Cloudinary’s Post

Outdated systems can hold businesses back—lower productivity, poorer user experiences, and limited innovation 👀 Cloudinary provides the tools to help companies move forward and grow 🚀 Learn more 👉 https://okt.to/mePbSa #DigitalTransformation #Cloudinary #Efficiency

Outdated systems can hold businesses back—lower productivity, poorer user experiences, and limited innovation. Cloudinary provides the tools to help companies move forward and grow. Learn more 👉 https://okt.to/MCmlTb #DigitalTransformation #Cloudinary #Efficiency

New Blog Post! Let me know your thoughts. Leveraging Design Thinking to Solve Complex Governmental Challenges. As we move into digital transformation user-centered design in policy-making involves adopting a human-centric approach to understanding and solving complex challenges. It's about empathy, collaboration, and innovation. Here are some real world examples of how that is working in the federal sector and why we need to continue to fund and make room for this in the federal landscape.

💡Hybrid Model of Contribution to a Design System A hybrid model of contribution is a popular approach that many large organizations follow. This model combines centralized governance with decentralized contributions, allowing teams to collaboratively enhance the system while maintaining consistency & quality. Key principles of the hybrid model ✅ Central governance: A core team oversees the design system’s vision, principles, and standards to maintain consistency. ✅ Decentralized contributions: Product teams across the organization can propose, design, and build components or patterns. ✅ Collaboration & feedback loops: Mandatory review and approval process ensures contributions align with system guidelines. 📕 Workflow of the hybrid model 1️⃣ Step 1: Contribution proposal Contributors identify gaps or opportunities in the design system. They submit a proposal outlining the problem statement & user needs, the proposed solution (e.g., new component, update to an existing pattern), design, and technical requirements. 2️⃣ Step 2: Design and development Contributors collaborate with the core team to ensure that the proposed design aligns with system principles and visual language, and code meets established standards for performance, reusability, and accessibility. 3️⃣ Step 3: Review and feedback Contributions undergo a structured review process. This includes design review (evaluate alignment with visual, interaction, and accessibility guidelines) and code review (check for quality, scalability, and adherence to coding standards). 4️⃣ Step 4: Testing & validation Components are tested for functionality across browsers and devices, accessibility compliance (e.g., WCAG), performance under different scenarios. 5️⃣ Step 5: Documentation and release Contributors document the component/pattern thoroughly. This includes usage guidelines, examples, and customization options, as well as technical specifications and code examples. Approved contributions are merged into the system and communicated to all teams. 6️⃣ Step 6: Feedback & iteration Post-release feedback is gathered from users and stakeholders. Contributions are iterated upon based on usage and evolving needs. 📗 Great examples of design system contribution & governance processes: https://lnkd.in/dmXGWz55 🖼️ Hybrid contribution model by Nordhealth #design #designsystem #designsystems #productdesign #ui #uidesign

What happens when Designers can’t talk to users? I once worked on a “secret” project - a complex innovation in a niche sector for expert users, but we could not talk to them. We knew the problem we were trying to solve but we couldn’t be sure if our ideas addressed the issue. Here’s what we did: ▶ Tested with internal employees who had domain expertise, serving as proxy users. ▶ Conducted in-depth research into the domain market to understand industry trends and user needs. ▶ Examined complementary tools that users relied on for related tasks to gather additional insights. ▶ Tested workflows for usability with non-domain participants to identify potential improvements. While these methods provided decent insights, they lacked the depth of feedback we would have received from real users. For example, we developed a community feature that allowed users to share insights. However, it didn’t align with their working context and ended up being overly complex. After months of effort, the feature was scrapped. Despite that, the tool being a first of its kind has enjoyed relative success within its niche. What are your go-to methods for bringing user perspectives into the process when direct access isn’t possible?

