Designator

UX & Thinking

140 stories curated in ux & thinking.

Secret agent bot: accessibility matters for the agents even if you can’t see them

Accessibility considerations extend to AI agents, even though they lack a physical presence, ensuring their design accommodates diverse user needs and interactions.

Tesler’s Law: complexity moved to a different part of the journey

Tesler's Law, also known as the Law of Conservation of Complexity, posits that every system has an inherent amount of complexity that cannot be removed, only moved.

Synthetic users are making me rethink “imperfect research”

Synthetic users are prompting a reevaluation of the concept of "imperfect research," suggesting a shift in how design professionals consider research methodologies and their limitations.

Why designers need to stop reporting and start recommending at work

Designers should transition from merely reporting observations to actively recommending solutions, providing clear direction instead of just presenting findings like sticky notes.

Stop blaming the model for slow AI. Using Doherty’s threshold as a guideline.

Designers should apply Doherty's threshold, which suggests a 400-millisecond response time, to optimize AI system performance and improve user experience, rather than solely blaming the model for slow interactions.

AI beyond average: from chatting to collaborating

AI models transition from basic chat functions to collaborative tools through the strategic application of context, specialized skills, and iterative feedback mechanisms.

Federal pressure may force design education to rethink its identity

Federal pressure on higher education, particularly concerning program costs and graduate outcomes, may compel design education to fundamentally reevaluate its core identity and pedagogical approaches.

Headless AI will make every product a platform. Here’s what to consider when designing for this.

Headless AI, integrated into products as a platform, requires designers to consider new interaction paradigms and system architectures for future user experiences.

30 Sept

The Looking Glass

Thinking

A Bird Wall, a Talking Rotary Phone, and a Game Starring Your Cousins

AI tools can enhance hobbies, create personalized gifts, and generate unique interactive experiences, moving beyond efficiency to foster creative leisure activities.

The real reason everyone hates the viral AI food slop images

AI-generated food imagery, often perceived as unappetizing "slop," highlights a fundamental discomfort with artificial perfection that deviates from human culinary expectations.

The model is behaving impeccably. Your information architecture isn’t.

A 1960 study on city maps reveals that information architecture, not AI model behavior, is often the root cause of user confusion with AI context.

The sycophancy trap: what happens when feelings become the metric

Emotional design frameworks often fail when confronted with engagement metrics, creating a "sycophancy trap" where designers prioritize pleasing users over effective solutions.

AI canvas, Synthetic self, The prompt is the product

The prompt becomes the product in an AI canvas, creating a synthetic self through generative design.

Reading and writing are interfaces. And AI can reduce their friction.

Reading and writing function as interfaces, and artificial intelligence offers the potential to decrease friction within these fundamental human interactions.

What Minority Report got wrong about AI (so far)

Minority Report's depiction of AI, while influential, has not yet materialized in reality, prompting a reevaluation of its futuristic predictions.

Nobody wants a blank page. Nobody touches a perfect one.

Users struggle to initiate tasks on blank slates and hesitate to modify seemingly complete designs, highlighting the need for thoughtful scaffolding and clear pathways for interaction.

Sterling Cooper built your UX process. We need to redefine it in the age of AI and systems.

The traditional UX process, likened to Sterling Cooper's advertising methods, requires redefinition to effectively integrate with contemporary AI and complex systems.

You already know how to make it accessible

Basic accessibility principles are likely already familiar to designers and developers.

How to become an AI Designer

Becoming an AI designer requires specific skills and knowledge.

Who gets the meter?

AI's emergence is reintroducing the previously obscured costs associated with technology, prompting a reevaluation of how we perceive and internalize the expenses of digital systems.

Rethinking design leadership with swarms and flocks

Design leadership is reexamined through the concepts of swarms and flocks.

What Star Wars got wrong about AI (so far)

Star Wars got some aspects of artificial intelligence incorrect, according to current understanding.

Framer is killing the marketplace… or are they?

Framer's impact on the marketplace is being questioned and analyzed for its potential effects.

Design’s dreaded phrase is coming back. This time we’re in control.

The resurgence of "Everyone can Design" empowers designers to initiate projects without seeking permission, fostering a proactive approach to creative work.

12 Aug

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