Tom Harries

Our Senior Product Designer Rosie Dent-Spargo held a superb session in February with the Product Design team to create values and principles. Using guidance from Dan Makoski's book Uplifting Design, the session was dynamic and layered. The focus wasn't solely on creation, but also how we might embed principles and values into daily work. This write up is the Rolls-Royce of "How to"s, and is a very valuable read for those looking to create and instil values and principles within any team. https://lnkd.in/e7DXm_Ca #productdesign #principles #values

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Federated design systems are great. In theory. But reality is a little more complicated. There are challenges associated with quality, consistency and follow through. In our latest episode, Davy Fung and I discuss the highs and lows of federated design systems. What's worked, what hasn't and how to come out the other side in one piece. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/g4W3SYqR #designsystems #podcast

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Critiques are the life-blood of a design system team. It turns out when you potentially cover everything in a product, you have a lot to cover in team crits. In our latest episode, Davy Fung and I discuss how we've seen design system teams run crits, what's worked and what hasn't. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gbK7WbzQ #designsystems #podcast #crit

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Designers - are you being asked to provide measurable proof of how your work impacts business outcomes with metrics? Are you unsure of what to measure, when and how? Being able to assess the impact of your design decisions can not only have a positive effect on your product and end users, but is also a skill increasingly in demand for design roles. Recently, I wrote an article on this very topic, "How design teams can use product data to add value to the business" (https://lnkd.in/gYreMBm9 ). Today I'm excited to announce the release of part 2 on this topic, "6 ways Pendo's design team uses Pendo to add more value to the platform - and the business" (https://lnkd.in/gTgj2dmJ). Check it out! #DesignMetrics #BusinessOutcomes #ProductData #DesignTeams #Pendo

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I recently spoke with FLUX about my career journey and product design leadership. Kristie Craft was a stellar interviewer, which helped me articulate a few things that I've been noodling on over the last little while... 👽 After years of struggling with impostor syndrome, it was when I chose to be brave and have the audacity that the best opportunities came. It's not easy, but it starts with the core belief that you are deserving of your dreams. 👀 The prerequisite of being a great designer is curiosity. Get curious about an aspect of craft, process, leadership, or business and dig like you're doing a deep dive on the hand in the IG story your crush just posted. 🏀 Put in your 10,000 hours. Practice makes perfect, the cliche is true. Whatever part of your skillset you're trying to grow, be patient and put in time — before you know it, you'll be an MVP. 📣 Great communication is a hallmark of a great leader. Great communication and feedback is clear, succinct, and aligned to the business. 🖼 Visual design craft excellence is a hot topic in product design lately. I have a love for graphic design, where I started my career. I just got this book, Sun Ra: Art on Saturn, a collection of sketches and album art Sun Ra created for his works. Very different than what most PDs are looking at every day, which is precisely why I recommend it. Look for inspiration outside of a screen. Check out the full interview and let me know what you think.

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Interesting article on rethinking the role of UX Teams. https://lnkd.in/eN7SQHEm #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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An interesting take on the usage of notifications and how they can impact product experiences and perception. https://lnkd.in/eJ2hPPad #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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November vs June. There's something happening and it's a problem I learned about yesterday at New Designers following a load of conversations. Some product design courses are having very low numbers of students doing placements. Typically, without a placement, the students go on to do their final year and the degree is completed as a 3 year course. (I'm aware this may not be true for EVERY University). My view is that a 12 month placement makes you much better in your final year, and a better designer when it comes to trying to land a job. It's incredibly valuable. My bet would be that most people in industry would agree. So why is the 3 year completion with no placement apparently becoming more common? I was told students have to lock in their accommodation for the following year in November. So, when it gets to November there's the feeling of "Oh shit. I haven't landed a placement. I need to live somewhere. I'll commit to accommodation, not do a placement and do final year". This is happening in November but lots of postings for placements don't go out until Dec-Jan! At other Universities I spoke to, there was a complete all-in commitment to landing a placement. The mindset wasn't that it's a 3 year course and you CAN do a placement. The mindset was that you DO a placement and it would be odd if you didn't. With this, the "Oh shit" moment wasn't in November but in June - needing to desperately find somewhere to live. Either way, the students are put in a tight spot and the accommodation factor causes a lot of stress. And that's without the general feeling that there are fewer placements around. Thought it was worth sharing as I wasn't privy to this but was always curious when so many seemed to be doing 3 years. The other part of this is graduate expectations of walking into a product design job after 3 years and no internships when the competition of designers from the same graduating year have 12 months of experience. #industrialdesign #productdesign #designplacements

