Animation at Work with Rachel Nabors

User Defenders podcast
Special Episodes
Animation at Work with Rachel Nabors
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Animation at Work with Rachel Nabors

Rachel Nabors gives us a deep-dive into the art & science of web animation. She motivates us to sell animation as a UX enhancement, rather than a delight factor. She also exhorts us to animate ethically and responsibly.

BIO
Rachel Nabors began telling stories online as a teenager with her award-winning web comics. Her love of web technologies transformed into a career in front end development, where she has worked with Mozilla, the W3C, and currently Microsoft to build the web forward. She tends the web animation community via the Animation at Work Slack and her web animation newsletter Web Animation Weekly. She recently wrote an A Book Apart book called Animation at Work: a book on using animation in web design. When she isn’t traveling the world, giving talks and kissing puppies, she can be found perched in Seattle, sipping a cup of fancy tea! She also used to be an award-winning independent cartoonist with 400k teenage girls reading her weekly comics on an iVillage site.

  • Animation Origin Story (5:44)
  • Getting Animation Buy-off (14:01)
  • Animation is Not About Delight (20:47)
  • Do I Have to Draw to Animate? (33:42)
  • Web Animation Resources (36:41)
  • Future of Banner Ads (46:27)
  • Listener Question (50:59)
  • 24 Hour Comic (55:44)

LINKS
Rachel’s Twitter
Rachel’s Website
Rachel’s Newsletter
How to Sell Web Animation [ARTICLE]
24 Hour Comic on Amazon Prime [VIDEO]

RESOURCES
After Effects
Principal for Mac
Lotti by AirBnB
Kite App
Hype
Animatron
Web Animations API
Greensock GSAP
Barba.js


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USE YOUR SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the newsletter for superguest announcements and more, occasionally.


042: Practical Design Discovery with Dan Brown

User Defenders podcast
User Defenders podcast
Design Thinking
042: Practical Design Discovery with Dan Brown
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User Defenders "Dr. Discovery" Dan Brown

Dan Brown inspires us to get great at asking questions because ‘the question’ is one of our most invincible resources. He reminds us to maintain a spirit of collaboration with the the team members we’re struggling with since they care as much about the project as we do. He encourages us to always peer beneath the surface at the underlying structure of whatever we’re working on. He also motivates us to never settle.

BIO
Dan Brown is a web designer who specializes in information architecture, design research, and leading teams. He’s written three books: Practical Design Discovery (2017), Designing Together (2013), and Communicating Design (2011). He created a card game, Surviving Design Projects, to help designers practice their conflict resolution skills. Dan co-founded EightShapes, a UX design firm based in Washington, DC, in 2006 with his business partner Nathan Curtis. Professionally, Dan likes talking about design discovery, information architecture, user research, and team dynamics. Personally, Dan likes talking about cooking and board games. He also started an online support group for a rare disease he has.

  • Secret Identity (7:47)
  • Origin Story (9:29)
  • Biggest Failure (20:23)
  • Awkward Testing Story (23:27)
  • Design Superpower (28:04)
  • Design Kryptonite (30:52)
  • UX Superhero Name (33:50)
  • Fights for Users (36:08)
  • Habit of Success (40:54)
  • Invincible Resource (43:27)
  • Recommended Book (51:23)
  • Practical Design Discovery (53:40)
  • Overcoming Team Tension (57:00)
  • Best Advice (69:04)
  • Contact Info (71:48)

LINKS
Dan’s Twitter
Dan’s Website
Dan’s Instagram
Do as I say, not as I do [ARTICLE]
Stop Fighting, Start Designing [VIDEO]

RESOURCE
The Question

BOOK
Powers of Two
A More Beautiful Question


SUBSCRIBE TO AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE NEW EPISODES
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | RSS Feed

USE YOUR SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the newsletter for superguest announcements and more, occasionally.


Continue reading 042: Practical Design Discovery with Dan Brown

041: Everything’s Terrible, and That’s Great with Matt Griffin

User Defenders podcast
User Defenders podcast
Leadership
041: Everything's Terrible, and That's Great with Matt Griffin
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User Defenders

Matt Griffin shows us how empathy and sensitivity to the world around us is the key to great design. He teaches us how as a leader, the worst decision is no decision. He explains how hands are his most invincible UX resource or tool. He also inspires us starting out to take ‘every damn opportunity we can get’.

Matt Griffin is a designer and founder of Bearded and Wood Type Revival, and the director of What Comes Next is the Future, a documentary film about the web. He’s a speaker, writer, and an avid advocate for collaboration in design. He’s also a letterpress printer, and one of the creators of Wood Type Revival, a project which seeks out lost historic wood type and converts it into digital fonts for modern designers. Matt lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife Elizabeth, and his son Argus. Previous to entering the world of design, Matt was an active musician (drums, mostly). He toured all over and played on a fair number of records. His band in college got kind of famous in Japan.

