Founder of the UX 365 Academy. Proud to have helped 344K UXers +designers sharpen their skills +propel their careers forward. Putting the gatekeepers on NOTICE.
@rsnbrgjrdn
“OK folks, we need to strip this brand of every last shred of uniqueness and character and emotion it has. Make it look like we could sell any damn thing, as if we were just another generic corporate entity.”
That’s NOT
#design
. In any way, shape or form.
"Product Design is not UX Design is not UI Design is not..."
Look, if you're doing the job right, it's all the same shit.
It's all DESIGN.
Every description I've ever read about any of the above disciplines applies to ALL THREE if you're going to be any good at it.
1/6
@HeyAbhishekk
...which basically eliminates all the most valuable, useful parts of creating a mind map. The entire point is to THINK THROUGH these connections, to spend time figuring out what they should be.
@tim_cook
I ask this as a loyal Apple customer since the late 80s:
What the hell is WRONG with you???
That was extremely painful to watch. Every single second.
I really cannot get my head around how you or anyone thought this was wise — and not incredibly disrespectful and dismissive to
Since so many ask so often, I will finally share my
#UX
process (a thread):
1) Get clear on why this app, site or system exists, who needs it and what they expect to be able to do with it.
2) Assess the current state of the app, site or system and map out how people use it.
To everyone entering or wanting to enter the
#UX
or
#design
field, in case it's unclear:
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE.
No matter what your credentials are or how you go about learning the craft. You may even discover newer, better ways and teach us older folks a thing or two.
<ux_rant>
I will be 54 this year. I have helped product design and development teams and individuals in startups, mid sized orgs and global Fortune 100 orgs in 23 U.S. states and six countries in almost every industry you can think of for thirty (30) years.
(1/11)
Them: "We never have enough time to do proper user interviews."
Me: "How much time do you have?"
Them: "a week."
Me: "Let me tell you a story..."
And the story,
#UX
and
#design
friends, goes like this:
(1/11)
OK kids,
#UX
story time ;-)
I was in a meeting once where there was a religious argument between groups of developers, database folks, product owners and executive managers.
The topic: why a certain report screen was taking so long to load.
(1/12)
Every once in awhile (like this week), a company asks me to speak to their employees. And every once in awhile, after I send over information on my speaking fees, I get some variation of this response:
"Oh, this isn't for profit, it's just to help our employees grow and learn.
@_brewna_
@ZenOfDesign
Casualization meaning (god forbid) ANYONE can play? This is a problem? We’re not allowed to join your club?
I really hope that isn’t what you mean.
There are actual players — not testers, people like me — who need those visual cues to know what to do. I’m not a hardcore gamer,
Look, I certainly know all those big words, acronyms, and terms we all use to describe
#UX
work — but I do not EVER use them with clients.
As in NEVER.
Hell, I don't even use the term "UX" if I can help it.
Here's why:
#uxdesign
#productdesign
Thought for today: there is NO such thing as “soft skills.” Because they’re damn HARD to practice in a world that wants you to wear emotional armor 24/7 and pretend like you never feel fear. That’s called being human. Kindness and vulnerability are STRENGTH. Period.
#UX
#Life
OK,
#UX
and
#UI
freelancers...we need to talk about money (a thread).
Specifically, I want to rid you of the biggest and wrongest and most widely circulated myth in business:
That PRICING is the most important competitive factor in business success.
Because it ISN'T.
(1/12)
Because it bears repeating: the job for any and all of us in
#UX
or
#Design
is NOT to automagically know the answers.
It's to ask questions.
There are no experts. No gurus. Only people who understand what I just said + ask a LOT of questions to get to the truth
That's the job.
The next
#UX
or
#UI
designer that reduces and dismisses the profession of Graphic Design to making pretty things is going to be extraordinarily sorry they ever heard my name.
STOP.
DOING.
THIS.
And crack a fucking book on the subject while you're at it.
I have a very strong suspicion that Twitter is now hiding my tweets from a lot of the folks who normally see them...
So if you see this tweet in your feed, please hit the like icon.
Want to see if my hunch is correct ;-)
@kari_paul
OK, this is officially the DUMBEST contingency in software development I have ever heard of. To say this is short-sighted
#design
is being extraordinarily polite.
Sorry you have to deal with this, Kari!
#wtfux
If some of you
#UX
or
#design
"experts" can't find it in your heart to say something kind, constructive and useful that HELPS someone else, kindly keep your negative, holier-than-thou bullshit to yourself.
You were a beginner once, too.
And here's a newsflash: YOU STILL ARE.
I'd like all you interviewees asked to do take-home design exercises that take more than 1 hour to start giving me the names of those companies.
So I can start talking to their HR departments.
