User Defenders – UX Design & Personal Growth

Derek Featherstone teaches us how designing for people with disabilities is really just better design for everybody. He shows us how people with disabilities aren’t different from us, they just use different tools to accomplish the same things. He encourages us to apply empathy to grow our skills in learning how to design for accessibility. He also reveals how taking small steps to incorporate something new into our design process could change everything. Origin Story (5:53) What Were Your “Aha” Moments? (12:02) Why Do We Tend to Forget About Disabled Users? (17:15) Tools Disabled Folks Use to Navigate (20:47) Accessibility, Greater Than Aesthetics (31:37) Has Designing for Accessibility Ever Made Things Worse for Majority of “Able” Users? (36:14) Story of Biggest Triumph in Designing for Inclusivity + Accessibility (42:36) What’s a Roadmap for Learning this Stuff? (44:56) Contact Info (47:35) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/051 This episode is brought to you by InVision Studio (userdefenders.com/studio): The world's most powerful screen design tool Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Liza Kindred challenges us to be more mindful in how we use and design technology. She offers us a value system on how to do just that. She encourages us to slow down and incorporate meditation and mindfulness practices into our daily lives. She reminds us to connect more with the real humans physically present with us. She also inspires us to design for the world we want to live in. What is Mindful Technology? (6:50) Benefits of practicing Mindful Tech? (9:23) How do you mitigate FOMO? (24:46) Smartphone addiction in the home (30:10) Implications if we don't practice mindful tech? (40:52) How do we design for human connection? (47:39) How can we inspire others to be more mindful with tech? (56:56) What would your last words be to designers influencing tech? (67:20) Liza's "Eff This" book (71:35) Jason's mindfulness tip (76:17) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/mindfultech This episode is brought to you by InVision Studio (userdefenders.com/studio): The world's most powerful screen design tool Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Jason Ogle shows us how we can all be design superheroes with the right mindset. He reveals how grit trumps talent, every day. He reminds us of the peril that bad leadership and ego can have on a team and organization. He challenges us to never stop fighting for our users. He also inspires us to be a catalyst for our community. Secret Identity (6:49) Origin Story (11:14) Biggest Superhero (21:31) Biggest Failure (28:51) Awkward Testing Story (35:06) Design Superpower (40:35) Design Kryptonite (43:04) UX Superhero Name (49:16) Fights for Users (57:09) Habit of Success (61:28) Recommended Book (67:10) Best Advice (69:58) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/050 This episode is brought to you by InVision Studio (userdefenders.com/studio): The world's most powerful screen design tool Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Steve Portigal challenges us to enjoy the silence when interviewing people. He teaches us the importance of rapport-building, and offers sage advice on how to do it. He shows us how sticking with an interview even when it’s not going well can sometimes bring forth the best data. He also reveals how a little empathy can go a long way in field research. Secret Identity (8:08) Origin Story (12:19) What drives your curiosity? (24:53) Roberta 'call me Bert's war story (29:28) What's Ethnography (the "E-word") (38:32) Rapport-building tips (46:51) Brian's war story (55:21) UX Superhero Name (66:28) Habit of Success (75:06) Steve's Corset War Story (78:39) Best Advice (84:53) Contact Info (88:33) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/049 This episode is brought to you by InVision Studio (userdefenders.com/studio): The world's most powerful screen design tool Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Cassie McDaniel inspires us to get away from the ‘pick me’ mindset, and to pick ourselves. She challenges us to be willing to kill our darlings so that something better can emerge. She teaches us the importance of knowing our values, but also embracing the fact that they are going to change. She also encourages us to not just do what we’re good at, but do what we enjoy. Secret Identity (8:27) Origin Story (20:56) Being Mozilla Foundation's Design Director (24:09) Biggest Failure (36:36) Kill Your Darlings (40:24) Design Superpower (52:54) Habit of Success (62:59) Invincible Resource (67:39) Best Advice (70:33) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/048 This episode is brought to you by InVision Studio (userdefenders.com/studio): The world's most powerful screen design tool Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

I was so delighted when at the beginning of 2017, Eric Meyer + Jeffrey Zeldman asked me if I wanted to record a live episode at my favorite design conference, An Event Apart. Welcome to this very special episode where I felt like I needed to give a radio intro in front of a live audience! Lol, you’ll see what I mean. Thankful to my hero Chris Coyier for saving the day and pulling me out of broadcast mode, into live mode. First time for everything! I’m still in awe at my panel of bad design Avengers consisting of Cassie McDaniel, Chris Coyier, and Luke Wroblewski who each added so much value to the episode and attendees. Oh, did I mention this session took place right after “Happy Hour”? Please enjoy this very special, first-ever live broadcast of User Defender podcast!

