UI Breakfast: UI/UX Design and Product Strategy

What makes a perfect brand account on social media? There's no recipe. But there are some general rules! Today our guest is Liam Sarsfield, the founder of Extra — a social media automation tool for brands. We talk about the best practices, tools, and inspiring examples to supercharge your company's account. 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 Episode 20: Mastering Creative Direction with Liam Sarsfield — our previous episode with Liam Extra — social media automation tool (co-founded by Liam and Matthew Lehner) Literistic — Liam's service for writers (an exhaustive list of deadlines for submissions to literary publications, contests and fellowships) MetaLab, Pixel Union (their ecommerce division) — Liam's previous place of work MeetEdgar, Buffer — popular social media scheduling tools The Very Best Branded Twitter Accounts. Part I: Tactics — Liam's article about 7 best tactics for brand accounts @SlackHQ, @cushionapp, @Wendys — great examples of brand accounts on Twitter No Real Experiences: Authenticity for Social Marketers — Liam's article on authenticity Follow Extra on Twitter: @ExtraAI Follow Liam and Matthew on Twitter: @liamsarsfield, @matthewpearse 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.

Does your product suffer from inconsistent behavior or performance? Then you're probably dealing with UX debt. In this episode, we're tackling this problem with our special guest Jack Moffett, a famous interaction designer and author. You'll learn about three primary sources of UX debt, how to put together a UX debt inventory, how to deal with the issues and prevent potential problems in future. 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 CDG, a Boeing company — Jack's place of work Bridging UX and Web Development — Jack's book Eliminate UX Debt — Jack's book with UXPin Enterprise UX — a conference Jack recommends Managing UX Debt — upcoming IxDA meetup in Oslo (November 16, 2017) The 3-Step Guide to Erasing Your UX Debt — Jack's article at UXPin (read about UX debt inventory) DesignAday — Jack's blog Follow Jack on Twitter: @jackmoffett Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Balsamiq Mockups. A Balsamiq customer recently called it “the only wireframing tool that doesn’t make me feel stupid”. Try it free for 30 days at balsamiq.com — you’ll be productive in no time! 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.

What lifestyle allows you to create your best work? What kind of habits can you adopt? Today our special guest is Tomas Laurinavicius, a famous lifestyle entrepreneur and blogger. We discuss his lifestyle choices and routines, common challenges, and what anyone can do right now to become more productive. 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 Despreneur Magazine — Tomas's previous project, now acquired Mobile Design Book — Tomas's book with Paula Borowska Tomas's interview series featuring Paul Jarvis, Jason Zook, Patricia Parkinson (polymath), Nat Eliason, Matiss Ansviesulis 16 Personalities — awesome free personality test Tomas's website Tomas's newsletter Follow Tomas on Twitter: @tomaslau 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.

Technical training is a great place to be: instructors get paid well for teaching domain knowledge to large companies (who have dedicated budgets). But how do you get your foot in the door? In this episode, Reuven Lerner — a famous trainer, author, and consultant — gives us a detailed introduction into the industry. You'll learn what the training process looks like, what kind of knowledge you need, and how to land your first training gig. 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 Training From the Back of the Room! — a book by Sharon L. Bowman Telling Ain't Training — a book by Harold D. Stolovitch and Erica J. Keeps How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School — a famous textbook on cognitive science Steve Martin Teaches Comedy — a course on crafting jokes Reuven's website Reuven's blog Trainer Weekly, Better Developer, Mandarin Weekly, Weekly Python Exercise — Reuven's newsletters Follow Reuven on Twitter: @reuvenmlerner 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.

"Selling" your work to team members and stakeholders is a huge part of designer's success. Today we're digging deeper into this topic with Tom Greever, UX director at Bitovi and the author of Articulating Design Decisions. You'll learn how to communicate your decisions to all parties involved, present your work effectively, and deal with challenges like unfriendly managers or committees. 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 Bitovi — Tom's company Articulating Design Decisions — Tom's book with O'Reilly Axure — Tom's prototyping tool of choice Designing Modular UI Systems Via Style Guide-Driven Development — article by Adriana De La Cuadra in Smashing Magazine Tom's website Follow Tom on LinkedIn Follow Tom on Twitter: @tomgreever Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Balsamiq Mockups. Balsamiq Mockups is rapid wireframing software that combines the comfort and simplicity of paper sketching with the power of a digital tool, so your work is easier to share, revise, and get honest feedback on. 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.

