14 design podcasts to put in your ears
Mar 31, 2015 — Life in the design industry can be daunting. The web refuses to stand still. Innovation outpaces even the fastest-moving mind. And every day brings new, must-know tools and techniques to learn.
March 2015 Inside Design Articles
6 ways to save time in rapid prototyping
Mar 30, 2015 — Rapid prototypes help ensure that you’re moving in the right direction, and let you quickly share that direction with teammates, customers, and prospects—without investing in the actual development.Friday Inspiration: amazing emails
Mar 27, 2015 — Email marketing has really come into its own. And, with a 4,300% return on investment—the highest among digital marketing channels—it’s no wonder.Design Snack #1: Working with Photoshop layer comps
Mar 26, 2015 — Today we kick off a new project that we’re calling Design Snacks—short helpful videos on design workflow tips and tricks. In our first episode you’ll learn a better way of managing and exporting complex Photoshop files.10 tips on prototyping UIs with Sketch
Mar 26, 2015 — Since it was purpose-built for web and mobile design, it’s no surprise that Sketch is one of the fastest and most versatile tools for designing prototypes. And these 10 tips make it even more powerful.25 awesome conferences for designers and developers
Mar 25, 2015 — The web lets us build relationships with people all over the world. That’s one reason why conferences play such a key role in we web professionals’ lives. Many tech companies include education—often through conferences—as an employee perk. Many marketing teams host and sponsor events as part of their promotional efforts. And with friends from afar, fantastic food and drink, and new cities to see, what’s not to like about attending a conference?An Epicurrence: Embracing vulnerability can make us better designers
Mar 24, 2015 — It’s 7:20 a.m. and I’m getting ready to board Southwest flight 4126, Phoenix to San Francisco. I’ve got butterflies in my stomach because I’m honestly not quite sure what I’ve gotten myself into. Landing at SFO, I catch a ride with my coworker, Michaela, and make the drive up to Lake Tahoe. We chat about some of the projects we’ve been working on and then venture to guess at what’s in store for the attendees of Epicurrence No 1.How to build habit-forming products, part 3: closing the loop
Mar 23, 2015 — Facebook. Twitter. Pinterest. These popular apps are part of my daily life (and yours, too, I bet). But I use Wunderlist, Google Maps, and Pocket just as much. Products that infiltrate our daily routine aren’t just beautiful or addictive—many are also functional.Friday inspiration: what inspires you?
Mar 20, 2015 — Whether you find it close to home or halfway around the world, it’s crucial to recognize what inspires you and give it time to move you. This week, we asked a few of you InVision users to send us pictures of your sources of inspiration. As you check out what inspires your fellow creative professionals, ask yourself, “What inspires me—and how can I give it more time?”Get better qualitative data on your user experience with microfeedback
Mar 19, 2015 — Great products and user experiences aren’t created in a silo. The best products emerge from well-orchestrated collaborations between many teams. And each team member isn’t just an expert in their specialty, but also recognizes their peers’ expertise.How to manufacture desire
Mar 17, 2015 — Type the name of almost any successful consumer web company into your search bar and add the word “addict.” Go ahead, I’ll wait. Try “Facebook addict” or “Twitter addict” or even “Pinterest addict” and you’ll get a slew of results from hooked users and observers deriding the addictive properties of these websites.Which comes first: content or design?
Mar 16, 2015 — As a copywriter, I’ve historically been charged with filling in the blanks in already-approved wireframes. Those bits of lorem ipsum? Yeah, those are for me. I work to decipher the design’s intent and fill each section with the appropriate language. It’s kind of like painting by numbers: someone else has designated the areas I get to work in, the colors I get to use. My only real creative freedom is deciding on the shade of the color, the stroke of the brush.Friday inspiration: nonprofit logotypes
Mar 13, 2015 — Organizations in the social sector stand on the front lines of humanity’s greatest challenges. At Classy, we marvel at these organizations, not only for their inspiring missions, but also because today’s nonprofit doesn’t follow the traditional charity model we grew up with. They now embrace for-profit practices like adopting innovative technologies and building strong brand identities. Each of these beautifully designed logos bring greater awareness of incredibly important causes.Download 57 interface icons for free
Mar 12, 2015 — ur friends at Swifticons put together an exclusive freebie just for you InVision blog readers! It’s jam-packed with 57 custom […]8 tips on choosing the right photos for your design
Mar 11, 2015 — I like to design with emotion in mind, and photography is a powerful tool for evoking feeling. For the majority of audiences, the photo you choose will play a big role in how they perceive your design, and whether or not they act on it. That’s why I’d like to share what I’ve learned about choosing photography over the years and what I consider when choosing images for my projects.Top 3 tips from our webinar “The 7 most common usability issues”
Mar 10, 2015 — Last Thursday, we hosted “The 7 most common usability issues,” a webinar with Stef Miller from UserTesting. Stef shared best practices gathered from hundreds of thousands of hours spent watching user research videos at UserTesting.Designing mobile apps for cross-platform continuity
Mar 9, 2015 — Designing a mobile app that adapts to multiple platforms can be challenging. How do you know when to use the operating system’s native controls, create new patterns, or use a hybrid approach? For our iOS and Android mobile redesigns, the UX team here at StumbleUpon took a hybrid approach, adapting native design paradigms and creating unique, simple interfaces. The result was a faster, more intuitive experience that has led to increased user engagement.Friday inspiration: what’s in your workbag?
Mar 6, 2015 — Can the quotidian be interesting? This week, we asked you all to dig deep—into your work bags. After cleaning out a few wrappers and receipts, here is what a few of you are toting around on a daily basis. Spoiler alert: there are lots of Field Notes and knolling about to happen.Why designers should be shaping business strategy
Mar 5, 2015 — Business strategy and design thinking haven’t always been on the same page. In fact, until fairly recently, they weren’t even in the same room. Men in 3-piece suits gathered around tables polished to a high gloss to talk strategy. And once they’d decided on a plan, they called the designers in and said, “Here’s what we’re going to do …” But through the passion and inventiveness of designers—and those passionate about design—things are changing. Strategy as a design discipline has taken its rightful place at the conference room table, making design a strategic business advantage.App release planning: don’t build a wall, build a cottage
Mar 4, 2015 — I was reading a blog post last week, and came across some really bizarre advice. This random guy said something along the lines of, “Your first two app releases don’t matter. They can be total garbage. Just worry about V3 and up.” Let’s clear something up. That is absolutely TERRIBLE advice. Don’t take it.How to have more creative conversations
Mar 3, 2015 — “Hi, I’m Anshey. Nice to meet you. So, what do you do?” I asked upon meeting Ryan. “I’m a resident physician, specializing in radiology,” he replied. “Sounds interesting—do you enjoy it?”5 simple steps to more effective meetings
Mar 2, 2015 — Picture this: You spend an hour walking your client through your latest designs. She makes a bunch of comments, letting you know what she likes and doesn’t as you feverishly take notes to make sure you don’t miss a thing.
