Product-centric design can be an efficient way to design interfaces, but it can often lead to disjointed and poorly optimized customer journey experiences. Kim Flaherty shares her recent research into journey-centric design, and insights on how a journey-centric design practice can help organizations overcome product-centric challenges.

Report: Architecting a Journey Management Practice

Learn more about Kim:

⁠Bio⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn⁠

NN/g Resources about Journey Management:

⁠The 3 Competencies of Journey Management (5-min video)⁠

⁠Journey Management vs. Service Design (4-min video)⁠

⁠The Practice of Customer-Journey Management (free article)⁠

⁠Customer Journeys and Omnichannel UX (free article)⁠

⁠Journey Mapping to Understand Customer Needs (UX Certification course)⁠

⁠Customer-Journey Management (UX Certification course)⁠

With AI developing rapidly, and AI policy often lagging behind, calls for responsible tech design and development are louder and more public than ever. In this episode, Paige Lord offers some insight into ways UX professionals can play a role in creating ethical AI products and services.

Learn more about Paige Lord:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepaigelord/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aiethicswithpaige

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aiethicswithpaige

Substack: https://thepaigelord.substack.com/

Other related content:

• Design Risk Assessment (free article)
• NN/g Articles & Videos about AI
• Practical AI for UX Professionals Course
• Emerging Patterns in Interface Design Course

Responsible AI Institute: https://www.responsible.ai/

Icons are popular components to incorporate into digital designs that can help simplify user experiences. But, not every icon is created equal. In this episode, Kate Kaplan shares the latest insights from her research on digital iconography which can be found in her new book, Digital Icons that Work.

Learn more about Kate Kaplan: Bio | LinkedIn

Her book: Digital Icons That Work (nngroup.com)

Other Related Articles:

• Imagery in Visual Design Article
• Digital Icons UX Quiz

Accessibility isn’t a novel concept, but in the realm of digital design, it's rare to find a product or service that's truly accessible to a broad audience with many needs. In this episode, Stéphanie Walter shares a bit about what got her interested in accessibility to begin with, what accessibility truly means in UX, some common misconceptions, and how designers can create more inclusive experiences.

Learn more about Stéphanie Walter: LinkedIn | stephaniewalter.design

WCAG Standards

Related NN/g Resources:

Accessibility and Inclusivity Study Guide (free article)

How to Conduct Usability Studies with Accessibility Report (free report)

Usability Guidelines for Accessible Web Design Report (free report)

Accessibility Articles and Videos

Emerging Patterns in Interface Design Course (NN/g UX Certification-eligible course)

“If you squint hard enough, every problem is a prioritization problem.” -Harry Max

UX professionals are often faced with the challenge of managing backlogged work and doing so with limited time, budget, and resources. In this episode, we chat with Harry Max about the common misconceptions with prioritization and how to get better at it over time.

⁠Learn more about Harry Max

NN/g Articles & Training Courses

• 5 Prioritization Methods in UX Roadmapping (free article)

• Using Prioritization Matrices to Inform UX Decisions (free article)

• Using Trade-Off Scales for Prioritization in UX Design Projects (2 min video)

• Incorporating UX Work into Your Agile Backlog (free article)

Related Courses

• UX Roadmaps

• Design Tradeoffs and UX Decision-Making

• Generating Big Ideas with Design Thinking

Expanding into global markets is a key priority for companies in today's interconnected world. While many companies rely on translations for their digital platforms, this is just one aspect of effective global expansion. In this episode, we're joined by Feifei Liu, International UX Researcher at NN/g. She discusses the importance of cross-cultural research and its role in helping organizations effectively expand into international markets while honoring cultural values and practices.

⁠Learn more about Feifei Liu⁠

NN/g Articles & Training Courses

Modify Your Design For Global Audiences: Cross Cultural UX Design 

International Usability Testing: Why You Need It?

Cultural Differences in User Research Facilitation 

Translate User-Generated Content For Global Audiences 

4 Ways to Support International Purchasers 

6 Tips for Improving Language Switchers on Ecommerce Sites

Other Resources

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory

Chapters

(0:00) Intro

(01:15) Cross-cultural UX research: What is it?

(06:57) Importance of cross-cultural UX research

(09:46) Factors designers and researchers need to consider when creating cross-cultural designs

(13:07) Example of a localized design (Australian pharmacy website)

(15:34) Developing a cultural lens

(18:42) Facilitating cross-cultural UX research

(25:19) Keeping up with cultural trends

In this episode, we dive into User Interviews with Steve Portigal, discussing their critical role in product development and design research. User interviews, a qualitative method, involve conversations with users to gather insights about their experiences, behaviors, and needs. We discuss the benefits of this approach, such as deep user empathy and informed decision making, alongside common challenges like bias and recruitment. Join us in understanding when to use user interviews and how to get the most out of them.

