Grab your favorite drink and join us for The UX Book Club in partnership with IxDF Dallas! In our upcoming meeting, we'll dive into chapters 3 & 4 of Articulating Design Decisions by Tom Greever.

Don’t worry if you haven't finished both chapters—come anyway! It's an excellent opportunity to learn and share experiences with our community!

Sneak Peek of This Week's Book Club Meeting

Chapter 3: The Design Process of Articulating Design Decisions:

• Understanding the Process: Greever highlights the value of showing the design process rather than just the final solution. How can sharing your design process with stakeholders early on help them understand your decisions and create more buy-in for your designs?

• Explaining Iterations: The chapter discusses the importance of explaining iterations during the design process. How can you effectively communicate why certain design changes were made, and how might this improve stakeholder understanding and trust?

• Aligning Design with Business Goals: Greever talks about ensuring design decisions align with both user needs and business objectives. How do you ensure your design process remains aligned with both of these factors, and how do you articulate this balance to stakeholders who may prioritize one over the other?

Chapter 4:Principles of Effective Communication

• The Role of Clarity: Greever emphasizes that clear, simple explanations are crucial when presenting design decisions. What strategies can you use to avoid overcomplicating your explanations when speaking to non-designers?

• Using Principles to Frame Conversations: The chapter talks about anchoring your discussions in established design principles rather than personal opinions. How can referencing principles (like usability, accessibility, or consistency) help you defend your design decisions more effectively?

• Staying Calm Under Pressure: Greever advises maintaining composure even when facing difficult questions or criticism. What techniques have you used (or could you use) to stay calm and focused when a stakeholder challenges your work?

About The Book Club

Our book club is super casual and designed to provide a space to learn and share our experiences, ideas, and questions about the UX world! Join us even if you don't have a chance to read the chapters! The conversations are light yet insightful, and this book is a quick read!

Be sure to download Microsoft Teams to be able to participate fully!

We hope to see you there! 📚

About The Book

• Book: Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience (2nd edition) by Tom Greever

• Synopsis: Articulating Design Decisions by Tom Greever teaches designers how to effectively communicate the reasoning behind their design choices to stakeholders, ensuring that their work is understood and supported. The book provides practical strategies for presenting designs, handling feedback, and building trust with non-designers, ultimately helping designers advocate for better user experiences.

• Good Reads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25520974-articulating-design-decisions 

• Grab a copy here: https://amzn.to/3FdQTsN (affiliate link)