Jeremy Keith reveals how the web is neither good or bad, nor neutral, but an amplifier. He inspires us to not let the future be just something that happens to us, but rather something we make with the small things we do today. He encourages us to build software ethically with our users’ psychological vulnerabilities in mind. He motivates us to not build on rented land, but to publish using the superpower of our own URLs. He also shows us how looking to the past is just as important as looking to the future. Iron Man Photo Story (4:43) On Net Neutrality (13:31) What's "Adactio"? (20:44) Is the Internet Good or Evil? (24:41) Hippocratic Oath for Software Designers (35:51) Resilient Web Design (49:06) Why do you Love the Web so Much? (54:26) The Power and Generosity of the Community (63:05) What Comes Next? (71:34) Listener Question? (73:44) Last Words to the Builders of the Web (74:18) Contact Info (80:15) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/047 This episode is brought to you by InVision Studio (userdefenders.com/studio): The world's most powerful screen design tool Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Joe Johnston inspires us to embrace the superpowers of curiosity and empathy for our users and business owners. He motivates us to always stay curious, and ask why to get to the heart of the problem faster. He encourages us to make sure we use the shiny objects available to us to actually solve a problem. "Merhl" Backstory (7:40) Secret Identity (11:38) Origin Story (13:46) Empathy is Still Important (18:52) Biggest Failure (24:46) Design Leadership/Culture (28:41) Awkward Testing Story (33:24) Design Superpower (41:50) Shiny Objects Syndrome (44:12) UX of Ambient-Driven Experiences (50:46) UX Superhero Name (56:14) Habit of Success (57:11) Invincible Resource (60:05) Best Advice (61:00) Contact Info (63:34) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/046 This episode is brought to you by InVision Studio (userdefenders.com/studio): The world's most powerful screen design tool Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

“Designers are the architects of human behavior. With a consolidated tool like Studio, designers are going to be able to focus a lot more on designing...as they should.” — Tom Giannattasio In this very special episode, I had the great privilege of talking to Studio mastermind Tom Giannattasio all about what went into building what's being touted as "the world' most powerful screen design tool". Tom has an interesting designer origin story. In this interview, you'll hear how his past experiences have really shaped him into the toolmaker superhero that he's become. In this compelling interview with Tom, you'll hear him answer my questions such as: What is Studio, and what makes it “the world’s most powerful screen design tool”? Do designers really need another tool? What makes Studio different than all the others? What lessons did you learn from Macaw that you’ve applied to Studio? What’s it like designing for designers? What are the inherent challenges? What have been the rewards? Much more! TIMESTAMPS Designing with colorblindness (2:30) What is Macaw? (7:09) What is Studio? (16:37) Do we need another design tool? (22:08) Where does Studio leave Craft & InVision tools? (27:30) Lessons learned from Macaw in making of Studio (31:14) What's it like designing for designers? (34:44) Coolest things you've seen folks do with Studio so far? (37:51) How much does Studio cost? (41:17) When is Studio available? (42:08) Designers are becoming the architects of human behavior (43:35) When we build (45:51) This episode is brought to you by InVision Studio (userdefenders.com/studio): The world's most powerful screen design tool Get your FREE audiobook (userdefenders.com/freebook) from Audible. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Alexa Roman motivates us to prove the value of design and contribute to it every single day. She encourages us to always be learning new things since designers work across many different fields. She inspires us to get more excited about analytics and measuring our designs. She also challenges us to think about what we want on our tombstones...while we’re still this side up. Secret Identity (7:49) Origin Story (12:42) What Will Your Tombstone Say? (19:25) Biggest Failure (21:50) Design Superpower (29:40) How Important is Aesthetics? (35:52) Awkward Testing Story (48:49) Design Kryptonite (55:23) UX Superhero Name (63:59) Designing with Data (64:30) Habit of Success (70:09) Invincible Resource (71:39) Recommended Book (73:28) Best Advice (74:48) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/045 This episode is brought to you by InVision Studio (userdefenders.com/studio): The world's most powerful screen design tool Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.