Hi, it’s the editors at Indeed Design. Phew, what a year!
In 2023, we published our 100th article, worked with 75 contributors, and grew our viewership by nearly half. We’re eternally grateful to the people who pitched in to make the publication a success. They’re punching up the quality of thought leadership in UX conversations at Indeed and beyond.
But it’s you — our readers — who keep us editors and authors going. Thank you!
So we want to share some of your top UX articles of 2023, along with highlights about what made each one so engaging. If you missed these before, they’re still relevant now. Each has tools and insights you can apply to your own UX work and career. Let’s review.
Drum roll, please…
Indeed’s Design Principles and How We Made Them
It was a big year for Indeed UX, and publishing our design principles was a big part of that. You can click through to learn what values shape work at Indeed, and you might even see your own philosophies reflected there.
Senior Content Designer Sam Burger led the initiative, and they knew Indeed’s design principles would have to be by UXers, for UXers in order for them to stick. But how do you get so many people to agree on the specifics of such big ideas?
In their article, Sam walks through how they surveyed hundreds of people, designed workshops, and led synthesis sessions. This is the story of how they accomplished the work, a step-by-step walkthrough of what worked for Sam’s process.
Getting people to align on anything is difficult, but this story shined because Sam’s storytelling and philosophy on what design principles are supposed to do resonated with many curators and readers.
Amplify Your UX Research Impact Using Ideation Sessions
Paige Nuzzolillo’s story bursts at the seams with practical tips for improving work at those critical stages of generative research within the design process. With downloadable tools, helpful links, and step-by-step guidance on building your own ideas out of your research, this article was a stand-out in 2023.
A seasoned UX researcher, Paige’s experience and know-how sparkles in this article. She covers everything — defining where you’re at in the process, timing your ideation sessions, getting diverse feedback from participants, applying the work from those sessions effectively, and much more.
Shared by Blink UX, User Research Academy, and other trusted UXR curators as recently as January 2024, Paige’s article is still a memorable and useful resource researchers can apply to their own work.
UX Job Listings Plunged in 2023
UX Research Manager Kathryn Brookshier dug into Indeed’s data to put hard numbers to the drop in UX job postings from 2022 highs.
The charts in her article track design and research roles and compare them to project management and engineering roles. With all the tech layoffs, lots of people are on the hunt for a UX job. Competition is stiff, but roles are available.
Kathryn’s analysis captured the attention of many, sparking discussion, commentary, and responses. Heading into 2024, we’ll keep you updated on the state of the UX job market with more articles built on Indeed data.
3 Content Artifacts I Can’t Live Without
Senior Content Designer Rebecca Nguyen created and shared three downloadable resources you can use to start doing better content design.
These tools help you:
- Measure readability improvements and share them in a way that’s easy for partners to digest.
- Create a CTA safelist that will improve consistency and help you scale.
- Request feedback in a way that gets you the responses you need.
In the article, Rebecca shows each tool in action with three quick case studies.
Nearly a year later, these artifacts are as relevant as ever. In fact, Rebecca’s article took the #1 spot on UX Content Collective’s list of the top 50 content resources of 2023. Check it out!
10 Things No One Told Me About Design Systems
UX Designer Diana Wolosin dropped design systems knowledge paired with some favorite memes.
Informative and fun to read, the article shares lessons Diana learned while working on multiple design systems. She discusses what a design system is supposed to do and what it’s not, lays out tips she wishes she knew at the beginning, and offers encouragement for people going through a similar process.
We read lots of design systems stories in 2023, and Diana’s was a big favorite. It was Indeed Design’s most-shared article of the year, a favorite on Medium, and was republished in UX Magazine.
Watch out, 2024!
Here’s a big cheers to our authors and illustrators. It’s a cool gig to consistently showcase stellar work from UXers we know, and 2024 will prove to be another exciting and insightful year at Indeed Design.
Do us a favor with our gratitude: keep reading and sharing.
Thanks for a fantastic year! The next one will be here before we know it.
