How to specify your components so that your team can implement them with ease.
Overview
As modern designers, we have a responsibility to design components that not only look good and behave correctly, but that our teams, devs specifically, can implement with relative ease.
Listen, you don’t want your devs to have to mess with styling, spacing, placement or interaction states more than absolutely necessary.
When you deliver styled, completely specified, flexible components to your devs as part of your design system/pattern library, they’re going to love you for it, and you will more than likely save your team a boatload…
Absolutely, and it's an excellent question, honestly.
Most of the time as designers (print, web, UI/UX, etc.) we are used to seeing the model of "work for hire," which is where we just sell our services as a one-off, and then the client owns all of the work that you've done and the copyrights to it as well.
This is the most common scenario with traditional employment, but is definitely not the only way that it can go down.
For a full breakdown of pricing models, I would definitely recommend the AIGA's article on it here:
You know Dominique that's a fair assertion, so I'll give you one here.
Let's say that you do work for a company that is not work for hire, that is that you were contracted and are being paid a risidual or royalty, rather than them owning your work outright.
From there, they sell your work to as many people as they can to make a profit, and then you get a cut based on your royalty or residual payment agreement(s).
This applies to UI/UX if you're designing interfaces or interface frameworks, and would be a prime example of how the…
An easy way to deal with type in your web-based designs.
Overview
Let’s face it: specking type can be challenging.
Even more-so when you consider that, if it’s for a web project, the type specifications that you make need to be web-complaint and browser-friendly.
Luckily, I’ve found a combination of tools and approaches that make it much easier to spec type for all of your web projects, and today we’re going to go over how to do just that, quickly, and easily.
The Tools
My two favorite tools when it comes to specking type for the web are
type-scale.com …
This may not be what you want to hear, but it’s what you need to hear.
Overview
I have been asked so many times that it’s not even funny anymore: how do you make it as a designer?
That can be both a tough question and answer for anyone; I should know, because I’ve done it myself.
Today I’m going to share with you how you actually make it in this industry, how to do it the right way, and how to do it without losing your mind.
Understanding the industry
The first thing you have to do in order to make it in…
Hint: it’s not all about learning to code or doing a back-flip either
Overview
Today, we’re going to talk about how to create real value as a UI/UX designer, and how you can use The Value Formula to even make yourself more valuable.
When we talk about increasing value in the UI/UX sphere, typically we are met with assertions of “learn X,” or “do Y.”
The trouble with this approach is that, while it generally adds something, it normally doesn’t add anything that is truly valuable, to either the marketplace, or your users; which can lead to a lukewarm reception at…
This advice comes from countless trials, errors, failures, and over a decade of experience in the design industry.
What I Wish Someone Would’ve Told Me
Throughout my career I have always grappled with the uncertainty that is being a designer in the 21st century.
There’s so much to know and it can be very easy to get caught off-guard by the near-constant changes to specifications, paradigms, technologies, and business challenges.
What I will tell you is the one, sure-fire way that I have learned to actually get better, and get ahead in the design industry, and I wish someone would’ve told me this when I was starting…
Some of the best tips and tricks that I have learned over a decade of experience in the design industry.
Overview
As designers we are constantly presented with new information, new ideas, new methodologies, and new paradigms of user engagement.
While this is exciting, it can be exhausting trying to keep track of everything you need to know in order to design a successful product for your users.
Today I’m sharing with you some of the best pro-tips that I have compiled over the last decade of my experience in the wild world that is the design industry.
Pro-tip #1: Always work from general to specific
You wouldn't worry…
The single most important thing that you can do to design a successful product.
Overview
Many times as designers, when we are researching for and designing a product, we are trying to determine what is going to make the most sense from a business perspective.
Who are our users? What are they trying to do? What problems do they have? Why do they want the outcomes they want?
These are all great questions, and staples of good product design jumping-off points, but rarely do we consider, up-front, the kind of product that we want to design and what market sector that…
Possibly the single most important list of principles for innovative leadership, from one of the most successful companies in history.
Overview
Behind every great company, product, service, and experience, is great leadership, period.
The problem is that it can be hard to articulate exactly what constitutes good leadership. Statements like “lead from the front” and “people do well when they can” are punchy one-liners which do hold water but don’t tell the full story.
Enter: Amazon’s leadership principles which I feel articulate the what’s and how’s of solid, quality leadership, and how to embody them as a leader.
The actual principles of great leadership
Nick Lawrence
UI/UX designer with over a decade of experience in the design industry.
