Ali Erol

UX research activities during each phase of the design thinking framework (cheat sheet) 👇 💎 Don't forget that design is an iterative process. You may need to engage in various activities at different stages to meet your project requirements. 💎This categorization is for better understanding. It's not set in stone. Your professional opinion is more important. I published this cheat sheet about a year ago. I thought it was time to take another look at it with a fresh design😊 #ux #uxdesign #userexperience #userexperiencedesign #uxresearch

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Design Interview Cheat Sheet. We spoke with hiring managers at major tech companies about why strong designers receive job offers — and why others don’t. From Meta to Google to Apple, the patterns were the same. These are the 5 areas you need to strong pass, not just pass, if you want the offer: → PROBLEM UNDERSTANDING & RESEARCH Did you ask the right clarifying questions and frame the problem before jumping into solutions? Strong Pass candidates: → Identify all key stakeholders & constraints → Uncover hidden user needs → Define success criteria clearly → Frame the challenge in business and user terms → USER-CENTERED DESIGN & EXPLORATION Did you explore a range of solutions that balance user needs with business goals? Strong Pass candidates: → Explore widely before narrowing → Show how ideas map to user problems → Balance creativity with feasibility → Connect every choice to outcomes → VISUAL & INTERACTION EXECUTION Did you translate ideas into clear, usable, and beautiful experiences? Strong Pass candidates: → Deliver pixel-perfect, accessible designs → Nail hierarchy, spacing, and interaction patterns → Create scalable systems, not one-off screens → Maintain brand cohesion without losing usability → COLLABORATION & FEEDBACK Did you work well with others and integrate feedback effectively? Strong Pass candidates: → Seek out diverse feedback → Use critique to improve beyond expectations → Raise the team’s thinking, not just their own work → TRADE-OFF & IMPACT EVALUATION Did you balance constraints and make informed design trade-offs? Strong Pass candidates: → Anticipate downstream effects → Explain reasoning clearly → Optimize for both short-term and long-term impact Company specifics — Some companies have “unsaid” unique criteria: • Meta → scale thinking • Google → interaction depth • Apple → visual craft & storytelling • Amazon → customer obsession • Stripe → precision & detail Originally from adplist.org. *** P.S. - Every week, I explore the hidden design insights behind the world’s most popular products. Join the crew & subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/guJJsBaT If you found this useful, consider reposting ♻️ to your network. #design #careers

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💡How To Capture Users' Emotions During User Research User research is a foundation for any product design process. The better you understand your target audience, the more chances you will succeed in building the right product for them. And capturing users' emotions is crucial for understanding how they feel about a product. Here are 4 UX techniques that can help you capture emotions: 1️⃣ Practice contextual inquiry. Observe users in their natural environment to see how they interact with the product and note their emotional responses 2️⃣ Use emotionally-focused questions during the interview. Include questions specifically designed to elicit emotional responses, such as "How did you feel when you used this feature?" 3️⃣ Do experience mapping. Track the entire experience of using the product, identifying key moments that trigger emotional responses (both positive and negative) 4️⃣ Create emotion-specific surveys. Utilize surveys designed to capture emotional responses, such as the PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) or the SAM (Self-Assessment Manikin). ❗ Things to remember ✔ Use a think-aloud protocol to let users verbalize their thoughts and feelings as they interact with the product. ✔ Speak less, listen more. Give people time to express their thoughts. Ask follow-up questions to probe deeper into initial responses to uncover underlying emotions. ✔ Don't take words for granted. What people say might be different from what they really feel. Pay attention to users' body language for additional clues about their emotional state. ✔ Be mindful of surface-level responses (smiling and nodding). Users may smile and nod during the interview to be polite or conform to social norms, not necessarily because they agree or support what is being discussed. ✔ Users often hide criticism and tend to exaggerate positive feedback. It happens because they are uncomfortable expressing their true feelings.  ✔ Don't ask what people like or dislike (i.e., "What did you like about this experience?"). The response rarely matches the actual feelings of the user. ✔ Be mindful of bias. It's important to avoid making assumptions about users' thoughts and feelings based on superficial cues. The goal of UX research is to gain a deeper, more accurate insight into users unique contexts and needs. 📕 Guides and tools: ✔ Implementing Emotional Metrics in SaaS Products (by Odette Jansen) https://lnkd.in/dYaxWSVN ✔ User journey mapping, step by step https://lnkd.in/dNzt3NxX ✔ Feelings Wheel for Figma (by Christian Lunde)  https://lnkd.in/d8krqdcp 🖼️ The Spectrum of Empathy by NNGroup #UX #design #uxresearch #productdesign #design