  • Secret Identity (4:46)
  • Origin Story (7:18)
  • Bearded Closing its Doors (17:04)
  • Biggest Failure (31:45)
  • Awkward Testing Story (43:21)
  • Design Superpower (45:44)
  • Design Kryptonite (46:54)
  • UX Superhero Name (50:07)
  • Fights for Users (51:48)
  • Habit of Success (63:25)
  • Invincible Resource (65:22)
  • Recommended Book (70:54)
  • Best Advice (78:12)

Continue reading 041: Everything’s Terrible, and That’s Great with Matt Griffin

040: Should Developers Design with Laura Elizabeth

User Defenders podcast
User Defenders podcast
Web Dev
040: Should Developers Design with Laura Elizabeth
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User Defenders "Reflection" Laura Elizabeth

Laura Elizabeth reveals how developers can learn design. She articulates the importance of reflecting on our users’ needs more than our personal tastes. She touches on how making a product makes us better designers. She also inspires us to always be genuine in our dealings with our customers if we want to build (and keep) trust.

Laura Elizabeth is an independent designer with a hankering for cross stitch and rockets. She runs Design Academy which aims to help developers conquer their fear of design. She recently launched her first product called Client Portal—a client-friendly way to keep projects organised. When she’s not writing or speaking, she’s likely watching reruns of Star Trek Voyager or Next Generation.

  • Secret Identity (4:05)
  • Origin Story (9:55)
  • Biggest Superhero (13:32)
  • Biggest Failure (16:23)
  • Design Superpower (20:54)
  • Transition from Freelance to Product (23:04)
  • Design Kryptonite (26:13)
  • Design Superhero Name (29:34)
  • Should Developers Design? (34:10)
  • Habit Of Success (42:59)
  • Invincible Resource (48:55)
  • Book Recommendation (52:09)
  • Listener Question (54:58)
  • Best Advice (59:39)
  • Connect & Keep Up (64:08)

LINKS
Laura’s Twitter
Laura’s Website
Design Academy
Client Portal
Laura Elizabeth at Smashing Conference on Selling Design Systems [VIDEO]
William Shatner Sings Rocket Man At the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards [VIDEO]

[RESOURCE] Styleguides.io
[BOOK] Badass: Making Users Awesome


SUBSCRIBE TO AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE NEW EPISODES
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | RSS Feed

USE YOUR SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the newsletter for superguest announcements and more, occasionally.


Continue reading 040: Should Developers Design with Laura Elizabeth

030: Content for All with Aaron Gustafson

User Defenders podcast
Empathy
030: Content for All with Aaron Gustafson
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User Defenders "The Enhancer" Aaron Gustafson

Aaron Gustafson inspires us to build a web for all people. He encourages us to keep an open mind about perspectives that are different than our own. He motivates us to keep focused on context when it comes to the users we’re designing for. He also challenges us to plant seeds of growth in others by making ourselves available and open to new opportunities.

Aaron Gustafson is passionate about web standards and accessibility as would be expected from a former manager of the Web Standards Project. In his two decades working on the Web, he’s worked with companies such as Happy Cog, Major League Baseball, McAfee and The New York Times. He joined Microsoft as a web standards advocate to work closely with their browser team. He loves sharing his knowledge through writing. His three-part series on progressive enhancement for A List Apart is a perennial favorite and his seminal book on the subject, Adaptive Web Design, has earned him numerous accolades and honors. When he’s not writing, he’s probably on the road presenting at conferences and running workshops across the globe. He is a longtime member of Rosenfeld Media’s “experts” group and former technical editor for A List Apart. He and his wife also brokered and produced the DVD release of Drawing Flies which was also produced by Kevin Smith (of Clerks fame who also happens to be a fellow comic book nerd).

  • Secret Identity/Origin Story (3:43)
  • Biggest Superhero (10:11)
  • Second Career Choice (15:17)
  • Biggest Failure (20:48)
  • Awkward Testing Story (30:50)
  • Design Superpower (49:37)
  • Design Kryptonite (51:03)
  • Design Superhero Name (51:41)
  • Fight For Users (53:23)
  • Future Of UX Design (55:18)
  • Habit Of Success (60:20)
  • Invincible Resource (63:30)
  • Book Recommendation (66:45)
  • Best Advice (69:31)
  • Most Excited About (74:16)
  • Contact Info (79:55)

Continue reading 030: Content for All with Aaron Gustafson