Let's UX
By Liz Parham
Ideal for those new to UX, start-ups, small teams and micro businesses without UX support.
Let's UX Jun 13, 2021
How to get your first UX design job interview
New to UX and terrified of the design crit?
Does the thought of sharing your rough designs horrify you? Do you lock yourself away until you're satisfied with your work?
Does this mean you're working tonnes of hours and, finding yourself defensive in design presentations?
If so, you're not alone, but you need a different tack.
Listen in for my top tips for getting unstuck and working faster including how to own design critiques, listening more and how good it can feel to share little and often.
A 'rookie' mistake by new UX designers is to think you can come up with a perfect solution alone. If critiques are hostile or overwhelming or you're feeling like you're the slowest designer on earth, this episode might just help you.
Got an idea for a mobile app? Here's how to sketch out a design for an app
Totally overwhelmed and lost as to how to get the idea in your head into a set of sketches that make sense?
Here's my approach to wireframing a mobile app.
On wireframing a web app
Coming soon, my approach to wireframing a mobile app.
I see a lot of people jumping into solutions with different UI components and trying to bend the components to be the solution.
Don't get stuck on the components and UI controls, get the bigger story straight first.
What UX and product books should I read?
Listen to find out which 4 I recommend and why.
What book should I read or listen to next?
Do you have a recommendation from your part of the world?
Why does my website look a mess? 3 areas to target for better UX for beginners
If you're new to UX practices but have been building a website for some time, you might need to hear what to do for greater impact and better UX.
- Are you getting the point across, or is it generally too wordy? Could you cut the word count by half?
- Have you thought about what branding means beyond the logo? Is it consistent across all touch points?
- Did the visual design evolve from a mix of templates or was it designed? Simplify Marie Kondo style and clear out the clutter.
Let me know what you're struggling with or what you would like to hear about.
10 causes of user frustration
Making sense of the complaints, getting to the real issue of what the problem is and why people feel the way they do, takes a little more understanding.
Usability heuristic evaluations were once an essential of any UX project, and they still can be useful. These are guiding principles as to the usability of an interface. When we can analyse problems within a framework, it is easier to see what the problem is, where strengths and weaknesses are to communicate and collaborate around the problem.
In the year 2000+, dozens of them circulated. Here I talk through a set of ten that have survived the last 25+ years!
Jakob Nielsen and Rolf Mochlich compiled a set of heuristics often referenced in 1990. Nielsen revised them in 1994. According to a more recent update, 10 of these principles still hold strong: www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
This is a look at Jakob NIelsen's 10 usability heuristics.
A brief intro to user journey mapping
This is an intro for teams or businesses wondering where or why they would do a user journey map.
Why the humble menu is important to UX
A simple way to start user research
If you have been thinking about doing some user research, but don't really know where to start, here is a really simple and practical guide.
This is a simple outline of the steps you need to take to plan, set up, run and wrap up your sessions.
Intended for beginners or those wearing many hats, such as founders and developers, it aims to cut through the noise.
Once you have gained confidence, you can go on to refine and improve your method and techniques or expand your skillset or team, but if the hardest part is starting, let's not let that be a hurdle!
If you worry that user research is expensive, time-consuming or will slow you down, this is a lean approach and it is undoubtedly more expensive to not use research to help you develop a great product or website.
https://lizparham.co.uk/new-to-ux/ur/a-simple-way-to-start-user-research/