NN/g Articles & Training Courses

User Interviews (full-day/2 half-day UXC course)

User Interviews 101 (free article)

The 3 Types of User Interviews: Structured, Semi-Structured, and Unstructured (free video)

When to Use Which User-Experience Research Methods (free article)

5 Facilitation Mistakes to Avoid During User Interviews (free article)

⁠Learn more about Steve Portigal

Interviewing Users (2nd Edition)  20% discount code: interviewing

AI is changing faster than we can sometimes process and will likely do so for a while. The recent tech layoffs have also not spared UX professionals, adding to the uncertainty about our future roles in this rapidly changing environment. While there is still much we don't know about AI, Don Norman, co-founder of NN/g, and Sarah Gibbons, VP at NN/g, share their insights on the future roles of designers, encouraging professionals to think big in the wake of AI's advancements.

Related NN/g Articles & Training Courses

Generative UI and Outcome-Oriented Design

AI as a UX Assistant

The 4 Degrees of Anthropomorphism of Generative AI

AI Chat Is Not (Always) the Answer

AI-Powered Tools for UX Research: Issues and Limitations

Prompt Structure in Conversations with Generative AI

Sycophancy in Generative-AI Chatbots

New Course: Practical AI for UX Professionals

Other Related Content

⁠Don Norman’s Website⁠

Chapters

0:00-1:12 - Intro

1:13-18:18 - What will design’s role be as AI expands?

18:18-23:15 - What is going to stay the same as AI expands?

23:16-end - Rapid Fire Questions 

Extended reality (XR) experiences hold the potential to transform the way we learn, work, and collaborate. Specifically, it can make educational experiences more interactive, engaging and ultimately drive higher learning outcomes. In this episode, we feature Jan Plass, who discusses the affordances of XR technology, provides examples of XR learning experiences and shares his expectations for its impact on the education landscape. Jan Plass is a Professor at New York University, Paulette Goddard Chair, and Director of CREATE. Learn more about Jan Plass: CREATE Lab Looking Inside Cells On the Morning You Wake Verizon AR/VR Learning Apps (i.e. Visceral Science, Mapper's Delight, UNSUNG, Looking Inside Cells etc.) NN/g ARTICLES & TRAINING COURSES Augmented/Virtual Reality vs. Computer Screens 10 Usability Heuristics Applied to Virtual Reality Virtual Reality and User Experience Emerging Patterns in Interface Design ⁠ (full-day/2 half-day UXC course)

The Design of Everyday Things CHAPTERS: 0:00-3:13 - Intro 3:13-5:35 - What is XR? 5:35-8:54 - XR as a Learning Opportunity 8:54-12:19 - Examples of XR for learning 12:19-15:30 - Evidence of Learning with VR Technology 15:30-18.51 - Can VR features Induce Emotions and Result in Better Learning Outcomes? 18:51-23.45 - Comparing UX in 2D and 3D spaces? 23:45-27:41 - Accessibility and Inclusivity in XR 27:41 - XR Development: The Role of Affordances

The surge of AI is currently changing the way we work and live. To avoid feeling left behind, it is important to engage with and understand these tools. This is true for UX designers just as much as almost everybody else. In this episode, we feature Henry Modisett from Perplexity AI and Kate Moran to get two insightful perspectives on the current state of AI and its connection to UX. Learn more about Henry Modisett Learn more about Kate Moran Perplexity.AI NN/g ARTICLES & TRAINING COURSES AI for UX: Getting Started (free article) AI & Machine Learning Will Change UX Research & Design (free video) AI Improves Employee Productivity by 66% (free article) AI-Powered Tools for UX Research: Issues and Limitations (free article) AI: First New UI Paradigm in 60 Years (free article) Sycophancy in Generative-AI Chatbots (free article) Information Foraging with Generative AI: A Study of 3 Chatbots (free article) The ELIZA Effect: Why We Love AI (free article) Practical AI for UX Professionals (full-day/2 half-day UXC course) CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 1:43 Perplexity AI: History & Value Proposition 10:30 Perplexity AI: Next Steps & Future Developments 15:04 Making AI User Friendly: Generative Interfaces 24:33 Understanding AI as a Consumer Product 28:28 Mental Models for AI 30:41 An Outlook for AI 35:51 NN/g’s Role in the AI Movement 37:34 Anthropomorphism of AI 40:07 Dealing with the Fear of AI

Wireframing is an incredibly useful design technique to flesh out conceptual ideas and communicate them to others. However, with the advent of powerful prototyping tools, some designers may think of these as irrelevant or outdated practices. Leon Barnard, Content Manager at Balsamiq and co-author of the book Wireframing for Everyone, discusses why he thinks wireframing is not only still relevant, but essential for maximizing creativity and innovative thinking.

• Connect with Leon Barnard
• Balsamiq Wireframing AcademyWireframing for Everyone (book) by Michael Angeles, Leon Barnard, & Billy Carlson

Related NN/g Articles & Training Courses

• How to Draw a Wireframe (Even if You Can’t Draw) (free article)

• UX Basics: Study Guide (collection of free articles)

• UX Basic Training (UX certification course)

• UX Deliverables (UX certification course)

• Visual Design Fundamentals (UX certification course)