Steven Brooks

Skipping strategy in UX design isn’t just missing a step—it’s missing the chance to lead. My latest post explains why UX strategy is essential to project success and how it transforms designers into strategic partners. https://lnkd.in/gtmnFA7a #userexperience #uxstrategy #businessalignment #productdesign #leadership #designleadership

3

Product design is most effective when it’s targeted and helps drive business outcomes. This is an example of how we focused our design efforts on a project I was on. https://lnkd.in/gnJekXUq

1

“Where am I?” As our design system matures, things move around. We’re trying to invest in ways that allow feature designers and engineers to locate where they are within a design system, and where to find what they need. → Multiple design libraries can be hard to track and become confusing when designers and engineers aren’t aware of what does and doesn’t exist in each library. → Every component and pattern has a varying degree of specificity from generic to a specific business context or content pattern and deciding what goes where is confusing. → Theming in Figma is great, but... the current nature of variables can make managing multiple modes across multiple brands challenging. Here’s how we’ve been trying to get our head around reducing complexity for our team and consumers 🏗 Figma file architecture - Having a clear plan for structuring your design system libraries is critical for folks to find stuff. Our early attempts at a highly modular system with numerous smaller libraries were too unwieldy. We’ve landed into a Tokens, Components, Patterns, and Features structure that streamlines the process for everyone. It was super cool to stumble on these Figma docs that deep dive into various strategies for organizing your files https://lnkd.in/dGyN-SQw 🚦 Wayfinding elements - Once designers and engineers are in the files themselves, it's still easy to get lost. We’ve implemented consistent color-coded “file covers” distinguishing design system files from feature files, “getting started” pages outlining file dependencies, and consistent page naming conventions indicating iterations from elements that are ready for development. Thanks to Vitaly Friedman for the reference to Saurav Rastogi's post on Figma file organization which is packed with insights. https://lnkd.in/giBs_Jgn 🎨 Multi-brand variables - Our team has worked hard to figure out the most intuitive way to allow for white-labeling our design system for custom theming. We currently leverage modes at multiple layers of the design system based on their specificity from global to semantic to component to pattern. Romina Kavcic has endless resources for teams who are looking to build out their token strategy. https://lnkd.in/deiMGCe9 💎 Wayfinding within design systems is hard but a couple of things that help folks understand where they are and what they can do → Partner with engineers on an architecture that maps somewhat to their mental model making things more intuitive → Setup wayfinding documentation within your Figma files that orient users to where they are within the system → Map your tokens and variables across your system so that it is clear how to layer modes to achieve custom themes #designsystems #figma #uidesign #tokens #components #patterns

77

6 Comments

If we're not talking about design maturity, agile process, or craft, then us designers are probably talking about ✨quality.✨ I certainly see my interviewer's eyes light up when I mention this magical word. "Design is the one that has to hold the quality bar," I tell them. But what if that didn't have to be true? For a truly high-quality product, I don't think it should be design holding the line. It has to be something baked into the organization - everyone holds the quality bar. Even though "quality" is a slippery thing to define, if we can define it and hold ourselves to it, we can reduce the tension in the org and start to think less about the mere baseline quality for the product and more about raising that bar - delighting the user. I very much enjoyed Luke Anthony Firth's take on how they folded quality into their product building process. Have a read! https://lnkd.in/g4SenmYZ #designleadership #productprocess #productdesign #productquality #designquality #opentowork

4

Research is a function of strategy.  "According to CB Insights, over 90% of all products fail, most commonly due to no market need." Leave yourself time to ask big questions about whether any actually needs your product or service before you decide to launch it. #UXstrategy #UXresearch #Marketresearch

3

1 Comment

The more that designers can think with a business mindset, the more effective they can be at influencing key stakeholders and driving desired outcomes.

1

Have you thought about the physical accessibility of your digital designs? Getting physical controls right is really hard, and industrial designers spend a lot of time learning about how to use data as a starting point for making design decisions. As we create digital designs that we interact with using our bodies, it's going to become important for digital designers to understand physical ergonomics too.

8

Stumbled upon this article and it really got me thinking about the role design plays in shaping user experiences. As a designer, I’m always looking for new insights on how we can create more intuitive, user-first interfaces. This article shares some thought-provoking ideas on design innovation and its impact on business. It’s a great read for anyone in the design or tech space. Highly recommend checking it out! https://lnkd.in/e9fcqAYt

6

I just read Longing for Less: Living with Minimalism by Kyle Chayka, and it got me thinking about the power of minimalism—not just in art and architecture that you hear so much about, but in how we experience the world. Chayka's core message is that minimalism isn't just about reducing clutter—it's about creating space for clarity, intentionality, and deeper meaning... principles that really resonate with me and the UX design discipline. Here are some thoughts looking at Minimalism through the lens of user experience design: https://lnkd.in/gnmJGfyM

51

2 Comments

One of the most important aspects of UX design is affordances and signifiers. It helps users know what they can interact with and how. Sriharinath GP has a great overview on this: https://lnkd.in/gUH5uicV