Feel free to DM me; YOUR name will be left out of it, I promise.
This has to stop.
Radical idea, hear me out, I know it’s fucking crazy...I KNOW.
But — again, just hear me out — just consider:
ONE UXER OR DESIGNER FOR EVERY ONE PROGRAMMER OR DEVELOPER ON YOUR TEAM.
(cc
@Deloitte
and all its cousins in consultancy. And every other company, to be honest.)
Q: “Why do you think UXers seem so collectively frustrated as a profession?”
A: Because there’s a pretty significant disconnect between how we’re taught the work should happen and how it actually happens once we land a job.
1/4
Yo
@Adobe
— what the actual FUCK?
Grossly irresponsible, to say the very least. As someone who's used your design tools since the late 80s, I cannot possibly express how disgusted I am at the callousness and carelessness on display here.
Folks, please retweet this. They need to
Adobe is selling AI-generated images of the siege on Gaza via its stock image service, and news outlets are using them (without marking them as AI generated)
So it took awhile (apologies, folks) but it finally hit me:
Just how many people will now be shut out and excluded from using Figma due to Adobe's ridiculous, restrictive, greedy, exorbitant, punishing-for-early-withdrawal subscription rules?
One thing I know to be true: the people who have intense imposter syndrome — folks who have that relentless internal dialogue which makes them feel very unsure of themselves — are typically people who are *wildly* beyond competent at what they do.
1/10
Companies asking
#UX
job candidates for things like Angular and Python skills:
STOP IT.
Both are specialized and require a high degree of expertise. It's a sloppy, uninformed approach that'll keep you flailing and failing — and it's truly insulting to both UXers and Developers.
Look, I certainly know all those big words, acronyms, and terms we all use to describe
#UX
work — but I do not EVER use them with clients.
As in NEVER.
Here's why:
#uxdesign
#productdesign
Friends, it's dawning on me that many are unaware of all the
#UX
resources I have available to you, esp. the free stuff. So a quick thread.
I've got a number of free articles, videos, podcasts, interviews etc., updated regularly, here:
(1/4)
PSA: Three weeks ago I tested positive for
#COVID19
. Four days later, while on a video call with my doctor I found myself gasping for breath, my pulse oxygen levels diving, with her yelling at me to CALL 911 NOW.
(1/8)
I keep hearing about new job roles proposed to facilitate collaboration between the camps of
#UX
/
#Design
and
#Development
... how about instead of a new role or process or new fancy name... folks on each side just sit in each others' camps? Like, all the time?
#NotThatHard
@biocuriosity
Because Deloitte has no business building ANYTHING. They're a prime example of the build-first-design-NEVER mentality every consultancy just like them uses. No
#UX
, no
#design
, ZERO attention to context of use. I've been cleaning up their messes with clients for 20+ years.
PSA:
If your company TRULY valued
#Design
or
#UX
, those disciplines wouldn’t report to Engineering or IT or Marketing.
There would instead be a Design/UX department, independent of and equal to all the others.
Let’s stop bullshitting ourselves, OK?
Attention all
#UX
and
#Design
and
#Developer
friends, no matter how new you are to this gig:
YOU.
ARE NOT.
AN IMPOSTOR.
No matter what some clickbait bullshit headline article from a UX organization that should damn well know better has to say about it.
We clear?
Someone brought up an important point in a discussion on LinkedIn this morning and I want to share it with you all here.
The topic turned to the frustration software engineers have for
#UI
designers who don’t structure their designs appropriately for code, or don’t seem to
Can we please stop shitting on
#UX
and
#design
folks for dark patterns like canceling a service?
In 3 decades I’ve NEVER been inside any org where they had the power or authority to make such decisions.
Nor did they have the autonomy or privilege required to quit.
Just stop.
No one outside this profession gives a shit how sound your
#UX
research is if they have to WORK to dig through the academic formality of a string of ten-dollar words in the very first sentence. No one has the time or energy. If you want anyone to read a word, speak simply.
Let me put this another way,
#UX
and
#Design
friends: you ARE capable of doing the work, no matter what it is. You CAN learn what you don't know. You CAN change your path in this profession. Don't let the distinctions and titles and complexities deter you. Learn, try, repeat.
Saw this question earlier today: “How "good" does talent have to be to tolerate someone who is abrasive?”
Answer: there is no level of talent that justifies abrasive behavior. PERIOD.
People like this kill morale and culture. They’re hurtful and should not be tolerated.
Every week I get an onslaught of messages from UXers and Designers overcome with a mountain of self-doubt — fueled by the ridiculous, often mean-spirited debates among "experts" they see on social media.
