Archive

Hi,

Have you ever hit a wall in your organization and wondered why your ideas weren’t getting picked up? Did you ever consider that you may be speaking the wrong language? Hear me out… Learning to speak business can open up doors and get your ideas clearly communicated to the decision makers. I took this week to write about learning your managers goals, adjusting your designs accordingly, and speaking their language in order to find success.

Take a look: Why Designers Need To Speak Business

Hello,

How are you? I’m good. If my name isn’t ringing a bell, that’s ok. At some point, you expressed interest in my work and finding out more about creating better user experiences. I’d love for you to continue to receive my emails, but if you’d like to unsubscribe just find the link at the end.

Hello,

I’ve got something really special for you today. On October 4th, I had the opportunity to do a lecture at one of my favorite places, Hyper Island. Now, when I say lecture, I think that’s a bit of an underestimate. It was about six hours of instructing, sharing, and learning with these students. What I wrote up in preparation for the day turned into a good synopsis of how I think, where I came from, what I do, and how I do it. Of course, I immediate thought of sharing it with you! Know that this is much longer than what I usually share, but it has great stuff in it.

Hey!

Let’s get this out of the way. This is an automated email. But… I still wanted to say hello and let you know that I’m a real person. I’m Anton and I am the UX-designer whose website you just visited. I may not know you personally yet, but I’m excited that you’re here 💃🏼

You have my word that I’ll be respectful of your inbox and only email you when I have some new content or a big announcement that I think you may find interesting.

Hello,

During a recent stay at one of my favorite hotels I had a bit of an epiphany. I realized that this very real world experience was actually a perfect example of a designed user experience that considered the user at every step. The more I looked around the world I could see things we, as UX Designers, design for; reduced friction, white space, and clear and simple design. In fact, you could say the real world could be the best teacher for us working in the digital space. Take a look at this week’s post for more of my observations.

Learn UX From the Real World

Hello,

It must seem kind of meta to be talking about the UX of newsletters right here in my newsletter, but here we go! Believe it or not, email has the highest return on investment (ROI) of any of the communication channels. Unfortunately, it is often either under utilized or based on poorly designed interactions that ruin the customer’s experience and I want to change that. I wrote this week’s post to talk about why email is so vital of a tool for companies and how powerful an onboarding email can be when building trust with your customer.

Take a few minutes to read it here: UX of Email Newsletters

Hello,

Most of the other tech industries have metrics that apply directly to them. Server load decrease? The IT guys cheer. Site visits increase ten fold? The web devs can barely contain their excitement. But what about the UX designer? There’s nothing cut and dried to measure our successes or failures. We have to rely on the humans who interact with our products to provide feedback and things like the HEART framework. It really goes beyond just data and connects with the human experience.

Read: Measuring UX with HEART

Click here to read this online

Hello,

Trying something new this week. Let me know what you think, just hit reply. Click here to read this online

One of the things I always try to push right away with new or potential clients is that I’m just a one-man company. That means more personal service and better communication. If you call me, I’ll be the one answering (please email unless it’s super urgent though). So I figured it’s time to give some personal updates here too.

Hello,

Here’s the situation: You’re working on your next BIG IDEA and have nailed the MVP, but something still feels off. It’s almost like something is missing. You might just be missing the candy. Candy? What do you mean by candy, Anton? Well, it’s actually quite simple [FIRST NAME GOES HERE] and makes complete sense. Take a look at this week’s post for the answer!

Read: Give them candy: small details make all the difference

Hello,

So, after 13 months of working with IKEA to build awesome things I’m proud of, it’s time to move on to the next adventure. This, of course, has me not only excitedly looking forward to working with SuperFriendly in Boston starting this week, but looking back at the things I’ve done.

Did you know I got a lot of my start by working in the advertising industry? I honed my skills on contextual marketing campaigns that appealed to general audiences and sold products and services like crazy. We don’t see those types of campaigns and, to me, that’s pretty disappointing. I wrote out my thoughts on this because I believe that there is not only still a place for this type of marketing, but also because I believe behavioral campaigns like we see on Facebook and Google violate our privacy. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Hello,

As you know, I have been an advocate for the freelancer lifestyle for the past 10 years, but there are somethings I miss about working on a team. I’ve been thinking a lot on how we could all stay independent, but work together on bigger projects.

We could assemble like the Avengers! Curious?

Hello,

As you know, I’m a designer at heart and that comes with some baggage. You see, we are always itching to redesign and improve the products we own or even the ones we use. Often we use that inspiration to change things visually, but I went in a different direction recently. I changed everything BUT the design of my website and there’s a very good reason why.

Read here to find out more: I’ve redesigned my website and it looks exactly the same.