How do you switch to UI/UX from another design field? What do you need to learn, and how? Today our guest is Nick Babich, the editor-in-chief of UX Planet, and we walk through all the steps in such transition. You'll learn about the skills, tools, methods, and resources to fuel your UI/UX career. 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 Planet — Nick's main project we're talking about 5 Tips for Graphic Designers Switching to UX Design — Nick's recent article The Design of Everyday Things — a book by Don Norman Smashing Magazine, Adobe blog, Webdesigner Depot, UX Booth, Creative Bloq — must-read UI/UX resources Balsamiq, AdobeXD, Evernote, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator — Nick's UX toolset (Jane also recommends Sketch) Behance, Dribbble, UI Movement — places to get inspiration from other people's work Daily UI Design Challenge — free 100-day newsletter Medium, UX Planet — places to publish your UI/UX posts to get exposure Push.conference (the next one is October 20-21, 2017 in Munich) — one of Nick's favorite conferences Nick's website Follow Nick on Twitter: @101babich 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.

The show is back from the summer break! Today we're exploring the trending topic of conversational UX with Jonathan Stark, a famous mobile consultant and author. You'll learn the basic principles behind voice interfaces and chatbots, what makes them so powerful and personal, and what tools you can leverage in this new environment. 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 Building iPhone Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — Jonathan's book with O'Reilly Hourly Billing is Nuts — Jonathan's book on pricing your services It's Alive — Facebook chatbot builder Amazon AI — Amazon's service for natural language understanding (NLU), automatic speech recognition (ASR), visual search and image recognition, text-to-speech (TTS), and machine learning (ML) Applying Built-in Hacks of Conversation to Your Voice UI — video from Google I/O 2017 Crafting a Conversation — a walk-through guide from Actions on Google API.AI — a tool for building conversational experiences Shakespeare — Jonathan's prototyping project Jonathan's website Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @jonathanstark Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by FreshBooks — cloud accounting software for freelancers and small business owners. Are you racing against the clock, wrapping up three projects at once, while facing a mountain of paperwork? There is a better way! FreshBooks has been redesigned from the ground up and custom built for exactly the way you work. It's the simplest way to be more productive, organized, and — most importantly — get paid faster. 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.

What does it take to build a great community? Let's learn from the best leaders. Today our special guest is David Sherry, the founder of Death to the Stock Photo. You'll learn the story of their project, what the difference is between a community and an audience, why you need to get personal with your members, and why technical details don't matter. 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 Death to the Stock Photo — David's project we're talking about MailChimp, Slack — tools you can use to run a community Nomad List — a famous community of digital nomads Intercom — a communication tool that allows segmentation RightMessage — website personalization software by Brennan Dunn and Shai Schechter The First 10 — an audiobook by Alex Hillman for coworking community builders SightShift — a coaching and leadership project by Chris McAlister David's website Follow David on Twitter: @_brandswell Follow David on Instagram: @brandswell Drop David a line at david@deathtothestockphoto.com Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Balsamiq Mockups — a “low-fidelity" wireframing tool. Basically it’s like sketching on a notepad or a whiteboard, but on the computer. The idea is to get THE STRUCTURE of your user interface idea down BEFORE you start coding or sweating the details in Photoshop. 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.

Niching down is a great strategy for UX professionals, and travel tech is no exception. Today our guest is Jenny Shen — an independent UI/UX designer, travel tech specialist, and digital nomad. You'll learn about different types of travel tools, common UX challenges, how travel companies create quality content, and how to get started in this prosperous industry. 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 Philip Morgan's free positioning course RealtimeBoard — brainstorming and mindmapping tool Mini-lives: how to see the world without taking a day of vacation — an article by David Kadavy Jenny's mentorship program Episode 46: How to Find Your Mentor with Greg Gilbert Airbnb, Booking.com, Trivago — examples of travel sites Google Flights, KiweeTravel, Momondo — examples of flight search engines Hack Horizion — travel tech hackathon where Jenny participated Phocuswright, Skift, Tnooz, Amadeus, SITA — travel tech media Travel Tech Con, Travel Tech Conference Russia, Phocuswright Conference, Web in Travel — travel tech conferences Jenny's website Mention "UI Breakfast Podcast" when you sign up for Jenny's UX mentorship program to get 10% off Follow Jenny on LinkedIn Follow Jenny on Twitter: @jennyshen Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Tiny Reminder. Are your projects on hold and you invoices unpaid? This tool will play bad cop with your clients — so you don't have to. Sign up today for our Forever Free plan 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.

Today our goal is to get into the minds of our users, and predict when they're likely to churn. Our guest expert is Richard Felix — the founder of Stunning, Retained, and multiple other products — who knows everything (and then some) about customer retention. You'll learn about different types of churn, how to measure user happiness, and what you should do if your customer decided to cancel. 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 Stunning, Retained, Are My Sites Up — Richard's products Drip, Intercom — tools for communicating with users Mixpanel, Heap Analytics — tools for in-app analytics Richard's website Follow Richard on Twitter: @rfelix Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Tiny Reminder. Are your projects on hold and you invoices unpaid? This tool will play bad cop with your clients — so you don't have to. Sign up today for our Forever Free plan 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.