Oculus VR acquired by Facebook for $2 Billion in 2014 WhatsApp acquired by Facebook for $19 Billion in 2014 AirWatch acquired by VMware for $1.54 Billion in 2014 Nest acquired by Google for $3.2 Billion in 2013 SoftLayer acquired by IBM for $2 Billion in 2013 Tumblr acquired by Yahoo for $1.1 Billion in 2013 [Keep Reading…]
If VCs Understood UX…
They would… …value design, not design value. …seek out mentality, not ideas. …fund process, not product. …demand customer insights, not instincts. …prep for testing days, not demos days. …commission research, not follow trends. …study anthropology, sociology and psychology, not just management, economics and statistics. …foster collaboration, not competition. …care about people, not percentages. …cherish sign-ins, [Keep Reading…]
When a Design Firm Fails
When I got off the phone with them, I felt the need to rage eat. This is never a good sign. Instead I chose to pour myself a glass of wine. Three weeks in and I’ve yet to have any shred of contact with the designer who’s actually doing the work. Instead the mockups are [Keep Reading…]
Designing the Company, Not the Product
In April, I posted a tweet that became one of my most retweeted of all time. Designing the product is all for naught if you don’t first take the time to design the organization. — Whitney Hess (@whitneyhess) April 20, 2012 It was a single statement that was the culmination of 9 months of identity [Keep Reading…]
My SXSW Core Conversation: “Breaking Taboos: Pros Get Real About Money Matters”
Money is a topic that most people dance around because they don’t want to be rude, or tacky, or misunderstood. But if we avoid talking about it, we avoid learning a very essential part of our business and our industry. In order to thrive as a professional community, we need to have a strong handle [Keep Reading…]
NY Tech Meetup — March 2011
It’s been a really long time since I’ve done a NY Tech Meetup roundup, but Tuesday night’s event was so great that I thought it would be worth posting my tweets here. I know it’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got. The presenters were: RadBox Tout SocialWorkout Tim Soo‘s Invisible Instruments Aviary Crisp Media [Keep Reading…]
Why I detest the term “Lean UX”
Any user experience designer worth their salt takes the needs of the company they’re serving into account and adapts their approach accordingly — identifying the appropriate process, methods and tools to get the job done. This has been the case for as long as information architecture and interaction design have been in practice. Rigid methodology [Keep Reading…]
Introducing StartUXs
I’m very excited to be the guest author on this week’s 52weeksofUX, a blog by Josh Porter and Josh Brewer, two people I greatly admire. My topic is the increasingly crucial role that user experience design plays in the success of a startup. I called the piece StartUXs (get it? startups with an X instead [Keep Reading…]