#productdesign Posts

Being empathetic is not a selective practice. Designers know how to use empathy to uncover the behaviors and needs of a user. Those same methods and techniques can be used in client relationships.

Design thinking has become both a buzzword and a useful business tool. It has been hailed as revolutionary while also called a failed experiment as evidenced by increasing criticism.

Designers do not simply decorate, they create an experience of moving through content. There are various strategies available that align the client and team in creating content that will result in better designs.

Scannability is often an overlooked usability factor, but it is one of the most impactful. These UI design tips make it easy for designers to convert a brief visitor to a long-lasting user.

This week’s guest on Toptal Design Talks is Nick Disabato who discusses value-based design, an expansion of the design process that focuses on specific business needs.

Intuition and experience without UX data lead to a dangerous assumption: Designer knows best. We’re drawing a line in the sand: If it’s not based on user research, it’s not UX design.

Empty states are often overlooked in UX design, but they can be drivers of substantial business benefits, and if done right, contribute to a more compelling user experience.

Every year, hot new UX design trends emerge that provide better user experiences. This retrospective explores some of the most interesting and effective ones from 2018.

There’s much confusion and hyperbole surrounding chatbots. The tech is promising, but the user experience is lacking. We examine five chatbot fails and share practical tips to improve their UX.

Bringing a digital product to a new market can feel like navigating uncharted territory. Cultural differences are hard to identify but essential to understanding when developing a localized user experience.

There’s a lot to consider when choosing a typeface for a digital design. There may not be a formula but designers can use this guide to find and format the right font for a pleasant reading experience.

What makes a winning UX portfolio? More than a showcase of skills, a UX designer’s portfolio is an opportunity for them to create an enjoyable user experience as well as demonstrate their UX mastery.

On this week’s Design Talks we discuss research in action with Caitria O’Neill, a UX researcher at Airbnb. She studies people’s relationships with technology and how they behave with digital products.

Design thinking goes beyond the usual problem-solving focus of most UI and UX designers and adds the aspect of deep empathy for the user to the entire product design lifecycle, increasing the prospect of success.

How do product teams avoid wasting months of valuable time building something no one wants? Apply the iterative validation principles of Lean UX and create products that their end-users actually need.

In the first of our Toptal Design Talks series, futurist Pamela Pavliscak discusses how emotions are deeply integrated into digital experiences and designers are positioned to facilitate genuine relationships through technology.

Human-centered design is about solving problems, not implementing solutions. This guide provides an overview of HCD, a process that ensures optimum user experiences, effortless interaction, and ultimately, business benefits.

How can designers move beyond personal insights to understand the problems users face? We introduce time-tested UX research methods that inspire user empathy and lead to better user experiences.

Nearly one in four users will abandon a mobile app after using it just once. Good onboarding makes a great first impression, gives users a guided introduction, and can significantly improve user retention.

Well-crafted words improve UX and provide people with decision-making clarity. We explore the true value of UX copy and provide sensible writing tips for greater user engagement.

Billions are lost by businesses due to poor UX. This article outlines key UX statistics and insights that stress the importance of “knowing your user” (with infographic).

UI components are about modularity and reusability. A/B testing can be employed very effectively during a lean product development process to test components that make up an application’s UI.

Conversational user interfaces are a new frontier that requires thoughtful consideration. The design process should include defining the purpose of the chatbot, and other design considerations to create a successful user experience.

Learn about the evolution of design systems and how designers can adopt a holistic approach to systems thinking.

Because graphic design and visual design both focus on aesthetics, the line between the two disciplines is often blurred, especially when referencing digital designs (includes infographic).

Creating a dynamic, organized, and collaborative workflow between design and development teams is essential to building great digital products. This tutorial outlines how Sketch, working in tandem with Zeplin, can facilitate this collaboration seamlessly.

Design critiques are a key part of the product design process that encourage collaboration and improve ideas. This guide will help designers conduct productive, efficient critiques for actionable feedback.

