Pixels of the Week – September 8, 2024

A metro inspired WCAG map, UX tips and a blue vs green perception test.

My curated weekly-ish online newsletter, where I share interesting articles, tools, and resources I found during the week. You can expect content about UX, design, user research, accessibility & tech, but also some processes, some inspiration, sometimes books, and a couple of videos and podcasts. Also, don’t forget to, subscribe to the newsletter to get notified, you will get the weekly links directly in your mailbox, and be notified when I publish other articles.

Now: what I’m currently up to

Reminder: I’m giving you -20% off, on everything in my UX Template Shop, until Sept 15, with the promo code STEALIT.

Collage of my Tern mint blue bike, the Youtube thumbnail of the NN group podcast on accessibility, a form field that uses placeholders instead of labels and a LinkedIn post about not blocking zoom on mobile

My Nielsen Norman Group podcast

I had an amazing time on the Nielsen Norman Group podcast, talking with Therese B. Fessenden about how I got interesting in accessibility, what it means for UXers, but also, debunking a few misconceptions and chatting about how to make designs more inclusive. YouTube or different platforms.

My TripIt usability frustration

I’ve also had to deal with TripIt, and wow, the experience in there was a frustrating for me. I re-activated my account and, here are a couple of usability issues you want to avoid for your own products:

  • In case you were still thinking about using a placeholder instead of a label, it’s a very bad idea: I have to empty the field to know what was expected. Also, bonus point, 2024, please start accepting my é in name (I go a whole article and talk on that topic). Thank you! Full post on LinkedIn, TwitterX and Mastodon
  • Another of my weekly annoyance: don’t block zoom on mobile, you don’t know in what situation your users are. Also, don’t block viewport scrolling, and test your site. Again, full post on LinkedIn, TwitterX and Mastodon

Bike adventures!

On a more pleasant note: I got a new bike. I switched from Radpower to Tern and got myself a HSD P5i. You can check some pictures on TwitterX and Mastodon. Long story short: I love my Rad mini, but, they closed the EU branch. You can still get basic parts in what’s left of the EU shop, but not specific ones, like a cassette or a controller. It took me 2 months to get a new cassette delivered because I had to go give US support, and they are overloaded. Also, I got an electrical issue, I thought it might have been the controller (again), but I could be the lamp. Either way, I don’t trust my Rad mini for long rides anymore, so, I’ve decided to give Tern a chance, since my local bike shop sells this brand it should be easier for repairs. Also, I’m testing a belt instead of a chain, it’s quite nice (and sooo smooth to ride).  A couple of weeks ago I was in Berlin, so I also restocked my reflective stickers, so, now I need to decide where I stick which ones. Love that brand, they do reflective stickers, but also bags and reflective clothes. You can never be visible enough when you ride a bike in the dark trust me.

Most popular content this week

WCAG 2.2 map by theme Andrew Hick created a diagram that groups all the WCAG 2.2 success criteria, and shaped this into an underground train map, showing 55 success criteria as stations across 7 lines. It’s a brilliant idea to highlight the links and connections between different criteria.

Interesting articles that caught my attention

Curiosity cabinet: non-design/tech rabbit holes I enjoyed

The “crappy” math behind the Calories the type “I never asked the question, but, I’m happy now to learn about this” video

Inspiration: fun experiments, beautiful art, and great ideas

Arches: an art project that consists of several unique infinity mirrors. Each arc has its unique colors and lightening. Beautiful.

Useful tools & resources

Apparently this week we talk about colors.

The other nice resources

Cool and Interesting Videos

Japanese web design: weird, but it works. Here’s why (11min video) Japan ranks very high in uncertainty avoidance, on the Hofstede’s cultural dimension scale. And they have the concept of An-shin: an experience that won’t hide any unwanted surprises. So, it’s culturally expected to have as much information as possible on a website, to be very transparent. It’s also quite interesting that the culture puts higher priority on hardware and not software.

Also sidenote: I’m going to Japan soon, if you have some nice tips, places to visit, to at, for Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, please reach out!

Tutorials

Foundations: labelling text fields with input and label (7min) I honestly wish this was, the basics that everyone knew, but, it’s not. And, it’s an couple of easy accessibility mistakes to fix, so, please, if you are doing front-end, check how HTML form elements work, how to use labels and inputs properly. By Demelza Feltham