These pictures were taken by me 10 years ago. They are the stunning views of Hong Kong, a city I feel very attached to. I grew up heavily influenced by its culture, and later I was lucky enough to live there for 15 years. What I love about the city is not just the amazing cityscape, but also the many great designs through my designer eyes.
Continue readingAuthor: Simon Li
Designer
UX Nuggets: User Mental Model
In user experience design, if you want to go beyond visuals and move to the next level, a critical concept you’ll need to know is the user mental model, because it can help you create smooth interactions.
Continue readingChallenge Limiting Beliefs: How I Created 100 Illustrations
I recently posted my 100th illustration on Instagram. 100 — a number I never thought would be possible. It took me two years to reach this milestone. Through this journey, my illustration skill improved quite a bit, and I created many pieces I liked, but more importantly, I learned to challenge my limiting beliefs, and practiced self-compassion.
I Tried usertesting.com, and It Was a Breeze
Two weeks ago, I tried usertesting.com for the first time because I needed to conduct a usability test. It was a tool recommended by a coworker, and I found it really helpful. If you’re a UX researcher or designer out there who need to conduct interviews or user studies, give it a try and you could be happily surprised.
Continue readingWhy Certain Graphic Design Techniques Won’t Work in UI Design
A large part of UI design is graphic design. Many of the techniques in graphic design, such as the use of a grid, the CRAP principles (contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity), and color theory etc, are transferrable and can be applied to UI design as well. However, there are certain techniques that don’t work quite as well. I didn’t realize this until recently. Those techniques fell flat when I tried to use them to design the UI of a feature. I reflected on why it backfired and here are the two reasons.
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