Design. Research. Technology. Experience. Life.

Hello!
Are you ready to elevate your creative game? Today, we’re diving into some incredible tools that can transform your design workflow and make your projects shine brighter than ever!

1. UX/UI – Figma
Figma is a game changer for UI/UX designers! This cloud-based platform fosters real-time collaboration, meaning your team can work together seamlessly, no matter where they are. Its intuitive interface and powerful design features make prototyping a breeze. Figma comes with FigJam, which is a collaborative tools to spark your ideas. Plus, there’s a ton of plugins to supercharge your workflow!

2. Icons – The Noun Project
Need icons? Look no further than The Noun Project! With millions of icons at your fingertips, you can instantly enhance your designs. Search by keywords to find the perfect symbol for every concept. It’s a treasure trove of creativity waiting to be explored!

3. Simple design – Canva
For those who want easy design solutions, Canva is a must-try! With its user-friendly interface and vast template library, you can create eye-catching graphics in minutes. Whether it’s social media posts or presentations, Canva empowers everyone to design like a pro!

4. Prototyping – Adobe XD
Looking for robust prototyping tools? Adobe XD has you covered! It offers a great blend of design and prototyping features, making it ideal for creating interactive and animated designs. Plus, it integrates well with other Adobe products, boosting your productivity!

5. Prototyping and Wireframe – Sketch
A favorite among Mac users, Sketch provides incredible flexibility with its vector editing capabilities. It’s perfect for crafting web and mobile interfaces with pixel-perfect precision. The vibrant community and vast plugin ecosystem make it a designer’s delight!

Embrace these tools, and watch your creativity soar! Whether you’re a seasoned designer or just starting out, exploring these resources can open up a world of possibilities.

Happy designing!

Hello, readers,

Today, I would like to share my journey of transitioning from academia to the fields of UX, UI, and learning design. It has been more than a year since I last actively wrote in this blog, and during this time, I have been reflecting on my experiences and growth.

After spending several years in research and teaching, I also worked in the corporate world, where I practiced and applied design thinking theory to real-world problems. This experience allowed me to develop effective design solutions, further deepening my understanding of the field. While the academic environment was rewarding, I felt a desire for a space where creativity and technology intersect, allowing me to make a tangible difference in people’s experiences.

I discovered UX and UI design, which resonated with me due to its focus on empathy, user-centered design, and the integration of technology. I realized that my academic background—critical thinking, problem-solving, and a passion for learning—provided a solid foundation for this transition. I have been teaching User-Centered Design at RMIT online, and I find that this experience closely relates to my other design expertise, allowing me to bridge the gap between theory and practical application.

What interests me about UX and UI design is its alignment with current technological needs. As the demand for intuitive, engaging, and accessible digital experiences grows, I see an opportunity to contribute to this evolution. It is about creating meaningful interactions that enhance learning and empower users.

As I delve deeper into e-learning and digital learning design, I look forward to exploring innovative ways to combine technology with education. Designing engaging learning experiences for diverse audiences is a fulfilling endeavor, as it makes knowledge accessible and enjoyable.

In this new chapter, I am prepared to face challenges and acknowledge achievements. The shift from academia to UX, UI, and learning design represents not just a career change, but also personal growth. I aim to apply my skills and passion to contribute to a future where technology and design create exceptional user experiences.

Here’s to new beginnings and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Stay curious and keep exploring!

Hey there, lovely readers!

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been here, hasn’t it? It’s kind of thrilling to dust off the old keyboard and dive back into the blogosphere after such a long break. ????

You know, it’s quite the adventure to stroll down memory lane and see how my writing has evolved since the early days of this blog back in 2006. That was the era when Facebook started to sparkle in the world of social media, and I’ll admit, I got swept up in the ease of sharing snippets of life there, which led me to take a little hiatus from our cozy corner here.

But here’s the thing—I’ve missed the depth and the richness of storytelling that blogging offers, something that’s a bit tough to squeeze into the fast-paced worlds of Instagram, TikTok, and even Facebook. So, I’ve decided it’s time to bring back the charm of detailed storytelling and personal connection that a blog nurtures.

