Saving lives through design, a Reddit UX case study, and more...

📰 3 DESIGN ARTICLES 

PILOT ERROR, CHAPANIS, AND THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

• When WWII pilots began to experience deadly crash-landings with the B-17, young psychologist Alphonse Chapanis stepped in to save their lives with a new, clever approach to design. 
• When Chapanis interviewed the pilots who had crashed B-17s and B-25s, he noticed a pattern that pointed to the controls within the cockpit: the flaps and landing gear switches were identical. Since manufacturing constraints made it impossible to simply move the controls farther apart, “Chapanis introduced the beautifully elegant solution of shape coding.”
• “The principle of contrast solved a life and death issue, highlighting that when there are many options, marking them clearly as distinct is crucial, and when two buttons do radically different things, making them visually different is paramount. It sounds obvious in hindsight, yet we can easily overlook it in the heat of design.”

HOW (NOT) TO GET PEOPLE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR APP

• In this Reddit case study, Peter Ramsey notes that only 1.9% of Reddit users are engaged with the platform. The rest are lurkers who neither post nor interact with posts. While a mobile app *could* help increase this number, there are a variety of UX errors that may be preventing engagement.
• Cognitive load is a key consideration when it comes to user adoption, but Reddit takes an interesting approach by switching up the icon images and their placement in the mobile app, forcing users to spend time re-learning how to interact with the platform.
• “As you can see, Reddit is killing their mobile web experience in an attempt to get you to download their apps. But what about once you have downloaded it? Do they capitalize on your attention and get you hooked? No, they don't. Instead Reddit ignores basic design principles, and makes it more tempting to stick to what you already know.”

REDISCOVERING THE JOY OF DESIGN

• Without joy, the work we do would feel meaningless. Pratik Joglekar takes a philosophical approach to remind designers about the lost joy within themselves by emphasizing the importance of mindfulness, introspection, and forward-looking. 
• The Japanese philosophy of Ikigai can be roughly defined as: that which gives your life worth, meaning, or purpose. Having a clear sense of direction gives profound energy to continue the pursuit irrespective of any roadblocks—roadblocks which seem to come from all directions in the world of product design.
• “If there is a passion for the profession, the work experience is surreal and gives joy. This joy is about wins and opportunities to learn and grow …So find what brings you joy and do it.”

💜 PORTFOLIO INSPIRATION 

Florinda Sgueglia, a UX Academy graduate, presents bold, modern branding throughout her portfolio. With high contrast colors and an easy-to-read case study layout, Flo’s design skills truly stand out in every part of this eye-catching, beautifully well-done portfolio.

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

INTERESTING STUFF ...

• [Sep 19 Webinar] How Big Tech impacts the climate emergency
• Is AI better at pairing font typography than you?
• Design tool memory usage
• The ROI of Branding: Best-Practices for a High Impact Project 
• Procreate teases “Dreams” for user-friendly animation

Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home… it is your responsibility to love it or change it. — Chuck Palahniuk (American Novelist)

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