2021’s TechBBQ was a success sandwiched between lock-downs and covering topics of climate, ethical design and the responsibilities of those who work with technology to employ their talents for good.

If you get the opportunity to use your product yourself as a team then do it! Only through actual usage do you begin to see the potential for improvements first-hand…

And why need to go back to why we have design systems in the first place.
It’s as much about alignment and agreement on direction of a site in a brand’s context as the design and technical aspects of the delivery of the interface.

Very often it is unclear to a product team who is really in charge of budgets, how the fiscal planning will effect the project and if a change in strategic priorities may derail the product development. Add external vendors as team members, and you have all the ingredients for a stalled development process, or one that is really two different processes that may not even co-exist in the same time frame.

Innovation requires change. Technological advances are pushing companies to move faster and create new ideas, products, and services that in the industrial age took decades to develop. With change now occurring exponentially instead of incrementally, design is no longer a link in the innovation chain, but the hub of the wheel.

This post was written in 2011 and I have changed some wording particularly around UX to be more encompassing to any designer who works in a user-centred function. There have been a slew of articles around this subject but the focus here is on the character traits that enable personal growth and allow great team dynamics to exist.

What is the difference between a good and a great designer? Why do some get better and some stagnate? Is your individual design practice enough to elevate you beyond the competent majority?

Here are a few thoughts around how design work develops from craft, to process to consultation and how your client will always need nurturing.

The power of aesthetics, story-telling and a poignant communication can contribute to a user's experience, however it does not define it.

In the company I work at, we are growing our UX offering around a product and it is a slow but sure process of convincing people that this approach (with the right designers) can really work for their business. However, we must also embark on communication and design work as our market is not as big or as mature as the US or UK. These are driven by the need for business survival but it also ensures we have diverse viewpoints on our projects. Different perspectives provide value.