Mollie Cox ⚫️

"We are in the bad ideas phase of this technology [AI] right now." - Jesse James Garrett "…what UX design was able to do for the web 20 years ago was provide some filters, provide some frameworks, provide some ways of thinking about these challenges that helped people separate good ideas from bad ideas. And I think that there’s a similar role for design to play now, in continuing to bring the human expertise to separate good uses of the technology from bad uses of the technology. " Amen, especially to the recognition of the bad ideas phase.

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The great thing about developers leveraging agentic coding tools, is that a lot of the same design best-practices for communicating with humans, are also really helpful context for LLMs. I hope this article is a helpful starting point for designers to set developers up for success, especially those using Figma's Dev Mode MCP server. https://lnkd.in/gNi92tmH

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What would it mean for a design system to get smarter over time? I’m not talking about prompts that spit out landing pages — plenty of tools do that pretty well. I’m talking about what happens when a design system holds more context than any designer, PM, or engineer ever could. When a system can spot duplication before designers do; when it learns how patterns perform and optimises journeys in real time; when it becomes a living organism instead of a static rulebook. There’s a huge opportunity to move beyond what most design systems have become — a glorified component library — and finally realise the system part of the promise. I’m curious — are there companies actually doing this? Teams that have operationalised intelligence inside their design systems, not just their tools?l I’ve seen some brilliant work from TJ Pitre.
Who else should I be looking at? #DesignSystems #ProductDesign #DesignOps

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During yesterday’s Futurespaces session, someone asked Emily Bagdatli (from NBBJ | ESI Design) what her experience design team looked like. Her answer was great, it was honest and specific and it got me thinking. At Bluecadet, our team is structured a bit differently. We have three core disciplines - design, narrative and technology. Having a hosted a fair number of agencies at Futurespaces I know our team structure isn’t the same across the board. We definitely have more focus on narrative and content strategy than many, and we lean heavily into technologists, while other teams might prioritize different disciplines. And that’s the point, there’s no one way to build an experience design team. It’s less like assembling a formula and more like forming a band. Some are five-piece rock bands. Some have two drummers. Some are orchestras. Some are solo acts. The “right” team is the one that can execute your vision. It was a great reminder that experience design, like any creative practice, resists rigid definitions. Different approaches can lead to equally interesting outcomes. Posting the recording on our site shortly for those who want to diver deeper into this and other fun XD topics. 

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🔥 DDX Panel Insights - Part 3 🔥 What will change for UX Professionals in the Innovation Process? We're seeing a stronger separation of two types of Designers and UX Professionals: Strategic and Delivery. Perhaps a re-framing of the classic "on and off-shore" talent, but I think it's deeper and more nuanced. Delivery isn't simply "adding the details" as we know it now, with an ability to delegate it to "off shore", which in itself has become a types of "lessen than" descriptor. Rather delivery looking forward will need to take into account... ➡️ Scalable design systems - design that scale across a myriad of devices, contexts, and inputs / outputs. ➡️ Parameter based design - design that is influenced by data ➡️ Agentic based design Meanwhile strategic may be more about.... ➡️ Concept and story ➡️ Business case and company strategic ➡️ Deep ethnographic insights ➡️ Complete front and back stage service design These may also be seen as Innovators and Operators. Both will be equally as critical in their role of delivery.

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I follow Jared Spool, Joshua Seiden, Jeff Gothelf, Joe Natoli, Erika Hall because I've seen their teachings play out in reality over and over in my career. It's all about strategic UX and interpersonal relationships. Relationships, the way we communicate and relate to colleagues over time, set all the tone for how UX will be perceived and valued in the organization. The early bootcamp days taught me fabulous tactical skills about user interviews, usability studies, prototyping, and iteration; but the reality in an enterprise organization is that humans need to be influenced to make decisions. Building influence takes much more than just data. Erika Hall: "The whole point of gathering evidence is to make evidence-based decisions. If that evidence undermines or contradicts the ideas of beliefs of the person with authority to make decisions, they will find reasons to reject it or ignore it... You have to turn ethnography inward and learn how your peers and leaders make decisions before you try to use data to influence those decisions." The psychology of influence - of trust, reliability, and authority - should be core parts of the UX researchers' skillset. Without this, the tactical work falls flat, and the organization moves on. I appreciate these writers' focus on what matters, and encourage any up-and-coming UXers to follow them and engage in related communities. We are human-bound, for better and worse, and we win through understanding and good communication.

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🚨UX Job Search Tip: Finding It Hard To Get Noticed By Hiring Managers Buried In Résumés🚨 If your résumé isn’t screaming “I’ve done this before and I can do it for you,” you’re missing the mark. 📌 In this video, I break down how to use comparable experience to stand out from the stack of résumés. Don’t just apply, stand out! Here’s how. ⬇️

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📱 Pt.2 is out! Continuing my conversation with Kevin Flores about design careers, leadership, and the evolution of the design industry. Here are some key takeaways: ▪️ Your career is a long journey - don't feel pressured to figure everything out immediately. It's okay to explore different paths and make pivots as long as you maintain commitment and grit. ▪️ Being a successful designer requires paying attention to everything around you - from signage to book covers to product packaging. This attention to detail shapes your design perspective and influences your work. ▪️ The industry now better recognizes dual career tracks - you can be highly successful either as an Individual Contributor (IC) or in management. Choose the path that aligns with your personal goals. 💡 "Communication is absolutely the key to having really healthy, strong relationships with people. It's very key to getting aligned on what you're doing. It's very key to clarity of purpose." #DesignCareers #ProductDesign #UXDesign #Leadership #DesignIndustry

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3 systems for working with legacy technology (learned the hard way)... I recently appeared on UXtweak®'s UX Research Geeks podcast with Tina Ličková to discuss enterprise UX challenges. Here's what I've learned about changing systems that run billion-dollar operations: #1: Map before you move Get the 10,000-foot view first Understand how all pieces connect Resist the urge to dive deep immediately You can't fix what you don't understand. Most teams start changing things before they know what they're changing. #2: Talk to the extremes Interview power users (they know every workaround) Interview novice users (they see obvious problems) ...and the users in between Each group sees a different version of the same product. Miss the extremes, miss critical insights. #3: Align early, align often Define the goal: Fix today's problems or build tomorrow's solution? Get everyone to agree in writing Revisit this agreement every month Stakeholders change their minds as you uncover new information. Constant realignment prevents scope creep. Legacy systems are complex because they solve complex problems. You have to respect that complexity! Want to listen to the full conversation? Link in the comments below. Thanks Tina for the great questions and for building such a valuable platform for researchers.

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