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Torn between the IC and management design track? 🌊 I wanted to share some reflections after a year in management and share the key differences I've experience in how my role and day to day has changed. Perhaps you're on the fence, trying to decide which path to take? Or you're about to start a new role as a design manager? This video should help give you some confidence in what to expect ✨ Shoutout to Buzzy for sponsoring this video! Buzzy lets you kickstart your app development and remove the lengthy tech bottlenecks with their AI-powered . platform. In just a few minutes, you can generate a full-stack working app with simple prompts – without any code! Look no further for an efficient way to get a working prototype up and running and in the hands of real users, fast. https://lnkd.in/gQEND-Ep

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Action needed: Each year DesignOps Assembly puts together THE benchmarking report for the DesignOps profession. The survey for the 2024 DesignOps Benchmarking Report is open and we need everyone in within the DesignOps world (including designers who help out with DesignOps) to participate. You’ll help DesignOps, Design, Product, and Business leaders and teams to better understand the landscape of our work. You'll also help everyone in the design industry understand trends, changes, come and the overall health of our industry (including salary info, team sizes, team impact etc..) Please take 10 minutes to fill this out. If you have ever referenced prior reports you know how important it is. 👉 bit.ly/DOA2024Survey 👈 Deadline for responses is July 31. #designops #ops #dpm #designprogrammanagement #design #designoperations #designleadership

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“However, there will be more demand for great interactions and for new, interesting interactions. The desire for companies to stand out and create status and differentiation suggests that there will be even more demand for designers.” - my quote on the rise of design systems and increase in software creation. It’s from an article by Carly Ayres in The Prompt, a zine that the Figma team created for Config. Am I right? Or too optimistic? Link in comments.

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We got our first website accessibility audit in quite a while done recently. It's important not to be daunted by the report you get back – we are thoroughly working through it to make the improvements needed. We're trying to design and develop things in a robust way, and a nice bonus was some big recently shipped work had no known issues. It just shows that when you build accessibility in from the start it makes a huge impact. #accessibility

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I think there's a lot of smart business leaders out there that know they'll have to invest time & money & create new roles for Design x Ai in the short term before they can reap the benefits. But maybe if they stall long enough... who knows? Half the time, half the cost, half the people, same or better quality. That's how this was supposed to work, right? Well, it's not actually panning out that way. I've been noodling with the potential relationships between Ai & design for about 8 years at this point, and even I'm surprised at how much work I've had to put into building frameworks and how much pre-engineering I have to do before I have a fully operational and armed battle station. Yes, I can create a high-quality, holistic brand experience from scratch in 3 - 4 days. But I had to spend 8 months to build the system to do it. *And it's not even a very complex framework*. My lesson: Redlining the potential of Ai for design requires a significant investment. Harsh reality no. 2: You'll be committing innovation hara kiri if you try to replace too much creative talent with Ai. Relying too heavily on Ai in the place of human talent is the equivalent of relying too heavily on oversees manufacturing: 1. Amazing technical capabilities and world-class technology. 2. Cost-effective. (see: cheap) 3. Agile infrastructure. (see: dispensable) 4. Potential for high-quality output. 5. Original ideas: non-existent. 6. Legit innovation? Ha! 7. Good chance someone else is getting the same output. 7. The potential to commoditize your entire company? Magic 8 Ball says, "Signs point to yes". I try to push the creative boundaries of Ai every day. I try to break it. I try to get it to do things that people say it can't do. And the truth is, I can get it to do a lot of creative tasks at a level that surprises people. But I can't train it to live the hot mess of human life, or have a creative's feel for when to set the trend and not follow, or have a designer's intuition for when there's a need for something that isn't being verbalized or documented. Smart business leaders know this. I hope. But that dream kinda got a foot hold and it's tough to let go of, right? 99 times out of 100, that's not how its going to go. "So you're telling me there's a chance..."

