UI Breakfast: UI/UX Design and Product Strategy

Novelists and playwrights have been using the same storytelling principles for centuries with great success. Why not use them in UX to make your product more engaging? Today our guest is Dan Nessler, an experience director, speaker, and UX blogger. We discuss how the main storytelling principles — reason, hero, conflict, structure, awareness, and virality — can be applied in product design. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Hinderling Volkart — Dan's company 6 storytelling principles to improve your UX — Dan's article we're talking about How great leaders inspire action — a talk by Simon Sinek about a leadership model starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?" Features vs. Benefits — a UX metaphor by Samuel Hulick featuring Mario and the flower Emotional Design — a book by Don Normal Episode 82: Healthy Ending Experiences with Joe Macleod Ends. — a book by Joe Macleod on ending experiences Medium, Dribbble — great places for sharing work The FWA, Awwwards — the most famous award websites Dan's website Follow Dan on Medium Follow Dan on Twitter: @nessie420 Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Tiny Reminder. Tired of nagging people? Build a simple form, set a reminder schedule, and add recipients. We'll keep sending reminders until they submit a response, providing you peace of mind. Sign up free at tinyreminder.com Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how. Recommend a Guest I'm always on the hunt for great guests! If you would like to see someone you know — or would like to be a guest yourself — please email me with your ideas. Let me know what they do and what topic they could talk about.

How do you stand out among thousands of other businesses? How do you become unique without being crazy? Our guest today is Melissa Eggleston — an author, UX designer, and content strategist. You'll learn how to identify and promote your brand values, how to find your voice, and how to make your user experience truly special. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes The Zombie Business Cure — Melissa's book we're talking about, written with Julie Lellis as a co-author Lenovo — Melissa's place of work Trauma-Informed Website Resources Buffer + Transparency — special page created by Buffer to celebrate transparency as their key value Baremetrics demo — a dashboard featuring their own numbers Differentiate Your Business Through User Experience Research — an article featuring Aga Bojko, the director of UX for Indiegogo New Dropbox design Interviewing Users — a book by Steve Portigal 5 Keys to Developing a Strong Tone of Voice in Your Content Marketing — an article by Ann Handley where she asks to "mask the logo on your site" Everybody Writes — a book by Ann Handley Seth Godin's blog Melissa's website Follow Melissa on Twitter: @melissa_egg Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by RefineAI — a tool for measuring the emotional appeal and engagement of your video ads. This simple solution lets you automatically test your videos with real people and get insights back in real time. Schedule a demo at refineai.com/uibreakfast and receive 20% off your first year if you decide to sign up. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

We get so excited about new things that often overlook the ending experiences — which can have dramatic impact. Our guest today is Joe McLeod, a famous designer, author, speaker, and thought leader. Joe shares the philosophy and practical ideas for healthy endings in content, products, companies, software, and much more. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Ends. — Joe's book on ending experiences ustwo — Joe's previous company Alvaro Arregui — author of the book cover art The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying — a book by Marie Kondo Our Incredible Journey — a collection of startup exit stories by Phil Gyford Joe's website Get the free sample chapter of Joe's book Follow Joe on Twitter: @mrmacleod Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Tiny Reminder. Tired of nagging people? Build a simple form, set a reminder schedule, and add recipients. We'll keep sending reminders until they submit a response, providing you peace of mind. Sign up free at tinyreminder.com. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

