A case against boring designs
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
Just like buildings, a chair must have certain qualities to qualify. They need to be functional to fulfill their objective. Secondly, a chair needs to be stable to withstand weight. This includes the choice of material to increase its lifespan and repeated use. Lastly, a chair should be appealing enough to invite a person to sit on it. Beauty, comfort, and delight are some emotions when it comes to chairs.
When I mention these three qualities of a chair, those with an interest in ancient architecture will remember the Vitruvian Triad: stability, utility, and beauty.
A case against boring designs →
Build user-centric roadmaps with AI-powered product intelligence →
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Editor picks
AI vertigo →
Where do we go from here as designers?Asking the hard questions →
And resisting the urge to ask ChatGPT.Beyond the UI: the 5 layers of design systems →
A service design perspective.Bringing down the Digital Divide →
A historical opportunity for UX designers.The buzzwordification of Co-Design →
And the commodification of lived experience.
The UX Collective is an independent design publication that elevates unheard design voices and helps designers think more critically about their work.
Make me think
Speculative calendar events →
“So I don't want to add them as real events. Because they are not real events. They are speculative possibilities of events. The majority of them won't be filled, and having both speculative and real events looking and behaving like the same type of thing is messy and confusing. I can't glance at my calendar to get a quick read on how busy my day or week is.”What if money expired? →
“A long-forgotten German economist argued that society and the economy would be better off if money was a perishable good. Was he an anarchist crank or the prophet of a better world?”Sit →
“In the past decade the Web has become a sort of a shitty metaverse. Every step you take is watched and assessed in terms of its monetisation potential, every interaction is meant to extract value from you. Fine, IndieWeb and Mastodon are making things marginally better, but there’s so much more to be done outside of their little bubbles (which I love dearly).”
Little gems this week
Using AI for 3D rendering—a practical guide for designers →
Embracing the absurd in your design practices →
How not to lose yourself to the AI storm →
Tools and resources
58 rules for beautiful UI design →
Elevating a product from functional to unforgettable.Figma: creating a color ramp using color modifiers →
How to reduce the tedious color ramp work.How to build a strategy, not a roadmap →
Crafting an effective design system strategy.
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