Jesse Beach

What are you excited for at Figma's Config? Here's my agenda for the 2 day conference. Highlights I'm excited about are Building for Developers, Advocating and Designing for Human Needs, Bringing the Craft Back to Product, and of course the Figma keynotes! What peaks your interest the most? Imprint Digital wants to know what matters for design in your business, industry, or department. #figma #design #development #websites #softwaredevelopment #config2024 #digitalmarketing #marketing #development #reactjs #nextjs #wordpress #webdesign #webdev #userexperience #ecommerce #accessibility #humandesign

5

AI is the buzzword of the day, but it's simply the next step in our technology evolution. Evolving generative AI interactions are repeating human-computer interaction history. Remember those green screens and books filled with computer prompts, or learning how to use a search engine? Perhaps you do, maybe you don't, but either way AI has modified the way we do this by using natural language! #AI #technologyevolution #naturalanguageprocessing

6

This is a great post for designers moving into management/leadership roles. The nature of your job changes dramatically and it's important to figure out the most effective ways to help your team and the company. As noted in the article, it's very easy to have your time consumed by managerial tasks (operational work). Being deliberate about how you want to spend your time, focusing on the change you want to bring about and working consistently towards that end are critical skills to learn. #UX #Design #DesignLeadership https://lnkd.in/e_g4TRJx

7

2 Comments

Had to share this thoughtful article about the conflicting feelings we have as designers with new AI tools.... made me consider the threat of too much standardization over innovation, or letting your own creative instincts atrophy. Check it out and lmk your thoughts

6

Check out the 4 step exercise at the end of the article. Excellent advice.

2

“Be who and where you are.” I’m still processing all of the amazing insights that came out of Clarity: A design systems community conference last week but several themes have been bouncing around in my head since then. → Get smaller and connect - Dan Mall and others talked about a trend towards smaller core design systems with surrounding layers of shared patterns like recipes, all being consumed by teams managing their own local libraries. This results in teams being able to move faster and eliminates the need for design systems folks to feel that have to be a bottleneck. → Be who and where you are - John Voss and others talked about building the system that your users and team need rather than conforming to what larger companies are putting out there or the oversimplified “stereotype” you yourself have unintentionally created for your product. → Listen - Ben Callahan and others talked about the need to reset our current mental models for how design systems teams see our roles and responsibilities. How do we move away from our perceived tactical responsibilities towards more listening and validating of the needs of our consumers and users? 💎 My personal takeaways from all of this have me reframing my own journey with my team from "a series of mistakes" towards "the necessary growth to become the team we are today." → When we implemented that now outdated framework, tried to centralize everything into a single bloated design system, or wrote all of that verbose documentation, we were doing what we needed to do to mature and are a better team as a result. → What my team is going through, we're all going through. The role of design in general is changing across the industry, not just in my organization. How lucky are we, that we have the opportunity to learn from each other as designers? → As team roles change, I’m curious to pivot my default stance away from “defend the designer's role”, and would be curious to see how I can facilitate “design” activities regardless of whether they are done by a designer, product manager, or engineer. I feel so very fortunate to be a part of such an amazing community and love the reminder that when you get a bunch of systems thinkers together in the same room, you're going to see patterns. Thanks again 🖤 Jina A. and all the speakers last week. #clarity2024 #designsystems #design

61

8 Comments

In a world where technology continuously evolves, one constant remains: the importance of understanding and connecting with the people who use our products. At the heart of this connection lies empathy. Empathy-driven design goes beyond creating visually appealing interfaces; it delves into the realm of human emotions, behaviors, and experiences. Uncover the power of empathy in design and learn from how we at acoustic build products that truly matter to the people who use them. #uxd #usercentereddesign #marketing, #acoustic

15

In the name of fiduciary responsibility, the tricky-to-quantify parts of the work gets squeezed. You must make the case that investing in the user experience is the fiduciary responsible thing to do. My hot take since my first in-print UX article in the early twenty-teens is that "'Good UX is Good Business' is not impossible to quantify," but this is an angle of approach that requires cross-functional collaboration that's out of reach for roles not in leadership positions. It's tricky. The upward clamber is the worst. And, in the end, the wellbeing of the user is not more important than the wellbeing of the employee, and the employee needs to clock out, watch trash, walk the dog, make art, and not care about the user for most of the day. "Ethical burnout" is a super expensive problem for a company's shareholders. And there's a case that even if in the board room you don't have a champion of the UX, there's still a play: the work suffers when the team stops caring. This is when they stop nitpicking, because why bother? This is where excellence goes to die. This is where the competitive advantage is snuffed-out like a candle. Good luck.