So I just want to say out loud, for whoever needs to hear it:
(1/9)
Friday reminder,
#UX
and
#Design
friends:
You didn't get this far by accident.
You got this far because you have the drive, talent, motivation, strength + RESILIENCE to survive all the knocks that have come your way — and because you were (and ARE) more than good enough.
Re: patterns. Call them what they are in context of how they’re used:
Manipulative
Coercive
Abusive
Shaming
Exploitative
Racist
Sexist
Etc.
STOP using “dark.” Period.
I’ve done so in the past, I admit. But I see the wrongness of that clearly now. So no more.
Simple, see?
If you want to learn software, I am not your guy.
If you want step-by-step "recipes" for
#UX
or
#UI
work, I am also not your guy.
(There's no such thing, btw).
There is only learning UX + UI principles + approaches + doing the work of *adapting* them to YOUR daily activity.
@feydemon
@lwx101
For people who have color perception issues — a larger portion of the population than you think — it absolutely IS hard to see without the yellow. That contrast is the reason their eyes are able to see the boundaries between shapes.
WHY are doctors somehow exempt from respecting people's time? If we have a 9:00 call, you call me at 9:00. If I have a 10:30 appointment, you see me at 10:30. I really don't understand why we excuse this.
@hotgirlintech
@rsnbrgjrdn
I started my career in graphic design, have worked on 23 big rebrands; this plus the press release smacks of either (1) design by committee or (2) lowest-common-denominator copying: fear-driven-play-it-safe-senior-level "do that generic thing all the big brands are doing now."
PSA for all asking me to stop tweeting about “non-UX things:”
Most have heard me say that SILENCE EQUALS AGREEMENT.
These aren’t just things I say. They’re how I live.
So I cannot be silent about what’s happening right now.
Because I absolutely do NOT fucking AGREE with it.
I keep hearing about new job roles proposed to facilitate collaboration between the camps of
#UX
/
#Design
and
#Development
... how about instead of a new role or process or new fancy name... folks on each side just sit in each others' camps? Like, all the time?
#NotThatHard
9,000 enrollments in a matter of hours.
I am nearly speechless.
I truly hope all who were able to enroll find value in my
#UX
+
#UI
courses — and if you do, please take a moment to leave a review and rating on Udemy.
Gratitude to you all. 🙏
Another day, another story about a
#ProductManager
micromanaging a
#UX
or
#design
professional, forcing them to work to their own personal opinions about what should be done and how.
Instead of welcoming UX + Design expertise to the table and being open to collaboration.
(1/4)
Today's session with a client's Product Dev team has once again cemented my position on
#UX
,
#Design
and
#ProductDevelopment
Dogma:
I don’t give a shit what
#Agile
, Lean UX or the
#Scrum
guide says you should be doing:
If it isn’t working, we’re throwing it OUT.
Period.
This just in: SurveyMonkey is now called Momentive.
What was the mandate there? "Let's remove every ounce of character we possibly can out of this brand name and make it sound like yet another faceless tech company with a made up word name."
#Branding
#UX
#CX
<rant>
There is far too much talk across social media about how Product Designers are different from
#UX
designers because, as I've been told, "product designers are specifically concerned with and serve the business side of things as well as the user side."
(1/12)
Because it bears repeating:
Go easy on yourself.
You did the best you could.
You made the best choices you could make with the information you had at the time.
There isn’t any more to it.
Go easy.
🙏❤️
If you're going to make an impact. Get results. Help people.
Design of ANY kind, in general, is a holistic pursuit — you have to know a hell of a lot about a hell of a lot that is far beyond the actual tactical work you do.
2/6
@vj_chidambaram
@timnitGebru
When I read their reasoning, what I hear is "this made us look bad, and we didn't have the opportunity to include some doublespeak or empty promises to cloud the facts."
In the last 13 months I've worked with 6 companies who have exponentially growing backlogs. Which are literally *never* touched. Which has also been the majority of my experience over the past 10 years.
Where I am with this: F**K the backlog.
Remove it from existence.
(1/2)
Attn
#UX
and
#design
folks looking for jobs:
Stay as far away as humanly possible from fucking assholes like these as you possibly can.
If you work, you get PAID.
PERIOD.
Do not ever accept anything less — intern, first job, whatever. I say again:
If you work, you get PAID.
For Exposure (retired, but still RT for… exposure)
The question I get asked most often by young folks just starting out in
#UX
or
#design
is "what's the most important thing I need to know for a successful career?"
And the answer is really, really simple:
Be a good human being who cares about other people, and ACT like it.
To express my gratitude for ALL of you, I'm giving away 10,000 seats to 10 of my Udemy
#UX
courses for FREE.
1,000 seats available per course — when they're gone, they're gone. Next 3 days only; they're already going fast.
