Pick of The Week
Explaining UX Design to a 5-year-old
What's your job again?
Trying to explain the ever-evolving role of a UX designer has left many with questionable explanations, but some of these answers might be worth reusing next time someone brings it up.
The Best of The Rest
A Guide to Giving and Receiving Design-centered Critique
Being blunt, constructively.
Giving/receiving honest feedback can often feel painful, but there's a clear line between useless and useful feedback, so here's a few techniques for being on the latter side during future design critiques.
7 Principles of Design from “The Design of Everyday Things”
TL;DR
Regardless of your design role, Don Norman's The Design of Everyday Things deserves a spot on your bookshelf, but if you're still not sold (or too lazy) here's some of its key principles you can begin applying to your craft.
How to turn an unexpected career pivot into your next great job
Pivoting during storms.
From an economic recession, unexpected layoff and job hunting anxieties, former design lead at IBM knows a thing or two about keeping your chin up during storms, and shares a few nuggets of advice with the community.
Diagonal Thumbnail Slideshow Animation
Slide like you mean it.
Presenting images on the web has never been so fun and dynamic with animation libraries, and the folks at Codrops have a new demo for you to play with and take apart!
One More Thing
The Future Vision of Microsoft 365
Spreadsheets never looked this good.
Microsoft's suite of productivity apps might not be known for their design, but their recent UX films with the incredible folks at Tendril have been so stellar, they're a must-watch. No, seriously.