Figma’s state of the designer report, and more…

📰 3 DESIGN ARTICLES

FIGMA'S 2023 STATE OF THE DESIGNER REPORT

• This new report from Figma examines what it takes for designers to feel fulfilled and satisfied in their roles, now that work has radically changed in a remote-first world.
• Interestingly, despite the challenges of living in a post-pandemic economy, 69% of designers report having greater job satisfaction than they did pre-pandemic.
• The downside: “While designers are generally more positive about things, there’s a growing sense of disconnect. Thirty-eight percent felt more distant from their co-workers, compared with 14% who felt closer.”

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES ON UX DESIGN

• In this article, Ross Dillon walks you through five pivotal psychological studies—and how the insights can be used by designers to create more intuitive, effective designs.
• The first study Dillon cites is the Invisible Gorilla Experiment, wherein viewers were asked to count the number of times the players with the white shirts pass the ball, often failing to notice a person in a gorilla suit who appeared in the center of the image. The study helped prove selective human attention—an important concept when designing user flows and interfaces.
• “Changes that need to be done to continue on the journey should be visible and look different to catch attention. Users may not notice the small text in the corner or an error message that is the same text and color as the rest of the form. Users are drawn to completing what they are focusing on and may miss or disregard designs that are irrelevant or invisible to their set task.”

COLOR PSYCHOLOGY & ITS IMPACT ON USER BEHAVIOR

• In this article, Jaya Iyer addresses color psychology, and how its implementation can influence buying behaviors and support SEO efforts for websites.
• Although many articles simply stop at color psychology and how it affects human emotions, Iyer goes a step further and notes that it also has a role to play in the visual hierarchy of a page, ultimately influencing the user flow and action step on any given page.
• “When you implement the use of color correctly, you can transform merely aesthetic elements into powerful tools that effectively communicate your brand message, influence user behaviors, shape the user experience, and impact website search rankings.”

💜 PORTFOLIO INSPIRATION

David Wi, a UX Academy graduate, masters the art of storytelling throughout his portfolio website, starting with the clear problem-solution summary for each case study project.

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Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.

INTERESTING STUFF ...

• No grid, no rules: How the Spotify design team created this year’s Wrapped identity
• New EU rules make sustainable products the “norm”
• Just in: emerging trends for UX as a service (UXaaS)
• Omlet’s playful new brand identity
• Mastering team charters: setting your team up for success

💻 FROM THE LAB

UPCOMING COHORTS FOR DESIGNLAB COURSES:

• UX Academy Foundations — January 8
• UX Academy Application Deadline (January Cohort) — January 12
• Data-Driven Design — February 2

START YOUR DESIGN JOURNEY IN 2024 WITH UX ACADEMY FOUNDATIONS

The January UX Academy Foundations cohort is now open for enrollment! Hit the ground running in the New Year with our beginner-friendly online course. With UX Academy Foundations, you'll gain foundational design skills through:

• Hands-on design projects that teach you how to design your own website & app
• 1:1 mentor sessions with an experienced designer
• $500 tuition discount towards our career-switching bootcamp, UX Academy

Join our next live webinar to learn more about how UX Academy Foundations preps you for our career-switching bootcamp, UX Academy.

MASTER DATA & DESIGN

A new cohort of Data-Driven Design is coming up in February. In this six-week course, you’ll gain proficiency in using product metrics and learn how to win over business stakeholders by using data. You’ll work hands-on with real data sets and meet weekly in a mentor-led peer group.

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