Universal Principles of Design is a book that I should’ve read earlier as a product designer. It gave me new perspectives in thinking about the tricky design problems or situations I encountered in the past, and new ideas on how to approach a design project in the future. Below are 5 principles that stuck with me after I read this book.
Continue readingAuthor: Simon Li
Designer
Learnings from Reading Atomic Design
As a product designer, you may have used a design system in the past, but have you actually built one yourself? The book Atomic Design by Brad Frost talks about the atomic principle when it comes to creating a design system, and dives into the nitty gritty of how to do that.
Continue readingHow Can We Become Lucky?
What I’ve Learned from Reading Antifragile
If something is antifragile, not only does it not break in the face of chaos, stress, shock or volatility, but also overcompensates and gain from them. The book Antifragile by Nassim Taleb explains this very interesting phenomenon, and is full of nuggets of wisdom.
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The Best User Research Happens in Silence
“I don’t want to waste time doing user research because that will only give us something trivial.” That was one of the many reasons I heard from other designers about why we shouldn’t do user research.
“Research” seems to be a dry word, something in stark contrast with the beautiful colors, the nice-looking visuals that some of us are so obsessed with. Combined with the fact that poorly planned and conducted research reveals only answers that we already kind of knew, no wonder some of us embrace the kind of misconception that doing research is not helpful at all.
Knowing the right way to research is hugely important in product design. To have deep and meaningful insights, it’s best to shut up, observe and analyze. That’s, in my opinion, how the best research happens.
Continue reading“Victim” of Bad Designs
Bad designs have real consequences. I’ve lost my groceries and almost lost my bank card because of — well, bad designs.
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