Whether I’m coaching an associate designer or managing an experienced team, my role is to build trust and psychological safety and help people thrive. The same curiosity I bring to understanding users is the mindset I bring to understanding the people I lead.
I’ve collected tactics over many years through self-directed learning (talks, readings, podcasts), structured professional development (conferences, courses, Melbourne Business School) and from other leaders.
You’ll notice a pattern in every tactic. None of them involves guessing.
They also aren’t forms to complete or assessments to run. They’re structured conversations to have with your team members, individually, early in your journey together
Design hire number one and don't know what to do? Read about the 6 steps I used to set up a design practice from scratch
If no one is listening, it's probably a design problem. The tips in the article will help you craft messages people can actually understand and act on.
Is your style guide being ignored? It’s not just a branding issue — it’s a usability problem. Learn why consistency is core, not optional — and how to get teams on board.
In 2015, I embarked on the journey of buying my first home. At that time, I wrote a blog post critiquing the UX of real estate websites through a, somewhat sarcastic, persona named ‘Kayla’ and listed out ‘her’ (my) user needs and how they weren’t being met. Discover how real estate websites have evolved from 2015 to 2024 through a personal lens. Spoiler alert – it still sucks, but it sucks a little less.
In this blog post, I evaluate how current real estate platforms address user needs such as viewing new properties, staying within budget, accessing accurate information, and managing inspection schedules. It suggests key improvements and practical recommendations for improving real estate website UX.
Last Xmas I (gave you my heart) wrote a piece about The Phenomenon of Automagic. I defined Automagic as when your users don't know how your app is working - it just works. Last week I was the OzCHI (The Australian Human Computer Interaction Conference) and Abi Sellen from Microsoft Research opening Keynote made me give automagic a second thought.
In early web design we always used to talk about the "fold" - the part of the screen a user will see without scrolling down the page. Many think those who still consider the fold to be old school and outdated, but sometimes the fold still matters. If your website isn't the main goal you still need to consider the fold.
Last week a few of us from SEEK went to UX Australia, a conference dedicated to all things user experience. I gave a 10-minute talk at UX Australia which was recorded and will eventually be available but in the mean time here’s a sneak peak.
By now we all know we are not the user, it has been drilled in to us enough times. But how do you design for people you might not know exist. How many genders are there? You might think two if you’ve never met an intersex person.
