https://poukamo.fi/blog/ Recent content in Thoughts on Poukamo.fi Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Fri, 10 Mar 2023 10:41:20 +0200 https://poukamo.fi/blog/building-your-own-chrome-extension/ Fri, 10 Mar 2023 10:41:20 +0200 https://poukamo.fi/blog/building-your-own-chrome-extension/ So I read a lot. I follow a bunch of mailing lists and tend to open a ton of potentially interesting links to browser tabs. This adds up to a lot of tabs, sometimes more than a dozen long-form articles. Realistically, there isn’t time to read all of them and still get some work done every day. As a part of my morning routine, I glance through them, see if they’re promising for further reading, and pick the most interesting and relevant for today. https://poukamo.fi/blog/goodreads-is-a-vintage-social-media/ Sat, 11 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://poukamo.fi/blog/goodreads-is-a-vintage-social-media/ Goodreads feels like social media of the olden days: a simple timeline with few users and varying relevancy for you. For the most part, you see the one thing you signed up for: what your friends have read. The UI is rough around the edges, it has weird features like Quizzes that no one uses, but it still has its charm. It feels like it hasn’t changed since 2009. Medium, Linkedin, Twitter, and other social media sites are sleeker and the content is often driving clicks and engagement. https://poukamo.fi/blog/local-first-software/ Mon, 15 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://poukamo.fi/blog/local-first-software/ I recently discovered local-first software, which is a manifesto for a different way of building software. Like the mobile-first was meant to make sure that apps and web work well on mobile devices, local-first software aims to make apps work well locally. As with the mobile-first approach, the local-first approach isn’t local-only software. It should still be collaborative and not tied to one device, but the experience of using any app locally should be first class. https://poukamo.fi/blog/dressed-to-kill/ Wed, 17 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://poukamo.fi/blog/dressed-to-kill/ Prototype. Proof of concept. Mock-up. Draft. Dummy. Whatever you call the thing, they are all built for the same reason. They are not presentations, nor works of art. They are tools to learn. Low fidelity does not equal low quality. Tempted to skip straight to fine-tuning? Architects use scale models made out of plywood and foam, and industrial designers craft their ideas out of cardboard and duct tape. UX designers scribble quick mock-ups on paper, and service designers act out customer journeys using crude props. https://poukamo.fi/blog/how-would-it-look-like-if-it-was-magic/ Fri, 04 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://poukamo.fi/blog/how-would-it-look-like-if-it-was-magic/ Design is a game of constraints. In addition to user needs, you need to take into account technical limitations, implementation timelines, conflicting business needs, and stakeholder opinions. Usually, there’s way too little time reserved for design, research, and development. Because there are so many constraints, it’s easy to unconsciously limit your ideas and think small when designing. “What kind of components do we have and what can I recycle from earlier work? https://poukamo.fi/blog/remember-what-they-pay-you-for/ Mon, 15 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://poukamo.fi/blog/remember-what-they-pay-you-for/ Years ago I read a blog post about an idea that I still come back to from time to time. The blog post has been lost in the years’ worth of browsing history, so I can’t credit it, but I can still share it forward. The idea is simple: remember what they pay you for. There are (hopefully) some parts of your job that you enjoy. If money wasn’t an issue, you’d do them just for the fun of it. https://poukamo.fi/blog/referrals-as-user-research-recruitment-tool/ Tue, 10 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://poukamo.fi/blog/referrals-as-user-research-recruitment-tool/ Ever had the situation where you post a well crafted, easy to react to, message to your users’ channel in a messaging app of their choice to ask for volunteers for user research and the response rate is an absolute zero? Or send an email to a group of potential interviewees and get no responses? People don’t react when referred to as a group. In emergency situation training they tell you to address a single person and tell them to call the ambulance. https://poukamo.fi/blog/design-portfolio-tips/ Wed, 27 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://poukamo.fi/blog/design-portfolio-tips/ In the design field, at least in Finland, a portfolio is pretty much mandatory when looking for a job. It’s especially important when you are only starting out. I’ve reviewed dozens, if not over a hundred, portfolios over the last three years and read a lot on what makes a good portfolio. I’ve collected some tips I’ve found that would be useful for most designers. They’re aimed at those who are early in your career, but they should be useful for anyone who’s thinking of updating or rebuilding their portfolio.