During my career break, I've been exploring my passion for design through LinkedIn learning, and one topic that truly resonated with me is design systems. This reminded me of my time collaborating with the Design System team and the United team at Splunk—kudos to them for their incredible work! I'm grateful for the opportunity to work closely with such a talented group. Partnering with the design system team taught me the complexities and immense value of establishing a scalable, efficient framework for design. Leadership emphasized the importance of reusing components, which streamlined processes and saved significant resources by reducing redundant work. The Splunk design system team stood out for their flexibility, encouragement to contribute back to the system, and clear guidance that empowered designers to succeed. Key Takeaways: - Avoid reinventing the wheel: Leveraging existing components allowed me to focus on creating impactful designs without wasting time on repetitive tasks. - Enhanced productivity: The design system accelerated development and fostered seamless collaboration across teams. These experiences reinforced my belief in the transformative power of design systems and their ability to drive efficiency and creativity.

What happens when designers can’t talk to users? I once worked on a “secret” project - a complex innovation in a niche sector for expert users, but we could not talk to them.  We knew the problem we were trying to solve, but we couldn’t be sure if our ideas addressed the issue. Here’s what we did: ▶ Tested with internal employees who had domain expertise, serving as proxy users. ▶ Conducted in-depth research into the domain market to understand industry trends and user needs. ▶ Examined complementary tools that users relied on for related tasks to gather additional insights. ▶ Tested workflows for usability with non-domain participants to identify potential improvements. While these methods provided decent insights, they lacked the depth of feedback we would have received from real users. For instance, we developed a community feature that allowed users to share insights. However, it didn’t align with their working context and ended up being too complex. After months of effort, the feature was scrapped. Despite that, the tool being a first of its kind has enjoyed relative success within its niche. What are your go-to methods for bringing user perspectives into the process when direct access to users isn’t possible?

Sometimes the most effective solution isn't always the most technically impressive one. It's the one that actually solves what people need though. Before we rush to implement the latest tech, trend or out-of-the-box enterprise thing, perhaps we should spend more time understanding the humans who'll be using it. What keeps them up at night? What small frustrations make their day harder? What would genuinely make their lives better? What does any of that look like for people inside your organisation to manage and scale? Get that right first, then pick your tools. The tech should serve the human need, not the other way round. If you're interested in learning more about how you can better map your products, services and organisational processes, I'll be (finally) discussing the benefits of Mapping & Blueprinting online, 10-11am on Wednesday 27th November. Looking forward to seeing you there! https://lnkd.in/eCq59NrW #CustomerExperience #ServiceDesign #DigitalTransformation

📖 Finished reading "Calm Technology" by Amber Case. TL;DR; I totally recommend it if you like food-for-thougth books 👍. An interesting look into how to design tech in general so it's less intrusive and more useful for the User, focusing on the potential of machines to communicate with us without taking too much attention away 😌. 💡 "Empower the user to get to their goal with the least amount of attention". Also, it makes a good argument about Simpliticy 🔵: 💡 "What problem does your system solve? For each new feature, ask yourself, is this something neccesary to the product? Not fun, but necessary. If it doesn't solve a core problem, don't build it. Even if managers and stakeholders get in the way, you can always have them answer these core questions" 🤔 Makes me wonder, in the current Statu Quo where most Software is screaming at their users to get their attention, with notifications and emails; is there a better way to build products that "speak by themselves"? Maybe a product could be more loved if the user didn't need to silence its continuous notifications? An instead, developers focusing on making the product more accesible, performant, productive, less friction... a better tool, but with less intrusive marketing. https://lnkd.in/dfiw7qiF

Every Project is a Chance to Create Meaningful Change!🌟 Whether it's crafting innovative AI solutions or designing user-friendly websites, I believe in the power of blending creativity with technology to tackle real-world challenges. 🌐 Here's what drives me: - Creativity Every design and solution starts with a unique concept, tailored to your needs. - Technology Leveraging the latest tools to enhance functionality and user experience. - Collaboration Working together to turn ideas into reality. 💡✨ Let's build something incredible that not only meets your business goals but also resonates with your customers. What's one project you've always dreamed of bringing to life? Let's connect and explore the possibilities! #WebDesign #AIInnovation #DigitalTransformation #CreativeTech #BusinessGrowth #WebDevelopment #TechSolutions #Innovation #UserExperience #DigitalCreative #BusinessTechnology #TechInnovation #Design #AITechnology #BusinessSolutions