The hottest UX Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

Enhancing Employee Experience through UX

UX Psychology • 238 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
💼 Business UX Employee Experience User Research
  1. It is crucial to integrate UX principles into the employee experience to enhance engagement and productivity in the workplace.
  2. By applying UX methodologies like user research, iterative design, and usability testing, organizations can create environments that prioritize employee needs and well-being.
  3. UX professionals can play key roles in optimizing the employee experience by leading research, advising on best practices, and educating workplace teams on UX skills and mindsets.

💻 Zoom

First 1000 • 1513 implied HN points • 13 Jul 23
🕹 Technology UX UI Product Management
  1. In UX design, smart defaults can be very powerful.
  2. Sometimes, a design that looks slick and communicates well may not perform as well as another in tests.
  3. Don't underestimate the impact of smart defaults in design choices.
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The Future of Design? Using AI to Enhance Human Cognition and Creativity

UX Psychology • 119 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Design Metacognition UX
  1. Monitoring emotional reactions in design using AI and biosensors can promote self-reflection and enhance creativity in UX work.
  2. The Multi-Self tool combines EEG sensors and machine learning to provide real-time feedback on emotional responses during design tasks.
  3. Designers showed varying responses to AI-based emotional feedback, with novices relying on it more for guidance while experts often trusted their own judgment.

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.'

How I Developed the 10 Usability Heuristics

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 75 implied HN points • 15 Feb 24
🕹 Technology UX Research Usability User Interface Design
  1. Jakob Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics were developed through factor analysis to explain a database of usability problems, with the final list chosen for its explanatory power.
  2. The initial heuristics in 1989 were based on opinion and teaching needs, while the refined 1994 list was derived through systematic research and factor analysis.
  3. The 10 heuristics have remained relevant for 30 years due to their grounding in fundamental mismatches between humans and machines, and their broad, general applicability across different user interfaces.

From Challenges to Opportunities: Insights into the Neurodiverse Experience in UX

UX Psychology • 99 implied HN points • 24 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Neurodiversity UX Design Innovation Career
  1. Neurodiversity refers to a natural variation in how people think, perceive, and learn, and includes conditions like autism, ADHD, and dyslexia.
  2. Neurodivergent individuals can struggle with employment due to sensory sensitivity, social difficulties, and executive functioning challenges, but with the right support, they can thrive professionally and bring unique value.
  3. In the field of UX, neurodiverse perspectives can offer diverse skills and innovation, but individual assessment and customized support are crucial for success as each person's strengths and challenges vary.

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.

Part 1: AI Use Among UX Professionals

UX Psychology • 198 implied HN points • 17 Aug 23
🕹 Technology AI UX Tools Data Analysis Ethics
  1. Artificial Intelligence is significantly impacting User Experience (UX) by providing new tools and methods for research and design.
  2. UX professionals have varying levels of AI knowledge and usage, with concerns including potential errors, biases, and job security.
  3. Even though many UX professionals are incorporating AI into their work, there is still caution and a desire to ensure responsible AI use and human augmentation.

Part 2: Examining UX Professionals' Attitudes Towards AI

UX Psychology • 138 implied HN points • 14 Sep 23
🕹 Technology UX AI Research Tools
  1. UX professionals generally have a positive outlook on incorporating AI into their work, emphasizing the importance of AI enhancing human potential rather than overshadowing it.
  2. Even though most UX professionals display a positive attitude towards AI, there is still a degree of caution evident.
  3. Individuals with higher self-reported AI knowledge tend to have more favorable attitudes towards AI and use AI tools more frequently in their work.

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.

The Creator's Blind Spot

UX Psychology • 158 implied HN points • 28 Jun 23
🕹 Technology AI Psychology Product Development UX Research
  1. Understanding the psychology of AI creators is crucial as they may have an overly optimistic view of their own creations, known as the Inventor's Bias Effect.
  2. Inventors may view their products more positively due to personal identification with their creations, indicating biased decision-making.
  3. The importance of diverse input in decision-making processes to prevent overblown expectations about fairness and efficiency in AI tools.

Do papercuts matter?

Register Spill • 157 implied HN points • 30 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Software UX Value Efficiency Craft
  1. Papercuts in software are small annoyances that don't necessarily affect functionality but can be fixed.
  2. Even though papercuts may be annoying, they often don't prevent users from achieving their goals when using software.
  3. Having papercuts in software may not always directly relate to a negative user experience or impact the success of the software.

Merging Can Be Made Eventually Consistent

Bram’s Thoughts • 19 implied HN points • 18 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Version Control Conflicts UX Distributed Systems
  1. In distributed version control, there's a way to ensure consistent merging regardless of the order merges are done.
  2. File states can be represented as a set of line positions with generation counts to determine the winning state during merging.
  3. Handling conflicts in merging requires presenting changes in the order they'll appear to everyone, not based on 'local' or 'remote' changes.

UX Roundup: AI Narrows Skill Gaps | Apple Vision Pro | Jakob Live | Google Image FX | Hyperspecialized UX | Google Gemini | TV Shoot | OpenAI Growth

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 7 implied HN points • 12 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI AR/VR UX TV AI Ethics
  1. AI can narrow skill gaps for users, enhancing productivity and improving work quality.
  2. Apple Vision Pro's UI has strengths and weaknesses for augmented reality experiences.
  3. Specialized UX jobs, like those at Tesla, suggest a trend towards hyperspecialized UX roles.

