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Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

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Re: Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

#11

Post by nsxwolf »

dave_sid wrote: post #2

Doing something because all the big companies do it also leads to cargo cult mentality. You should know exactly why you are building every little part of your system. “Oh Google used a really annoying captcha on that page, I better do that as Google knows best”. Have some confidence and don’t assume that other bigger companies are smarter than you are, think about what you can improve. Most of what Google have to off…

My favorite cargo cult thing today is that when you’re logged out you can’t find the login link anymore, just “Sign up”.

Re: Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

#12

Post by breadwinner »

Here's the best tool for finding usability issues: https://aistudio.google.com/live

You share the screen with Gemini, and tell it (using your voice) what you are trying to do. Gemini will look at your UI and try to figure out how to accomplish the task, then tell you (using its voice) what to click.

If Gemini can't figure it out you have usability issues. Now you know what to fix!

Re: Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

#13

Post by dunham »

nsxwolf wrote: post #11
dave_sid wrote: post #2

Doing something because all the big companies do it also leads to cargo cult mentality. You should know exactly why you are building every little part of your system. “Oh Google used a really annoying captcha on that page, I better do that as Google knows best”. Have some confidence and don’t assume that other bigger companies are smarter than you are, think about what you can improve. Most of what Google have to off…

My favorite cargo cult thing today is that when you’re logged out you can’t find the login link anymore, just “Sign up”.

Yeah this one is really frustrating.

Re: Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

#14

Post by staplers »

alphazard wrote: post #10

The most obvious change that happens after hiring a graphic designer is that the app/website stops looking like shit, and adopts a pleasing color palette and set of fonts. There is real value in this, and the median graphic designer definitely chooses these better than the median engineer. But UX is a broader umbrella which encompasses interaction flows at the large end, and single function widgets at the small end.…

You just perfectly laid out why it's simultaneously difficult to find a new job in UX while getting paid well once you do find a job (if you're good).

Those who understand what good UX is and how it manifests itself, value it highly, while many (even in tech) still consider it pixel-pushing and "pretty colors".

Re: Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

#15

Post by potatoman22 »

breadwinner wrote: post #12

Here's the best tool for finding usability issues: https://aistudio.google.com/live You share the screen with Gemini, and tell it (using your voice) what you are trying to do. Gemini will look at your UI and try to figure out how to accomplish the task, then tell you (using its voice) what to click. If Gemini can't figure it out you have usability issues. Now you know what to fix!

I'll have to use this, thanks for sharing. Isn't it problematic since Gemini isn't representative of a real user, though?

Re: Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

#16

Post by mekoka »

dave_sid wrote: post #2

Doing something because all the big companies do it also leads to cargo cult mentality. You should know exactly why you are building every little part of your system. “Oh Google used a really annoying captcha on that page, I better do that as Google knows best”. Have some confidence and don’t assume that other bigger companies are smarter than you are, think about what you can improve. Most of what Google have to off…

Understanding exactly why before applying is not bad advice. But it takes time and can quickly become impractical when you're already pressed for it (like say, a small team startup already lacking a designer). In many cases it's better to just copy the closest thing to what you aspire to become, even if you don't quite yet grasp the details of why they originally made those decisions. All that can be figured out later for your own situation.

Re: Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

#17

Post by willsmith72 »

potatoman22 wrote: post #15
breadwinner wrote: post #12

Here's the best tool for finding usability issues: https://aistudio.google.com/live You share the screen with Gemini, and tell it (using your voice) what you are trying to do. Gemini will look at your UI and try to figure out how to accomplish the task, then tell you (using its voice) what to click. If Gemini can't figure it out you have usability issues. Now you know what to fix!

I'll have to use this, thanks for sharing. Isn't it problematic since Gemini isn't representative of a real user, though?

Definitely a huge trap to replace real user insights with anything else.

But this looks like a nice level 0 of testing

Re: Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

#19

Post by CaffeineLD50 »

breadwinner wrote: post #12

Here's the best tool for finding usability issues: https://aistudio.google.com/live You share the screen with Gemini, and tell it (using your voice) what you are trying to do. Gemini will look at your UI and try to figure out how to accomplish the task, then tell you (using its voice) what to click. If Gemini can't figure it out you have usability issues. Now you know what to fix!

Very clever. Reminds me of using Alexa to test your pronunciation of foreign words. If Alexa has no idea you probably said it wrong.

Re: Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

#20

Post by CaffeineLD50 »

potatoman22 wrote: post #15
breadwinner wrote: post #12

Here's the best tool for finding usability issues: https://aistudio.google.com/live You share the screen with Gemini, and tell it (using your voice) what you are trying to do. Gemini will look at your UI and try to figure out how to accomplish the task, then tell you (using its voice) what to click. If Gemini can't figure it out you have usability issues. Now you know what to fix!

I'll have to use this, thanks for sharing. Isn't it problematic since Gemini isn't representative of a real user, though?

A real user might be worse. A program is less flexible (maybe) and more consistent (definitely) than a meat space CBL.

The goal is not realism but a kind of ready made "you must be this tall to ride the rollercoaster" threshold.

Discovering edge cases with dodgy human users has its value, but that's a different value.

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