UI Breakfast: UI/UX Design and Product Strategy

Latest Episodes:

Episode 44: Finding Your Voice in Social Media with Mojca Mars Dec 22, 2016

Show notes

Social media these days resembles a war of bots. However, it's still a powerful tool — if you do it right. Today's guest, Mojca Mars of Super Spicy Media, helps people find their voice and become successful in social media marketing. You'll learn what formats and visuals work best, what you should write about, how to approach advertising, and how to do genuine, helpful outreach.

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

Super Spicy Media — Mojca's social media consultancy
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook — a book about social media by Gary Vaynerchuk
Brown Sauce — an article by JD Graffam on writing better microcopy
John Loomer — great blog about Facebook advertising
Facebook Ads Manual — Mojca's book
Follow Mojca on Twitter: @mojcamars
Email Mojca at mojca@superspicymedia.com

Today's Sponsor

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Episode 43: User Experience in Ecommerce with Kurt Elster Dec 15, 2016

Show notes

We're back after a short break! Today we're exploring user experience in online stores. Our special guest is Kurt Elster, the guru of ecommerce and the founder of Ethercycle. We break down the entire purchasing flow and explore design specifics of each step: product list, item description, shopping cart, and checkout. You'll learn how to showcase your products, reduce friction, and motivate your customers.

Download the MP3 audio file: right-click here and choose Save As.

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

Ethercycle — Kurt's ecommerce consultancy for Shopify businesses
Ecommerce Bootcamp by Paul Reda and Kurt Elster
Kurt Elster's Ecommerce Hacks Weekly
The Unofficial Shopify Podcast
J. Peterman, CozyPhones, Violent Little Machine Shop, Everest Bands — some of the stores we mention as examples
The Brain Audit by Sean D'Souza
Kurt's website
Free resources for ecommerce professionals and store owners
Follow Kurt on Twitter: @kurtinc

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Episode 42: Hiring for UX Positions with Sarah Doody Nov 24, 2016

Show notes

Hiring a good designer has never been easy! Today I'm talking to Sarah Doody — a guru UX designer, teacher, and writer from New York City. You'll learn how to approach the hiring process in your particular case, whether education matters, how to navigate in the variety of design professions, and what skills to look for. Designers, on the other side, will get an insight how to better present themselves.

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

The UX Notebook — Sarah's awesome newsletter
The 5-Step UX Research Formula — Sarah's upcoming masterclass
65 Point Checklist For User Research Projects — free UX research guide from Sarah
The UX of Hiring for UX Positions — an article by Dan Maccarone & Sarah Doody
Sarah's main website
Follow Sarah on Twitter: @sarahdoody

Today's Sponsor

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Episode 41: Writing Killer Design Proposals with Nathan Powell Nov 17, 2016

Show notes

Writing proposals isn't fun, but they're a crucial part of any design project. Today our guest is Nathan Powell — designer, author, and founder of Nusii (online proposal software). You'll learn how to do discovery work, what to include in your proposal, how to structure it, and how tiered pricing can help you make an unbeatable offer.

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

Nusii — Nathan's SaaS product, online proposal software for creative businesses
The Creative Professional's Guide: How to Write Better Proposals — Nathan's book on Amazon
Handmade Studio — Nathan's consulting service (landing page design for startups)
Follow Nathan on Twitter: @NathanPowell76
Win More Proposals in Only 5 Days — free 5-day email course from Nusii

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Episode 40: Learning Through Projects with Sacha Greif Nov 10, 2016

Show notes

Design or development? You can say "yes" to both! Today we're exploring the story of Sacha Greif, the founder of Sidebar.io and the author of Discover Meteor. He successfully combines the roles of a designer and a developer, and achieves results in both fields (all while being a community star). Join us to hear about his straightforward approach to life, projects, and the learning process.

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

Sidebar, Telescope, State of JS — Sacha's projects
Step by Step UI Design, Discover Meteor — Sacha's books
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Sacha's website
Sacha Greif on Medium
Follow Sacha on Twitter: @SachaGreif

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Episode 39: Positioning Your Services with Philip Morgan Nov 03, 2016

Show notes

Smart, narrow positioning is the key to success for anyone who sells their services. Who is your best customer? What kind of work do you want to be famous for? The world-class positioning expert Philip Morgan gives away a ton of actionable advice on this topic. You'll learn how to stop being a generalist, quit the pricing game, and become a successful specialist by employing your best talent.

