WELCOME
This issue of Being Designerly has curated articles about empathy, curiosity, dark patterns, aesthetically designed assistive products (Target meets CVS), UK Gov's accessibility monitoring methodology, and bad logo design. Seriously bad.
To start you off though, read the gripping story of how people from all over the world were hired to work for a seemingly glamorous and successful design agency… but the whole thing was fake.
FEATURE
The elaborate con that tricked dozens into working for a fake design agency
This is the insane story of how people from all over the world were hired to work for a seemingly glamorous and successful design agency… but the whole thing was fake.
Investigative journalist Catrin Nye and her team expose a tangled web of lies, confronting the boss to get to the truth of what really happened. The company was built on fakery, and its office wasn’t real. But its own staff had no idea. For months, they slogged as unwitting victims of an elaborate online con, tricked into believing they had good jobs at a successful company.
They had been jobfished.
bbc.com
CURIOSITY
How to boost curiosity in your company — and why
Curiosity and creativity spur innovation. To build these skills companywide, emphasize questions over answers and create space for exploration.
mit.edu
EMPATHY
How to Practice Empathy (Video)
Understanding and sharing the needs and motivations of users will lead to better design decisions. Observational research should be non-judgmental while keeping an open mind and reducing bias.
nngroup.com
UX
Google Introduces Reading-Optimized Roboto Serif Typeface
The newest member of the Roboto superfamily is designed to make reading more comfortable at any size, in any format.
The team took an unconventional approach to type design with Roboto Serif. Instead of building off of an existing or historical typeface, they “atomized” the letterforms, breaking down the serif typeface to its elemental parts. Then they built them back up by experimenting with various proportions, contrast types, terminal shapes, and serif shapes to find out what was most legible for each character.
material.io
Dark patterns
In this 27-minute listen, journalist and broadcaster Darryl Morris digs into the methods being used to grip your attention, and examines the persuasive power that is being harnessed. What impact is it having on your free will, and is there anything that can be done to resist it?
bbc.co.uk
INCLUSIVE
Design firm that made Target a star is introducing a line of assistive products for CVS
Michael Graves’s storied firm has reimagined a line of beautifully designed assistive products for CVS.
These are assistive devices for seniors and people with limited mobility: canes, a walker, a shower chair, a raised toilet seat, and a commode. They’re designed to be affordable, functionally superior to other products, and blend in with your home rather than turning it into a hospital.
fastcompany.com
Accessibility monitoring: How we test - GOV.UK
Find out how the accessibility monitoring methodology is used to test websites and mobile apps under the Accessibility Regulations
www.gov.uk
VISUAL
Hilariously bad logo design goes viral on TikTok
A TikTok user has gone viral after sharing the logo a designer allegedly charged him $250 to create. The design, made for Dar Amor Bracelets, is basically the name Dar Amor Bracelets written in a word processor.
Seriously.
creativebloq.com
UNTIL NEXT TIME
I hope you enjoyed this issue of Being Designerly with curated articles about empathy, curiosity, dark patterns, aesthetically designed assistive products, UK Gov's accessibility monitoring methodology, jobfishing, and bad logo design.
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I'm looking for feedback, of the brutally honest kind, so this newsletter can improve over time. You can reach me at lycerejo (at) gmail.com - thank you!