2

I asked AI what it thinks about your essay and this is what it replied: "Comparing AI’s novelty to ketchup is both humorous and insightful, predicting its eventual normalization. Your concerns about AI in design are realistic, though slightly bleak, while your hope for a counter wave of human-centric experiences adds a refreshing touch of optimism. Finally, your cynical yet accurate conclusion that big tech will dominate the AI race is a sobering reminder of the tech industry’s power dynamics. Overall, your essay is a cheeky, insightful exploration of AI’s impact, striking a balance between critique and wit." 🙂

2

In addition to my talk at Write the Docs, I created the sketchnotes, which are posted here: https://lnkd.in/g5Jmej-v

33

3 Comments

The more I learn about business the less I understand why any company would go public when they can instead run their business 

5

Somtimes the content that can up your UX game comes from unlikly sources. This article puts into context some of the best places to start!

9

as #TaylorSwift says: "try and come for my job" 🫶 -- When it comes to UX, the robots still have a lot of work to do to catch up and won't be replacing us humans anytime soon. However - the more you leverage them into existing workflows now, the easier your job becomes overall. Not to mention you'll be able to focus on the things that *really matter* instead of the tasks the robots CAN do well. Which is what we're going to be all about today. 🤘🤖 https://lnkd.in/eVSBXjSn #UserExperience #UX #NNg #NNgUX

9

2 Comments

Now that Config is over here's a good recap for design execs:

3

#Config24. There's nothing quite like it when designers and makers gather to share, learn, and nerd out about our craft. Thank you Amperity for supporting our design team to take on this experience together at Figma's annual conference. There is so much to soak in, both from the presentations and chats across the community. Here are a few first takeaways: • Go faster with AI. From reducing tedium (auto-naming layers) to the emergent ability to turn flat UI into interactive prototypes with a click of a button. This philosophy is shaping the experience of designing in Figma. • There is a healthy and important debate in the design community about the implications of this AI-powered future. I love that it will lower the barrier for entry however agree with Jenny Arden: AI can get to good but as it can only remix what's been done before, it takes humans to get it to great. • Intentionality, creativity and craft matter even more. This theme came up throughout the two days. Tools should augment your process, not automate your favourite parts. • Shake the idea that difficult equals important. Simone Giertz overcame her performance anxiety by choosing enthusiasm as a driver for her work, resulting in a lot of fun and unexpected outcomes. • Aspire to be the team that sets the bar for quality. Peter Yang challenges PMs and people who care about product craft to choose quality and speed over scope. Cut features not quality corners to deliver beautiful products to customers, and quickly so you can learn. • How you structure your EPD teams will be reflected in your product. Resist symmetry. Nan Yu makes a great case for "heirloom tomato" teams that vary in size and shape in order to create an org chart you want to ship. • Figma redesign incoming. Figma's UI3 has been built on the core belief that way we design has evolved, requiring more immersion in the canvas. Minimizing UI aims to keep designers in flow, then make it easier to show and present work. On that... • Hello, Figma Slides. It just makes sense to show the work from the tool you built it in — and Slides (or Flides) will streamline this with speaker notes and quick layout features. • Does your design leave fingerprints? How might you weave traces of people, stories, acknowledge what you bring as a designer with a story of your own. Thank you Karla Mickens Cole and Nashilu Mouen from The Browser Company for this people-centered prompt.

116

6 Comments

10 basic lessons of a design system. Being someone who has worked within and created many design systems, brand guidelines, and UI libraries, I've encountered many bumps along the way. What would you add or remove from this list? #designsystem #UX #lessonslearned #basics https://lnkd.in/evFxwP79

2