Working on defining a design system has been the most involved project. Documentation, requirements, design guidelines, and defining best practices single-handedly has been challenging, yet extremely fulfilling. Best learning grounds ever! I thought I'd share my experiences and my insights on what it takes to build a robust design system. So let's start at the very beginning.

How many of us know what these two words really mean? No really, what is a design system? I ask several designers and it's surprising that very few of them are able to comprehend what goes into building a good design system. Several companies are struggling to build and maintain a good design system. So why is that?

Vidya NayakJanuary 6, 2019Comment

Why Monetization on Mobile is Poor Even Today...

How many of you check your phones at the first break of day? I know some of my readers are shaking their heads in agreement. Well, let's be honest here - I am guilty of this too! And yes, I could go on and on about 'life and balance, and everything in-between' here, but I think I'll save it for another post! [Now that, I promise, will be extremely funny and interesting].

Research proves that there is a 200%+ gap between mobile and web conversions, the latter being more profitable, of course. Ever wondered why this huge gap, and why we haven't nailed the art of selling or user acquisition on our sleek mobile devices?

Mobile is everywhere! "Cross-device, multi-platform" are the new buzz words. So how do you make this already successful and popular platform conducive for conversions.

Vidya NayakOctober 2, 2018Comment

Behavior Design & Empathy

Why "behavior design and empathy" are important for success of any business?

My previous blog post about "user experience in every day living" sparked several ideas in my mind. Most importantly, it emphasized the "cause-result behavior". Notice, The Internet of Things (IoT) and use of innovation to connect experiences at home, in your car, etc, is gaining momentum these days, especially, after Google's acquisition of Nest, Inc. User experience is no longer restricted to mere on-screen products. It extends above and beyond this arena. UX is now part of our everyday life.

Design is meant to empower people, motivate them to make 'good decisions', and ensure ultimate satisfaction.

So now you're thinking, 'how does "behavior design and empathy" fit this philosophy?'

Vidya NayakMay 27, 2018Comment

Engaging Engineers in Design Process

As a UX designer, my day-to-day involves working with product teams, and engineers. I often wonder why we don’t engage these talented (logically informed) engineering teams into our daily design process. Why is the process so broken? Well, I can go on-and-on about “organizations and processes” and maybe this calls for a separate blog post. I have no solution or quick fix for process derails, but I think its important to have one that works well, one that can drive success and growth of a company and the teams involved.

Now, coming back to defining a good design process, let's first take a closer look at definition of design. Design is an iterative process, and with that said, you have to be humble and aware that you will not succeed at the very first shot of problem solving. Just like human relationships, design needs constant rebuilding and constant improvements. A stagnant process produces stale designs, and terrible product experience.

Vidya NayakFebruary 27, 2018Comment

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