A designer who writes.
I’ve written four articles now about content ecosystem mapping. I’ve coached clients through producing them, I’ve led workshops on them, and I’ve given many talks about them (and their big brother, concept models). A point I stress over and over, but is hard to make stick, is that the activity of making the map is … continue
I find that I have less interest in (and time for) video games as I get older, which is too bad in a way as they are a great source of inspiration for design patterns and UX writing. Lately, I’ve been playing lots of Ape Out on Nintendo Switch. You control a great ape escaping … continue
My book is in print now. Available in print, anyway. Print on demand. I have a printed copy. (I don’t want to get “you wrote a text”-ed about my book and its relationship to paper. But I digress.) I did not know this was going to happen when I agreed to write for the Briefs … continue
Corey Gwin is building a writing app called Blurt. To promote the app, he’s been writing about writing. To promote my book, I’ve been tweeting about writing. I tweeted out one of the things he wrote, which made him notice me, and then he asked me to do a video interview for a series he’s … continue
I’ve always been enamored with product ecosystems. It’s rare that I’ll buy anything without researching what kind of accessories I can get with it. Does it have an official case, pouch, or sleeve? Can you change the tip, the handle, the grip? What can I upgrade? What can I combine it with? LEGO was both … continue
The introduction of my book Writing for Designers is available to read for free on A List Apart.
One my favorite talks I give is about making Dale Carnegie’s 9 Golden Principles for Being a Friendlier Person an accessible idea for UX designers. The first principle is often one of the hardest to adhere to, both IRL and on the web: Never criticize, condemn, or complain. When a user does something we perceive … continue
I like when designers solve problems with words in a straightforward and simple way. I nearly opened the wrong end of this carton of heavy cream. But then I saw the all-caps instructions to OPEN OTHER END. So I did. Not hard to imagine a designer using an illustration (which you’d probably decrypt right after … continue
There’s a lot to like here. Clear heading. Shows up immediately, full screen. The pre-selected path (to remove your email address) adds privacy and is user-focused. It explains what the email address is for in simple language, right there on the same screen without having to go anywhere else to read anything. Love it.
Found notes from a Donna Spencer workshop on information architecture I took back in 2012. I paid out of pocket to attend and though it seemed a small fortune at the time I’m very glad I did. On where content “is”: I don’t talk about where things are in a site because they aren’t anywhere. … continue
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