition by Dan Rose (@dblizzy)

Here is the quick review I put on Amazon via my phone shortly after reading: “This book is a must read for any UI Designer that still appreciates being creative. Easy to read and invaluable for anyone who is struggling with the idea that you should design in the browser. This book does a great job of showing and proving that that isn’t the case. I’m going to make this a required read for my UI desig team.”

On the surface, you may think that this is a technical manual that simply walks you through how to design a responsive site with Photoshop. That’s not the main point of this book (though there are some great tips and tricks) and not what Dan’s motives for writing it were in my opinion. Instead, he jumps right into the “great design debate” of the past couple of years as to whether or not it’s right or wrong to design responsive experiences in the browser or in a tool like Photoshop.

If you are someone who is a mid to advanced user of Photoshop and are feeling the pressure from other designers and developers in the industry to move away from Photoshop and you don’t agree, then this book if for you. It will help you show through example why it’s not old school to use Photoshop for web design. After reading Dan’s book I solidified my stance that what is great about UI design is that it’s a creative field (that dabbles in being technical) and that it’s best to use the tools that make you comfortable so that you can be as creative as possible. You should never hold back your designs because of the tools you’re using.

I felt as if some of the pages of this book were penned by me and it echoed my theory and philosophy of RWD. If you still value being “creative” and Photoshop is your tool of choice, pick this book up and keep it by your side when you’re designing. You’ll learn new techniques that can help streamline your process and make sure you think of all the in’s and out’s of designing a responsive site.

ArticDesignArticulating Design Decisions 1st Edition by Tom Greever (@tomgreever)

As I progress though my career I am able to recognize my strengths and weaknesses faster. Because of this I’m also able to find solutions to the weaker parts of my skill set and nip that weakness in the bud.

One thing that I’ve been proud of over the years is my ability to articulate my designs, at least I thought that was the case until maybe the past 1.5 years or so. With the ever evolving world of web design comes challenges to be able to explain the “why’s” behind you and your teams designs. At some point you think that your experience should just speak for itself. The problem is that time really NEVER comes.

I decided to pick this one up after one particularly bad meeting where I wasn’t able to explain why I had directed my team to do something. I realized that the medium is moving way way faster than some of the C-Suite Execs are able to keep up.

This book is a great tool to help refine and sharpen the skill set of selling your ideas and is highly recommended for any designer out there.

touchDesigning for Touch by Josh Clark (@bigmediumjosh)

Josh Clark has done a great thing for the design community by writing this book. I’m about 95% through this one and I’ve already used it in my day to day work more than once.

If you’ve ever designed anything for a mobile device you know that it’s just not as easy as saying “make the text bigger and make that button tapable!” there is way more to it and Josh does a great job explaining the nuances of designing for these new devices and sizes without getting too far into the weeds.

There are real-life examples throughout this quick read and best of all this book is up-to-date. One of the reasons I wanted to read this was to see if and how the differences between phone screen sizes and the rise of the “phablet” have effected design techniques or touch design philosophy. The answer is in this book and it’s valuable information that every designer should have. I just hope they keep updating it as new and unexpected trends in this market emerge.

Just Bought; Haven’t Read

A Book Apart, the publisher of Designing for Touch, also just released 2 new titles that I’m waiting to get in the mail as I type this. I wanted to mention them as they are relevant to my work right now and knowing the quality of A Book Apart, I’m sure these will be amazing.

Responsive Design: Patterns and Principles by Ethan Marcotte (@beep)

Written by the guy that coined RWD, this is a must read. Here is the description: “As responsive design evolves, we have a critical need to think about design challenges beyond mobile, tablet, and desktop. When properly designed and planned, design patterns—small, reusable modules—help your responsive layout reach more devices (and people) than ever before. Ethan Marcotte shows you just how that’s done, focusing on responsive navigation systems, re-sizing and adapting images, managing advertising in a responsive context, and broader principles for designing more flexible, device-independent layouts.”

SO GOOD! I CAN’T WAIT

Going Responsive by Karen McGrane (@karenmcgrane)

The reason I want to read this one is simply because I am a realist and this book sounds like it’s trying to teach people the truth about the real world of design. From being on both the agency side and client side there are a lot of challenges that come along with “going responsive.”

