📰 3 Design Articles
The Anatomy of a Super Bowl Ad
- Language learning app Duolingo wanted to create an eye-catching Super Bowl ad—but only had a few seconds of airtime to do it. To bring this goal to life, the team took a creative and highly cross-functional approach.
- One of the biggest challenges arose around the integration of the app with when the ad actually ran. The goal was to ping all relevant users with a push notification reminder to “Do their Duolingo” at the same time that the commercial was live.
- “Creativity thrives in constraints… The constraint of the five-second spot, plus collaborating with minds from all different teams, adds to the diversification of ideas.”
Why Apple Fans Are Returning the Vision Pro
- Many Apple stores have seen an influx of Vision Pro returns after its recent initial release, citing issues such as discomfort, eye strain, or bugs with the VR headset.
- Individuals who fell in love with the in-store demo are finding that real world use just isn’t quite there. For instance, one customer stated the device made him feel too disconnected from the world around him, while also causing fatigue after he took it off.
- “It clearly is the future—but there’s just not enough stuff for it to do right now. The apps just aren’t there… after a couple hours, it’s still something on your face.”
The UX of Threads’ Downfall
- While Meta’s Threads app started out with a bang, seeing almost 100,000,000 sign ups over two days, the growth of the platform has stagnated significantly. Author Daniel de Mello examines several reasons as to why this may be the case.
- One source of friction stems from Threads direct link to Instagram. Users engage with the accounts in varied ways, often preferring to keep their Instagram persona quite different than how they would present on a platform such as Threads or X. This can make it challenging to sustain the shift.
- “Thread’s UX lacks anything truly novel. The UI looks sleek, but in terms of functionality, it is a barebones copy of X. There is no difference in organizing principle, no additional and innovative features and nothing exclusive in terms of content.”
💜 Portfolio Inspiration
Sophia Gibaldi, a UX Academy graduate, comes from a highly cross-functional background in landscape design. She brings this skillset to her UX work, a pivot she decided on so she could create impactful design solutions. Many of her projects focus around health and wellness, seeking to streamline services such as booking appointments or finding a doctor who suits a user’s needs.
Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.
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It’s very easy to be different, but very difficult to be better. - Jonathan Ive, architect
🧪 From the Lab
Introducing: Advanced Figma
We’re excited to announce the launch of our newest course for experienced designers: Advanced Figma. The first cohort launches April 15th and enrollment is now open.
Each week you’ll complete a combination of self-paced lessons and hands-on projects before coming together in weekly scheduled peer group sessions – each led by one of our expert mentors.
By the end of the course you’ll have mastered the strategies and workflows used by the best, most experienced product designers, bringing your efficiency with Figma to the next level.
Enroll in our upcoming informational webinar on February 28th to learn more.
Upcoming Community Events
Our slate of free community events continues with several exciting offerings upcoming:
- Feb. 27: UX by Everyone
- Mar. 1: Designing for AI: How is it Different?
- Mar. 4: Sketching First Ideation Using AI
You can find the full event calendar on our registration page to see what’s coming up next.
Launch your new career in 2024
The March cohort of UX Academy Foundations launches on March 4th, now with AI content. Learn foundational design skills and get hands-on experience working in tools like Figma. You’ll also receive 1:1 mentorship and a $500 tuition credit towards our career-switching bootcamp, UX Academy.
Reserve your seat now and only pay when the cohort launches.
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