The hottest User Experience Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

Further improvements to the landing page

André Casal's Substack • 19 implied HN points • 30 Jul 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Product Development Customer Feedback User Experience
  1. Improving the landing page is important based on user feedback. It's a continuous process to get high ratings through various updates.
  2. Using tools like Sentry helps in monitoring performance and collecting user feedback. This makes it easier to identify and fix issues.
  3. Conducting customer interviews is valuable for understanding user needs. The insights gained can guide product development and marketing strategies.

Landing page improvements

André Casal's Substack • 19 implied HN points • 29 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Web Development User Experience Product Design Market Strategy Analytics
  1. Improving color contrast on a landing page helps make it more accessible for users. Clearer visuals can attract more visitors and keep them engaged.
  2. Adding logos and use-case sections to a landing page can help communicate what the product is about. It makes it easier for potential customers to understand if the product fits their needs.
  3. Getting feedback on a landing page and iterating on it is essential for creating a successful product. Regular updates based on user input help build trust and improve overall user experience.

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.'

Anthropological Intelligence

Gradient Ascendant • 13 implied HN points • 30 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Startups AI Innovation User Experience Market fit
  1. Many tech startups are not really pushing new technology; they're mostly testing if people will use what already exists in new ways. Uber and AirBnB combine known tech in ways that challenge social norms.
  2. AI startups are even more focused on understanding user relationships with technology. It's still unclear how people want to use AI, making early experiments tricky.
  3. The success of AI startups might depend not just on the technology but also on user appeal. AI that feels more charming or relatable might win out over others, even if the tech is similar.
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The end of COVID, the end of Twitter

Logging the World • 318 implied HN points • 05 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Social media Influence User Experience
  1. COVID-19 has not completely disappeared despite initial hopes and expectations. Immunity wanes, new variants emerge, and the impact lingers on.
  2. Twitter's influence may be declining over time due to fewer interesting user interactions and issues with the platform's experience. The network effects that once made it influential are fading.
  3. Legacy brands like Twitter may persist even after a decline, existing in a different form and continuing to have some relevance in the future.

Adobe Firefly Is Out! Create Amazing Images in Seconds (With Free Prompt Guide)

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 299 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
🕹 Technology AI Tools Image Generation User Experience Digital Art
  1. Adobe Firefly is a powerful image generator that makes it easy to bring your creative ideas to life. Whether you want to create fantasy scenes or unique characters, it helps you visualize them quickly.
  2. Using Adobe Firefly is user-friendly and fun, allowing anyone to create stunning images with just a few clicks. You can start for free and explore its features without any cost.
  3. The tutorial offers 26 prompt ideas to help you get the most out of Adobe Firefly. It includes a guide on how to effectively use prompts to create what you imagine.

Please let your readers read?

Disaffected Newsletter • 779 implied HN points • 13 Jan 23
🪑 Design Readability Visual Design User Experience Color Theory Blogging
  1. Use high-contrast colors for your text and background to make reading easier. Low contrast can make it hard to read and push people away from your content.
  2. Many readers won't tell you your text is hard to read, and they might leave without saying anything. It's better to get feedback than to lose potential readers.
  3. Remember that your main goal is to share words that people want to read. Avoid trendy designs that harm readability, as they can hurt your audience and support.

UX Roundup: 2025 UX Themes | Put New AI Models to the Test | AI Slide Creation | AI Analyzing Usability Tests | AI Job Creation | AI & UX Jobs

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 11 implied HN points • 06 Jan 25
🕹 Technology AI User Experience Job Market Usability testing Trends
  1. AI can help create slide presentations automatically from written content. This saves time and makes presenting easier.
  2. Using new AI models can improve work tasks, but it's important to regularly test these new tools to see if they perform better than older versions.
  3. AI is changing job landscapes. While some jobs might go away, new ones that require skills to work with AI are popping up, leading to more opportunities overall.

What is a good designer?

