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📰 3 DESIGN ARTICLES
How Do You Move Through a Creative Block?
- Five Adobe team members break down their process for getting through a creative block, sharing how they may mentally reframe work, shift a routine, or try something new to break through.
- Some suggest tangible strategies like taking walks or incorporating meditation, while others recommend mindset changes such as learning to view challenges as opportunities or finding new ways to think about problems.
- “Over time, I’ve come to see creative blocks as signals to pause, shift gears, and reconnect with the world and myself. It’s not about forcing ideas to come, but about letting creativity find its way back naturally.”
A Web Browser Designed for Digital Well-Being
- Norwegian company Opera has unveiled its innovative new web browser, Opera Air: the first browser ever designed with mindfulness and digital well-being in mind, with wellness tools built directly into the user experience.
- Integrating breathing exercises, sound therapies, and features that encourage taking breaks, Opera Air seeks to help users manage stress and maintain focus while still balancing high performance without compromising functionality.
- “We saw that people are spending more time on their computers, and while this is supposed to make people more productive, it can also add to the many distractions around them. Once we realized this, we started to look for ways to bring some calm back into our digital lives and make people feel better while browsing the web.”
Why is Everyone Obsessed With Chat Interfaces?
- UX Designer Zeh Fernandes explores the pervasive trend of incorporating chat interfaces into apps and platforms, arguing that while chat offers quick, natural language communication, it can lack precision and may not be suitable for every task.
- Emphasizing that design should be about understanding and translating user needs rather than leaning into trends, Fernandes advocates for design work that enhances the user experience rather than conforming to a one-size-fits-all approach.
- “Human language isn't made for precision. That's why we have poetry, why we have different ways of saying the same thing, and why we had to invent programming languages in the first place. Machines need structured definitions and predictability.”
💜 PORTFOLIO INSPIRATION
Karun Chughasrani, a UX Academy graduate, brings a focus on community to her end-to-end app Nearby which focuses on connecting new residents to their neighborhoods. A strong understanding of pain points in similar products and research that focuses on user needs helps inform the success of the design. With another project PantryPal, home cooks will find fun branding and inviting UI to help them navigate the complexities of serving up quality dishes in their own kitchens.
Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.
💡 INTERESTING STUFF...
Nail the basics first, detail the details later. — Chris Anderson, entrepreneur and head of TEDTalks
🧪 FROM THE LAB
🎤 Upcoming AI Design Event
Join us on Tuesday, March 4th, at 1pm ET for our hands-on workshop “AI for Creative Workflows”. Transform your creative practice with AI-powered tools in this 60-minute session presented by 24 Seven & Designlab.
Led by AI expert and the creator of Designlab’s AI for Visual Design course, Sachin Kamath, you'll learn how to harness Midjourney and other cutting-edge AI technologies to enhance your creative workflow, overcome common challenges, and develop strategies for seamlessly integrating AI into your professional toolkit. Register here.
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