A published book can magically boost your authority in the field. But how do you get started with your first one? Today our special guest is Rachel Andrew, a famous writer, speaker, co-founder of Perch CMS, and CSS Working Group Invited Expert. Rachel talks about her writing process, reviews publishing options, and shares practical tips with the new authors. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes The New CSS Layout — Rachel's new book Perch CMS — Rachel's product with Drew McLellan The list of Rachel's 22 books An Event Apart, CSS Dev, Smashing Conf — some of Rachel's favorite conferences Notist — a new product for conference speakers by Drew and Rachel A Book Apart — Rachel's latest publisher The CSS Anthology — one of Rachel's most popular books Authority — a book by Nathan Barry How to write content for an international audience — an article by Joe Leech The Brain Audit — one of Jane's favorite books by Sean D'Souza Smashing Magazine, A List Apart — websites where Rachel helps as an editor Rachel's website Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rachelandrew Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Extra, a social media automation tool for brands. What's the real cost of spending some of your most productive hours on social media management? Extra will drastically reduce the amount of time that you spend stocking up your social media queues, allowing to focus on what matters most. Sign up for early access at extra.ai Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Designing good experiences is hard, but what about bringing your designs to life? This topic has always been my biggest professional frustration. Today our guest is James Stone, an independent design systems engineering consultant. You'll learn how design systems can help alleviate the pain, and how to speed up the development process using frameworks, templates, starter projects, and living (coded) style guides. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Design Systems Accelerator — James's new project Zurb Foundation, Bootstrap — popular front-end frameworks Zurb's Youtube Channel Zurb's Starter Projects Lightning Design System — a design system by Salesforce Nathan Curtis (writing for EightShapes) — recommended reading on design systems James's website CSS Box Model Course, Living (Coded) Styleguide in 60-minutes — James's training products Get your special discount on some of James's products Take the free Design Systems Crash Course Follow James on Twitter: @JAMESSTONEco Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Zencastr. It's the easiest way to record your podcasts in studio quality, free from any Skype glitches or artifacts — like we do here at UI Breakfast. Simply send a link to your guests, and they will be recorded in separate tracks straight from their browser! To check it out, go to zencastr.com and use your promocode UIBREAKFAST to get 20% off your first three months. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Typography might be hard to discuss in a podcast, but we're giving it a try! Today our guest is Rafal Tomal, VP of Design at Rainmaker Digital. You'll learn about the current state of web typography, why fonts play such a huge role in usability and branding, and how to make sensible font choices for your software product. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Rainmaker Digital — Rafal's company (also StudioPress, Copyblogger) typespiration.com — Rafal's typography project The Essential Web Design Handbook — Rafal's book on designing websites Hack Your Design — Rafal's new book with Chris Garrett Museo Sans, Merriweather — some of Rafal's favorite web fonts Acumin Pro, Roboto — some of Jane's favorite web fonts Streamline Icons, Symbolset, Dutchicon — our favorite icon resources Typewolf — a typography project by Jeremiah Shoaf that inspired Rafal Rafal's website (some amazing illustrations there) Follow Rafal on Dribbble Follow Rafal on Twitter: @RafalTomal Get 20% off Rafal's book Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Balsamiq Mockups. Balsamiq Mockups is a rapid wireframing tool that helps you work faster and smarter. It reproduces the experience of sketching on a whiteboard, but using a computer. Making mockups is fast: you'll generate more ideas, so you can throw out the bad ones and discover the best solutions. Try it free for 30 days at balsamiq.com. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

We hear a lot about growth hacking, but often forget about the true fuel for any business: organic growth. Today our guest is Ashley Greene, the founder of Instratify. You'll learn how to discover precious customer insights, run interviews and surveys, manage analytics, and achieve sustainable organic growth for your product. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Instratify — Ashley's consulting and training company ZenTribes — peer support group for entrepreneurs by Sherry Walling AARRR! Dave McClure’s “Pirate Metrics” And The Only Five Numbers That Matter "Toyota's 5 Why's — the iterative interrogative technique Rev — Ashley's transcription service of choice FourEyes, SurveyMonkey — survey tools Amplitude, Kissmetrics, Woopra, Mixpanel, [Google Analytics — analytics tools FullStory, Hotjar — more tools for tracking user experience What is a North Star Metric? What Is Net Promoter Score? The Spotlight Framework by David Cancel 5 Habits to Building Better Products Faster — a book by Hiten Shah Hypergrowth — a book by David Cancel Lean Analytics — a book by Alistair Croll and Ben Yoskovitz Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products — a book by Nir Eyal with Ryan Hoover To Sell Is Human — a book by Daniel H. Pink Uncover Insights in 60 Minutes for Rapid Growth with a Single Survey — Ashley's workshop Visit Ashley's website Follow Ashley on Twitter: @AshleyKGreene Drop Ashley a line at ashley@instratify.co Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Jamf Now. This service helps businesses manage Apple devices in the workplace. It makes managing and securing every work iPhone, iPad, and Mac easier than ever. See the power of Jamf Now for yourself! Create an account today at jamf.com/uibreakfast and start managing your first three devices for free. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