Elizabeth Laraki • 219 implied HN points • 04 Dec 23
🪑 Design Product Design User Experience Visual Design Collaboration Design process
  1. A good designer focuses on understanding the product's goals, audience, and use cases. They clarify what the product should achieve and for whom it’s meant.
  2. User experience is key for a designer, ensuring the product is easy and natural to use. They organize content and tasks logically, making navigation simple for everyone.
  3. Visual design is about making the product look polished and high quality. Good designers pay attention to details like colors, fonts, and alignment to connect with users effectively.

Top 10 UX Videos of 2024

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 11 implied HN points • 02 Jan 25
🕹 Technology User Experience AI Tools Video Production Digital Media
  1. In 2024, AI video creation really improved a lot. By the end of the year, the videos looked and sounded much better than the videos made earlier, almost like real productions.
  2. Some popular videos were made with AI tools and others were shot with real people. This mix made for interesting content, showing how both methods can be effective.
  3. Advancements in AI also allowed for podcasts and videos to be translated into multiple languages, making it easier to reach audiences around the world.

Better AI Creative Writing?

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 23 implied HN points • 27 Nov 24
🕹 Technology AI Creative Writing Machine Learning Natural Language Processing User Experience
  1. The latest version of ChatGPT showed some improvement in creative writing over the past year, especially in children's stories. It produced longer stories with more engaging content.
  2. When it comes to writing poetry, the changes were minor. The recent poems didn't stand out much compared to last year's efforts.
  3. Overall, while there's some progress in AI writing skills, it's still quite limited. Bigger advancements are expected in the next generation of AI models.

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 Terminology 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.

How to talk to someone who doesn't trust AI

The AI Frontier • 59 implied HN points • 25 Apr 24
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Software Development User Experience Product Design
  1. Many people doubt AI tools because they believe they only look good in demos but don't perform well in real life. Trying out LLMs like ChatGPT can often change that opinion for the better.
  2. Some skeptics challenge AI by asking tricky questions that the AI can't answer. It's important to remember that AI has limitations and not every mistake means it's useless.
  3. People notice that AI responses can seem similar, making it hard to trust their accuracy. Customizing answers and improving quality can help address this issue.

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.

Feeling the Design

UX Psychology • 238 implied HN points • 05 Jun 23
🪑 Design Emotion Attention Product Design User Experience Aesthetics
  1. Emotions significantly impact user attention and decision-making. We can design products that resonate with users by considering their emotional states.
  2. Balancing functionality and aesthetics is crucial in design. Negative emotions may lead users to focus on functionality, while positive emotions may draw them to aesthetics.
  3. Design strategies that consider emotional mapping, create emotional peaks, and provide feedback can enhance user experience and engagement.

#3 Industrial Design

Mountain Labs Newsletter • 59 implied HN points • 17 Apr 24
🪑 Design Industrial Design Product Development User Experience Prototyping
  1. When developing a hardware product, focus on three key areas: energy, communication, and form factor. Energy determines if your device runs on batteries or needs to be plugged in.
  2. For B2B products, start with communication needs since they often integrate with other systems. But for B2C products, prioritize the look and feel of the device first.
  3. Always check the costs and manufacturability of your components. If it’s too expensive or hard to make, revisit your choices before moving forward with the design.

Steve Jobs vs. the Haters

Litverse • 219 implied HN points • 26 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Tech History 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.

how are those design studies going?

vrk loves paper • 219 implied HN points • 06 Sep 23
🪑 Design Graphic design Fashion Art User Experience Creative Process
  1. Recognizing a fear of judgment is important when learning something new, like fashion or design. It's okay to need time to learn and grow without worrying about how you look to others.
  2. Instead of focusing solely on perfection in design, aim to create joyfully and embrace mistakes. It's about the process, not just the final product.
  3. Learning takes time and comes with feelings of being behind, but having supportive friends and a clear vision of your goals can help you stay motivated.

Do People Prefer Curved Lines?

UX Psychology • 218 implied HN points • 30 Mar 23
🔬 Science Psychology Design Perception Cognition User Experience
  1. Research indicates that people generally prefer curved lines over straight or angular ones due to associations with grace and gentleness.
  2. Preference for curves is not just psychological, but has roots in our perception of safety and nurture, related to our evolutionary past.
  3. In design, understanding people's preference for curved lines can help create more visually appealing and effective products, but individual factors like personality and culture also play a role.

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.

