The hottest User Experience Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

🧪 Positive friction

First 1000 • 943 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🕹 Technology User Experience Onboarding
  1. Positive friction adds value and effort to user experience simultaneously.
  2. Positive friction can improve retention in various aspects like streaks and onboarding.
  3. Introducing positive friction strategically can benefit users and businesses in areas like registration, purchasing, and core app functions.

My Toddler Loves Planes, So I Built Her A Radar

Jacob’s Tech Tavern • 1304 HN points • 27 Nov 23
🕹 Technology App Development User Experience API Integration Mobile Apps Software Development
  1. The idea for the app came from the author's toddler's fascination with planes, leading to the creation of a radar app.
  2. The app was built to be engaging and fun for kids, with features like showing nearby flights and being oriented correctly.
  3. The author went through user testing with their toddler to ensure the app was enjoyable and successful before launching it on the App Store.
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🧠 Knowledge Series #23: Passkeys explained

Department of Product • 314 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Security Product Development User Experience Cybersecurity Authentication
  1. Passkeys are digital keys replacing traditional passwords, enhancing security and creating unique keys for each account and device.
  2. Major companies like Uber, Apple, Google, and Microsoft are actively supporting and implementing passkeys for a passwordless future.
  3. Product teams can implement passkeys by understanding how they work and following a step-by-step guide for integration.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Cognitive Bias or Statistical Artefact?

UX Psychology • 218 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
🔬 Science Cognitive Bias Psychology Statistics User Experience Awareness
  1. The Dunning-Kruger effect explains how people with lower ability often overestimate their competence, while highly skilled individuals tend to underestimate their capabilities.
  2. The disconnect between competence and metacompetence judgments is seen not only in psychology but also in areas like aviation, memory, and medical skills. It can impact product development and UX teams by highlighting the challenge of relying on feedback from less competent individuals.
  3. Debate continues on whether the Dunning-Kruger effect is purely a statistical artefact or a psychological phenomenon. Regardless, it prompts the need for critical self-awareness, peer review, and continuous growth to mitigate its impact in fields like UX.

Robot Nags

David Friedman’s Substack • 242 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Smartwatches Artificial Intelligence User Experience Automation Privacy
  1. Technology like smart watches and apps can provide constant reminders or notifications, sometimes without the option to stop them.
  2. Encouraging reading habits through rewards or forced reading can have unintended consequences, such as making reading seem like a chore to children.
  3. Various instances of 'robot nags' exist in everyday technology, aimed at influencing behavior or decision-making, sometimes intrusively.

Inflection AI Is A Sleeping Giant

Teaching computers how to talk • 73 implied HN points • 13 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Tech Companies Product Design AI Ethics User Experience
  1. Inflection AI announced Inflection-2.5, a competitive upgrade to their large language model.
  2. Despite having a smaller team than tech giants like Google and Microsoft, Inflection AI focuses on emotional intelligence and safety in their AI products.
  3. Pi, Inflection AI's personal assistant, stands out with its warm, engaging, and empathetic design, making it an underrated gem in the AI space.

The Role of Mood in User Experience Design

UX Psychology • 218 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Design User Experience Ethics
  1. Understanding user mood is crucial in user experience design as it influences interactions over time.
  2. Moods can be monitored, expressed, and regulated in UX design to create more personalized and empathetic experiences.
  3. Implementing mood-focused strategies requires considering ethical challenges, personalization opportunities, and continuous testing.

Introducing a new front page for Substack

Substack Blog • 693 implied HN points • 20 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Apps User Experience Innovation Content Feedback
  1. The new Home experience on the Substack app aims to boost growth for writers and offer readers a universe of great writing.
  2. The reading queue in the app helps readers keep up with their favorite subscriptions and never miss new content.
  3. The explore feed and inbox features are designed to enhance discoverability and customization for users within the Substack ecosystem.

It was never about LLM performance

Technically • 41 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Open Source Developer Tools Machine Learning User Experience
  1. It's not just about the performance numbers of large language models (LLMs). The real value lies in the experiences built on top of these models for customers.
  2. The ChatGPT interface demonstrates the importance of the overall experience over just the underlying model technology in LLMs.
  3. When considering open source LLMs, it's crucial to focus on the holistic experience that model providers offer, not just the performance metrics in comparison to closed source models.

Beyond Five Seconds: Rethinking First Impressions in UX

UX Psychology • 238 implied HN points • 08 Dec 23
🕹 Technology UX Design Research Cognitive abilities User Experience
  1. First impressions are crucial in UX and can influence user engagement throughout their interaction with an interface.
  2. Traditional 'five-second tests' in UX may not account for variations in users' cognitive abilities and the complexity of visual designs.
  3. To enhance UX design, consider customizing testing based on cognitive abilities, evaluating visual complexity, and rethinking the standard 'five-second rule.'

UX Roundup: Portfolio Without Experience | AI-UX Course | Jakob on UX Greece | Test with 5 Users | ImageGen Shootout

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 23 implied HN points • 18 Mar 24
🕹 Technology UX Design Artificial Intelligence User Experience AI Tools
  1. When building a UX portfolio without experience, focus on real-world relevance and storytelling to stand out from generic student projects.
  2. Consider volunteering, joining tech apprenticeships, or freelancing for startups to gain practical UX experience and build a compelling portfolio.
  3. Attending courses like 'UX for AI' can enhance your skills and knowledge in the UX field, adding value to your career development.