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20 Free Web Design Resources for 2025. (Premium quality, but free) Most designers think: “If I just use Figma and Dribbble, I’m set.” But the truth? 2025 design is moving way faster. You need tools that: Save hours on repetitive work Give you better inspiration instantly Level up your design quality without cost And if you keep relying only on the basics… You’ll fall behind the ones using smarter resources. This carousel breaks it down visually: ✓ 20 premium-quality tools (all free) ✓ From fonts, logos, and stock photos… ✓ To animations, layouts, and UX inspiration It’s everything you need to sharpen your workflow this year. Swipe through. You’ll bookmark a few. You’ll also wonder how you worked without them. ♻️ Repost this so other designers can find these gems.

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🚀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀. We’ve seen ladders for product designers, visual designers, UX writers — but for those architecting 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀? It's been a fog. Now, models like the one by Javier Cuello (https://lnkd.in/gHEQSpZU) bring much-needed clarity. Not the model — but a strong lens into how this role evolves. Here’s how the craft scales across levels: 🔹 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 → From building blocks to influencing org-wide thinking 🔹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 → From fixing pixels to fixing processes 🔹 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 → From documenting to defining contribution and scaling quality 🔹 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 → From supporting designers to shaping how the org designs This isn’t a side gig. It’s 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. If you’ve been quietly holding the system together — this is your sign. Your role is real. Your growth deserves a map. #DesignSystems #DesignCareers #SystemThinking #DesignOps #UXLeadership #CareerGrowth #designsystem #design #career #roadmap #linkedin #linkedinconnection #linkedinfamily #ui #ux #designers #2024 #2025 #2026 #trendy #viral

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AI is not replacing designers; AI is replacing designers who focus on automatable outputs. In digital product design, for example, front-end code development is more likely to be automated than other outputs. User interface and content outputs may be automated. Designers who deliver work focused on meaningful communication, improvement of human experiences, effective persuasion, business and social strategy, and restoration of our culture and planet will be more competitive. 

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🚫 𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀/𝐁 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝. Design decisions without A/B testing are just guesses. And guesses don’t build user trust—or conversions. Here’s the 4-step process to set up A/B testing that actually works: 1️⃣ Set a Clear Target & Hypothesis Example: “Changing this CTA color will increase sign-ups.” 2️⃣ Define the Changes to Test Create Interface A vs. Interface B—one variable at a time. 3️⃣ Choose Outcome Metrics Track both primary (conversion, CTR) and guardrail metrics (bounce, retention). 4️⃣ Determine the Timeframe Run tests long enough to get reliable results, not just quick wins. 📌 A/B testing isn’t optional—it’s the difference between guessing and growing. 👉 Save this for your next project. 💬 Do you run A/B tests for every major design change? #UXDesign #ABTesting #UIDesign #DesignThinking #ProductDesign #protoja #rafatulux

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90% of UX issues are right under your nose. Here's what I found after 85+ UX Audits: Most issues can be identified by sketching a simple user flow diagram. A user flow is a visual representation of the journey your user takes from - A to B - Homepage to Signup - Onboarding to First task finished If your software or website feels confusing, do this: 1. Open up a whiteboard of your choice (Miro, FigJam, etc.) 2. Sketch up a step by step flow for all the actions a user has to take 3. Now, sketch the IDEAL flow a user is supposed to take 4. Find where the current and ideal flow are different 5. Fix If that's too much hassle, we can do that for 49€. Check out the first link in the comments to book your UX Audit :)

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