Stephan J Soenksen

Not designing something is hard. Design is a practice that happens in a service project, so clients, partners, and collaborators expect a design output that is a new artifact. Sometimes, and probably more often, not designing something could be the best course of action. Sometimes, reusing or maintaining could be good alternatives. Even sometimes “undesigning” is needed: retiring or repairing the consequences of something that was designed before. 

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Most design problems are layout problems. It’s not about adding more elements. It’s about placing the right ones in the right order. This new carousel breaks down the layouts in the most practical way possible: Grid systems (modular, compound, baseline) Layout principles (balance, contrast, rhythm) Real-world breakdowns from posters, books, menus, and magazines I’ve included: ✓ How to guide the eye ✓ How to structure your content ✓ How to make layout choices that actually serve your message If you're a designer, founder, or creative who’s ever felt their work was “off” - this is a good place to start fixing it. 👇 Swipe through. Save it. And if you want to build your own brand design system, Book a 1:1 call. Link in bio. #LayoutDesign #VisualHierarchy #DesignTips #GraphicDesign #Layout #CreativeDirection #futurecreativelab #FutureCreativeschool #DesignPrinciples #DesignSystems #Typography #BrandDesign #DesignMatters #SumeetKundhiya #DesignThinking #Figma #AIDesign #VisualDesign #GridSystems

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What if the secret to creating irresistible user experiences lies not just in design skills, but in understanding the human psyche? In this riveting episode of Beyond UX Design Podcast, Jeremy chats with UX expert Mara Thorsrud, who unveils the hidden psychological principles on how to tap into the minds of users to craft experiences that resonate and engage! Key Takeaways: 🧠The Power of Psychology in UX Mara discusses how psychological principles can transform user experiences, making them not only more intuitive but also more engaging. Recognizing the hidden forces that influence user decisions is essential for any UX designer. 🎨Color Psychology The episode delves into how color choices can evoke emotions and influence user behavior. For instance, the calming effect of blue is often leveraged in medical applications to instill trust. 📖Storytelling as a Tool Mara emphasizes the importance of storytelling in UX design. Crafting narratives around products not only enhances user engagement but also aids in communicating ideas effectively to stakeholders. ⚖️Ethics in Design The discussion touches on the ethical implications of using psychological insights in design. Mara warns against "dark patterns"—manipulative design tactics that prioritize short-term gains over long-term user trust and satisfaction. 🔍User Behavior Insights Understanding user behavior through testing is crucial. Mara shares a fascinating example of how subtle design elements, like the gaze direction of a model in an advertisement, can significantly impact user interactions.  🛠️Practical Applications The episode provides actionable advice for UX designers, including how to ethically incorporate psychological insights into design processes while avoiding manipulation. 📚Continuous Learning Mara encourages designers to delve into psychology and research to enhance their understanding of user behavior. She highlights the importance of staying informed about psychological principles to create better user experiences. This enlightening conversation is a must-listen for UX professionals looking to deepen their understanding of the psychological aspects of design. By integrating these insights, designers can create more meaningful and effective user experiences that resonate with their audiences. 🎧 Tune in to the full episode for a deeper dive into these transformative insights: https://lnkd.in/gaEG59Sp #NetBramha #PodcastSummary #UXDesign #Psychology #UserExperience #Storytelling #EthicsInDesign #PodcastRecommendations #DesignThinking

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Clients tend to fixate on layouts too early, when the goal is to discuss spatial relationships in the concept design stage. Bubble Diagrams in Snaptrude help keep things abstract and strategic, so you don’t have to switch to tools like Miro or Figjam just to study program relationships. Now in Present Mode, you can toggle between floor plans, rounded rectangles, and abstract bubble diagrams. Your plan becomes a set of circular masses that retain area, labels, and colors, while visually de-emphasizing layout precision. You can also tweak text sizes, and add colored lines and arrows directly as a graphic layer in your presentation.  Watch the video to see it in action.

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UX design is transforming so rapidly that yesterday's best practices are today's outdated approaches: https://lnkd.in/d_C8Zp2T 🧠 Predictive Interfaces: AI anticipates user needs before they're expressed. Real-time learning and adaptation. 🗣️ Voice-First Design: Moving beyond screens to conversational experiences across all touchpoints. 🌐 Spatial Computing: AR/VR breaking traditional interface boundaries. Designing for three-dimensional journeys. The future isn't just usability — it's intelligent, adaptive experiences that feel magical. __ #ui #ux #uidesign #uxdesign #uiux #userinterface #userexperience #uxers #uxthinking #uxdesigners #uxcommunity #interface #interaction #clayglobal #claydesignagency #designagency #designstudio #designcompany #design

