“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by product of a good idea and modest expectations.” Paul Rand

Design Thinking XI – Define

It is the moment where the empathy findings are decomposed and synthesized into needs and a specific and meaningful challenge is defined; it is a totally «focusing» process.

The objective of this definition is twofold:

• To develop a thorough understanding of the users and the context.
• To elaborate a problem statement, your point of view.

Your point of view is nothing more than your unique perception and vision of the users’ needs and their problems.

The definition is fundamental to the design process because it explicitly expresses the problem you are trying to solve. To be truly generative, you need to develop a specific problem statement and use it as a springboard for solution generation.

A good point of view (POV) is one that

• Provides a focus, framing the problem
• Able to inspire the team
• Allows your team to make decisions independently in parallel
• Drives brainstorming by suggesting «how could we» statements.
• It’ss something that is revisited and reframed as you learn by doing

Products

Rize
Maximize Your Productivity. Rize is an intelligent time tracker that improves your focus and helps you build better work habits.

Google Smart Canvas
As we announced today at I/O, we’re launching Google Smart Canvas—a new product experience that delivers the next evolution of collaboration for Google Workspace.

Graphite
Make web design feel like home. Use familiar graphic editor tools to create pixel-perfect Web Pages, and not just mockups. Focus on the creative part, and we’ll take care of the rest.

FromNotion
FromNotion generates simple and responsive one-page sites from Notion pages with a custom domain, SEO, and favicon. And with a no-code Style Editor, you can customize your website’s appearance.

Bloggi
Create a blog in seconds. Literally. Focus on writing and let Bloggi handle the rest.

Simple illustrations
This is our masterpiece! Hand-drawn with simple black brush outlines and spot colors that highlight the scene’s elements and environment, our quirky characters are eager to tell stories in these colorful dynamic illustrations.

Articles & Ideas

Frustrating Design Patterns: Mega-Dropdown Hover Menus
Do we need mega-dropdown hover menus in 2021? Probably not. Let’s explore things to keep in mind when designing and building a mega-dropdown, alternatives to hover menus and fine details for designing a better UX. Vitaly Friedman

On Building a Fluid User Interface
In late 2019 we launched Threads from Instagram, our standalone messaging app designed to help you stay connected to your close friends. Threads was built from the ground up as an entirely new experience, and presented an opportunity for us to rethink our approach to user interfaces. Rishi Mody

Left-Side Vertical Navigation on Desktop: Scalable, Responsive, and Easy to Scan
Vertical navigation is a good fit for broad or growing IAs, but takes up more space than horizontal navigation. Ensure that it is left-aligned, keyword front-loaded, and visible. Page Laubheimer

Microcopy: an essential guide to becoming a more literate designer
Designers should not be mere decorators, but have an understanding of language and microcopy, a crucial design skill, now more than ever. David Hall

Better in black: Rethinking our most important buttons
Based on our research on accessibility, we’re making significant changes to the buttons you see across the Spotify experience — in terms of color, text formatting, and size. In this article, you’ll read all about our changes and why we made them. Spotify Encore Team

Preserving Syrian design history and graphics in the Arab world: Meet the Syrian Design Archive
Founded by Kinda Ghannoum, Sally Alassafen and Hala Al Afsaa, the nonprofit documentary project celebrates a little-known design history among the global canon. Jyni Ong

A better segmented control
How we embraced a growth mindset and ended up with a more robust ecosystem of selection patterns. Runi Goswami

Remote Jobs

Quora – Product Designer
Quora is a place to gain and share knowledge. It’s a platform to ask questions and connect with people who contribute unique insights and quality answers.

Toggl Track – Design Lead
We take the stress out of time tracking, project-planning, and hiring. Designed by and for teams that work from anywhere.

Contra – Design Ambassador
It’s not a resume. Contra is a new type of professional identity that celebrates what you do best through the people you love to work with.
 

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