It’s about time to get ready to celebrate the holidays. I hope that peace has found its place for you, and you will have time to reflect over 2015 and prepare for 2016.
2015 has been an intensive year for UI-Patterns.com:
- I wrote more blog posts than ever before
- I launched UI Talks – a project trying to collect the best recorded conference talks on UX in one place.
- I launched an email course on building persuasive patterns (which many of you are receiving).
- I got to meet and talk to many talented, interesting, and thoughtful people.
- I shared my framework for building persuasive online products at the Push Conference (watch video)
- I launched my first online video course on building persuasive products
- The Persuasive Pattern card deck went into pre-order
All that was done in my spare time – in my professional life, I left my job for 8 years at Bonnier to start a new adventure at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. 2016 looks promising.
Reading list for the holidays
Below is a collection of long-read articles to catch up on, when you have time for reflection in the holidays. The best UX links of 2015.
UX Skills
Improve your approach to UX
How To Become A UX Leader by Robert Hoekman Jr
Advice on how to get what you want and be great at leading UX.
Becoming a More Thoughtful User Experience Designer by Jake Lee Haugen
The difference between creating good experiences and amazing experiences often comes down to how thoughtful we can remain during the design process.
How to give better product feedback by Cemre Güngör
The best feedback is the one most likely to create empathy and elicit product change.
Design Perspectives
New ways of thinking about design
Why Product Thinking is the next big thing in UX Design by Nikkel Blaase
Life’s too short to build something nobody wants…
God is in the details by Buzz Usborne
The details are the last 1% of a product. They’re hard to define, they’re impossible to scope, and they’re absolutely no substitute to thorough research, great design and clever engineering. They can, however, be the difference between an average experience and a great one.
The Experience Makes the Product, Not the Features by Lee Dale
A comprehensive guide for using your MVP to get the right product to market, fast.
Beyond Usability: Designing with Persuasive Patterns by Anders Toxboe
Building persuasive user experiences is like a relationship and you need to treat it like one. So, what do you want? A one-night stand or a lasting partnership?
User Research
Get user research right from the start
User Research explained for with animated GIFs by Spencer Lanoue
5 tips for design research to build empathy with users and help define the overall experience.
User Interface & Experience Design
The best tips on creating better design of 2015
The best icon is a text label by Thomas Byttebier
Icons are great when there is a universal meaning that everyone understands, but most aren’t clear without context. To have clarity, use a label.
What Is Zero UI? by Andy Goodman
"As we move away from screens, a lot of our interfaces will have to become more automatic, anticipatory, and predictive," Goodman says.
Change aversion: why users hate what you launched by Aaron Sedley
Best practices for managing the introduction of change to platforms with a lot of existing usage.
The Paradox of Empathy by Scott Jenson
Empathy is a vague concept that isn’t strongly appreciated by others and while it leads to big, important insights, it usually starts with small steps.
Spatial Interfaces by Pasquale D’Silva
Exploration of thinking inside and outside the bounds of the screen to design a spatial interface.
The Principles of UX Choreography by Rebecca Ussai
5 principles on how to captivate your audience and how they interact with your story.
In Search of the Design Documentation Unicorn by Dan Brown
Better ways communicate ideas and work with stakeholders and engineers.
Team and management
Work better together
Figuring Out Your Design Decision Style by Jared Spool
The best teams stay on top of how they are making decisions, not just the decisions they are making.
Thank you for listening in 2015. See you next year. Happy holidays!
- Anders Toxboe
