Chris Roberts

10 out of 10 users found this easiest to use. (And we built it with just 3 steps.) At Musemind, we’re obsessed with one thing: Making digital experience better. So our R&D team designed a concept called Medicare. A UX-first healthcare website that removes: - Confusion - Stress - And friction Here’s what we did: 1. Removed anything less than 30% useful. 2. Branded it to be recognized instantly. 3. Used interface patterns users were already familiar with The result? ↳ Users said it “just made sense.” ↳ Completion rates went up. ↳ And even first-time users found it intuitive. Here’s the truth: Most healthcare sites try to do everything. ↳ Which ends up helping no one. But in UX, less is often more. So if you’re a: - Founder - PM - Or stakeholder working in healthcare. Here’s a quick check: ✓ Can users find what they need in under 3 clicks? ✓ Is your brand recognizable in 2 seconds or less? ✓ Are you using design patterns people already know? If not, your users are struggling silently. Want us to fix that? We’d love to help. 👉 DM me or check musemind.agency to get started. (If this inspired you, feel free to repost ♻️)

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A big part of my job is conceiving new products, features, and ways for our partners and clients to use what we build at Vu Technologies. To help communicate the vision, I often find myself using Vū Studio to mock things up. Over time I’ve learned that clarity beats cleverness. So I ran a quick test with one scene and four prompts that step up clarity at each level. Not to make it crazier. Just clearer. Scene we’re targeting: Inside a next gen Vū One, a creator steps from the physical floor into a seamless virtual environment. The stage becomes a lifelike coastal cliff at sunrise. Calm, believable, decision ready. Prompt 1: simple gist A creator in a modern LED stage looks toward a realistic coastal cliff at sunrise. Warm light, calm mood, cinematic and photoreal Prompt 2: add composition details Wide hero frame on a clean LED stage with a glossy floor. One creator faces a lifelike coastal cliff at sunrise. Soft warm sun, gentle morning mist, readable reflections, uncluttered set, landscape. Prompt 3: add subject intent and depth Single subject on the lower right third, mid step toward an opening where the stage becomes a real coastal headland. Golden hour rim light, low fog over the water, distant seabirds for scale, natural rock textures, clear foreground midground background, minimal set, no visible gear. Prompt 4: add story, mood, and quality constraints Holodeck moment inside a Gen 3 LED volume. One creator evaluates a full scale coastal cliff at first light near the opening of the holodeck. Quiet, confident mood. Warm sunrise on rock and grass, cooler studio fill behind, refined edges, true to life materials, subtle salt spray and thin mist, crisp horizon line, generous negative space for copy, no logos, no text, no extra people, no lens flare, no heavy bloom. ______ This is a progression, not a ranking. In my runs I actually preferred prompt 3. Prompt 4 is my favorite visually, but 3 communicates the idea best. I also love how the model interprets language in surprising ways. Ask for a glossy floor and it sometimes reads as wet stone. Say soft mist and it can become low coastal fog. Those little surprises often make the image. Which version did you connect with most? Curious to hear how others are using tools like Vū Studio in their workflows. #VuTechnologies #VuStudio #Gen3 #HolodeckIRL #VuOne #LEDStage #GenerativeAI

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Don't get me wrong. I like these concepts. I just have questions. In my most recent newsletter "Shoe Concepts, Run Culture and Existential (Design) dread" I led with a photo of one of these with the title "What's the Point?". ....Let me rephrase. I believe it's important to ask questions. It's the main role of a designer. So, instead of "what's the point?" perhaps more clearly, we shall ask "who are these concepts for? - and why"? Concepts are always part of the design process in design. It's the fun part before reality steps in. I have 3 explanations for these PUMA Group concepts. 1. They are purely marketing. PUMA was one of the only brands to show something new at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. In today's social media landscape, the reality of content isn't as important as clicks and outlandish as these concepts are they got a lot a of clicks. 2. They are for business. PUMA has been having financial challenges and rumours of buyouts have been circulating. Showing innovation "potential" helps prop up the value of the brand for acquisition. 3. They are a test. While it's rare that a brand wants to tip their hat to where they are going before they get there, I think think there is value to testing the public reaction to a concept before a brand makes bold moves. A positive reaction can help align internal opinions and a negative reaction can allow adjustments before more time and resources are devoted. Concepts are important. The drive for innovation always starts "out there"- It's far easier to shoot for the stars and land on the moon. I applaud PUMA in not only making these concepts but making them public. I think there are some interesting ideas and in a market plagued by incremental changes it’s nice to see a brand try to make big leaps. The challenge in concepts - as always - what happens when reality is applied. PS. Want to read the most recent newsletter? Drop me a message or comment below. --- I’m the owner of The Directive Collective footwear design consultancy. We make great footwear, not just great sketches. Get on The List. Design insights newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gEgFXTWQ #design #footwear #footweardesign