Your Feature is Not a Product

Nathan’s Substack • 79 implied HN points • 26 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Product Development Artificial Intelligence Tech industry Software Development User Experience
  1. A common mistake is mistaking a feature for a product, leading to incomplete solutions in the market.
  2. Customers care more about how a product solves their problem, rather than the specific technology used.
  3. Start with the customer experience and work back to the technology when designing products, a lesson exemplified by Steve Jobs.

Forming Habits To Improve Retention

Growth Croissant • 707 implied HN points • 08 Jun 23
💼 Business Retention Product Management Health & Wellness Engagement User Experience
  1. Encouraging healthy habits through features like competitions, goal setting, and streaks can improve user retention.
  2. Popular apps like Strava and Headspace use habit-forming features such as challenges and streaks to retain users.
  3. Habit-forming features must be deeply ingrained in the product to have a meaningful impact on user experience and retention.

Words Matter: How Terminology Affects User Responses to AI System Failures

UX Psychology • 198 implied HN points • 17 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI User Experience Trust Research
  1. The specific terminology used to describe AI systems significantly impacts user perceptions and expectations.
  2. Research shows that labeling a system as 'AI' versus 'algorithmic' affects trust, satisfaction, and acceptance after errors.
  3. Transparency, explainability, and careful terminology choices are essential in maintaining user trust and satisfaction with AI systems.

Designing Usable Toggle Switches: Applying UX Research Insights

UX Psychology • 198 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
🕹 Technology UX Design User Experience Research
  1. Toggle switches in user interfaces should provide immediate visual feedback when clicked to show the state change.
  2. Clear and familiar labels like 'On/Off' are crucial for toggle switches to avoid confusion. Avoid using unfamiliar terms or questions as labels.
  3. Use color effectively with 'On' typically in green or blue and position it on the right side. Negative or ambiguous toggle text should be avoided.

The Use of Scarcity Cues in E-Commerce: Impact on User Experience and Trust

UX Psychology • 218 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
💼 Business E-commerce User Experience Psychology Marketing Research
  1. Online retailers often use scarcity cues like countdown timers and limited quantity messages to create urgency, but research suggests they can harm user experience and trust.
  2. Psychological theories show that scarcity can make products seem more valuable, yet artificial scarcity cues in marketing can annoy users and erode trust.
  3. Recent research found that scarcity cues, especially time-based ones, can lead to negative emotions, frustration, and reduced user trust, highlighting the need for transparent and verifiable messaging in e-commerce.

41 Years in UX: A Career Retrospective

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 60 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
🕹 Technology User Experience Academia Inventions Startups Web Design
  1. Jakob Nielsen has had a long career in UX since 1983, with a consistent mission of making computers user-friendly.
  2. He transitioned from academia to real-world UX work, influenced by his experiences with different computers and usability.
  3. Key achievements include pioneering discount usability, writing a popular book on web usability, and raising public awareness about UX.

Using Psychology to Improve User Onboarding

UX Psychology • 377 implied HN points • 14 Jul 23
🕹 Technology UX Design Psychology User Experience Decision-making
  1. Leverage psychology in user onboarding to create informative, enjoyable, and memorable experiences.
  2. Utilize the Zeigarnik effect by using progress meters, reminders, and allowing partial profile completion to keep users engaged.
  3. Decrease complexity with Hicks' law by reducing choices, highlighting easy options, and using progressive onboarding to improve decision-making and enhance user experience.

Time Scales of UX: From 0.1 Seconds to 100 Years

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 50 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
🕹 Technology User Experience Web Design AI Organizational Change Data Management
  1. User experience is not a place or thing, but it unfolds over time.
  2. The time scales in UX range from 0.1 seconds to 100 years, with a huge variability.
  3. Design decisions in UX can impact events that last from a fraction of a second to a century, requiring a broad perspective and high IQ to navigate effectively.

Steve Jobs vs. the Haters

Litverse • 219 implied HN points • 26 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Product Development User Experience
  1. In 1997, Steve Jobs made strategic decisions for Apple that were heavily criticized, such as discontinuing OpenDoc and embracing a closed system approach.
  2. Jobs believed in prioritizing user experience over technology, leading to the success of Apple products despite criticism from early tech adopters.
  3. The essence of successful products lies in making life better through simplicity and providing a seamless, convenient user experience, as shown by Jobs' approach with Apple.

Designing Digital Products for Older Adults

UX Psychology • 218 implied HN points • 21 Sep 23
🪑 Design User Experience Aging
  1. Designing digital products for older adults is crucial as their population grows and technology becomes more integrated into daily life.
  2. Age-related changes in vision, hearing, dexterity, processing speed, working memory, attention, and executive function must be considered when designing inclusive digital experiences for older adults.
  3. To create more inclusive digital experiences for older adults, simplify interfaces, support recognition over recall, offer clear wayfinding cues, minimize required steps, and provide feedback and error recovery options.

Artificial Inconvenience

coldhealing • 452 implied HN points • 07 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Social media Monetization User Experience
  1. Twitter implemented restrictions on interaction with posts containing Substack links to compete with Substack Notes.
  2. Platforms strive for dominance and monetization through user retention and restricting links to other platforms.
  3. Despite challenges and artificial inconveniences on social media, users seek diverse platforms for different purposes.

The UX Recruitment Struggle Is Real: How to Find Participants

UX Psychology • 238 implied HN points • 21 Jul 23
🕹 Technology UX Research Recruitment User Experience Strategies
  1. Finding the right participants for UX research can be a major challenge, hindering the effectiveness of your study.
  2. Being resourceful in recruiting participants is key - leverage niche communities, engage with customer-facing teams, and consider using professional panels.
  3. When facing internal roadblocks, start small to showcase the value of UX research, analyze indirect user touchpoints, and conduct desk research or UX audits as alternative solutions.