14

1 Comment

I'm thrilled to share that my latest product and design discovery article is live on Mind the Product! As a consultant, I've observed that the term 'Discovery' can have varying interpretations across different teams. It's not uncommon to encounter a team deeply immersed in a solution yet lacking a shared understanding of the customer opportunity they're addressing. At Lab Zero, we meet clients where they are and advocate for discovery while maintaining flexibility. We often employ lightweight methodologies to foster a shared understanding, even when work is already underway. Teresa Torres' book “Continuous Discovery Habits” is a guide to developing the mindset and practices that enable teams to discover and deliver value to their customers throughout the product development process. Her explanation of the 'Opportunity Solution Tree' helped me articulate a process for asking questions and bridging gaps when joining a new team. The first part of this two-part series looks at reversing the 'Opportunity Solution Tree' to establish a connection between the ongoing solution, customer opportunities, and business outcomes. The second part (coming soon!) will explore strategies for identifying gaps in your team's understanding of customer needs and the necessary measures to mitigate risks before launch. This series will help consultants, new team members, or a struggling team connect with that all-important why and launch valuable experiences for their customers and their orgs. Have you tried something like this with your team? Feedback is appreciated! If you haven't explored Mind The Product's extensive content library, I highly recommend it! In addition to articles about discovery and understanding customer needs, the community has shared insightful perspectives on product leadership, business, and teams. It's a great place to see perspectives on processes and theories informed by real-world use.  #ProductDiscovery #Design #Discovery #ContinuousDiscovery #Onboarding #Risk #CustomerOpportunity #Value #BusinessOutcomes

14

6 Comments

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

35

1 Comment

If you’re solely relying on your UX team to solve all your product usability problems, you’re in trouble.   Don’t get me wrong, a kick-ass UX team is mandatory, not a luxury, but if you expect to hire a couple of designers, pat them on the back while saying, “Go get ’em,” and expect that to make your product a delight for your customers, you’re in trouble. I’m not trying to minimize the importance of good designers, and I assure you that this isn’t another “UX needs a seat at the table” screed. Rather, I’m telling you that building functional, usable products your customers love is a team effort.   If your Product Managers can’t (or *gasp* won’t) find space in product releases to prioritize design quality and improvements alongside new feature requests, technical debt mitigations, never-ending backlog excavations, etc., etc., you’re in trouble.   If your Development Teams can’t (or *horror* won’t) school themselves on the tenets of solid UI development practices and seek guidance on usability questions when they don’t have the answer instead of just winging it, you’re in trouble.   But it doesn’t stop there!   If your Technical Writers aren’t flagging 20-step documentation guides as usability issues that need to be fixed in the product and not with pages of text descriptions and countless screenshots, you’re in trouble.   If your QA Testers don’t tag in, or better yet, assign the UX team as owners of usability defects instead of engineering, you’re in trouble.   If your Account Teams don’t know when or why to bring designers into customer conversations to hear feedback firsthand, ask questions, and trust them to build their own relationships with said customers, you’re in trouble.   If your Salespeople can’t sell usability upgrades as equally beneficial to customers as new features, you’re in trouble.   If your Technical Support doesn’t know when a problem needs UX participation to help address it or how to bucket related usability issues common across customers for UX follow-up, you’re in trouble.   This isn’t about spreading around the problem, nor the responsibility!, of poor usability; it’s about realizing that delivering good UX is a team effort accelerated by shared responsibility and process redundancies to catch even minor issues before they wind up in the customer’s hands. And if you don’t understand that, you’re in trouble.

28

2 Comments

The article is a little older, but really appreciate the discussion on how experience design isn’t synonymous with UX design. https://lnkd.in/gUKrw5Ed

10

🌟The Power of Sketching in UX Design: Elevating Concepts to Solutions 🌟 Exciting read about the importance of sketching in the UX design process! Here are the key takeaways from the article "Real Designers Sketch" by Nate Schloesser: 🚀 Idea Exploration: Rapidly explore multiple concepts to reach innovative solutions. 📚 Communication: Use sketches as a universal language to convey complex ideas effectively. 💡 Concept Over Visuals: Focus on the concept, encouraging open discussions and reducing tension. 🔄 Agility: Enable quick iterations for rapid design evolution based on feedback. 🤝 Collaboration: Foster a collaborative environment by democratizing the design process. 🔍 Problem-Solving: Visualize pain points and solutions with powerful sketching tools. It's time to debunk the misconceptions around sketching and embrace it as a versatile and essential practice in UX design. Remember, sketching is not just for artists - it's a tool for all designers to transform initial ideas into clear and innovative solutions. Let's elevate our design work from pixel-pushing to true design thinking by incorporating sketching into our process! Share your thoughts on how sketching has impacted your design work and let's start a conversation on the power of sketching in UX design. Keep sketching, keep innovating! 💭💡 💬 Share your thoughts on how sketching has influenced your design process! #uxdesign #productdesign #sketching #designthinking --- Incorporate sketching into your design process today! 🎨💡 #designthinking #uxdesign #productdesign https://lnkd.in/eSVHDCJB

9

Here's a slide from my October 2024 talk about triaging UX, showing a word cloud of several things we can do to help drive the discipline forward. Which ones stand out to you? #ux #realuxtalk #uxtriage

7

1 Comment

"For increased readability, we’ve rewritten sections of our privacy statement with simpler, more consistent language." Is there a better summary of the benefit of UX Writing for privacy related work? Well done, Amber and Heather.

45

6 Comments

Just attended a UXR session where we discussed the state of UX Research. While it's been around for a few years, it's still in its infancy. Early adopters of the practice are already seeing a significant competitive advantage. In fact, in the next 10 years, it's likely that every company will have a UX Research team. Don't be left behind - invest in UX Research now to stay ahead of the game! #UXResearch #UserExperience #CompetitiveAdvantage

3

Have you ever wondered if there is a difference between designers/creatives and researchers in terms of Owls vs Larks? I did a LinkedIn profile analysis based on the poll answers and put it in a WordCloud. Here is the result. Well, there certainly seems to be something to it ... 😁 #uxdesign #uxresearch #marketresearch #chronotype

12