Details here:
#UX
+
#Design
friends, do me a quick favor: ask
@uxmastery
— and
@interacting
, who owns them — why they haven't shown me a royalty statement or a payment for 13 months for my book THINK FIRST, which they're still selling.
And then ask why they're not responding to emails or DMs.
“The adjustments we're making aim to focus us on the areas that have the greatest impact on your experience while reducing investment on things that don’t.”
My brothers in Christ, you laid off USER EXPERIENCE people.
Including the fucking DIRECTOR of UX.
You know, the people
Minutes ago, we shared an important update with Rioters about the future of Riot Games. Here’s what these changes mean for our games and what players can expect from us going forward:
All I want to say to every single one of you in the
#UX
and
#design
community out here on the interwebs is this: I am eternally grateful for your support and kindness. Now especially. If I had better words, I’d use them...overwhelmed with gratitude. From my heart: 🙏🙏🙏
This morning someone asked for advice on presenting a
#UX
or
#Design
portfolio: showing the work visually and talking an interviewer through it. Thought my advice might be helpful to folks here:
The key is how compelling the stories you tell are.
(1/6)
#UX
Thread (well, rant) ahead:
What I've seen repeatedly over nearly three decades (your mileage may vary):
I have not once seen anything work like it does in the perfectly organized, ordered scenarios we hear about every day —
#Lean
,
#Agile
,
#DesignOps
,
#DevOps
…etc.
(1/8)
They are outgunned, outmanned, underfunded, overworked, disregarded and disrespected and treated like children with crayons.
Given orders.
Or worked around, left out until it’s time to “make things pretty.”
(4/11)
I struggle to recall any time I’ve hired a professional to do work — from plumbers to developers — and then refused to take their advice, substituting my own ideas about how they should do their work.
And yet company leaders do this every day with
#UX
and
#design
folks.
(1/2)
45 minutes ago, someone asked me how I got to where I am in my
#UX
career, what I thought the core thing responsible was. In everything I've done, I'm convinced it's this:
I have relentlessly focused every single thing I do on helping other people.
(1/7)
4. When UX or UI sucks in a product, it's almost NEVER the result of
#Developers
, Designers or UXers not being able to do their jobs well. It's the result of political compromise, micromanagement + ego (read: fear) of middle/upper management insisting their way is right.
(4/7)
Yo
@gmail
: Maybe I don't give a f**k what's new because I have shit to do. A lot of it. So kindly include an X or CANCEL or some other option to skip this other than "Get Started" and get out of my way. Kthxbye
#wtfux
#UX
@NecroKuma3
@Adobe
I can and I will.
@affinitybyserif
is fantastic software I've used myself. Solid features and functionality, developed by creative people for creative people. Without the ridiculous predatory price gouging — no subscriptions. Check them out here:
@i0sTaila
@IamAdamKuhn
NO. No,no, no. None of my biz, but I hate hearing this! Don’t ever second guess yourself or your abilities for what is complete ignorance and utter disrespect on their part. You deserve what you’re making, & anyone who wants you WILL pay you more.
Please don’t ever doubt that.
@AIGAeyeondesign
@jbaldwin
Hard NO. Anyone who judges what ANYONE did during this pandemic is someone I would never in a million years even CONSIDER working for. Terrible take at the worst possible time. You both should be encouraging people right now — instead of increasing their worries + stress.
But I cannot and will not sit idly and listen to people blame individual UXers and Designers for decisions made by Middle Managers, Marketing VPs and/or any number of C-Level executives.
(8/11)
And if those UXers or designers happen to be POC or female or LGBTQIA, you can multiply the disrespect and abuse by a factor of 10,000.
This is not the minority of what I have seen, it is the MAJORITY.
(5/11)
Three things I want every one of my
#UX
+
#Design
+
#Developer
friends to remember as we head into 2022:
1. You BELONG HERE.
2. It does not matter how you GOT (or get) here.
3. What any so-called "expert" has to say about either of those things is IRRELEVANT.
#HappyNewYear
The common thread over every experience across that time is that the majority of organizations still operate in command-and-control fashion when it comes to Design + UX.
The marginalization, devaluing + disempowering of UX and Design folks isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.
(3/11)
I have been resisting the urge to say this all morning, but can't let it go, so:
Your life is far too precious — and far too SHORT — to spend it debating on what the "right way to do
#UX
" is, or what we call ourselves or who should or shouldn't be allowed to do this work.
🙏
#UX
Fast Food for Thought Dept:
The Problem is Never the Problem.
What clients ask me for is almost never what I end up doing. Usually because the issue they're reacting to is a symptom of something a lot deeper + more widespread. A ripple effect they haven't yet traced.
(1/X)