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Bringing someone new into your team can feel risky. Especially when your identity is tied to doing it all. Most teams wait until it’s too late. They tell themselves it’s just a rough patch. That if they push a bit harder, things will settle. But here’s the truth. Chaos doesn’t clear itself. It compounds until someone decides to lead differently. The issue isn’t capacity. It’s weight. Too much of it lives in one or two people. And without a stabiliser, those people burn out or start pulling in opposite directions. Here’s the pattern I see again and again: a.) Pressure builds b.) Process gets blurry c.) No one has time to step back d.) Leadership becomes silent firefighting And then comes the hiring instinct. But more hands don’t help if the direction is missing. The fix is simple. Not easy. What works is bringing in someone who: 1.) Doesn’t wait for tasks 2.) Can restore rhythm without disrupting flow 3.) Leads through clarity, not control Without that, things drag. Confusion grows. And the best people quietly start checking out. With it, the team breathes again. Not because someone saved them. But because someone made it safe to move forward. What would change if help didn’t feel like a threat but like the thing that unlocks your team? If this resonated, share it with someone leading a complex team. We’ve supported design and product leaders at companies like Telstra, NAB, and Bupa by embedding senior designers who reduce friction, handle stakeholders, and deliver outcomes independently. If you're kicking off a project and need experienced designers who can align quickly and operate without hand-holding, send me a message.

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I lost a £36k-a-year design retainer after going on maternity leave. Here’s how I replaced it ↴ First of all, let’s start with how I handled it, because this part matters. After confirming my return-to-work date, I dropped a text and an email to pick the retainer back up. No response. I followed up, they replied to say they’d had a restructure and would be in touch. I followed up again… nothing. So, I got the f*ck over it and moved on. Then I set my mind to replacing it. (Spoiler: this wasn’t a quick fix.) The work that made it possible started long before maternity leave. I’ve spent the last five years building a personal brand that’s massively benefited my business, some of it intentional, some of it not. That’s five years of: ᝰ Building trust ᝰ Building connections ᝰ Building relationships Not just with my audience, but with past, present, and future clients. Alongside this, I’ve learned how to actually navigate the freelance world. That made replacing the retainer a lot easier than it would’ve been a few years ago. So here’s what I did ↴ Over time, I’ve kept in touch with all my clients in one way or another. So reconnecting with them recently wasn’t hard, we’d already stayed in contact. I reached out to two particular clients who happened to have new projects lined up, and I asked to jump on a call. Instead of offering a one-off rate or package, I suggested a retainer. (Because if you don’t ask, you don’t get, my friend.) We talked about what would work for both of us, We signed contracts, We locked it in. The timing was right. Which is another element to it, you can never focus a situation to happen. Reading this might make it sound simple. And honestly, it was… now. Because I’ve put in five years of showing up, being consistent, and refining my services. Good project management and strong client relationships go hand in hand. So if you’re a freelancer looking for more consistent income, here’s my advice↴ → Push now rather than later → Focus on relationship building → Refine and structure your services And most importantly... → DON’T BE F*CKING SHY. Communicate what you want. Where are you being too shy in your business right now? If you want to build a personal brand that lands a consistent flow of clients, join my LIVE LinkedIn webinar - 30th September, 6:30pm. [Click ‘View website’ under my name on this post for sign-up link and details.] ——— Lauren Robson fc.studio | fc.crtv Creative Director + Designer Personal branding for creatives 📍 Manchester, UK

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"Incredible!" "Landmark!" "Fantastic!" Don't listen to us when you choose your training in #servicedesign, #designthinking, #innovation and #cx customer experience. In this 30 second video, you’ll hear directly from participants at the This is Service Design Doing Executive School. Written and led by the authors of the top-selling book, the Executive School been run over 100 times around the world. It’s a hands-on, practical experience that keeps evolving with the times. Our latest editions include new tools and ways of working, including what happens when you apply AI in real design work. We honestly believe this is the best training available for anyone working in customer experience, innovation or change, as well as across all areas of #design. But don’t just take our word for it. Let the participants speak for themselves. Certified by DesignThinkers Academy and Service Design Network.

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