I’m genuinely excited to reconnect with you all and share our stories, the kind that unfolds beautifully in this more intimate space. Let’s get back to it and make some new memories together!

Looking forward to catching up and diving into all the stories we have yet to tell.

Warm wishes,
Nur Rahman

Something that deserved to be posted here on the wall. I love transformation and make change for better. Many educators find it challenging to transformed from their face to face teaching to an online class. For them, it just don’t fit in, more of a concerned that they will not full fill the students expectation of the content and that it will not be as fun as it is if the class is conducted in an online environment. There are too many questions to ask, what about student’s engagement? What about the technical aspect of it? What about the students? What about the content? Can it be transformed? My answer – Of course we can. It might be slightly different from the face to face class but who knows it might be better too. So we did and I think it might be the latter outcome.

And we also wrote an article about it and published it at Monash Intercultural Lab Newsletter June 2021.

Clearly I have been busy and somewhat lazy, to the point that I have not contributed any post for this year 2020.

The year started nicely till in March, when the world has been hit with one virus, Corona or also known as Covid19.

I was in the middle of switching job, searching for jobs and learning new things.

We were very fortunate that we had the chance to go back to Penang, Malaysia and Reims, France at the end of 2019 till Jan 2020. At least we did managed to catch up with family. I can only imagine the feeling for many who live far from their family and are not able to see them, stuck with lock-down.

As for now, we are still in lock-down, the numbers shot high in July and now going down again. I don’t think that the numbers will stay low (but I wish it will).

This is not a question that is asked by many business man, but it is good to know whether your website is currently working well or not.

There are few leading one that most UX designers refer to, its either Neilsel or Kurgs when it comes to the website or apps usability.

Most UX use the heuristic principle of Steve Kurgs (2006) mainly extracted from his book “Don’t make me think”. There is list of it, but here the best 3 to start on analysing your website or apps to see if it make sense and engaging with the users.

• Dont make me think.
• It doesnt matter how many times I have to click, as long as each click is a mindless, unambiguous choice.
• Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what is left.

From: Krug, S. (2006), Dont Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Berkeley, CA: New Riders

Today, everyone is a designer.
And the future of civilisation is our common design project.
How does design help choose our leaders? Why do we really have an environmental crisis? How can accessible design broaden your audience? Why does the U.S economy now struggle to complete? How has design thinking added to the bottom line of the world’s most valuable companies?
Design matters. As it never has before.

This is one of the most influential book that will change your way of thinking and doing.

Read more about Do Good Design here

We really have progress to another way to reach candidates for interview, this is a fantastic way and tools to do so, why? Because not only it you as candidate can have more time to practice your presentation and tone of voice but also it allow you to work on your own time and space, which help in putting you in comfortable situation.

I have mine today, it was a whole new experience. I hardly had an interview for a job for a while now, mostly because I was in a secure permanent job position for more than 6 years and then we decided to take another adventure to move to another country.

That said, I am terrified to sit for an interview, I guess who doesn’t? But what I like about an online interview is that it give you a time to prepare and then even when you are prepared, you have time to practice on how you will present yourself in the video. Candidate not only have to learn and do some research about one way interview and the way to present themselves, before engaging in the interview but also need to have good understanding of using different type of online tools.

For employer, its much better. I remembered when I was the head of department and we were conducting interviews for new intake for our Graphic Communication course, and it is around 100 plus students. With face to face interview if its not well organise it can be a mess. The space, the equipment for us to view portfolio, the panel of interviews, the poor candidates that have to wait one whole day to get their turn for interview, so much time consuming and at the end of the day, i remembered how exhausted I was.

The next thing after the interview is the data that we collected manually in hard copy. We don’t have it digitally, well there are some but its not digitally kept, So just say if we want to view the last interview process, I can say it will be only 10% possibility for us to get it. Plus no record of the interview such as the process, the interview visual except for the still images, mainly we pose for the photo.

I really like the online one way interview. Congrats RMIT Online and other universities in Australia including some leading corporation that adopt this method for interview process.

That all said, there are still space for improvement. The visual and the sound recording can be improved. There are some options in the viewer page (the recording) page that can be modified for better user interaction.

A way to go.

Some samples of one way online interview here.

This is a really useful and cozy video about one way interview.