The Path Forward

The Path Forward, a UX observation blog

So here’s a thing I keep meaning to do, and I’ve officially run out of reasons not to do it.

This will be my space to talk about UX encounters in the wild as well as articles, books and podcasts that feel memorable and maybe even meaningful. I’ll also probably hash out my portfolio redesign. Probably multiple times.

A little over a year ago (it feels like 20 minutes, to be fair) I earned a Master's degree in Information (UX Research & Design concentration).  The whole time I was going to school I was also working full-time in a library, where I am still working and raising a child in a multi-generational home.

Now that I have the degree, I’m free to write the blog that I fantasized about writing when I was in school- if only I didn’t have this paper to write, I’d write shorter pieces about this experience, that one, this book, that one.

So here’s where to begin. The UX situations that intrigue me and are a mix of overly complicated design or non-inclusive design. Some  are mundane, classic design flaws, like the triple-bolt front door that is so complicated most people can’t figure out how to lock it until their fourth attempt, and then only if they weigh more than 140 pounds. Locksmiths are impressed with this lock, but if my mother-in-law leaves my door unlocked all night because she can’t lock it, it’s too complicated from a UX perspective.

There are other things I want to write about as well- new ways to do old things, like meal kits and calorie counting. I’ve got a ton of UX books I want to talk about, and I really, really really want to talk about how different generations are interacting with the digital world, and how these interactions echo throughout the shrinking analog world.

The thread that binds these subjects together is the nearly infinite variety of human reaction to new ways of doing things- how people find their path forward.