The biggest thing about UX roadmapping is that... there's no such thing. "Your UX roadmap is a product roadmap," says David Pasztor, the founder of UX Studio and the author of Product Design. In this episode, you'll learn what makes a good roadmap, how to plan for something that will inevitably change, what tools to use, and how to run a roadmapping workshop with your clients. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes UX Studio — David's company Product Design — David's book on designing digital products Designing Web Usability — a classic book by Jakob Nielsen UX in Product Roadmaps: How to plan your design activities? — David's article Trello, Jira, Confluence, Aha!, ProdPad, Asana, Basecamp — planning tools Mind the Product, Insights Blog by Silicon Valley Product Group (by Marty Cagan) — great resources on product design Follow David on Twitter: @pasztordavid Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by FreshBooks. The all new FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy accounting software that’s completely transformed how freelancers and small business owners deal with their day-to-day paperwork. The most important thing is that getting started on FreshBooks is extremely simple, even if you’re not a numbers person — actually, especially if you’re not a numbers person. FreshBooks is offering a 30-day unrestricted free trial to our listeners. To claim it, just go to freshbooks.com/uibreakfast and enter UI BREAKFAST in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Oh, it's so easy to wear yourself out in the ongoing creative battle! Today our guest is Femke van Schoonhoven — a designer, writer, and fellow podcaster. You'll learn how to embrace your perfectionism, find the work-life balance, deal with the different parts of the feast-or-famine cycle, and find inspiration (not frustration) following other designers. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Atomic, Uber — Femke's previous and current places of work Design Life — Femke's podcast with Charli Marie Femke's blog We need more crappy work — Femke's article Sarah Dayan, Eric Friedensohn, Scotty Russell — designers and artists followed by Femke Design Life 083: What to do when you’re overwhelmed Bullet Journal — a website on bullet journaling Episode 72: Creative Habits and Routines with Tomas Laurinavicius Femke's website Join Femke's newsletter Follow Femke on Twitter: @femkesvs Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by FreshBooks — cloud accounting software for freelancers and small business owners. If you work for yourself, you know that the world was not built for the self-employed. Many institutions are simply not keeping up with the pace of change — like banks, retirement savings, employment insurance, and accounting services. FreshBooks is among the innovators who have stepped up to provide a new accounting solution in this rapidly changing world. FreshBooks is offering a 30-day unrestricted free trial to our listeners. To claim it, just go to freshbooks.com/uibreakfast and enter UI BREAKFAST in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Research panels are a fantastic way to do UX research: instead of emailing the entire user list, you're working with a small loyal segment of your audience. Our guest today is Ashley Warren, a UX researcher at ShortStack. You'll learn how to put together a representative research panel, keep them motivated, organize the research process, and manage the results. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes ShortStack — Ashley's company Why UX Researchers Should Create a Research Panel — Ashley's article Hotjar — a tool for recording user sessions (and other types of analytics) Microsoft Excel, Google Spreadsheets, Google Docs — tools for documenting the results UsabilityHub — a tool for remote user testing UsabilityHub blog, ConversionXL blog, Journal of Usability Studies — great resources for user testing Ashley's website Follow Ashley and ShortStack on Twitter: @ashleynhwarren, @shortstacklab Drop Ashley a line at ashley@shortstacklab.com Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by FreshBooks — cloud accounting software for freelancers and small business owners. The all new FreshBooks is not only ridiculously easy to use, it’s also packed with powerful features: Create and send professional looking invoices in less than 30 seconds. Set up online payments with just a couple of clicks and get paid up to 4 days faster. See when your client has seen your invoice, and put an end to the guessing games. FreshBooks is offering a 30-day unrestricted free trial to our listeners. To claim it, just go to freshbooks.com/uibreakfast and enter UI BREAKFAST in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.