Design thinking and UX for PMs
Figma spent three years in stealth building a browser-based design tool that could rival native applications in performance. This case study examines how the company's bet on WebGL, multiplayer collaboration, and a freemium model disrupted Adobe's decades-long dominance, ultimately leading to a $20 billion acquisition offer.
Brutalist web design strips away decorative elements to expose the raw materials of the web: HTML structure, default typography, stark layouts, and unpolished functionality. Inspired by architectural brutalism's 'truth to materials,' this movement rejects the homogeneity of template-driven design. This article examines the principles of brutalist web design, its relationship to accessibility and performance, and its influence on contemporary design trends. It argues that brutalism is not merely an aesthetic choice but a philosophical statement about authenticity, honesty, and the nature of the web as a medium.
Cognitive load theory, originally developed for educational psychology by John Sweller, has profound implications for interface design. The theory distinguishes three types of cognitive load: intrinsic (complexity of the task itself), extraneous (caused by poor design), and germane (productive effort that builds understanding). This article translates these concepts into practical design principles: chunking information, progressive disclosure, consistent patterns, and reducing extraneous load through clear visual hierarchy. It includes before-and-after examples of interfaces redesigned using cognitive load principles with measurable usability improvements.
Duolingo runs thousands of A/B tests simultaneously to optimize its gamification mechanics, from streak counts to leaderboards to animated characters. This case study explores how the company's growth team uses experimentation infrastructure, behavioral psychology, and game design to maintain daily active users in the hundreds of millions.
Airbnb's 2022 search redesign replaced traditional location-based search with flexible, category-driven exploration. This case study details how months of user research revealed that travelers were increasingly open to new destinations, leading to the Categories and Split Stays features that fundamentally changed how people discover places to stay.
IDEO popularized human-centered design and design thinking across industries worldwide. This case study traces the evolution of IDEO's methodology from early projects like the Apple Mouse to modern challenges in healthcare and education, examining the inspiration-ideation-implementation framework that has been adopted by organizations globally.
How to build products that respect user privacy by design, comply with regulations like GDPR, and turn privacy into a competitive advantage rather than a burden.
How to integrate security into the product development process from the start, rather than bolting it on as an afterthought, including threat modeling, secure defaults, and security reviews.
How to create API documentation that accelerates developer adoption, including interactive examples, error documentation, authentication guides, and quick-start tutorials.
Uber operates in over 70 countries with dramatically different transportation cultures, payment systems, and user expectations. This case study examines how Uber's design team conducts field research in diverse markets, adapts the rider and driver experience for local contexts, and maintains a cohesive global product while respecting regional differences.
A product-focused explanation of zero trust security — why 'never trust, always verify' is replacing perimeter-based security, and what this means for how you build products.
Discord evolved from a gaming voice chat app into a broad community platform serving 150 million monthly users. This case study examines the design decisions behind servers, channels, threads, and roles that enable communities to self-organize, and how the interface balances power-user complexity with newcomer accessibility.
How Apple's design-driven product development process creates products that feel inevitable, from the role of industrial design to software-hardware integration.
MIT Sloan's comprehensive introduction to design thinking methodology. Covers the five stages: empathize (understand user needs), define (frame the problem), ideate (generate solutions), prototype (build to think), and test (learn from feedback). Includes case studies from IDEO and Stanford d.school. Now part of core curricula at top business and engineering schools.
Catalogs common dark patterns—from roach motels and trick questions to hidden costs and forced continuity—and explains why they ultimately damage user trust and brand reputation. Makes the case that ethical design is not just morally right but commercially smarter in the long run.
The double diamond framework alternates between divergent thinking (expanding possibilities) and convergent thinking (narrowing to the best option) across two phases: problem definition and solution development. Most teams skip divergent phases, jumping to solutions before fully understanding the problem space. The article provides specific techniques for each mode and explains when to switch between them for maximum creative effectiveness.
Inclusive design goes beyond accessibility compliance to proactively consider the full range of human diversity including ability, language, culture, gender, and age throughout the design process. Products designed for edge cases often improve the experience for all users, as curb cuts designed for wheelchairs benefited parents with strollers and travelers with luggage. The article provides a practical methodology for conducting inclusive research, testing with diverse users, and embedding inclusion criteria into design reviews.
A collection of key psychological principles that designers can use to create more human-centered products. Covers Fitts's Law (target size and distance), Hick's Law (decision time increases with choices), Jakob's Law (users prefer familiar patterns), Miller's Law (7 plus/minus 2 items in working memory), and the Von Restorff Effect (distinctive items are remembered). Essential for UX education.
Walks through the wireframing process from initial low-fidelity sketches to detailed high-fidelity prototypes. Explains why wireframes remain essential for validating layout, hierarchy, and flow before investing in visual design and development.
Kaley synthesizes UX research on effective dashboard design, covering information hierarchy, progressive disclosure, and the cognitive principles that determine whether dashboards help or hinder decision-making. The article provides practical guidelines for choosing chart types, managing visual complexity, and designing for different user contexts.