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.

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.

Designing Usable Toggle Switches: Applying UX Research Insights

UX Psychology • 198 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
🕹 Technology UX Design User Experience Research Design principles
  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.

AI With “Computer Use”: Agents, Accessibility Fix, Facilitating Usability Tests

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 27 implied HN points • 07 Nov 24
🕹 Technology AI User Experience Accessibility Automation Research Methods
  1. AI can now operate computers just like humans, which means it can click, type, and understand what’s on the screen. This makes using computers easier for everyone, especially for those who struggle with traditional interfaces.
  2. AI agents are expected to take over simple tasks for users, like booking hotels or managing reservations, making life more convenient. However, understanding personal preferences may take some time for AI to improve.
  3. AI's capability to watch and analyze user interactions can help conduct usability studies more effectively. This could lead to better products, as AI can help gather insights about how real users behave.

DevEx: Better than an ExDev (And your Ex)

Permit.io’s Substack • 19 implied HN points • 04 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Cybersecurity User Experience DevOps Cloud Computing
  1. Developer experience (DevEx) is really important because it helps developers focus on building great apps while also handling security tasks more smoothly.
  2. It's crucial to make security features easy to use so that everyone involved, from developers to non-technical users, can manage permissions and access without problems.
  3. A successful approach to DevEx considers the whole development process, ensuring security practices are integrated naturally into workflows from start to finish.

the first one's the bad one!

vrk loves paper • 199 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
🪑 Design Graphic design Product Design User Experience Illustration Creative Process
  1. When working on goals, it's better to focus on whether the problems that come with them are interesting and fulfilling for you. Every goal has challenges, so choose the ones you want to tackle.
  2. In design, it's important to sketch many different ideas, even if they seem odd or wrong at first. Your first attempt is usually not your best, so keep exploring different options.
  3. Using references that resonate with you can make the design process easier and more enjoyable. It's fine to start with things you're familiar with before branching out to more complex inspirations.

Deepfake Personas in UX

UX Psychology • 198 implied HN points • 06 Jul 23
🕹 Technology UX AI Deepfake Multimedia User Experience
  1. Traditional personas are being enhanced with deepfake technology to create more dynamic representations of end-users.
  2. A study compared deepfake personas with classic and narrative personas in terms of empathy, credibility, and more, showing that deepfakes were perceived less favorably due to the uncanny valley effect.
  3. While deepfake personas are not yet widely accepted in UX, there is a small group of users who see potential value in them, hinting at possible scenarios where they might be beneficial.

Vitamin A for Engineering Teams: Dogfooding your product

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 39 implied HN points • 13 May 24
💼 Business Management Team Building Product Development Leadership User Experience
  1. Vitamin A is important for clear vision, similar to how understanding customer needs helps engineering teams succeed. It helps teams develop a better grasp of their products.
  2. Dogfooding means team members use and test their own products. This practice helps catch bugs and fosters a deeper connection with the user experience.
  3. To promote dogfooding, leaders should encourage testing, celebrate contributions, and refine the process. This creates a culture of empathy and accountability within the team.

Challenges In Adopting Retrieval-Augmented Generation Solutions

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 59 implied HN points • 01 Apr 24
🕹 Technology AI Development Language Models Data Management User Experience Privacy Concerns Software Engineering
  1. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) uses contextual learning to improve responses and reduce errors, making it useful for Generative AI.
  2. RAG systems are easier to maintain and less technical, which helps keep them updated with changing needs.
  3. However, RAG can have shortcomings like poor retrieval strategies and issues with data privacy, leading to incomplete or incorrect answers.

Fixing the Web by Laying Off the Fixers?

Unmoderated Insights • 19 implied HN points • 28 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Social media User Experience Tech Layoffs
  1. Tech companies are laying off a lot of workers, especially those who help keep online spaces safe from harmful content. This may save money short-term, but it could lead to bigger problems later.
  2. With fewer safety experts, harmful content like hate speech and misinformation has increased on social media platforms. This is making users unhappy and could push them to other platforms.
  3. The cuts are also hurting businesses that rely on advertising on these platforms. If users keep leaving, advertisers will too, which threatens the financial stability of these companies.

