What designers can learn from the first interface — the human face Applying the oldest form of communication to modern design systems. Image source: https://appliedalliance.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/micro-expressions/ The idea that the human face is our “original interface” is well established. Psychologists, anthropologists, and HCI researchers have argued for decades that it is the most intuitive system we’ve ever used. What often …
Year: 2025
Should every country have a design minister?
Why national design policies and even design ministers could reshape our collective future Design is no longer just about products or services. From Singapore to the U.S., nations are weaving design into policy, and designers must decide if they are ready to step up (image source: Flag Plaza, Doha) Walking into Dear Designer It was a little …
From skim to substance: Designing the future of reading
Skimming isn’t the death of reading, it’s the beginning. What matters is whether design leaves readers at the surface, or builds the doorways that invite them into depth. Photo by Marco Bianchetti on Unsplash Benjamin Cain recently published a polemic against “skimmable texts”, arguing that only fake readers want to read while multitasking, and only fake writers …
How to be the designer in the AI Loop
Exploring the evolving relationship between humans and AI in product design Continue reading on UX Collective » Lillian Gilbreth and the two definitions of “Better” In 1912, at a manufacturing plant in Providence, Rhode Island, two people were watching the same workers but seeing two different things. Frank Gilbreth stood with a stopwatch, tracking every movement …
Colonoscopy and candy drops: on crafting a good peak-end experience
Why the last moments of an experience shape what we remember — and how to design them right. Hi,“Ms. Ula, we have a brilliant idea for improving our customer service!” // this really begs for a separate post about spending money on dust-collectors instead of improving usability // “There was this study once — they gave two groups of people …
You don’t find your UX voice. You build it.
This is UX’s turning point. Your voice drives clarity, delivers conviction, and determines whether we keep building the wrong things or return to designing what matters. This image was created by ChatGPT. The myth of arrival Most of us are taught to find our UX voice in someone else’s process. If you’ve been in UX for more than five …
How to sell the European Accessibility Act to your boss
Yet another reason to invest in accessibility, but this time, it can impact the bottom line As of June 28, 2025, if you sell stuff in the EU, not complying with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) can get you fined. We’ll get to the EAA in a sec. but let’s first acknowledge something: Selling the value of …
An ode to breaking things
Musings on how to prepare ourselves and steer a new direction of the craft and design now that AI is challenging the status quo Continue reading on UX Collective » Why Silicon Valley has a weird Nietzsche obsession Portrait of Nietzsche by Edvard Munch, 1906 Some Silicon Valley leaders have a bizarre adoration for philosophers like …
Back when websites had a pulse
Rethinking web audio in the age of user-first design Dircksny.com | Way Back Machine web archive I recently had to track down a screenshot of a website from 2008 — Dircksny.com, a small agency where I landed my first real design job. I eventually found a live web archive of it on Wayback Machine. And the moment it …
User behaviours, product design architecture, and the impact of AI
How user behaviours shape product design architecture, and how AI will reshape the digital products landscape. Image is generated by ChatGPT. Architecture in digital product design is controversial and ambiguous. On one hand, there is Information Architecture; on the other, there is System Design. Career ladders and design positions often require one or the other. They …