📰 3 ARTICLES
Technology Myths and Urban Legends
- Nielsen Norman group, known for their UX thought leadership, delves into the formation, impact, and types of technology myths, or misconceptions about how technology functions, often fueled by uncertainty or distrust when using a digital product.
- These myths arise as users try to feel in control and mitigate perceived risks, leading to behaviors that hinder usability—the authors argue that strong research, coupled with transparency around complex digital tools or products, is therefore essential for user engagement.
- “In user research, we often hear people describe how they think technology works. Sometimes, those theories are accurate, but most often, they are not… Users don’t have a clear understanding of how a system works, so they generate possible explanations that seem logical to them based on existing knowledge and experience.”
How Competitive Analysis Shaped Beats by Dre—and How Designers Can Use It Too!
- Product designer Anthony Kelly reflects on the importance of market research, using Beats headphones as an illustrative example of how the brand prioritized its recognizable design and aligned its visual and functional values to position itself as a premium product.
- Competitive analysis isn’t about imitation but understanding the market to highlight differentiation: a practice beneficial in not just physical, but also UX and digital product design as well.
- “Whether your product is physical or digital, its design should reflect the intended value and user experience. Good design serves as non-verbal communication, quickly conveying your product’s purpose and benefits.”
The Ascent of AI: How Much is It Already Shaping?
- Technology Strategist Oliver Inderwildi ruminates on AI’s rapid integration specifically within creativity, considering whether AI is a collaborator or competitor when it comes to realms thought of as more uniquely “human”, such as writing novels or composing symphonies.
- Using AI’s involvement in two recent Nobel-prize-winning achievements as examples, the article questions whether AI will evolve into a force that redefines innovation—and considers both the intrinsic excitement and anxiety of that potential development.
- “In the future, will all six Nobel Prizes, across the sciences, economics, literature, and contributions to global peace, involve breakthroughs driven by AI? Could we be moving toward an era where AI is not just a tool but an active player in every groundbreaking discovery?”
💜 PORTFOLIO INSPIRATION
Chelsea Wang, a UX Academy graduate, brings whimsical and welcoming UI choices to her design for Lively, an app that integrates with social media to easily let users know of interesting or exciting events in their area. With her case study for e-commerce site Popshop, she leverages in-depth research to understand user needs and improve the overall shopping experience.
Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.
💡 INTERESTING STUFF...
- A Heartfelt Graphic Novel
- Considering the Dictionary
- Designing Bero: Behind Tom Holland's Non-alcoholic Beer
- Mastering Perplexity
Design is in everything we make, but it’s also between those things. It’s a mix of craft, science, storytelling, propaganda, and philosophy. — Erik Adigard, designer
🧪 FROM THE LAB
🚀 UX Academy Foundations Launches Monday – SAVE $150
Our next cohort of UX Academy Foundations launches in just a few days, this coming Monday, November 4th. Students love Foundations for its flexible, hands-on learning that introduces beginner-level learners to visual and UI design.
And now through Sunday at 11:59pm PT, save $150 off your Foundations enrollment. Enroll now.
⭐ Save on Advanced Courses too!
Our Halloweek Sale continues through the weekend for Advanced courses as well ($150 off any enrollments!). Just use the links below or use the discount code SPOOKY at checkout.
- Strategic Business Acumen for Designers (Launching 11/8)
- Advanced Figma (Launching 11/8)
- AI for Visual Design (Launching 11/15)
- Data-Driven Design (Launching 12/6)
- Advanced Usability & Accessibility (Launching 1/10)
❤️ Learning Together is Even Better
Want to learn how you can bring our design training to your team? Join our next Designlab for Teams webinar coming November 13th at 12pm ET.
We’ll talk about the various ways we work with design teams, including multi-seat enrollments, private coaching & facilitation, and custom live training.
