#40 - Art_ndDesign X - Design & Museums

Writing of the week

Today I'm going to break the pattern and instead of telling you so much history I'm going to tell you a reflection that I've had in my head for a couple of weeks, when I visited the exhibition Mondrian and De Stijl at the Reina Sofía Museum, Madrid. 

I loved the exhibition, but, looking at the texts that accompanied it, I felt that I didn't understand anything, and the truth is that I felt quite disappointed, because I thought that if I, who know the movement and have studied it in depth, wasn't able to understand those texts because they came in a very poetic way, what would happen, for example, to a 10 year old child who goes to the museum with his family one day, or to someone who doesn't understand art or design but is attracted by it? Well, he or she would probably just take in how beautiful the lines and shapes of colours and all that, or he or she would leave saying that a four year old is doing that.

And all this led me to think about the role of museums, realising that the elitism that existed when the Parisian salons emerged in the 18th century still continues to some extent today, because, when you go to the museum, firstly, instead of being a welcoming space, it imposes on you, you are afraid to comment on a work in case there is someone more expert than you, to approach the objects, to speak a little louder than normal; and, secondly, because it is not normally adapted to all kinds of audiences, with things being explained to people who understand the subject at least a little, and making the rest lose interest.

By this I don't mean that it always happens, in fact there are museums that are interactive or accessible to everyone, but normally it only happens in certain exhibitions at the request of the organiser. So, well, I've got that off my chest and now it's up to you to think, and, of course, anyone who wants to discuss the subject has my Linkedin!

Articles & Ideas

How to Test Content with Users‍

When evaluating content, pay extra attention to whom you recruit. Closely tailor tasks to your participants and get comfortable with silence. Kate Moran

Building better products with a design token pipeline‍

Design tokens are an integral part of any design system. They bridge the gap between core values (brand colors, typography, etc.) and components. But before we look into how they help, let’s have a look at the problem we are trying to solve. Lukas Oppermann

A few notes about A/B testing from Jared Spool‍

A few notes from Jared Spool’s twitter thread on A/B testing. A/B testing is an effective approach to use science to design and deliver deeply-frustrating user experiences. Adam Silver

Seven ways to make survey questions clearer‍

Many recommendations and guidelines come from social science and political opinion research, which often includes charged and sensitive topics, or educational research, which focuses on assessments of knowledge. Jeff Sauro, PhD and Jim Lewis, PhD

Always Use “Buttons” for Size Selection (28% of Desktop Sites Don’t)‍

During Baymard’s large-scale usability testing across desktop and mobile, we repeatedly observed users spending considerable time and effort exploring a product, only to be disappointed when they opened the size drop-down selector to discover it was out of stock in their preferred size. Kathryn Totz

Remote Design Work: Top Challenges‍

Communication is the top challenge when designing remotely, according to 213 UX professionals. Receiving feedback, replicating informal conversations, and maintaining a clear direction on projects were the biggest communication concerns. Rachel Krause

Products

Design Reviewed‍

Documenting the history of graphic design. Hi, my name is Matt Lamont and I have designed this website to document printed matter and provide a digital preservation of all things print.‍

uizard‍

The design tool for everyone. It should only take seconds to test an idea, not days! Drag-and-drop components and templates to quickly and easily design mobile apps, web apps, websites, and desktop software. Save time and take control of your ideas.‍

Jitter‍

A design tool for motion. Animate your designs easily. Export your creations as videos or GIFs. All in your browser.‍

eesel‍

All your work in one place. Stop wasting time finding your work – eesel brings together all your work in one place. It’s free, works with pretty much any tool you use, and doesn’t compromise on privacy. ‍

Batch Styler for Figma‍

Editing styles in Figma is a pain. With Batch Styler it becomes way easier: It allows you to edit as many styles in one click as you want. Need to change multiple text styles to use a new font or change your primary color? Batch Styler got you covered.

Remote Jobs 

All remote jobs links have been removed, as the positions were fulfilled.