Journey Mapping

One Figma component — 3,360 VariantsOne component to rule them all.In my work as a UX Lead at REI, I frequently contribute to our design system, Cedar. Most recently, I’ve been focusing on improving the accessibility of our form elements. It turned out that these UI components posed the perfect oppo..

Real-world talk about the importance of a designer’s own awareness as told by a humbled dad-designer. Continue reading on UX Collective »

We are 20 years into the 21st century already, but it seems that the last century has not yet left us. And I’m not talking about the fashion of always reliving some past decade to launch “aesthetic and artistic reinterpretations”. I’m talking about the fear of the unknown, about the world where we w..

Let your design community shape and strengthen your systems.Getting the design and content teams in your company engaged in your design system is key to its success. Here’s a framework that helps you get your design community onboard early, when you and your team are defining the system and its stan..

How elected officials can better communicate with all of their constituents online Continue reading on UX Collective »

When do we stand up in a design review, present our case, and say “this is a hill I’m willing to die on”?Photo by Mike Erskine on UnsplashI love to talk about designing with constraints. So much of the life of a UX professional is evaluating and compromising technical limitations, time limitations, ..

Here’s what you need to know about conducting design research for an early-stage startup. Continue reading on UX Collective »

What is Auth?Those of us who don’t spend our days writing code often think of logging in to an application as one simple, bundled process of declaring who we are with our user ID and password. Behind the scenes, there are actually two important, independent components at play: authentication and aut..

Practicing radical empathy in product designAcknowledge your own lens and bias as the first step in empathy building for the customer. This will lead to deeper human connections and ultimately products that solve the needs of everyone.Image by Anna Shvets on PexelsEmpathy is the foundation of buildi..