For those working from home for the first time or (like me) are returning to work from home due to COVID-19, you may not realize that the best thing you can do to stay focused is to be flexible and kind to yourself. After scrambling for a space where your background won't expose your entire life to your coworkers, you may have spent the better part of this week reading the hundreds of articles with advice on how to work from home effectively. Read more...

Every time I go to a conference, I do my best to summarize the most important things I learned. This year, I started the conference season by volunteering at Mad*Pow’s Health Experience Design Conference (HxD). For each keynote and track I attended, I’ll be sharing a 5-point summary. I hope this post can help others were not fortunate enough to attend learn more about the field… or inspire those who shared this experience to continue the conversation! Read more...

Today is the last day of ConveyUX — a conference for user experience practitioners to discuss, present and reflect on the on-goings in the profession. In this post, I share the insights I gained from the morning’s talks and my favorite project in the afternoon’s showcase. How to Hire and Manage Consulting Firms and Freelancers Presented by: Cory Lebson Leverage the expertise and knowledge of your contractors… Do not dictate — instead, ask “what would you suggest? Read more...

Yesterday, I posted my 5-point summary of every talk I attended at ConveyUX— currently taking place in Seattle, WA. Today, I will be sharing my notes from Day 2 (Feb 28). The Architecture of Understanding Presented by: Peter Morville People have lost track of the truth, can be easily misled, and believe what they want. In his early career, Peter wanted to organize information so people could find what they need. Read more...

Last year, I spent time at the UXPA conference in Toronto and did a series of posts that highlighted the talks and workshops I attended (Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3). This year, for ConveyUX 2018, I’ll be doing the same with a 5-point summary of each talk, along with any pictures of slides or internet references that I found particularly useful. Today was the “workshop day” — which featured a choice of two workshops and a “Super Meetup” panel discussion… Read more...

A friend of mine just started as a “UX Team of One” (and Front-End Dev too!) at a startup. She asked me nicely to put together a list of tools that I use(d) in a similar position at my company. Since it’s the end of the year, and the beginning of a new one, I figured I’d go through all of the apps, websites, tools and services that I used/visited/depended on throughout 2017 and list them out for reference throughout the new year… Read more...

Last week, I was digging through notes and assignments from my time spent at the University Washington, where I learned Human Centered Design and Engineering from some of the best UX practitioners and researchers in the Pacific Northwest. In one of the folders, named “User Experience Design”, I found a final reflection paper that I will never forget. The essay was written and submitted during a difficult time of my life. Read more...

The Problem There have been many articles written trying to solve the problem of making consistent buttons within a Sketch file. Problems with these methods include: Not being able to measure the actual distance between button elements and other elements on the page Inconsistent “padding” between the centered text of the button and its edges Not using Sketch symbols at all, and preventing file-level changes to the buttons later on As designers, we must ensure that our hi-fi mockups and prototypes are both pixel-perfect and quick to build. Read more...

On the last day of the User Experience Professional Association (UXPA) Conference, I continued the deep-dive into UX that I desperately needed. After surrounding myself with the amazing talks and participating in engaging conversations, I am totally inspired. In this post, I am happy to share with you my notes from the talks I attended. User Interface Design Style Guides are Not Dead, they Just Smell Funny Presented by: Michael Bechinie Read more...

Yesterday, I posted my 5-point summary of every talk I attended at the User Experience Professional Association (UXPA) Conference — currently taking place in Toronto, ON (June 5–8). Today, I will be sharing my notes from Day 2. Wednesday Morning Keynote: Regent Cornell Presented by: Regent Cornell Highly effective people take note of what happens gradually — and course correct GREAT companies are built on Gratitude, Respect, Engagement, Authenticity and Trust “Emotional capital” is a valuable resource that earns your company a “yes” when an employee is asked “would you recommend your best friend to work here? Read more...

As inspired by Scott Berkun’s Min / Max Note Taking for Conferences, I’d like to summarize a few key learnings from today’s excellent speakers at the User Experience Professional Association (UXPA) Conference — currently taking place in Toronto, ON (June 5–8). In the sections below, you’ll find a 5-point summary of each talk, along with any pictures of slides or internet references that I found particularly useful. I may come back and update this post, if the speakers decide to put their slides online. Read more...

Who are you? Dani Sandoval — Communicator (HCDE, BS) Laura Lantz — Domain Expert (Game Design) Susan Oldham — Researcher (HCDE, MS) Nicole Carter — Researcher (Psychology Undergrad) Gabriela Madrid — Creator (HCDE, MS) What problem do you want to address? Our Affinity Diagram of “How Might We…” statements How might we give people the flexibility to share / not share different aspects of their identity to bridge real world divides*? Read more...

As useful as the Canvas Learning Management System is for allowing professors to give self-conducted quizzes to their students, there is a key feature that is missing from the examination system. This feature is the ability for students to take the quiz over after it has been closed and graded. This would be useful as retaking graded quizzes allow for students to practice questions that will — most likely — appear on a final, midterm or in class. Read more...