Podcast · ~90 min episode

35 Years of Product Design Wisdom from Apple, Disney, Pinterest, and Beyond

Lenny Rachitsky and Bob Baxley · Lenny's Podcast (Bob Baxley) Freemium Intermediate

Baxley led design at Apple and Pinterest, and here he talks about craft and the obligation to reduce the friction people feel in everyday software. It is less about specific screens and more about why caring this much about clarity matters, which keeps you honest when deadlines tempt you to ship something confusing. Good listening on a commute.

  • Reducing user frustration is a real responsibility, not a nicety.
  • Clarity comes from taste and craft built over many iterations.
  • Design tenets help a team make consistent calls under pressure.
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The question it answers

  1. I keep hearing "don't make me think" but what does that actually mean when I'm designing a screen?

Read with it

  1. Design tactics written specifically for developers and non-designers who need to ship good-looking UI without a design... refactoringui.com Book · ~250 pages Refactoring UI Adam Wathan & Steve Schoger
  2. The most accessible, practical intro to usability ever written, you can read it in a weekend and immediately fix your product.... sensible.com Book · ~200 pages Don't Make Me Think, Revisited Steve Krug
  3. The single most-cited usability framework in the field, from the definitive UX research authority. A checklist you can hold... Nielsen Norman Group Article · ~15 min read 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design Jakob Nielsen
  4. The foundational text on human-centered design that every product person should read once. It rewires how you see every... jnd.org / Basic Books Book · ~350 pages The Design of Everyday Things Don Norman
  5. A crisp, visual reference of the psychology principles behind good UX, perfect for a founder who wants the 'why' without a... lawsofux.com Article · reference site Laws of UX Jon Yablonski
  6. This is the one principle that answers your worry head on: users spend most of their time on other apps, so they expect yours... Laws of UX Essay · 5 min read Jakob's Law Jon Yablonski (principle by Jakob Nielsen)
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