Welcome to the 116th edition of Design Brief â our weekly selection of news and tips from the design world.
Your Face Here
When joining the company Jennifer Hom, a Design Manager of Product Illustration at Airbnb, noticed a certain lack of representation of users in the product; something that doesnât reflect Airbnbâs great commitment to inclusivity. âNormalâ is diverse - says Hom - my goal is to move the needle of representation in the tech community that must consider the fabric of who makes up their companies, and how that identity is presented to the world. In the article Hom provides a solid guideline for a more inclusive visual identity of a brand, which improves user experience. Read more
If you validate all experiments by macro metrics (conversions, average check, signups, searches, etc.), then you can miss valuable insights. Not every change in your product can be described by a "big" metric that shows the success of your business. This article is based on the authorâs experience. Looking deeper into the metrics helps you better understand your users and may affect repeating purchases, user loyalty, and much more. Read more
By reading this article you can learn how models and diagrams help designers communicate the unseen. There are a number of tools that product teams can use to bring clarity to an idea and align everyoneâs understanding of it. They range in complexity from sketches, through user flows and diagrams, to functional prototypes. Even though creating models may seem time-consuming, itâs important to remember that aligning everyoneâs thinking early on will almost always save you time in the long run. Read more
The idea of a âdesign systemâ has taken on mythic proportions in the product world, and systemizing your product development process can be free form and grow with your company. Itâs never too early to start thinking about your product in this way, but when itâs too late, itâs really too late. The author of the article, Jacob Johannesen, goes over his learnings from designing systematically for a quickly growing startup for a little over a yearâââand the mistakes and victories along the way. Read more
Wireframes and user flows both have different levels of âresolutionâ and fidelity of the finished product. But they also have a lot in common - when used at the right time in projects they can both increase the speed of iterations and improve communication across the product team. The article is an illustrated guide on the different âresolutionsâ of user flows, and when to use them. Read more