Receipt, Please

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 79 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Gadgets Innovation Consumer Tech Software User Experience
  1. Many people are returning the Apple Vision Pro headset soon after buying it, citing discomfort. However, most returns are coming from YouTubers who likely intended to return it all along.
  2. The return rate for the Vision Pro isn't as high as it seems, even with media attention on the complaints. This suggests many buyers are satisfied with the product.
  3. Apple has been working on the Vision Pro for about ten years, and they're committed to changing how we interact with technology.

Dark Patterns: using human psychology to manipulate users

UX Psychology • 198 implied HN points • 02 Feb 23
🕹 Technology UX Design User Experience Manipulation Psychology
  1. Dark patterns in UX are manipulative design tactics used to influence user behavior for the benefit of the company, often at the expense of the user's experience and trust.
  2. Dark patterns have different categories like asymmetrical, covert, restrictive, and deceptive, which aim to coerce and deceive users into unintended decisions.
  3. To combat dark patterns, designers should prioritize user transparency, education, testing with real users, and compliance with ethical design guidelines and regulations.

Can Conversation Designers Excel As Data Designers?

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 19 implied HN points • 24 Jun 24
🕹 Technology AI Natural Language Machine Learning User Experience
  1. Conversation designers can play a key role in creating and improving datasets for training language models. Their skills can help make data more relevant and useful.
  2. Techniques like Partial Answer Masking and Prompt Erasure help models learn to self-correct and think strategically. This makes them better at reasoning and understanding complex tasks.
  3. Chain-of-Thought methods help language models break down problems into smaller steps. This approach can lead to more accurate and reliable answers.

UX Roundup: Sora: Not Impressed | AI Startups Growth | Hiring Staff with AI Skills | 150K LinkedIn Followers | AI Training on YouTube | Apple Intelligence Useless | Dr. AI | New o3 model

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 9 implied HN points • 23 Dec 24
🕹 Technology AI Software User Experience Startups Social media
  1. AI startups are growing really fast, with many making 10% more each month. This growth is now normal because of the buzz around AI.
  2. It's important to hire people who know how to work with AI. One way to test candidates is to have them solve problems using AI during the interview.
  3. Many users find Apple's AI features not very helpful, showing that just adding AI to a product doesn't guarantee it will be useful or improve the experience.

The Role of Personality and Cognitive Ability in the Measurement of Usability

UX Psychology • 158 implied HN points • 08 Sep 23
🔬 Science Psychology Personality Traits Cognitive ability User Experience
  1. The usability of a product varies among individuals based on their knowledge, experience, and attitudes, not just a fixed attribute.
  2. Personality traits like emotional stability, openness to experience, and conscientiousness play a significant role in shaping subjective usability ratings.
  3. Cognitive ability did not have a significant impact on usability ratings, indicating that individual personality traits are stronger predictors.

Making Sense of the ChatGPT User Experience

UX Psychology • 158 implied HN points • 25 Aug 23
🕹 Technology AI User Experience Research Conversational AI
  1. Conversational AI tools like ChatGPT are transforming human-computer interaction by enabling natural language conversations on various topics.
  2. Studies show that features enhancing productivity and enjoyment, while ensuring accuracy, play a crucial role in shaping user experiences with ChatGPT.
  3. While ChatGPT offers benefits like enhanced productivity and user satisfaction compared to traditional methods, there are also notable risks like misinformation that need to be addressed through thoughtful design and transparency.

UX Roundup: AI Follow-Up Questions in Usability Studies | Top UX Evaluation Methods | AI Use in UX | Keep Users in the Flow | New Grok Image Model

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 11 implied HN points • 11 Dec 24
🕹 Technology User Experience Artificial Intelligence Usability testing
  1. AI can help in usability studies by asking follow-up questions, but it might not ask deep questions like a human can. This means while AI can assist, it can't fully replace human moderators just yet.
  2. The top user experience methods remain user interviews, remote user testing, and heuristic evaluations. These methods have been popular for decades and are still essential in UX work.
  3. AI is not widely used in UX yet, with many professionals using it only occasionally. Learning to use AI in UX can give you a big advantage in your career as the field evolves.