Learn the value of minimum viable prototypes (MVPr), a quick and affordable way to create, launch, test, and improve digital products based on real-world insights.

When looking for inspiration, designers should consider what they can add to the work of others. Where can they make it better? More useful? More elegant? More efficient?

Many exciting trends in eCommerce are on the horizon, from AI and AR to chatbots and voice ordering. The future of eCommerce will be shaped by trailblazing tech and savvy UX design (with infographic).

Just as there are cause and effect relationships, there are the laws of UX: predictable outcomes and human behaviors in UX a designer can use to design superior products. This infographic explains it all.

Designers can brush up on solid fundamentals and be inspired by innovative new ideas by reading the great books and free ebooks about design and creativity on this list.

Gestalt’s guiding principle, that our minds tend to perceive objects as part of a greater whole, is a very useful and powerful design technique [includes infographic].

UI and UX designers must work in tandem in order to create a finished product that delights users both visually and functionally.

How does Figma improve the design process and outperform Sketch and other design tools when it comes to designer collaboration? Learn the big differences that every designer should know.

In product design, the jobs-to-be-done framework is a well-known approach that is designed to deconstruct the “job” a customer is trying to get done.

Virtual reality is no longer in the realm of science fiction. Immersive technology desperately needs skilled designers to jump in, get involved, take risks, and create something new. Leap into VR/AR!

Even exciting product ideas can flop without an understanding of the user problem to solve. A design problem statement is an essential step in the design process for creating products that truly matter.

Every month, we bring you compelling design news and inspirational content focused on design innovation. Here are six hand-picked pieces of intriguing design news.

AI has become an over-hyped buzzword and the design world is no exception. Instead of resisting it, designers will soon be co-creating with AI. It will make them smarter. (Includes infographic)

Poor client management can cost designers work and damage reputations. By proactively managing project expectations and responsibilities early, designers can build great relationships with their clients.

Finding inspiration for design projects is one thing. Organizing it into a cohesive base for creating a design that wows clients and users is an entirely different beast. The solution? Mood boards.

If a freshly minted app is getting low ratings, bad reviews, and complaints about its usability, or the website is not generating the expected conversions, it may be time to bring in a UX expert.

UX designers often need to convince company executives on the ROI of a UX redesign initiative. Here are some real-life B2B redesign case studies a UX team identified in order to make a compelling case.

UX designers often need to persuade executives on the ROI of a UX initiative. In this example scenario, the UX team presented the projected ROI of a UX redesign to make a convincing case.

The internet is a primary source of information, entertainment, and communication. Yet, for people with disabilities, there are barriers that make it inaccessible, as many websites don’t consider their needs.

Travel gives a fresh perspective, inspires creativity, and improves our empathy for people around the world. By making the globe your office, you can benefit from new insights and become a better designer.

Want to become a phenomenal designer? Take a multidisciplinary design approach and study the methods of other design disciplines.

Every month, we bring you riveting design news and inspiring content focused on design innovation. Here are five hand-picked pieces of design news.

Creating meaningful designs, capturing customer attention, and influencing their behavior is something that designers and marketers will agree is one of the most difficult things to achieve.

Two Toptal designers engage in a lively debate about aesthetics, objectivity, and the definition of art and design.

A design sprint is a methodology used to validate ideas through design, prototyping, user testing, and collaboration in only five days, offering a more structured, effective approach to creative thinking.

In this age of lean startups, designers often find themselves in stretch roles where they are not only in charge of a product’s design but also in charge of coming up with the type of product to build.

Every month, we bring you riveting design news and inspiring content focused on design. Here are five hand-picked pieces of design news.

80% of businesses fail in their first year—a majority of these casualties are due to a lack of customer research. Effective customer development interviews can help validate product ideas before moving forward.

Great emotional design creates a bond between the consumer and the brand—creating an emotional connection to your target market translates into conversions and sales as well as online and offline interactions.

A lion’s share of websites and apps in the online media space are powered by content management systems (CMS). The optimal way to design for these applications is putting content first, style second.