Hello,

So, have you ever struggled trying to find that perfect product or service just because the companies marketing it seem to understand more about the product than they do about you, the user? I know I have. They may have an understanding of who their users are, but can’t seem to communicate that the product is a great fit for them. That’s all we really want, isn’t it? To know we are making the right choice when we pick a product or service.

This week’s post talks all about this and how some companies are doing it right and some, unfortunately, aren’t. Let me know what you think!

Hi!

A while back I wrote a post about what a user experience really is and got some interesting responses. Many of my readers were interested in how they can learn UX.

I slowly realized that I really didn’t have a way of helping someone start their journey with UX-design. It’s more of a way of thinking than a checklist of ‘things’, right?

In , I share my way of thinking and boil it down to five points that are crucial to understanding and designing user experiences. Some may even change the way you see the world!

Back in May of 2009 I decided to take the leap and go out on my own. It came with a whole lot of risk, but with the support of my wife, friends, colleagues, clients, and you, I have the ability to say that a decade has passed and it has been a great and successful ride.

I want to share with you 10 lessons that I’ve learned over the past 10 years that I think will help you in your own freelance/company growth.

Running my own company for ten years

Hey

I wanted to continue talking with you about this UX series of posts by talking about UX strategy too. I really believe it’s important to have a set of rules in almost everything you do and that goes for user experience design too! UX strategy is just that baseline, or better said goals and guidelines, so that everyone is always on the same page and working together. Seems simple, right? Not always! Check out this weeks post for more about it!

Explaining UX Strategy

As you know, I’ve been working a long contract (more than a year now!) as a UX-lead and I thought that I’d share what that experience has been like in case you’re interested in making a similar career change. I still get to do UX-designy stuff occasionally, but spend a lot more time in meetings and helping my team do awesome work. Check out this week’s post for more information!

What’s it like to be a UX-lead?

Occasionally I get feedback from friends like you on these posts I share. One of the questions I get pretty often is about what UX-designers really do on a day to day basis.

The answer is, honestly, “so many things you wouldn’t believe it.”

One of these friends, Maureen, asked this question recently and I decided to give a try at answering it as well as possible. Let me know how I did!

This past year has been an adventure with how I see my work. I went from a 2 to 4 project at the same time schedule to working on one project for this entire past year. This gave me some time to reflect on what purposeful work looks like and how we use our work to validate a lot about ourselves.

Let me explain even more for you in this week’s post.

I think call centers actually got something right. Wait, hold on, I’ve got a point. They literally have mastered getting you to comfortably wait on hold for long periods of time and only go a little bit crazy. In a world where we expect everything instantly, how do they pull that off? This got me thinking a lot about speed and the products we use, we create, and we hate (for being too slow). Take a look at this week’s post and let me know what you think.

What is worth waiting for?

ps. What do you think about the fresh coat of paint on the website?

They are saying that 2019 is going to be the year of voice input. I don’t know if I agree. I have an on again, off again relationship with Siri and ask very little of her. I occasionally have her set a timer or play some music, but that’s it. What’s your relationship with your voice assistant if you have one? The percentages of usage are going up, but is the technology actually ready for real usage? Take a look at this week’s post where I talk about that and how I feel a bit reserved about where voice input is at right now.

Voice assistants - are they really the future?

What if I told you a simple capital C could break a user’s experience? Working with a large, international team at IKEA has shown me that sometimes a capital C can slip through and that’s why we need to set rules and establish processes. It may even seem a little silly until your attention is drawn to that C instead of clicking `buy’, right? Click the link below and I’ll share my secret in this week’s post for saving your users from the dreaded capital C.

Writing as part of the UX process

|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|

** What email updates do you want?

Get weekly blog updates If you haven’t found a great RSS reader since Google Reader ceased to exist (6years ago!), but still want to keep up to update with my blog - I have another way for you. You can get a weekly email from me(every Sunday morning) with links to the week’s new posts!

What if your doctor told you to put down the pill bottle and put on the VR headset? Would you think he was crazy? Science is starting to show that healthcare might start heading in more that direction.

Technology has advanced enough that digital experiences(yes,user experiences!) are beginning to have therapeutic value for the user.

I was so interested in this that I wrote a post about it and would love to share it with you. As always, I welcome your feedback. What are your concerns about technology in healthcare? Are you excited to welcome this next step in our wellness?

Read this post on my website

2018 in review

Just like , I wanted to end the year by reflecting on what has passed. 2018 has been a very different year, both for my business and for me personally. There’s been a lot of growth and change, but not exactly in the way I would have imagined at the beginning of 2018.

