Austin Knight

Product Designer at Google Joined almost 8 years ago

  • 10 stories
  • 89 comments
  • 43 upvotes
  • Posted to Welcome to InVision's new blog, Inside Design, in reply to Andrew C , Sep 28, 2018

    For many teams, this would be an essential feature. If you're ever working on a highly visible, confidential or sensitive product, those mocks are much more than just mocks (they're product direction), and they can't be leaked.

    Almost every prominent product company will require platforms like InVision to have advanced encryption before they can even get in the door. It may not be useful to you, but it's certainly not a joke feature.

    3 points
  • Posted to I've updated my portfolio - new case studies and behind-the-scenes design thinking, Feb 06, 2018

    Looking good. I second the feedback regarding the left panel and UI-ception. I would also group all of the work together. The separation and change in pattern (some have thumbnails, others don't) seems arbitrary right now.

    Additionally, I'd consider focusing the titles of your case studies on the experience and outcome that you created (at a high level), rather than the brand name. Unless you worked with a very recognizable brand, the name of the company or product is going to be fairly meaningless.

    So "Avocarrot Exchange Platform" could become "An enterprise advertising platform for mobile app developers" or something to that effect.

    Tregg and Kyle have done something similar.

    1 point
  • Posted to Apple Holiday Gifts, in reply to Long Zheng , Nov 16, 2017

    Agreed. I really like it here though.

    They're making the products feel big and distinct. I found it very visually interesting, all in a time where Apple's product pages seem to have fallen off a bit in quality (repetitive and predictable elements, super long copy, etc.)

    The copy is really tied to the visuals too. "The perfect gift for those always on the move." has people climbing up an Apple Watch. "The blockbuster gift of the year." has people sitting on an Apple TV and looking at a huge screen like they're at the movies.

    It's a nice way to integrate the holiday season without it being overbearing.

    2 points
  • Posted to Verbb: We build products to help you be awesome, Oct 24, 2017

    I like how you animated "grow" in your headline. Not just aesthetically appealing, but it also visually communicates your message.

    The best animations have a purpose.

    1 point
  • Posted to Zoomanity, Oct 06, 2017

    Concept + execution. Great site.

    0 points
  • Posted to Creating a Design System: The Step-by-Step Guide, in reply to Jon Myers , Oct 06, 2017

    $29 / month for 25 active prototypes. How many projects are you working on at once?

    As a side note, this got me thinking about how a lot of SaaS companies actually purposely price-out sole proprietors / freelancers. The lowest paying customers can tend to also be the highest costing customers (in terms of complaints, support tickets, refund requests, churn, etc) and the most difficult to upsell and cross-sell (which is usually where SaaS makes the most money, and what drives their LTV up).

    So while I don't think this is the case with UXPin (their pricing seems reasonable for a freelancer), there is always a chance that SaaS companies are purposely making themselves too expensive for a freelancer, because they don't want their business.

    There's something to be said for knowing your market and focusing on it.

    0 points
  • Posted to The New Dropbox, Oct 03, 2017

    This is a real left turn. I respect the boldness, but I can't say I'm a fan. The wild color palette and squished type isn't working. Dropbox is a mainstream, B2C + B2B brand and I think this might throw a good portion of users off (in both camps). It feels more like something that a high end branding agency with niche clients should be putting out.

    With that said, their practical application of it isn't quite as jarring, so it might end up working pretty well: https://www.dropbox.com/

    I would love to see some conversion and usability test results with this. They have a strong growth team, so I imagine they must have done a fair amount, but this doesn't strike me as something that would outperform their previous design. But I really do respect that they were able to pull this off at a corporation of that scale; hats off to the design and leadership teams. They got out there.

    3 points
  • Posted to Kickpush - Product design studio // Fresh new site , in reply to Sam Solomon , Oct 03, 2017

    My first impression is they were doing industrial product design—if they were designing blenders and chairs it would have been a fantastic line.

    I actually thought the same thing. It's a line that feels a bit out of place, but as I went through the site, I started to think that was their intention. The copy is purposefully contrarian. It gives a "serious about not taking ourselves too seriously" kind of vibe. I agree that home page headline could be super confusing for a first time visitor though.

    0 points
  • Posted to Kickpush - Product design studio // Fresh new site , Oct 03, 2017

    Just logged into DN for the first time in months to tell you all that I love this design. A few things that stood out to me:

    • Bold copy: "We don't even like the internet" and especially "Hating each other since 2010". You really went for it.
    • Shadows and colors: Your use of both is perfect. The dark red headlines are especially nice.
    • Product shots: The monochromatic devices paired with moving animations of the product is really nice. Calling attention to what matters, and it looks super premium.
    • Award above the VR app: Really strong but subtle social proof. I think that's a theme for the site. You're showing impressive design work, but in a humble and understated way. You aren't bragging, you're just being real.
    • New business email address: I like that you have it going directly to a person, whereas the general contact is just "hello". Implies a special level of personal service for those that work with you.

    I think your next big area of opportunity is in the case studies themselves (and the Projects page). The full height card-based structure of your case study layout is limiting your content, and you're leaning heavily to the visual side, when I know there is a bit of a story you could be telling as well. I would honestly follow a similar structure to what you used on the home page, but in your case studies. Normal scroll, strong product shots, bold and short text to tell the story.

    Excellent site though. I'm a fan.

    3 points
  • Posted to What conferences and workshops should I spend my professional development budget on for 2017?, in reply to Michael Wong , Dec 10, 2016

    As someone who speaks a lot, I couldn't agree with this perspective more. If you're looking to tactically learn how to do something and develop hard skills, there is no substitute for getting your hands dirty and teaching yourself. I'm a self-taught Sr. UX Designer with no college degree, no mentor, and I've never attended a workshop or watched a tutorial online. I've just built things and figured it out along the way.

    Many aspiring UX Designers ask me, "how can I get into UX?" and my answer is always, "if you're asking that question, you're already doing it wrong". No one person is going to be able to tell or teach you something that will launch your career in UX. You have to forge your own career and the best way to do that is to start making things. This is because UX is truly dependent on what you can actually do and the results that you can generate, as opposed to processes or techniques that you've memorized.

    In my opinion, conferences are much better for the "bigger picture" conversations. Things that will challenge the ways that you think about design, introduce you to new technologies (or ways that people are using them), and inspire you to be a better designer. But the hands-on tactical stuff is better kept hands-on, despite the fact that many "tactical" conferences have popped up recently.

    Of course, there are exceptions to this, so if you really want to attend a conference, I would recommend checking out Interaction 17, UIE, Web Summit, Squares, and An Event Apart. There's also a huge event list here.

    4 points
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