Every month, we bring you riveting design news and inspiring content focused on design. Here are five hand-picked pieces of design news.

Human cognition is complex, and many factors play into instant impressions. Design psychology is coming to the forefront as more and more companies are using neuroscience to design better user experiences.

Effective user research doesn’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, there are many low-cost methods available to designers, all of which will put a designer on the road to designing better products.

Every month, we bring you riveting design news and inspiring content focused on design. Here are five hand-picked pieces of design news.

The wearable technology revolution is shifting our long established patterns of how we utilize data in our daily lives and social interactions. In many ways, it’s a lot more personal.

Some products prove irresistible because they combine psychological design techniques that create an ultimate UX hook: anticipatory, persuasive, and emotional design.

The inaugural issue of Toptal Design World News. Every month, we bring you riveting design news and inspiring content focused on design.

Prototype design is a powerful process detailing how designers do everything required to test, iterate, and develop prototypes, beginning with user flows and ending in functional wireframes.

Flinto is a simple and easy to use tool for creating interactive prototypes. This tutorial teaches you how to quickly create mobile dashboard microinteractions in order to improve your prototype.

New design tools are emerging at an incredible rate, but the future promises a vast array of astonishing tools that will forever change the way designers think and work.

For designers, working in enterprise is a challenge because of all the different stakeholders and moving parts. This guide reviews the collaborative design process for working better in that environment.

Conducting UX analysis as part of an iterative process provides valuable, actionable insights into enhancing and optimizing a product’s user experience.

While there can be considerable overlap between user interface (UI) design and user experience (UX) design, they are distinct fields with different skills required for each role.

Customer journey maps are a visual storytelling tool used to help designers empathize with users and identify actionable opportunities for providing a better user experience.

Great designers help teams and stakeholders make better decisions by using questions to identify opportunities, reveal underlying needs, and understand user context—all of which lead to better designs.

A brand is a promise. This article outlines how illustrations are being used to express brand value and how businesses are investing substantial time and resources into extensive brand illustration systems.

By leveraging new and emerging technologies like AI, AR, VR, and MR, designers have fresh and exciting opportunities ahead in designing future products.

Emojis are universal symbols of expression, transcending cultural and linguistic divides. As technology continues to advance, designers will be the ones to define the next evolution of human communication.

Working under a tight deadline? We’ve all picked up design projects that required us to deliver outstanding results under severe time constraints. This article outlines a 30 day branding case study that breaks down the process of how to get it done effectively.

What is UX design? This article dispels the myths and lays bare the many misconceptions surrounding the discipline by looking at what UX design is and what it is not.

Many a promising project can be stymied by unyielding personalities, inflexible attitudes, and big egos. Learn to navigate these tricky waters with grace and professionalism.

Designers are not mere pixel pushers. They must frame the problem, identify a solution, and engage users while also impacting their client’s bottom line. This article explains how the S.M.A.R.T. framework helps designers stay goal-oriented and increase their success rate.

Why do we still use buttons in our user interfaces? Technology has come so far and offers so many possibilities, there is no longer any reason to force our users to click the tiny rectangles we call “buttons.”

Dark-themed UIs can be dramatic, stylish and elegant. But despite the many benefits, they come with a slew of challenges and potential pitfalls that every designer would be wise to keep in mind.

Buttons—We use them daily in apps and websites to finalize crucial actions. Digital design develops at an incredible pace, and buttons as one of its most important elements along with it. How has their style developed over the past 8 years? Check the Dribbble Buttons Timeline.

Regardless of the environment or size of a project, UX professionals need a variety of deliverables to help facilitate design communication with various stakeholders and teams, document work and provide artifacts for meetings and ideation sessions. Here are 10 of the most common UX deliverables.

In recent years, as designers, we have a growing selection of tools to work with. One of them is Figma – the answer for collaborative work which, nowadays, we do more and more often.

