Design

Discover the best articles, videos, and resources on design in all its forms: from visual design and UX design to interior design and industrial design. Follow along on Refind to get the most relevant new links picked for you.
9 Best Articles in 2021
Vox
Dark patterns, the tricks websites use to make you say yes, explainedVox
10 min read · Apr 1st · How design can manipulate and coerce you into doing what websites want.
digital life
visual design
design
Most highlighted
Companies whose revenue relies heavily on user data don’t want to make it easy for those users to refuse to provide it.
“I think the internet has made it easier to industrialize the way in which we persuade and, in turn, manipulate and deceive each other,”
It’s hard to know what’s an actionable deceptive act or practice when there’s no privacy law in the first place.
ArchDaily
How Colors Change the Perception of Interior SpacesArchDaily
5 min read · 2020-03-09 · Some possibilities to change environments with colors or contrasts, confusing proportions.
design
architecture
interior design
nature
Adding is favoured over subtracting in problem solvingnature
4 min read · Apr 8th · People tend to solve problems by adding features.
design
science
visual design
Most highlighted
we propose that the bias towards additive solutions might be further compounded by the fact that subtractive solutions are also less likely to be appreciated.
Across a series of similar experiments, the authors observe that people consistently consider changes that add components over those that subtract them
Moreover, people could assume that existing features are there for a reason, and so looking for additions would be more effective.
Mozilla
Why are hyperlinks blue?Mozilla
9 min read · Aug 26th · The internet has ingrained itself into every aspect of our lives, but there’s one aspect of the digital world that I bet you take for granted. Did you ev
design
digital life
history
Most highlighted
Culturally, we associate links with the color blue so much that in 2016, when Google changed its links to black, it created quite a disruption. 
Around this time, the browser wars began, but the look and feel of hyperlinks had been firmly established.
I think the real reason why we have blue hyperlinks is simply because color monitors were becoming more popular around this time.
The Guardian
The empty promises of Marie Kondo and the craze for minimalismThe Guardian
~15 min read · 2020-01-03 · The long read: From the ‘KonMari method’ to Apple’s barely-there design philosophy, we are forever being urged to declutter and simplify our lives. But does minimalism really make us any happier?
design
mindfulness
longreads
designedbycave.co.uk
The UX of LEGO Interface Panelsdesignedbycave.co.uk
7 min read · 2020-08-03 · Piloting an ocean exploration ship or Martian research shuttle is serious business. Let’s hope the control panel is up to scratch. Two studs wide and angled at 45°, the ubiquitous “2x2 decorated…
ux
design
lego
UX Collective
Psychological principles every product designer should knowUX Collective
~11 min read · Mar 2nd · Psychology is a crucial element in designing the right kind of systems, interfaces and experiences for your users/customers.
product design
product management
design
Most highlighted
Anchoring bias has a huge impact on negotiations and the pricing of the products and influences how much the customer is willing to pay.
The knowledge gap between the 2 tends to be skipped out and not taken into account
Fast Company
I helped pioneer UX design. What I see today horrifies meFast Company
5 min read · Jun 3rd · Where did we go wrong?
visual design
design
Most highlighted
UX processes in many organizations these days amount to little more than UX theater
UX is struggling because all of the juicy problems have been solved
Sold in school on UX as a noble and creative pursuit, they hit the job market to find roles where every chance for nobility and creativity has been carved out and cleaned away in the name of shipping product.
Literary Hub
The 25 Most Iconic Book Covers in HistoryLiterary Hub
~12 min read · Oct 7th · First things first. What makes a book cover iconic? There are no hard and fast rules, of course—like anything else, you know it when you see it. But in order to compile this list, I looked for reco…
design
books
New this week
Top Web Design and UI Trends for 2022
designmodo
Creating design systems with Figma Tokens
UX Collective
Why white looks bigger than black — The irradiation illusion
UX Collective
Mastercard Introduces Accessible Card Design for Blind Users
The Wall Street Journal
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Brad Frost
Design Systems are for user interfacesBrad Frost
4 min read · Nov 15th · We often talk about design systems as singular entities. "The design system saves time and increases quality." "Oh, the design system provides that." "Update to the latest version of the design…
visual design
design
product design
Most highlighted
Design systems are systems of systems, but not all systems are part of the design system.
The design system embodies important standards from across an organization, but doesn’t necessarily define or own those standards.
But these things are important!” Of course they are! They should be considered, captured, systematized, and documented. But not necessarily under the design system umbrella.
Smashing Magazine
The Value Of Concept Testing As Part Of Product Design — Smashing MagazineSmashing Magazine
20+ min read · Nov 5th · Concept testing ideas before moving into a detailed design is good UX practice. In this article, Victor Yocco presents details on how and when to engage in concept testing, as well as case studies…
product design
design
Most highlighted
Concept testing is a blend of market and UX research
Any experience starts as an idea — a concept — and we are in line with the philosophy of putting users first when we take our ideas out to the end-user for feedback at the conceptual stage.
Fast Company
Jony Ive’s first major design since leaving Apple isn’t what you’d expectFast Company
3 min read · Nov 5th · Ive spoke with Fast Company about how his design collective LoveFrom developed an intricate, organic logo mark and a new typeface called LoveFrom Serif.
design
women-in-type.com
Women in Type — Rediscovering women’s contribution to type historywomen-in-type.com
3 min read · Nov 6th · ‘Women in Type’ is a research project highlighting the work of women as key contributors to the design process of many renowned typefaces of the 20th century.
design
Most highlighted
It is frequently assumed that typefaces are the work of a single designer whereas, as most industrial objects, they result from a series of processes involving multiple skills often carried out by numerous people.
chrbutler.com
What If Phones Were Actually Designed for Hands?chrbutler.com
9 min read · Nov 13th · ⨳ 12 Nov 2021 Phones no longer fit in the hands they were made to be held and used by. How did that happen? ⚐ Christopher Butler is a designer living in Durham, NC. SUBSCRIBE The human hand is a…
design
UX Collective
Design is not art, and UX is not designUX Collective
9 min read · Nov 2nd · Why designers have ditched the art persona and hijacked the UX industry
design
Most highlighted
Designers have always been UX-minded, it’s our natural state of being. And as businesses start seeing the value in adopting UX strategies, our skillset has complemented this nicely.
Designers have been trying to shake the misconception that design is not art for a long time.
UX Collective
Why white looks bigger than black — The irradiation illusionUX Collective
7 min read · Nov 17th · If you ever designed a logo, you probably had to test it both on a white and dark background. It’s good practice, since you want the logo…
design
optical illusions
ux
Fast Company
Exclusive: Adobe’s mind-blowing AI turns napkin sketches into cartoonsFast Company
2 min read · Oct 27th · Prepare for Adobe’s latest AI to bend your mind.
design
designmodo
Top Web Design and UI Trends for 2022designmodo
~11 min read · Nov 22nd · Let’s dive into some of the top web design and UI trends for 2022. We created a showcase of websites with examples of trending designs.
design
Fast Company
Olay’s new lid was made for disabled people. Too bad you can’t find it in storesFast Company
5 min read · Nov 15th · High-profile companies like P&G, Lego, and Nike are launching inclusive designs. But does inclusive design matter if the release is exclusive?
design
accessibility
Design

9 Best Articles in 2021

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