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Great design delivers value to users faster. In my Glaringly Obvious conversation with Thomas Sutton, he made the case that product design teams must clearly define what design quality means, own it, and connect it directly to both user and business value. Without this clarity, design risks being misunderstood, undervalued, and ineffective. Love the conversation, check it out: https://lnkd.in/gVTU5jS5 Thomas’s product design quality framework maps a causal chain: → If design, technology, and support are good, people use the product. → If people use it and it works, you get product outcomes like user benefit, business value, and systemic impact. But here’s where it got me thinking: the speed of that chain matters. → Time to value for users How quickly someone feels the product is usable, useful, and enjoyable. → Time to create value for users   How fast the team can release improvements that increase that value. These two clocks run in parallel. When teams reduce the lag between user benefit and product iteration, design signals become clearer, trust builds faster, and business value compounds sooner. When they drift apart, users wait too long to see progress, and teams stall in endless refinement. In my conversations, here are some of the reasons decisions slow down: 1. Teams wait too long to test ideas, losing momentum. 2. They don’t have fast, clear ways to see what’s working. 3. Design work gets stuck in narrow solutions or tech limitations. 4. Research is incomplete, feedback overlooked, or siloed. 5. Too much refinement, not enough real signals. 6. Confirmation bias clouds decisions. 7.  Leaders struggle to align on user needs vs. business goals. 8. Limited resources stall iteration. That’s where collecting the right signals comes in. In our open framework Glare, we use UX metrics like usability, usefulness, and sentiment to quickly test whether design quality is landing. Helio helps us gather the metrics. They shorten both timelines: showing where users already get value, and where teams must act to deliver more. Building on Thomas’s framework: design quality goes beyond end outcomes. Quality also ensures the path to those outcomes is fast, clear, and measurable. #productdesign #uxmetrics #productdiscovery #uxresearch

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🌱 Tools & Practices in UX Design for Sustainability – Part 2: Personas ❓ What are Personas?
 Personas are one of the most established UX tools – they help teams synthesize research, communicate user needs, avoid bias, and build empathy. Based on research data, Personas represent specific groups of people with shared behaviors in relation to a product, system, or service. 📝 Proto-Personas
 A variation within the realm of Personas are Proto-Personas (sometimes called “Persona Hypotheses”). Unlike research-based Personas, they are built on team assumptions. They are quick to create, but should be clearly labeled as hypotheses and not mistaken for reality. They can help surface assumptions and potential biases – and serve as a starting point for research or interview planning. 🐸 ‘Beyond-the-User’ Personas Non-User Personas – represent groups beyond the immediate user base, often marginalized or overlooked Non-Human Personas – give a voice to animals, plants, or ecosystems affected by design decisions 🔄 By moving beyond the user, Personas help us anticipate both social and ecological consequences of our design choices. 📖 Want to dive deeper? This tool (and many more) is explained in detail in the book chapter “Werkzeuge und Praktiken für Nachhaltigkeit im UX Design” (Katharina Clasen, Thorsten Jonas & Martin Tomitsch, 2025). The chapter and the book (User Experience Design und Sustainability) are currently available in German only 🇩🇪.

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The best design feels invisible until it’s helpful. We love Jon Moore’s classic list of product design lessons. Great UI design doesn’t need to be flashy. It should be clear, easy to use, and helpful (super relevant with all the AI tools coming to the market). His ten lessons offer a simple checklist to help designers build thoughtful interfaces that guide people without getting in the way. Check out his article:https://lnkd.in/edAHcfT Here’s Jon’s top ten lessons: 1. Prioritize your design efforts Fix the basics before spending time on polish or extras 2. No one cares about animation Fancy animations aren’t what make products successful 3. Don’t reinvent the wheel Use common design patterns users already know 4. Templatize your work Create and reuse templates to speed up your work 5. Consistency begets efficiency Being consistent helps you move faster 6. Efficiency begets consistency Working faster helps you stay consistent 7. Business & user value usurps EVERYTHING If it helps users and the business, it’s valuable, even if it’s ugly 8. I am not the center of the world Other people in the process matter, design with them in mind 9. Great designs will fail with bad presentation A great design with a bad pitch won’t get approved 10. Get. It. Built. Your design doesn’t matter unless it gets built 💬 We asked Jon why he wrote the post: "I wrote this as a reflection on my design career and my experiences working with product, engineering, and leadership. My hope is that it offers designers a few practical tips to make their work a little easier, more robust, and ultimately more rewarding." Fantastic and super helpful! Helio helps product designers by showing how users respond to design. With UX metrics like comprehension, usability, and desirability, you can see what’s working and what needs fixing while building. #uxresearch #productdiscovery #marketresearch #productdesign

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