A well-produced, high-quality pitch video can go a long way toward helping a business or individual gain credibility and secure funding. Here are 7 tips.

What is a heuristic analysis? How do you run one effectively by employing a group of usability experts to dramatically improve a product’s UX?

It is now possible to more accurately shape experiences that dynamically personalize content by coupling behavioral design with data science and analytics.

A wireframe map is handy as a tool for estimating work at the start of a project and as a checklist to keep you on track throughout the design process.

It’s crucial that designers focus not only on cultivating their abilities with creative tools but also improve their ability to communicate design effectively.

Remote UX workshops call for meticulous preparation and the use of proven techniques as complex details make it a challenge with many potential pitfalls.

These 10 surprising UX books from various disciplines will broaden a designer’s perspective and provide insight into diverse approaches to problem solving.

Interaction design principles form the bedrock of awesome UX. Truly great interaction design relies on a set of conventions, standards, best practices and rules-of-thumb.

The relationship between art and design is often misunderstood, and although a design outcome can be artful, the process behind it is altogether very different.

The top five reasons why creating a styleguide early is especially important for startups in spite of the inherent challenges.

Reflections on the disappearance of web forms. How mobile biometrics could unlock a personal data vault that provides what’s necessary, killing forms entirely.

In many product design scenarios wireframes may not be necessary and skipping them altogether may cut down on confusion and save a lot of time.

UX and usability testing analysis is a critical skill. How do you go about collecting data and analyze results? Here’s a way to stay sane during the process.

Toptal designer Bronwen Rees explains how in persuasive design, social and psychological triggers can be utilized to influence user behavior.

The next wave of IoT will connect millions of devices. The skills needed in this new paradigm will shift from component thinking to whole systems thinking.

In this article, Toptal designer Sergio Ortiz writes about the Internet of Things, its design implications, how it will change the way businesses operate, and how we see the world—and how to help make homes, cities, and factories smarter and more efficient.

Often, designers make the mistake of designing apps for their own vanity, focusing on the veneer instead of designing a great user experience. As Steve Jobs once said, “Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like.”

In this article, Toptal UX Designer Miklos Philips discusses Jobs’s point of view and clarifies the importance of designing for people.

We are a throw-away society—products wear out far too quickly or are replaced by something shinier, newer, or more trendy.

We look at designs that have stood the test of time and break down what made them successful. No matter what you’re working on, these guiding principles will help you stop designing disposables and begin creating designs that last.

A brand story is a powerful tool, but trial-and-error is required to use it well. If persistent, you’ll develop a unique voice, and your work will be infused with unexpected strands of meaning and purpose that thrill clients and the people they’re trying to reach.

In this article, Toptal Designer Micah Bowers walks us through one of his own branding projects to show us how to develop an effective brand story. Most of us might know a good story when we see one, but how do we write an engaging one ourselves?

Recent studies have found that in the U.S., 75 percent of children younger than eight have access to a smartphone or tablet, as do 36 percent of kids under the age of one. Although video games and apps have always carried the stigma of being detrimental to youth development, science has proven that some products can actually enhance a child’s cognitive strength. This presents a great opportunity and responsibility to digital designers and developers to influence tomorrow’s generations in a positive way.

In this guide, Toptal Designer Tanya Unger breaks down the differences and similarities between designing for kids and designing for adults. Then she presents a proven framework and offers some additional tips.

Check out a curated collection of beautiful and futuristic vehicle UIs created by different designers from around the world.

Some of the designs are captured from live products, some are still in development, and some are purely concepts designed to push the bounds of what is even considered possible.

Freelance designers often work on a project-to-project, short-term basis, a reality that sometimes limits the extent to which they can design products that have a major effect on the big picture. How can designers leverage their abilities to have maximum impact on more significant projects?

Strategic Design Thinking questions the role of design as a discipline, suggesting that it can offer more than the crafting of products and artifacts. Designer Kent Mundle outlines how designers can better communicate their abilities and establish a vocabulary to increase the potential value of their projects for clients.