I read Karen’s book “Content Strategy for Mobile” and I’m sure this one will not disappoint. Here is the description: “Responsive design is more than the technical; it’s a new way of communicating and working that affects every person on your team. Karen McGrane draws on data and stories from real-world teams to show you why going responsive is just good business sense—and how to set up your project (from concept to launch) for total success. Learn how to plan and scope work, collaborate in a responsive context, evaluate content, handle browser support and testing, and measure performance outcomes. No matter your role or project, go responsive with confidence.”

Categories
Design Development UX

Jack of all trades, master of none? I think not.

Is a line being drawn in the sand about what makes a Web Designer?

Possibly. While i agree with some of this excellent article written by GORKA MOLERO, there are some parts of it that are a stretch for me.
I have a lot of respect for Andy Rutldge but I’ve never really agreed with this:

‘A designer who does not write markup and css is not designing for the web, but drawing pictures’

I think there is always going to be a seat in the room for a UX/UI designer that isn’t necessarily an expert at Front-End/CSS or jQuery. Personally I would trust a UX/UI designer to craft the look and feel of a site/product over an expert coder. I mean, have you seen sites created by IT teams or people that have spent the past few years becoming an expert coder? YIPES! I think a designer and developer is a team not one person. This team should be the best at what they do and be able to finish each others sentences so the product is as good as it can be. They should be able to talk each others language and even dabble a bit in each others world. But leave the code to the coders and the design to the designers. Agile and Lean UX/UI techniques play well in this scheme if you have the resources.

I think when you ask one person to be great at both design and development, they suffer from being a “Jack of all trades, master of none.” This produces a sub-par product. But just my 2 cents.

Categories
Design UX

GoodUI.org

I ran into this excellent site today.

GoodUI.org – 17 quick tips on how to be a better UI Designer. I noticed that a lot of these tips cross over into “content strategy”. Check it out, it’s a fun and easy read.

A Good User Interface has high conversion rates and is easy to use. In other words, it’s nice to both the business side as well as the people using it. Here is a running list of practical ideas to try out.

Categories
Strategy UX

Fighting Hackers: Everything You’ve Been Told About Passwords Is Wrong | Wired Opinion | Wired.com

This is an excellent article about how crappy your password probably is.

Security is not just about strong encryption, good anti-virus software, or techniques like two-factor authentication. It’s also about the “fuzzy” things … involving people. That’s where the security game is often won or lost. Just ask Mat Honan.

We – the users – are supposed to be responsible, and are told what to do to stay secure. For example: “Don’t use the same password on different sites.” “Use strong passwords.” “Give good answers to security questions.” But here’s the troublesome equation:

more services used = more passwords needed = more user pain

… which means it only gets harder and harder to follow such advice. Why? Because security and practicality are in conflict.

Read the whole article here:
Fighting Hackers: Everything You’ve Been Told About Passwords Is Wrong | Wired Opinion | Wired.com.

Categories
Design UX

What Does a UX Strategist Do? :: UXmatters

I found this great article today asking the question What Does A UX Strategist Do?  The term UX is still new in the common folks lexicon but it gaining traction.

Here are a couple of definitions that I tend to agree with:

a UX Strategist uses consumer insights he’s gathered from research, psychology, and UX best practices, takes a consumer-centric approach to helping an organization make strategy decisions, and acts as a change agent within an organization.

It goes all the way from defining the strategic objectives—vision and strategy—to team objectives and tactical plans, as well as execution and monitoring.

I also found it interesting that this question even needs to be asked. But it’s a good idea for those of us who are trying to take lead in this field (and UI) to all get on the same page early on so that the job doesn’t get fragmented… ie. “web designer”.

 

Categories
UX Video

ixda awards 2012, short doc, “defining interaction design” on Vimeo

ixda awards 2012, short doc, “defining interaction design” on Vimeo

Great video about what it means to be an interaction designer.

Categories
UX

6 Hot IT Jobs That Will Pay Well in 2012 CIO.com

6 Hot IT Jobs That Will Pay Well in 2012 CIO.com.

Although not truly an IT job, this CIO article does a great job of making feel all warm and fuzzy inside with this:

3. User Experience Designers

Because so many of the apps companies are developing—whether for PCs or mobile devices—are customer facing, they need user interface or user experience designers to ensure the apps are fun and intuitive to use. Robert Half anticipates starting salaries for user experience designers to rise 6.7 percent, to between $71,750 and $104,000 per year.