UX Roundup: Time Estimates for Quant Projects | LinkedIn Rant | Benchmarking UX | Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan UX | Free AI Courses | New Music Tool

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 3 implied HN points • 11 Mar 24
🕹 Technology UX AI Social media
  1. For quantitative user research projects, default time estimate is one month, divided into planning, data collection, analysis, and final results stages.
  2. LinkedIn algorithm reduces reach for posts with external links, hindering usability and user experience on the platform.
  3. Benchmarking UX quality over time can help track improvements, emphasize UX importance, and guide corrective actions when needed.

The little green "Active" dot.

Nate is Learning • 58 implied HN points • 20 Apr 23
🕹 Technology UX Culture
  1. The 'Active' dot in Slack can create a culture of optics and virtual micro-management.
  2. Some users appreciate the 'Active' dot as it shows extra effort put in.
  3. There can be a dilemma between catering to daily users and maintaining status quo for paying users.

🙄 The AI is coming for my UX job

Counting Stuff • 54 implied HN points • 13 Apr 23
🕹 Technology AI UX ML Translation Market Impact
  1. A startup is using AI to create fake personas for product testing, but it misses the point of user testing.
  2. Usability studies run by project managers may be biased without proper training, focusing on understanding user motivations rather than specific actions.
  3. Like machine translation disrupted the translation market, AI in UX may provide some value for simple tasks but human experts are still needed for complex nuances.

Psychological principles in product design — a closer look at Duolingo

UX Psychology • 198 implied HN points • 05 Oct 21
🕹 Technology UX Psychology Gamification Design User engagement
  1. Small improvements near the end of an experience can significantly impact how people remember the entire event.
  2. Highlighting a unique option among similar choices can make it more memorable and likely to be chosen.
  3. As people make progress towards a goal, they tend to speed up their actions to reach it faster, indicating motivation by the remaining distance to the target.

#3 - The benefits of white space

A Good Interface • 19 implied HN points • 23 Aug 23
🪑 Design UX Graphic design User Experience
  1. White space is crucial in design, existing between elements to enhance clarity and organization.
  2. White space is not wasted space; it guides users, showcases important information, and brings a sense of calmness to interfaces.
  3. Effective use of white space improves user experience, leads users through logical grouping, focuses attention on key elements, and reflects a game's branding and tone of voice.

Unreasonable Support: Design for the Unhappy Path

The Kahneman Bot • 2 HN points • 19 Feb 24
🪑 Design UX Product Customer Support User Experience
  1. Designing for the unhappy path in user experiences is crucial for creating user loyalty and retention.
  2. Unhappy path design can trigger a sense of reciprocity in users, leading to positive responses to issues or faults.
  3. Providing what users perceive as unreasonable levels of support can result in long-term loyalty and cost-effective retention strategies.

Evaluating UX in robots

UX Psychology • 39 implied HN points • 11 Nov 22
🕹 Technology UX Robots
  1. Robots are being increasingly utilized, especially in response to crises like the pandemic, where they help in multiple ways from monitoring patients to making deliveries.
  2. When evaluating social robots for usability, methodologies include using textual descriptions, video demonstrations, live interactions, and the Wizard of Oz method.
  3. Evaluation dimensions in social robot studies cover utilitarian aspects like ease of use, emotional appeal, and trust, with methods like questionnaires, interviews, biometrics, and video analysis.

Implicit measures in UX

UX Psychology • 99 implied HN points • 11 Oct 21
🕹 Technology UX Measurement Research Psychology Marketing
  1. Self-report methods like questionnaires and interviews are commonly used in UX research, but they have limitations due to factors like social desirability bias and limited introspection.
  2. To fully understand user experience, it's important to consider unconscious motives like emotions and implicit attitudes, which can be measured using implicit techniques such as the Implicit Associate Test (IAT).
  3. Implicit measures, like the IAT, provide insights into unconscious processes influencing behavior, and can offer additional valuable information in UX research compared to traditional explicit measures like questionnaires.

LLMs, anthropocentric thinking, accuracy, and self-driving

Apperceptive (moved to buttondown) • 16 implied HN points • 16 Feb 23
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Neural Networks UX
  1. Large language models are different from earlier neural network models in architecture and scale of training data.
  2. Large language models exploit the anthropomorphic fallacy, making people interpret them as conscious beings.
  3. The illusion of cognitive depth in machine learning systems like large language models can lead to misunderstandings and challenges in applications like autonomous cars.

Psychological time and UX

UX Psychology • 59 implied HN points • 07 Oct 21
🕹 Technology UX Psychology Design User Experience
  1. Psychological time, influenced by factors like anxiety and cultural background, affects how we perceive waiting time.
  2. Changing passive wait time to active engagement can significantly improve user experience in various scenarios.
  3. To enhance user experience, minimizing traditional wait times and engaging users with activities can create a more enjoyable waiting experience.

No MoonPies for gatekeepers

Better After a Nap • 0 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
🪑 Design UX Criticism Experience
  1. Gatekeeping in the UX field can be harmful, especially when directed at newcomers.
  2. Experienced professionals should mentor and support new designers, not intimidate them.
  3. The UX industry should strive to be welcoming, collaborative, and free of jerks or gatekeepers.