Author: Lois Last

Essential Sketch Plugins For Web Design

Before we get started, go download Sketch Toolbox, which is a simple 3rd-party plugin manager for Sketch [which] provides a directory of plugins on github that you can browse and install directly. (I’m not 100% how the directory is populated, though.) My favorite features are:

  1. You can search by plugin name, description, or developer name
  2. It downloads and installs the plugin for you
  3. It shows you which ones you’ve already installed

sketch-plugins

PLUGINS:

Swap Fill & Border
Clear Styles
Dynamic Button
Child Layers
Measure
Content Generator
Day Player
Page Switch
Sketch Commands
Sketch Plugins

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What sort of skill test should a UX Designer expect during a job interview?

Several good responses from Quora.

We run potential candidates through a fictional design exercise—one that has nothing to do with any project we’ve worked on or intend to work on, but that we can assess the candidates ability to think through a design problem.

– Layout general: Why did you choose this layout? What alternatives did you consider. The point is to figure out how much thought went into deciding the layout; whether it was “instinct” or whether there were some cognitive/gestalt/other principles used. There are no “correct” answers – but the candidate needs to be able to talk intelligently about choices and articulate the decisions.

– Layout specific: What would happen to the design if I shifted this element here? Would it be worse? Why?

– Info Design: Ask about how he/she chose what should be on the screen and what shouldn’t. Was a process followed? Were users consulted? Were alternatives tested with users? Why or Why Not? Basically you’re looking to see if they just crammed in as much functionality as possible based on gut feel, or whether there was prioritization based on some reasonable/reproducible process.

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The Boring Designer

Choose obvious over clever every time.

Rarely stand their ground.

Are Practical.

Value Laziness.

Lead the team.

You’d think with all those traits, the boring designer would get run over or ignored most of the time by their teammates and fellow designers. This turns out very rarely to be the case. Most people come to the boring designer first with questions about their work or plans. They trust the boring designer to look at their goals and problems with a practical eye. If there’s The Big Idea, the boring designer is fantastic at finding a reasonable step one instead of making The Big Idea the starting line.

The boring designer is trusted and valued, because people know they’re in it for the product and the user. The boring designer asks questions and leans on others’ experience and expertise, creating even more trust over time. They rarely assume they know the answer.

The boring designer is capable of being one of the best leaders a team can have.

So be great. Be boring.

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Ideo Human Centered Design Toolkit

Primarily focused on low-income communities in developing nations but some general-use themes. Example:

BEST PRACTICES FOR INNOVATION

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAMS

The challenges you face are very complex and are likely to have been explored by predecessors. You will have a higher likelihood of success at solving such complex, difficult, and already-examined problems by intentionally assembling the right team of people. This team will work best if it consists of a core group of 3-8 individuals, one of whom is the facilitator. By mixing different disciplinary and educational backgrounds, you will have a better chance of coming up with unexpected solutions when these people approach problems from different points of view.

DEDICATED SPACES

having a separate project space allows the team to be constantly inspired by imagery from the field, immersed in their post-it notes, and able to track the progress of the project. If possible, find a dedicated space for your design team to focus on the challenge.

FINITE TIMEFRAMES

Many people notice that they work best with deadlines and concrete timelines. Likewise, an innovation project with a beginning, middle, and end is more likely to keep the team motivated and focused on moving forward.

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