It’s a funny question to ask, but where are you? You may say the city you’re in, the address you’re at, or even getting as specific as the chair you’re sitting in. We identify our location by conditions we set in our heads. I’m sitting on my sofa, but another(moretechie) person may give their IP address, or say they’re in a game server where they are playing online with friends. What does location to mean us in this very tech centered world?

Read: What’s my location?

I’m hoping to send you one final update at the very end of 2018 but either way I want to wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday and a great 2019.

What do you get when you boil down content until there’s just enough words to get the message across clearly? Writers like Seth Godin! My blog this week talks about my writing struggle with SEO and how writers like Seth showed me why it doesn’t matter in the end.

Read: Seth Godin - A lesson in good content creation

Hi

Would you think less of me if you knew I learned a TON about business by playing a video game? Believe it or not, I’m not alone. These games, from strategy to sports, can teach you pieces and parts of what it means to start and maintain a successful business. This interested me so much that I decided to write a new post about it!

How Playing Games Helped Me Succeed at Business

Wow! I’m amazed and humbled by the response from my last newsletter . I guess I should quit blogging more often! I have received so many sweet responses from the latest newsletter that I’m completely overwhelmed. I got so stuck looking at metrics like open rates and clicks that I kind of forgot even one click is an actual human being. I won’t make that mistake again.

“I loved reading this post - it’s really thoughtful and honest.”

This is my 100th newsletter - an accomplishment that I’m quite proud of. However, I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of this newsletter and my website lately. What role does it fill in my life? Is blogging part of where I want to take my career? Where DO I want to take my career? Big questions. Honestly, I’ve been unable to point my finger at what is really bothering me.

When I started blogging 3 years ago, I was unaware that it would lead to more than 200 blog posts (https://www.antonsten.com/blog) , two books (https://www.antonsten.com/books) , and nearly 1000 subscribers (I started my list with 14 friends who I signed up without them knowing - sorry). My posts have been shared by publications I admire like uxdesign.cc , UX Booth, Adobe, Invision, Prototypr.io, UXDesign Weekly as well as by people who influence me like Brad Frost and Josh Clark.

That was incredibly validating.

Maybe I’m losing steam…?

We all had to start somewhere. You and I were beginners at one point, right?

It may have been your first line of code (HelloWorld!) or your first drawing in Photoshop, but there was a first. So, why do we have such a hard time saying, “I don’t know”? This week I wanted to write about my friend who just took up running and how her process of learning and growing was inspirational to me.

Believe it or not, it directly applies to our industry!

If your anything like me, you’re paying close attention to all the privacy concerns and influence campaigns that keep cropping up in our digital world. It’s easy to blame Facebook or Google, but doesn’t the user (you and I) need to take some responsibility too? If we didn’t click, read, and believe then we wouldn’t have some of the issues we do today. Take a look at this week’s post for some more information about this and how we need to change our mindset to make real change.

What about ’my’ responsibilities?

Hey

I recently had a friend approach me about raising their rates and felt it was a valuable discussion to have with you. It can be tricky to let that long-term customer know you need to raise your rates, but what options do you give them? That’s where packaging your services can benefit you AND your customer!

Serving your customer, valuing yourself

Voice input has been at the center of a lot of conversations lately. We’re either talking about the devices, the controversy surrounding them, or just plain talking TO them. We welcome the technology into our homes without too much of a thought and share it with friends and family. The really interesting part is that we are not only using voice input in new and innovative ways, but it seems to be changing the world and us with it in unexpected ways - and they’re not always good.

Voice Input’s Effect on Social Norms

It’s been a while! You may have noticed that I’ve been a little quiet lately, but we all need to recharge sometimes and summer is the perfect time to do it. I’ve been spending time reading things that really interest me and, believe it or not, they’re not directly related to UX. I wanted to do a share out with you of some of these books that were great.

In fact, I’ll make this even better.

Reply to this email and let me know which of the books you find most interesting along with your address and I’ll send one lucky winner a book!

If you’re in UX like me, you know the struggle. People ask us for examples of our work and we’re stuck. We can’t just show them private project communications or designs and we can’t just point them to a final project and say,“I did this.” The more I thought about it, the more I believe it’s due to us not being asked the right questions.

This week I put together a few questions that could change the way we communicate about UX design with interviewers, colleagues, or even friends and family!

Five questions UX employers should be asking

|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|

https://www.antonsten.com/values Tech Sector Values are Broken?

With all the scandals going on around the world I’ve seriously started to wonder where people’s values have gone. You know that I try to run a tight ship in my little company and I stick tightly to my values, so I’m surprised when big companies like Google and Amazon seem to forget theirs. Take a few minutes to read this week’s post and let me know what you think!

What if I told you that the stock market was going to crash tomorrow? Or the next big disaster is looming? If you trust me, I would be playing into your confirmation bias when I have no idea if those things are going to happen or not.

