Deep appreciation for simple
UX DesignIt's not UX unless you start the conversation with who and why.
UX DesignChange is the only constant.
Life + SoftwareGood design is Simple, Fast, Smart and Delightful.
UX Design“Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Organize your ideas.
If you cannot organize your ideas how are you going to organize an application?
“Without data, you are just another person with an opinion.”
UX DesignYou cannot think outside of the box when you are working in the box, go for a ride
Find and focus on primary objective
If you are not failing, you are not learning.
UX DesignScope things based on impact
Plan
Design is outside to inside. Development is inside to outside.
When you have an idea, always sketch first
Don't drill into the detail before you generate lots of ideas.
It's cheaper to fail with a prototype than an application.
If you are not upsetting somebody, you are boring everybody
Focus“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative” Oscar Wilde
“Yeah. That is really intuitive once you showed it to me.”
UsabilityAlways. Code your own prototypes. Just learn HTML, CSS and some JS!
UX Skill“Software needs to be opinionated.” My friend Steve
ProductThe journey is more important than the destination.
LifeIn the history of apps, nobody started or stopped using an app because of color or logo.
If people nit-pick your solution, you didn't spend enough time framing the problem.
Get to the point
Sell your own ideas, don't expect anybody to buy into it
Constantly balance priorities
Use animation to orient before using it to delight.
UXInnovation is creating solutions not features
Design is an iterative process
Keep it simple
Make it beautiful
Never pitch from the tools you use to design
“If we amplify everything, we hear nothing” Jon Stewart
Manage the viewport. Think layers. What is fixed? What scrolls?
UXI don't have the answer. I have a process to find it.
UX DesignA prototype can be the tool that aligns the CEO, CTO and CMO.
Stop thinking feature. Start thinking problem to solve.
If people cannot get excited about your vision, adding the details doesn't help.
When you hit a wall, try going back a step in the design process and anchor the project
When you hit another wall, go to sleep
Understand the players. Interview people.
Stay happy, kiss your family, ride your bicycle and go to yoga
LifeConstant sharing of design direction.
CommunicateDon't put everything into one project and ignore the world.
BalanceThe flip side is equally important, don't tune on the entire world and scatter.
BalanceAlways have a long term vision, don't lose sight of where you are going.
ProductHigh quality design is functional and beautiful
What people say. What people mean. What people do. Three completely different things.
PeopleA usability test helps you understand what people will actually do.
Without the Why and Who, we create nothing for nobody.
You work on a team. Are all the players convinced?
Design discovery is the most important step.
Discovery is who, why, value, competition, constraints, trends, landscape and data.
Don't sacrifice clarity for brevity.
A designer knows something about everything. A developer knows everything about one thing.
A good designer isn't afraid to throw away good ideas.
UX SkillBeing process-oriented, not product driven, is the most important and difficult skill for a designer.
UX SkillBeauty is derived from the utility of the experience.
Beauty is the harmony of elements.
Less is more.
Less is a bore.
Create friendly software.
It is simple when your users think it is simple, not when you think it is simple.
You might need complex code to make something simple.
Design is form and function. If you don't have capacity for both then you are an artist or an engineer.
UI design is enabling humans to talk to the machine.
UX design is motivating humans to talk to the machine.
Should I tell you what you want to hear? Or, what you need to know?
UX ConsultingPeople need simple first and efficient second.
UX ConsultingMake your own list.
User Experience design bits is a collections of ideas experienced while consulting on projects. The bits will expand with narrative in the future.
My name is Mustafa Alami. I live in Sausalito, California and I design software experiences. More about me can be found on malami.com.