Ben Ford

Bookmarking useful articles and inspirational websites

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Reveal More, Signal Less, and Why Your Stories Matter

Good storytelling is about creating a sense of shared humanity. That means revealing more of yourself and the struggles that make you human. It’s one of the most powerful ways to connect with people, but you have to approach it from the right angle. It’s not about attention seeking, virtue signaling, or posturing—whether hero or victim. It’s about connecting with others.

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Towards Goal-Centric Design

To be truly humane and helpful, technology needs to see the world the same way people do

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Happy Egg — https://happyegg.com

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Stop “feeding” your users

Feeds are a popular design pattern, but it’s time we came up with something better.

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Red Bull – https://www.redbull.com

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Mental models for designers

Tools we use for solving problems, making decisions, and communicating ideas

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Fox redesigns its NFL graphics for the point-your-phone-at-the-TV era

Everyone has their own focal point on Super Bowl Sunday. Some viewers are there for the halftime show. Others watch for the commercials. And let’s not forget those of us who tune in to see the main event: three hours of men in brightly colored garments, pummeling each other, for America.

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Get Your Guide — https://www.getyourguide.co.uk

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Dorsia — https://www.dorsia.io

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Mobile Microsessions

Notifications, widgets, quick actions, and Siri shortcuts or Google Assistant routines are all ways to support mobile sessions shorter than 15 seconds, with minimal interaction to complete a user goal.

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Don't Get Clever with Login Forms

As time goes on I find myself increasingly annoyed with login forms. As password managers like 1Password (which is what I use) and Chrome's password manager (which I also sorta use) become more popular, it's important for websites to be aware of how users go about logging into their sites. Let's

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This one tool helps us turn user research into insight very quickly

User research is crucial if we want to keep meeting our customers' needs. But research shouldn't stop us from building fast and shipping quickly.

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Takeaways from Redesigning Google Translate

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Slow Down!

If you really want to succeed, find your organization's optimal velocity.

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Designing Google Maps for Motorbikes

How getting your hands dirty during the research phase can lead to better, more inclusive products

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Tips for designers to become better copywriters, from the experts

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Content design: How to write any error message

This is the story of how I became a little bit of an error message nerd — and how you could become one, too. One of us, one of us.