They are honestly, virtually unpredictable. Believe it or not, confirmation biases may be affecting ALL parts of your lives. Curious? I was too, so I wrote this week’s post about it.

→ Tech Sector Values are Broken?

What if I told you that the stock market was going to crash tomorrow? Or the next big disaster is looming? If you trust me, I would be playing into your confirmation bias when I have no idea if those things are going to happen or not.

They are honestly, virtually unpredictable. Believe it or not, confirmation biases may be affecting ALL parts of your lives. Curious? I was too, so I wrote this week’s post about it.

→ Confirmation Bias in Design

My article a few weeks back got me thinking deeper about what it would mean for us to have standard ethical guidelines in the design industry. For lawyers, journalists, and medical doctors, ethics courses are baked into their education. For us in design, we aren’t held to the same standard but should be.

Many of the privacy issues you and I have had over the past few years were probably due to designers who created apps and programs that stripped information from us. Now we have very sophisticated AI on the horizon and that adds a whole other layer to my concerns.

So, I went into some depth and wrote this week’s post about what an ethical“code of conduct” could look like for designers.

We are living in an amazing time!

I can push a few buttons on my phone and have ANOTHER phone on my doorstep the next day. Spotify builds you a playlist with music it thinks you will love without you even asking it to. And now you can ask Google’s voice assistant to call and set up a dinner reservation… using a very human sounding voice… speaking AS you… to a human at the restaurant…

Does this feel “off” to you too? I know that my list of concerns is getting pretty long. So, I took some time to gather my thoughts about this so I could share them with you and hopefully start a conversation.

→

So, I think we’ve got a problem. It starts every morning when we wake up and pick up our phones to discover what happened overnight. What is my Instagram follower count?! Perhaps our business’ website had more visitors!!! Has my mailing list hit 15,000 subscribers yet?!?!?! What if I told you that these are just vanity metrics? It bugged me so much I just had to write a new blog post about it. Check it out!

→ Vanity Metrics

Hi

One of the things I do pretty often in my day to day work is help companies shape their visual identity. Sometimes I get a client who needs more than just a visual identity refresh and we decide to invest in a design system.

What is that? I’m glad you asked! It’s more than a buzzword and increasingly important to companies focused on growing. (hint: it’s much, much more than a style guide)

🎯

Hi

Did you know I teach too? I really enjoy sharing what I know about user experience with students just getting started. Last week I was looking at my intro lecture for User Experience Design and Development and it struck me that it would be perfect to share it with you and the rest of the world. It’s a bit longer post than I usually do, but I think you’ll find it interesting how I try explain the complicated topic of UX in an accessible, engaging way.

What’s a user experience anyway?

Hi

I recently have been watching a Netflix show on the Juventus football team and something amazing happened. In spite of being a huge Liverpool fan, I found myself celebrating their win over Tottenham! Was this because I was becoming a fan of a team that is new to me or is it actually from learning the history and traditions that surround this club?

Believe it or not, this got me to thinking about work productivity and how much time we spend looking at what is new vs. what is established. I took some time writing a post about this and the work of Ramit Sethi that showed me that we may be hurting our work by wasting our time.

Part of my job as a UX-lead is to be aware of what’s trending in technology and how we interact with it. Voice assistants (aka “smart speakers”) have been all the rage for the past few years, so I gave Apple’s new HomePod a spin.

You and I are used to using keyboards, mice, and touchscreens, but shouldn’t voice input feel natural since we’ve used our voice our whole lives? Not so fast… It’s more complicated than that.

Here’s a post I wrote about my experience with voice input, so you can decide if it’s the right choice for a device for you and your family.

P.S. I’m really interested in your thoughts on this. Have you used one or more voice assistants? Which is your favorite?

This past week, there was a lot of talk about the new app called ‘Facebook Protect’. It provides access to a virtual private network (VPN) for your security and safety for free! Or is it?

This bothered me a bit, so I dug around and what I found was eye-opening. I just had to write about it and share my experience with other products that were also deceptive. Click over to my post to see if the products you use are not quite what they seem. (hint: your data is not safe)

A better user experience… or?

Have you ever been to presentation that changed your way of looking at things? Recently, I had the opportunity to give one at a local co-working space and was blown away by how sharing my knowledge and experience could help those listening. As a freelancer, it is amazing to give information that can help someone become even more successful at what they do.

I got so much meaning from this experience that I want to share it with you too. Even if you don’t freelance, this can apply to anyone who wants to find meaning in their work. Or is that work to find meaning? Either way, here it is!

How to succeed at freelancing

|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|

Let’s make 💰 together!

Hi there!