Matt Hobbs

Accessibility Consultants & User/UX Researchers There's an interesting dynamic I'm spotting in the job market currently. While Accessibility Best Practices and Qual and Quant Research Methodologies are becoming more stringent in Product Designer job descriptions, these disciplines more commonly are becoming designated roles within organisations. Clearly, the voice of the user and accessible design are coming to the forefront of design strategies. However, it looks like there are two schools of thought emerging as to whether we tack these on to Product Designer job descriptions, or bring in specialists. What do you folks think? Personally, I'm of the view that Designers should at least have a knowledge of these disciplines, but you always run the risk of them being spread too thinly with all the other responsibilities associated with their roles. #ucd #accessibility #research Salt

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How can I get people to fully support design decisions and feel included in the process? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone simply agreed with every decision? Sadly, that’s not how people—or teams—work. Getting buy-in on design decisions can be challenging, but it boils down to two essentials: clarity and inclusion from the start. First, make sure everyone understands how decisions will be made and who will make them. Misalignment often occurs when people think they have influence, only to discover later they don’t. So, be upfront—whether the process is a team vote or a leader’s call, lay it all out clearly. Next, consider the style of decision-making. While democracy fosters collaboration, it’s not always feasible. Sometimes, a leader needs to make the call, but for autocratic decisions to work smoothly, the team must agree on who has that authority and consent to it. For example, a CTO’s role often grants them decision-making power. But a tech lead without hierarchical authority? That requires explicit group agreement. Without consent, you risk misunderstandings and resistance. To help with this, there’s a great model included in your book (complete with a handy visual!) that outlines decision-making levels. Sharing this with your team can set expectations and ensure everyone’s aligned. Regardless of the approach, everyone needs to feel heard. In democratic decisions, once a majority vote is reached, ask those in the minority what they need to support the outcome. For instance, if the team votes for trunk-based development, someone who opposed it might request more knowledge about front-end feature toggles to get on board. Incorporating their input into the decision—Deep Democracy calls this “adding the wisdom of the minority”—can unify the group. For autocratic decisions, where feedback isn’t naturally built in, ask the group how they feel about the choice and what would help them align with it. Address reasonable concerns where possible. And if you can’t, be honest—false promises are far worse than disappointment. If disagreements persist, it might signal deeper issues needing resolution. The book’s Chapters 8 has excellent guidance for handling such conflicts. Ultimately, decision-making isn’t just about making the call—it’s about creating a process where everyone feels included and respected. When people feel heard, buy-in becomes much easier. Be sure to read Chapter 9 to know more about making decisions collaboratively! XoXo CoMo

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Interesting article on rethinking the role of UX Teams. https://lnkd.in/eN7SQHEm #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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How long until we're reciting Pi to 15 digits just to log into our accounts? 🤯 This two-factor nonsense is getting beyond a joke! As customers we should expect better, and as customer experience designers we can and should do better. Just because you can do it this way, doesn't mean you should. Service design should not stop at a tick in the compliance box. Life is complicated enough without this nonsense. #customerexperience #servicedesign #cybersecurity #mfa

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🎩 Title: Freelance UX Architect 🎩 Start: Monday 20th January 🎩 Length: 3 months (great chance of long extension) 🎩 Client: Digital Agency 🎩 Day rate: £400 per day (maximum, Unchangeable) 🎩 IR35: Inside IR35 (The client has requested an Umbrella to be used, not Ltd) 🎩 Hybrid working: 5 days per week (Unchangeable) - 3 days a week in-house on Tuesday, Wednesday + Thursday (other 2 days will be remote) 🎩 Location: Central East London 🎩 Brief: - Working alongside an experienced UI designer.  - Collaborating with the Digital Experience team. - Leading planning sessions to deliver innovative ideas. - Develop frameworks for improving digital products:  - Vehicle sales, subscriptions, applications, + experiences.  - Shaping the digital elements of a 'Modern Luxury' vision.  - Occasionally host workshops, both remotely and in person. - You will present and develop innovative digital experiences. - Collaborating with Data and Analytics Optimisation teams. - Gathering business and customer requirements is essential. - Office365, solid in Figma for prototyping and using design systems. - Focus on direct-to-consumer eCommerce and brand development. - Creating (IA), navigation solutions, taxonomies, wireframes, + prototypes. - Help optimise eCommerce performance by applying behavioural science.  - Knowledge of Content Management System (CMS) architecture + data lit. - Ensuring accessibility + compliance standards across projects is essential. - Create documentation + blueprints for strategists, designers, + developers.  - Data-driven design, hypothesis creation, + personalisation = your approach. - Collaborate with teams (project management, creative), + tech development. 🎩 🌈

