design thinking Articles & Videos

  • A 4 Minute UX Workshop Facilitator's Guide

    As a facilitator, it’s your responsibility to make sure the time spent in workshops is as productive as possible for attendees, while at the same time ensuring that you get the insights you need in order to move your project forward.

  • What Is Design Thinking, Really? (What Practitioners Say)

    The majority of UX and design professionals define design thinking roughly the same, regardless of industry and experience, but there’s no agreement on the specifics.

  • Prioritization Matrices in UX Decision Making

    Prioritization charts or matrices can help UX practitioners base important decisions on objective, relevant criteria instead of subjective opinions.

  • Collaborative Agile Activities Reduce Silos and Align Perspectives

    All members of an Agile team, regardless of design skills, can contribute to the design of a product or feature during the development process.

  • Beating Creative Blocks in UX Design Through Reframing

    A method for getting unstuck from a design challenge. By reframing the problem, you can find inspiration in unexpected places.

  • Principles of Human-Centered Design (Don Norman)

    Human-Centered Design (HCD) is not about following processes. It’s about being mindful of HCD principles. Keep focus on people and the entire system to solve the right problems.

  • Design Thinking 102

    Get started with Design Thinking by practicing empathy in manageable, small yet effective, ways.

  • A Model for Conducting UX Workshops and Exercises

    To ensure activity participants get the most out of UX activities, use a three-step process to conduct them: explain, execute, and examine.

  • Storyboards Help Visualize UX Ideas

    Storyboards are visual representations of UX stories, which capture attention, provide clarity, and inspire us to take action.

  • Using Prioritization Matrices to Inform UX Decisions

    Visuals such as charts and matrices can help practitioners base important decisions on objective, relevant criteria instead of subjective opinions.

  • 4 Key Components of Service Blueprints

    A service blueprint visualizes the relationships between different service components — people, props, and processes. Four key elements comprise a framework for service blueprinting that can be scaled to any scope or timeline.

  • Democratizing Design (Don Norman)

    The future of design is making it accessible to everyone, by empowering people with tools to help themselves.

  • Service Design 101

    Service design is the activity of planning and organizing a business’s resources in order to (1) directly improve the employee’s experience, and (2) indirectly, the customer’s experience.

  • In Defense of Post-its

    Sticky notes strengthen team dynamics and represent an egalitarian, concise means for expressing ideas in UX design projects.

  • UX Mapping Methods: When to Use Which

    UX mappings are visual representations that depict different processes and have different goals, yet they all build common ground within an organization.

  • The 5 Steps to Service Blueprinting

    Five key steps comprise a framework for service blueprinting that can be scaled to any scope or timeline.

  • Don't Drop the Patient! Examine the Entire System

    Behavioral designers must look at the entire system to solve complex social and structural problems.

  • How to Deal With Bad Design Suggestions

    Gracefully respond to unsolicited design ideas, and prevent them from derailing good design. Turn them into UX learning experiences.

  • Don't Be Fooled by Surface-Level Design (Jakob Nielsen)

    Look beyond surface-level qualities to assess UX value. A design that looks (or sounds) good does not mean that it is. Good websites contain engaging features that help people accomplish their goals.

  • UX Mapping Methods Compared: A Cheat Sheet

    Empathy maps, customer journey maps, experience maps, and service blueprints depict different processes and have different goals, yet they all build common ground within an organization.