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I’m noticing an increase in the number of conversations I’m having about DesignOps Maybe it is the time of the year — people thinking about how they are set up for 2025? Some of the many areas as to why people are looking to DesignOps - tracking / reviewing the defined the process in how it’s consistently rolled out across different disciplines - creating the right teams structure, accountabilities & roles with the right progression framework - optimising and building on work to date around design maturity & design reviews - wanting to create new engagement models around innovation & PoCs - setting up ritual & meetings to establish communities of practice - reducing ‘busy work’ for LT and others as it scales down - making the best use of budget (+ cost savings) - solid growth foundations People are recognising it as one of the best things they can invest in The problem? Not knowing: - where to start - the areas that should be prioritised - how to do it without a DesignOps team (or any extra capacity in the team generally) - what will have the most impact As a result, am currently working with a few people to support leaders in these areas So if you are thinking about it / struggling let me know Too much to share on a post right now but very happy to have a chat about it! #Design #DesignOps #DesignLeadership

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Do you know why UK Startups Are Investing in Professional UI/UX Audits? Picture this: I have launched a product. I’ve built it, and marketed it, but something’s off. Users aren’t engaging the way I hoped. Is it my idea? My marketing? What is it? For many startups, the answer lies in the UI/UX. Sometimes, it’s not the design but how users experience it. A professional audit is like a health check for a website or app. Experts analyze the user journey, identify friction points, and highlight areas causing frustration or confusion. Why UI/UX is a game-changer for startups like mine? 1. User Retention: An audit reveals what’s working and what’s not, ensuring we don’t lose potential customers due to poor design choices. 2. Boost Conversion Rates: Small changes, like simplifying navigation or optimizing buttons, can drastically improve conversion rates. 3. Stay Competitive: A polished, seamless user experience often decides whether users choose us or the competition. Investing in a UI/UX audit doesn’t just improve the product, it shows customers that we care about their experience. If you're looking for a comprehensive UI/UX audit, UIUX.STUDIO is here to help. We provide in-depth evaluations to enhance your user experience and design efficiency. Book a call with us: https://lnkd.in/dtE-2mwD Visit our website: https://uiux.studio/ #UIUX #CustomerExperience

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My first blog post! Take a look at the similarities between goldsmithing and user research 👩‍🏭 👩‍💻  I'd love to hear your thoughts

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🎈💥 Busting top 5 myths about #accessibility by Barclays 1) My users don't complain about accessibility, so we must be doing O.K. 2) But fixing accessibility is expensive, isn't it? 3) But 'accessibility', it's not really my job, is it? 4) The market is just too small to justify all this time and effort. 5) But accessible design means boring design.

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“… even the best slogans, ads, landing pages, PR campaigns, etc., will fall down if they are not supported by the experience people have when they hit our site, when they sign up for an account, when they first begin using the product and when they start using it day in, day out.”

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This morning I met up for coffee in Edinburgh with John Sunart - who runs The Facilitation Studio. Was super nice to meet a fellow designer, workshop facilitator and Substacker. If you're interested in workshopping, facilitation, learning more about how to run successful problem solving meetings - Check out John's articles and podcast episodes on the subject. #facilitation #workshops #problemsolving #design #ux #servicedesign #substack #blog #podcast

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