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Last week I put out a call to arms around entry level roles in UCD/Service Design. Here’s a summary of what I think could help next year: 🧠 Sharing knowledge: People writing more about what their organisations are doing and sharing this so others can borrow their approach. Rachel Bucknall committed to doing this, it would also be great to hear from Simon M. re the apprenticeship at HMRC. 📧 Visibility of roles: Matt Jukes has committed to sharing more entry level roles in his jobs newsletter but we need to send them to him. Let’s not avalanche him so maybe if you see something on here tag Matt. I’ll be sending anything I see his way directly.  ✏️ Opportunities to get project experience: It sounds like Adam Haesler is running a great initiative in this space and I will be personally exploring how I can offer shadowing opportunities next year. I’d be keen to hear from any other freelancers who are up for doing this alongside me. I also think there is room here for the design agencies out there to be offering (paid) placements.  💬 Access to advice: I’ve been running free walk n talks for people looking to get into the industry for years now. It looks like other freelancers like Ella Botting are keen to replicate this model and I’d love others to borrow it too. 👨‍💻 Shifting procurement: This is a biggie but a key part of the puzzle that Martin Wright, David Robson and Ray Newman brought up. Building this in as a procurement criteria, changing the narrative between suppliers and clients and agencies taking the hit were all mentioned as solutions. Things are not going to change over night, I recognise this. However it’s heartening to see the conversation start to shift from problems to solutions. I do think this is a drop in the ocean however, and some key voices are missing. So, how do we continue to make progress in this space? Do I need to ‘run a thing’ next year?! #servicedesign #ucd #entrylevel

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We love using backwards design in course planning. We plan assessments, then tasks, then content to help make sure we focus on what's needed not “what ought to be covered”. In our latest blog post you’ll see some examples to help walk you through the backwards design process. If you’re already familiar with this method, hopefully this post may be a useful resource to help introduce your subject matter experts to this design method. https://lnkd.in/gJ_4T_MV

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Good advice here. Having built a component library (CL) I can attest to these problems. Things can and do "go south" during implementation. CL's are great and help reduce issues, but are not bulletproof, so do not be lulled into a false sense of security when using them. Nothing is accessible until it's been tested (and even then there may still be some issues). Accessibility is a (neverending) journey, not a "one and done" deal.

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I have been searching for a practical use for AI in UX beyond writing copy, generating images or other nonsense. I found one and it is awesome: Sidekick which part of Stark’s Figma plugins. It really does reduce the “Busy Work” when dealing with accessibility. Enjoy: https://lnkd.in/gbrUtGjJ #Stark #Figma #Acessibility #UX

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Keeping your Product Design team together. As a Product Design Recruiter, it's been interesting to see the reasons why Product Designers are reaching out to me for new opportunities. It seems to be a fairly equal split between those who have been directly affected by redundancies and those who are in safe roles but have grown disillusioned. Over the last 6 weeks, there've been two trending reasons for this. Firstly, the delay of performance or salary reviews, with no clear indication of when they can expect them. Secondly, a promotion that only exists on paper and doesn't change anything. Failing to give a deserving team member a performance/salary review can be risky. Not doing so could decrease morale, and other incentives may only provide temporary solutions. People join teams because they believe there are genuine opportunities for growth and advancement. If you're not in a position to offer salary or performance reviews, work with the person to create a plan with specific targets and deadlines to show that you acknowledge their hard work and are committed to their development. Don't avoid the conversation with the hope it will go away. Remember, keeping your team informed, involved, and feeling valued is key to retaining top talent.

