Blukoi t1_j2ug1dn wrote
In the UX world these “laws” aren’t named or referred to as such. This guy took existing concepts, like Gestalt design theory, and named them as laws so he can sell his book and related materials.
Calling them laws gives the implication that they should always be followed, but the whole point of UX is that you start with a ton of research to figure out what ideas will apply or not.
Dogsbottombottom t1_j2uv5i1 wrote
This website always annoys me because of this. I've been working in UX for 10 years, most of these rules never get referred to by these names.
Your point about the "laws" is a good one. At the beginning of my career I thought I was like the UX Ranger, there to lay down UX Laws to the uninitiated around me. Took a few years until I realized I needed to shut the fuck up, ask more questions, listen more, and that in general things are always pretty murky and dependent on the specific situation.
vampiire t1_j2w9wzm wrote
I am a dev but want to learn about UX to be a better teammate with our designer. I often butt heads with “function over form” but i know there must be some balance between them that is better serving to pursue.
The other day I did some reading and learned the original quote was “function before form”. Which I thought was a rephrasing but was expounded to mean that first understand the user and what you want to provide them / what they are looking for then build an engaging form around it.
In other words form without function constrains usage. And function without form doesn’t inspire usage. They must both be present. One doesn’t outweigh the other but they serve different purposes, to understand the right form is to define the function.
Did I understand that correctly?
What do you and /u/Blukoi suggest to learn? Any books or courses? General advice or stand out points over your years working? Specifically on the practical and research side.
Dogsbottombottom t1_j2wumoo wrote
Yes, I think you explained that quite well.
TBH I don't think that UX is that esoteric or difficult to learn. A lot of it is just the mindset of prioritizing the user. There's certainly aspects that are more complex, and the further you get into the "design" aspect, the more creative skill is required. Being familiar with interaction patterns is important. These days design systems have taken over the web so you're probably not going to be designing from zero anyway.
If you're looking to be a good dev partner to your design team I'd try to get more involved in their process. Depends on your specific business obviously. I've spent most of my career in agencies and consultancies so the answer to "why" is frequently "because they wanted it that way".
vampiire t1_j2ycq7w wrote
Ya I work closely with our director of design (we are friends and I’m generally interested). I’m backend but have always had an interest in UX despite being awful at UI.
I’m wondering how to understand the end user better. It’s a relatively niche space and I don’t think it’s feasible to poll them or get extended feedback. Are there any good practices for narrowing down a user mindset in a more generic way?
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