Pixels of the Week – August 15, 2021
Every day, I share on Twitter and LinkedIn a list of curated articles I read, resources and tools about UX Design, User Research, UI and mobile design, HTML, CSS, the web industry, some process, some inspiration, etc. This is an archive of everything I shared this week.
#Now – what I’m up to
This is a dense list, I took a few days off so you get 2 weeks worth of links this time. Lucky you ^^. I’m currently enjoying the Vëlosummer in Luxembourg and after a whole rainy month of July, it’s nice to get some sun. I am also going to teach again next year at “Formation continue interuniversitaire en User Experience Design and Research (UX)“. If you speak French and are interesting in a training to become UX designer, take a look (it’s in Belgium).
TL;DNR the one you should not miss
#Design
You know when sometimes someone writes an article that perfectly articulates everything you want to say on a topic, in a nice an even better way and you node? This is it: No, standardization doesn’t stifle creativity by Benek Lisefski
Interesting article
#Accessibility
- The first rule for using ARIA is… Don’t use ARIA! And here is why, by @RianRietveld (yes I am totally trying to clickbait your into more accessibility content, I hope it works ^^)
- A really interesting thread on #PokemonGo and how the game was made more accessible due to the pandemic. 100% agreeing here, I hope @NianticLabs don’t revert back, the game got better with all the pandemic adjustments!!
- Search engine optimization and accessibility have a lot more in common than you would think, a great article by @cooperhollmaier
#UX
“Disrespectful Design—Users aren’t stupid or lazy” and “Disrespectful Design, Part II“, 2 interesting reads on how we need to respect our users more and how to do so, by Osman (Ozzie) Osman
#Imposter Syndrome
Here’s the hardcore truth. There isn’t any such thing as imposter syndrome (though there is self-doubt, fear of failure, and a host of other related emotions, scenarios, and states). And here’s why, By @TheWorldofUX
#Infographics
If you have seen this “Ikigai” diagram on social media and think it’s “Japanese secret” to a long and happy life, think again: Ikigai Is Not a Venn Diagram
#UX #Neurodiversity
UX Principles that include Cognitive Accessibility, a Cognitive perspective on UX Design Principles including a neurodivergent perspective with links to relevant guidance and resources” interesting work by Gareth Ford Williams
#UXMaturity
Improving UX maturity requires growth and evolution across 4 high-level factors: strategy, culture, process, and outcomes. by @NNgroup
#Time Management
The three-or-four-hours rule for getting creative work done, an interesting short read on quality vs quantity time to get things done
#DesignDevRel
For my Figma users friends: “Tips for communicating better the information in Figma files to developers“, a lot of interesting small tips in this article!
#Music
This musician will sing about your enemies over WhatsApp “You pay, I sing and dance out your gossip via WhatsApp,” Chitsama said. “I package your slander, anger, congratulations and turn a client’s emotions into shareable songs and beats to dance to.”
#WebBrowsers
“Safari isn’t protecting the web, it’s killing it” I like Safari’s new features, but yes, there are still a lot of things missing compared to other browsers, and it’s bad for the whole ecosystem. (The “killing” is maybe a little bit harsh in the title, but you know, article titles )
#MobileCapabilities
NFC comes to web browsers, yeahy. The “customer would never install an app for that” is indeed an interesting use case. More and more users don’t want to install an app for every single shop they visit.
Inspiration, fun experiments and great ideas
#Paper
Reina Takahashi is an amazingly talented paper artists. Visit her instagram and website
Haa this “Email like a boss” cheatsheet is an awesome list of ways to write more conscious emails by @danidonovan
#Ikea
Ikea wants to help people repurpose some of their old furniture/items with a few projects ideas (it reminds me a little bit of what IkeaHackers already does ^^)
#Jello
In you were wondering what it’s like to swing in a giant pool of jello
#Photography
German photographer Tom Hegen provides an overview of our earth’s surface that has been transformed by the impact of human presence.
#Crochet
Crochet an Astounding Velociraptor
Podcasts and videos
#Design Job
The harsh truth about design manager roles: you might spend more time in keynote than you are spending time in Figma, good designers don’t necessarily make good design manager and a lot of other interesting insights on climbing the ladder
#UX Research
When 2 of my favorite favorite UX/CX design people, Michele Ronsen and Debbie Levitts come together for an awesome podcast episode: Getting UX Research Buy-In
Tutorials
#CSS
- CSS nesting (yes, like in Sass) is coming, here is what you need to know and be careful about, by @kilianvalkhof
- Everything you need to know and more on the CSS transform property by @joshwcomeau
- What I (@nhardy96) Wish I Knew About CSS When Starting Out As A Frontender: box model, layout, document flow and position, a great wrap up for CSS beginners
- Aligning a Button Label Vertically, when font leading is messing up your visal alignment and you have to compensate for that, nice little trick by @shadeed9
- Who wants to learn CSS Box Model with cute sushi cats and dogs? An illustrated tutorial and also video tutorial by @joyshaheb
#SVG
Thinking About The Cut-Out Effect: CSS or SVG? in case you forgot how awesome SVGs are, you can do many fun things with masks and clipPath and more
#Icon
I always enjoy a good “how to design icons” tips and tricks tutorial, because trust me, creating icons that are consistent, easy to understand but also work well at different sizes is always a challenge
Useful tools and resources that will make your life easy
#Privacy
A Firefox (and Chrome) plugin to block email tracking
#Photos
Scop is a diverse marketplace of images & stories by global artists. I really like the body positivity series here
#Icons
A library of Free Icons, Illustrations & Photos for you projects
#Inclusive Design
A list of Inclusive Design Principles to help design for the needs of people with permanent, temporary, situational, or changing disabilities — all of us really.
#Wireframes