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How a UX audit unlocks a new perspective↓ We're so close to our products daily that our ability to spot problems others experience becomes challenging. This is why speaking with users is so important, but recruiting quality users and setting up calls to then analyse feedback is time-consuming and sometimes lacklustre, especially if you hit a streak of no-shows :( A UX audit is a condensed, value-packed, easy-to-digest boost that can save you time and reveal a new perspective. Here’s what a good UX audit covers: → Your Landing page - how well does your site explain what your app does and how the user can benefit from it. → Design continuity - does your App Store listing match the design direction of your website, or is there a disconnect? Is the value clear and easily understood? → Account creation - how quickly can you get the user set up and reach an 'aha moment' inside your app? (tip: the sooner the better) → Activating users - Is it clear what to do next? The user is in your app; what action must they take that is likely to incentivise further interaction? → Retention - Okay, the user did something in your app, but are they coming back to do it again? Is it clear to them that they should? What type of action leads the user to become a retained user, and are you optimising your onboarding to guide users into this action? (If you take anything away, it’s this point above.) A great audit can help you answer these questions and more. For a limited time, I’m opening up and offering free UX audits for teams that want to level up. A few friends in the product space can vouch for these types of audits. They’re a great boost for product teams. This is what you can expect to get: → Answers to all the above → List of quick wins → Friction point breakdown → First impression report → Holistic design review Sound good? Grab a free audit here: ↓ www.shapeshyft.co.uk

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This is a really good article about common techniques of browsing the web with only a keyboard. I consider this a prereq for anyone working in the accessibility field. Martin does a beautiful job keeping the concepts simple and straightforward. #Accessibility #Keyboard https://lnkd.in/eQGKbADX

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1 month ago, a consultancy needed freelancers to scale fast. Their main need was to maintain quality whilst growing. Here is how the 1st week went: This Head of UX had recently joined this consultancy. Before our meeting, they had 1 internal contractor. Feeling anxious about how to achieve a team of 6. During our call, we found that: They had 2 huge projects to deliver with niche skills needed. The freelancers had to start within a few days. Extremely time-poor to source themselves. What happened in 24 hours: Within 5 hours of the briefing, Booked 3 interviews, Placed the 1st role. What happened in 4 weeks: Maintained the quality whilst scaling. Hit their targets (+ growing still). A strong freelance team of 6. If you: Are a UX/ UI Design Leader/ Head of/ Director Love the sound of the above results. Want ace people, not just anyone. Need to hire fast. _________ DM me. We'll have a quick chat. + See how you can get back to being awesome. _________

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Sharing for visibility and a recommendation. Joel is a reliable, steady hand in complex, challenging and large-scale digital transformations. A genuine bar-raiser.

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Do you know why UK Startups Are Investing in Professional UI/UX Audits? Picture this: I have launched a product. I’ve built it, and marketed it, but something’s off. Users aren’t engaging the way I hoped. Is it my idea? My marketing? What is it? For many startups, the answer lies in the UI/UX. Sometimes, it’s not the design but how users experience it. A professional audit is like a health check for a website or app. Experts analyze the user journey, identify friction points, and highlight areas causing frustration or confusion. Why UI/UX is a game-changer for startups like mine? 1. User Retention: An audit reveals what’s working and what’s not, ensuring we don’t lose potential customers due to poor design choices. 2. Boost Conversion Rates: Small changes, like simplifying navigation or optimizing buttons, can drastically improve conversion rates. 3. Stay Competitive: A polished, seamless user experience often decides whether users choose us or the competition. Investing in a UI/UX audit doesn’t just improve the product, it shows customers that we care about their experience. If you're looking for a comprehensive UI/UX audit, UIUX.STUDIO is here to help. We provide in-depth evaluations to enhance your user experience and design efficiency. Book a call with us: https://lnkd.in/dtE-2mwD Visit our website: https://uiux.studio/ #UIUX #CustomerExperience

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