Issue 35

WELCOME

This issue of Being Designerly has curated articles about the metaverse, Web3, creativity & innovation, accessibility, UX conferences, and free illustrations.

There's a lot of hype about the metaverse, and it seems every other day a new brand announces they've planted their virtual flags. This issue has an article about how rules (not) being enforced in VRland, as well as a critical look at the metaverse and Web3.

Don't miss the article about making space for activating creativity through intuition, curiosity, and wonder.

FEATURE

Meta Wouldn’t Tell Us How It Enforces Its Rules In VR, So We Ran A Test To Find Out

To better understand how Meta is approaching VR moderation, BuzzFeed News sent Meta a list of 19 detailed questions about how it protects people from child abuse, harassment, misinformation, and other harms in virtual reality. The company declined to answer any of them.

So, to find out what we could on our own, Buzzfeed reporters strapped on some Oculus headsets, opened Horizon Worlds, and ran a rudimentary experiment. Read all about it!

Phil Libin skewers the metaverse, Web3's utopian 'propaganda'

Few critics within the startup ecosystem have been as outspoken and articulate about the current hype as Phil Libin, a former managing director with General Catalyst and co-founder of Evernote and Mmhmm. In this interview, Pitchbook discusses the metaverse and Web3, their future and why the hype reminds him of Soviet propaganda.

UX

Your “invisible work” is key to your most productive self

Creativity strategist Natalie Nixon says that time spent thinking, wondering, or doing something else makes us more creative and productive and, ultimately, innovative.

The Best UX Research Conferences and Events in 2022

A list of 80 upcoming conferences on UX research and design, including online, in-person, and hybrid events this year.

INCLUSIVE

Many accessibility problems would be solved if business did three things

Stumped by the question “If you could wave a magic wand and solve any accessibility problem, what would it be?”, disability advocate Sheri Byrne-Haber, wrote about her 3 wishes.

You just have to care and make sure you hire people who have accessibility skills in their employment toolbox or have internal training programs to get them those skills once they’ve started.

LinkedIn Post: A high Lighthouse accessibility score does not necessarily mean good accessibility

Michael Spellacy reminds us all that automated testing reflects only part of all known accessibility issues. Manual testing by a fluent specialist (or better, an equally fluent, disabled individual), in addition to automated testing, handles the remainder and is the ONLY WAY to know where your site truly stands.

Don't miss the link to a page demonstrating that!

TOOLS

Free illustrations by IRA Design

Build your own amazing illustrations with the free gradients and hand drawn sketch components.

You can download and use them on commercial or personal projects.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

I hope you enjoyed this issue of Being Designerly with articles about the metaverse, Web3, creativity & innovation, accessibility, UX conferences, and free illustrations.

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I'm looking for feedback, of the brutally honest kind, so this can improve over time. You can reach me at lycerejo (at) gmail.com - thank you!

WELCOME

FEATURE

UX

INCLUSIVE

SOCIAL

TOOLS

UNTIL NEXT TIME