Meditation Benefits for Stress Reduction and Clarity

Meditation Benefits for Stress Reduction and Clarity In our fast-paced world, stress seems to be an unavoidable companion. However, there’s a timeless practice that can help us navigate life’s challenges with more ease and clarity: meditation. This ancient practice offers numerous benefits, particularly in reducing stress and enhancing mental clarity. Let’s explore these benefits and […]

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Top Self Help Books for Anxiety Relief

Top Self Help Books for Anxiety Relief In today’s fast-paced world, anxiety has become a common companion for many. Whether it’s due to work pressures, personal challenges, or just the chaos of life, finding ways to manage anxiety can significantly improve your quality of life. One effective method is turning to self-help books. These books […]

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How to Overcome Fear and Take Control of Your Life

How to Overcome Fear and Take Control of Your Life Fear can be a paralyzing force, stopping us from achieving our dreams and living life to the fullest. But what if you could harness that fear, understand it, and ultimately overcome it? This guide will provide you with actionable steps to conquer fear and regain […]

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Stress Relief Activities to Try Today

Stress Relief Activities to Try Today In today’s fast-paced world, stress is an unwelcome companion for many of us. Whether it’s the pressures of work, personal commitments, or the relentless pace of modern life, stress can take a toll on both our mental and physical well-being. Fortunately, there are numerous activities you can incorporate into […]

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Confidence Building Exercises You Can Do Anywhere

Confidence Building Exercises You Can Do Anywhere Confidence is the cornerstone of personal and professional success. It influences how we interact with others, how we perceive challenges, and how we seize opportunities. Luckily, building confidence doesn’t require a grand stage or expensive seminars. You can boost your self-assurance right where you are. This article explores […]

Designers, (Re)define Success First

About two and a half years ago, I introduced the idea of daily ethical design. It was born out of my frustration with the many obstacles to achieving design that’s usable and equitable; protects people’s privacy, agency, and focus; benefits society; and restores nature. I argued that we need to overcome the inconveniences that prevent […]

Mobile-First CSS: Is It Time for a Rethink?

The mobile-first design methodology is great—it focuses on what really matters to the user, it’s well-practiced, and it’s been a common design pattern for years. So developing your CSS mobile-first should also be great, too…right?  Well, not necessarily. Classic mobile-first CSS development is based on the principle of overwriting style declarations: you begin your CSS […]

Personalization Pyramid: A Framework for Designing with User Data

As a UX professional in today’s data-driven landscape, it’s increasingly likely that you’ve been asked to design a personalized digital experience, whether it’s a public website, user portal, or native application. Yet while there continues to be no shortage of marketing hype around personalization platforms, we still have very few standardized approaches for implementing personalized […]

Humility: An Essential Value

Humility, a designer’s essential value—that has a nice ring to it. What about humility, an office manager’s essential value? Or a dentist’s? Or a librarian’s? They all sound great. When humility is our guiding light, the path is always open for fulfillment, evolution, connection, and engagement. In this chapter, we’re going to talk about why. […]

I am a creative.

I am a creative. What I do is alchemy. It is a mystery. I do not so much do it, as let it be done through me. I am a creative. Not all creative people like this label. Not all see themselves this way. Some creative people see science in what they do. That is […]

Opportunities for AI in Accessibility

In reading Joe Dolson’s recent piece on the intersection of AI and accessibility, I absolutely appreciated the skepticism that he has for AI in general as well as for the ways that many have been using it. In fact, I’m very skeptical of AI myself, despite my role at Microsoft as an accessibility innovation strategist […]

The Wax and the Wane of the Web

I offer a single bit of advice to friends and family when they become new parents: When you start to think that you’ve got everything figured out, everything will change. Just as you start to get the hang of feedings, diapers, and regular naps, it’s time for solid food, potty training, and overnight sleeping. When […]

To Ignite a Personalization Practice, Run this Prepersonalization Workshop

Picture this. You’ve joined a squad at your company that’s designing new product features with an emphasis on automation or AI. Or your company has just implemented a personalization engine. Either way, you’re designing with data. Now what? When it comes to designing for personalization, there are many cautionary tales, no overnight successes, and few […]

User Research Is Storytelling

Ever since I was a boy, I’ve been fascinated with movies. I loved the characters and the excitement—but most of all the stories. I wanted to be an actor. And I believed that I’d get to do the things that Indiana Jones did and go on exciting adventures. I even dreamed up ideas for movies […]

From Beta to Bedrock: Build Products that Stick.

As a product builder over too many years to mention, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen promising ideas go from zero to hero in a few weeks, only to fizzle out within months. Financial products, which is the field I work in, are no exception. With people’s real hard-earned money on […]

Start smaller: Any local business can be your incubator

Are you starting a business that could use retail space, but you can’t justify renting a storefront? Find a tiny space inside another business that can be your incubator. Who could display This can work for all kinds of physical-display businesses: Artists Crafts Authors Resellers Photographers Shelf stable foods and beverages Small manufacturers Agri-products like […]