Some time ago I’ve shared with all ya the Radical Simplicity framework which helps me cut down the complexities in my information architecture design process.
In that post, I list and briefly review existing design thinking frameworks and benefits of using the Radical Simplicity concepts.
Today, I’d like to share another experimental design thinking framework including few examples of how I use it in my work.
I call it Radical Insight because it allows me to better understand the user’s perspective. I’ve created it to become more productive at solving UX problems. …
Walking about with Canon 600D — Canillo and La Massana
You know when they say:
The best view comes after the hardest climb
It’s absolutely true in case of the road to the Mirador Roc del Quer!
Less insane people get there by car, but I’m not one of them, so I went by foot, and I loved it! Taking the off-read path I’ve managed to sneak up on a lizard and used macro-lens on a bunch of beautiful flowers.
Designer’s point of view on the recent political, economic, and social shifts
If you don’t yet have your opinion on the “The Great Re:set” strategy, watch this documentary, The New Normal.
Important!
I’m not affiliated with the makers of this movie in any way. My wife shared it with me after almost crying on it. Then my friend shared it .Then another friend shared it… long story short; it became a big deal.
The miscommunication
“The Great Reset” is a fine idea. There is so much wrong with our planet and the way we live. The inequality, the hunger, the healthcare system, the lack of privacy. I’m sure you see these too.
It would be…
Surrounded by mountains and amazing people!
Where is Andorra, you ask?
Andorra is a little bit in the middle of nowhere, to be honest.
My design process after eight years of testing in the production pipeline
As of Jan 2021, I’ve been working in product space for over eight years. During that time, I’ve experimented a lot with design tools and processes.
Check my portfolio site to learn more about my path (not optimised for mobile use yet, working on it ⛏️).
Here’s the main design process I tend to follow:
- Start from the design thinking sessions with stakeholders
- Conduct additional market and user research
- Define flows
- Wireframe top level flows and key screens
- Implement base flows and interface in a working React app
- The cycle of iterations begins… end usually never ends 😉
Within this process there is an important Design Thinking path I…
A short summary of ten years of design engineering research.
First-principles are the building blocks of knowledge and basic assumptions that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption.
I wrote this post to summarise my thoughts after transitioning from UX design to design engineering. These principles are the result of over ten years of journey through the complexities of development with a non-technical mental model and a curious mind.
1. Elements of the interface can be rendered together or separately with each other.
This principle is a result of the research I’ve done on state machines for Views programming language. As part of Views, we’ve implemented an experimental state management pattern that was based on this binary fundamental fact that two components…
03 August 2020
It’s 10:34am Monday morning. I git pull the project like a badass dev would and yarn upgrade the programmatic hell out of it.
A stingy question runs through my half-awaken brain — am I still a designer?
Don’t know. Don’t care — the brain outputs instantly.
I press play, the app launches, and off it starts, yet another magical design-in-production day.
I replace the icon, fix the margin on the menu, add selected state to the tab button, tweak the animation curve when submenu opens, wait…, the animation is too long. I change the duration to 200…
Searching for productivity gains in engineering
Facts
Let’s get it out of the way; software engineering is a complicated endeavour.
There are several of complex disciplines between front-end and back-end: DevOps, Services, Databases, and APIs, to name the most common ones.
No to no code
No/low-code platforms, like Bubble, Webflow, or Honeycode, don’t offer enough flexibility, scalability, and dependability for enterprise-level solutions despite efforts to simplify the engineering process.
Uneventful methodologies
We’ve tried multiple delivery frameworks with minimal upside. Reinventing processes brings little to none productivity benefits since the code has to be written by someone regardless if tasks are marked as done in an Agile or a Kanban board.
Expensive talent
Hiring rock-star developers…
Making sense of best practices in UX.
It’s a random Wednesday night.
I browse through Google Material guidelines. And this question hits me with a speed of Falcon 9 rocket.
What’s the difference between guidelines, design systems, and conventions?
I start poking…
Guidelines are too loose. Design systems are too strict. Conventions hit it right on the nail because conventions are flexible.— As I’m getting overexcited about my discovery, other comparisons rush to my looney mind!
So, I keep going…
Guidelines define many ways I might want to execute a design. Design systems implement specific guidelines as components. Conventions beat both by a long shot because conventions…
Rapid-code patterns in React Apps for designers and product owners who want to contribute directly to the final product
Rapid-code is not no-code
Have you heard of low-code and no-code solutions like Bubble or Honeycode? The goal of no-code tools is to make apps without writing code. You can achieve that goal, but you end-up locked in their platform.
Rapid-code is different.
Imagine a combined flexibility of code with simplicity of Lego blocks powered by sophisticated productivity tools.
We call it rapid-code because it’s quick to learn and quick to change. It’s also the most inexpensive way to extend the capabilities of the solutions you build and test them with real users.
The focus of rapid-code frameworks will be to accelerate specific type…
Tom Parandyk
I make creative tools for the next generations of product engineers. Co-founder at Views Tools. Full Stack Designer at Greyfinch. https://views.tools/