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms — Philip's book
Positioning Accelerator Program
Double Your Freelancing Academy — a 7-month program where Philip is participating as an expert
Philip Morgan Consulting
Sign up for Philip's free positioning crash course

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Episode 38: Building Creative Habits with Shawn Blanc Oct 27, 2016

Show notes

Your creative skills aren't worth much until you practice them regularly. But how do you find time for that? Our special guest today is Shawn Blanc — author of The Focus Course, a creative entrepreneur, and my role model from years ago. You'll learn how to set goals, avoid distractions, build personal integrity, adopt the right habits, and live a truly focused life.

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

The Focus Course, Shawn Blanc, The Sweet Setup, Tools & Toys — Shawn's websites and projects
Byword — great tool for writing in Markdown (read its review on Tools & Toys)
Delight is in the Details — Shawn's first book (read my review here)
The Procrastinator's Guide to Progress
The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Monument Valley Soundtrack — Shawn's favorite music for doing focused work
Download your worksheet on finding creative focus (and more free resources from Shawn)
Follow Shawn on Twitter: @shawnblanc

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Episode 37: Customer Support Done Right with Alex Yumashev Oct 20, 2016

Show notes

Customer support is the key part of user experience. But how do you handle it right? Our guest today is Alex Yumashev, the founder of JitBit Helpdesk, who has been in this industry for many years. You'll learn why customer support can't be a temporary job, how to approach it in a human way, and why even CEOs should still be doing support on a regular basis.

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

JitBit Helpdesk — Alex's main product
HelpSpot — another helpdesk product by our fellow bootstrapper Ian Landsman
The Long, Slow SaaS Ramp of Death — the famous presentation by Gail Goodman (then we talk about her selling Constant Contact)
David Cancel, Jeff Bezos — advocate for senior staff members doing support
Inspectlet — software for tracking and recording user behavior
HelpSpot, HelpScout — great support blogs by other companies
Visit JitBit Helpdesk
Follow Alex on Twitter: @jitbit
Email Alex at alex@jitbit.com

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Episode 36: Research-Driven A/B Testing with Nick Disabato Oct 13, 2016

Show notes

When does A/B testing have a positive impact on your business? How do you make intelligent, informed decisions? How do you prevent your ego and past experience from interfering? Today our guest Nick Disabato, my good friend and a world-class expert in A/B testing, talks about his research-driven work process and his humble philosophy.

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

Draft — Nick's solo design consultancy
Revise Weekly — Nick's lesson series on A/B testing
The previous episode on conversion rate optimization with Momoko Price
The previous episode on Jobs to Be Done with Eric White
Visual Website Optimizer, Evan Miller’s Sample Size Calculator, iA Writer, Ulysses, Trello, Basecamp — Nick's tools
Draft's Letters — Nick's newsletter (here's a recent issue about deep dish pizza in Chicago)
The A/B Testing Manual — Nick's upcoming book

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Episode 35: Behind the Scenes of the Design Superpower with Heidi Pun Oct 06, 2016

Show notes

Dear friends, the podcast is finally back after the break! Our guest today is Heidi Pun, my designer friend from Slovenia. We talk about The Design Superpower — a free email course we just launched. We break down the entire process: how we came up with the idea, solicited articles from the top design superheroes, put the course together, and launched it across multiple platforms. If you're planning a product launch anytime soon, our takeaways will be super-valuable!

Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes or Stitcher.

Show Notes

The Design Superpower — the free email course we just launched
Email 1K, Web Traffic 1M — free courses by Noah Kagan
Design for Hackers — a free course by David Kadavy (now evolved into a whole series of products)
Ine De Baerdemaeker of PostScripting — the awesome editor of our course
ThemeBro — Heidi's project where she strategically gave away a paid book for free
The UX Notebook, InVision, eWebDesign, Muzli, Sidebar.io — resources who helped to share our course
Design for Founders — Heidi's main website
Follow Heidi on Twitter: @design4founders
Sign up for the Design Superpower and please help spread the word (it will only be up for another few weeks)

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Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes.