Sketching for UX Newsletter Issue #14 (September 2023)
My favorite design & visual thinking resources I discovered in September
My work
Before sharing my favorite resources, here are some of my achievements:
#1 All the recording & editing is done for my upcoming Udemy course, How to train your designer eye! 🎞️
The course is going to be released very soon, hopefully before the end of October!
If you take my course, you'll learn how to train your designer eye, how to collect, analyze and practice designing user flows, layouts and UI elements: I will show you some effective techniques, my favorite resources, and I'm going to give you many-many practice activities. I posted the whole curriculum here.
#2 The 100-Day Long UX Visual Library Building Challenge book has been published 🎉
Get the ebook here on a pay-what-you-want basis, or
Order a physical (softcover) copy here
And if you haven’t done already, grab a copy of my Sketching for UX Designers Workbook :)
#3 In the last couple of months, I have been a social media partner of the George UX Conference (see the agenda here), while the in-person tickets are sold out, you can still participate remotely (it’s free). You’ll find me at the venue, let me know if you want to have a chat!
Favorite resources
Here are my favorite discoveries of September, 2023:
#1 Live UI Fix - Small Tweaks, BIG Results by Matt D. Smith
A 40-minute long UI redesign by MDS. Peaking over someone's shoulder to watch them work in real-time is a great way to develop your design skills. Btw. he has other great critique videos on his Youtube channel.
#2 Overrides by
I love Aleks’s work and enthusiasm, I also like his This Week In Design newsletter, and I’m really impressed by his new product, Overrrides, a no-code Framer component library that currently contains 71 components & overrides, like hover and scroll effects.
#3 Archives.design by Valerie Marier
A digital archive of graphic design related items: you can access e.g. books, posters and interactive pieces, like a clickable Windows 95 demo.
#4 Dizzy Users Close Browsers: Balancing Creativity & Accessibility by
Piccia delivered a great talk about accessibility at beyond tellerrand: “there is also a tendency to identify “accessible” with “ugly” and “sacrificing imagination”. Piccia Neri will debunk these myths in her talk, showing how your website can be visible, beautiful, creative, accessible – and at the same time, profitable.”
#5 Off-Grid by
Last month, Fons launched a platform that features great design projects, giving you a behind-the-scenes perspective on how those great results were achieved. He was inspired by Netflix’s Abstract, here you can read more about the story of Off-Grid.
#6 Figma Academy 2.0 by
I attended so many online courses throughout my design career I can’t even count. Figma Academy by Ridd truly blew my mind, the knowledge was so advanced, yet it was explained so well, I have never experienced anything like it before. Now Ridd released the updated version of this awesome material, you can enroll here, and if you use the code SKETCHINGFORUX, you get $100 off!
#7 New great design inspiration websites:
If you follow my work, you might know that I love design inspiration websites, I’m an inspiration hoarder :D Here are some new ones:
- , Matt Cram, and
Dark themed web design inspiration by
#8 Growth.design’s exercises
If you have been a subscriber for a long time, you know that I love the case studies of Growth.design. The great news is that they are going to launch a new product that’ll help you learn product psychology by completing weekly lessons. Here you can check out the demo.
#9 Sketching the Story
Jon Kolko wrote a piece about the importance of sketching in the design process. ”An early story sketch, for example, might be as simple as capturing an idea from a preliminary discussion and turning it into a few bullet points or sentences of text, which are then augmented by quick visuals, whether digital or analog.” The article argues that “[…] sketching is only going to become more useful in design projects as time goes on.”
#10 A Pocket Guide on Learner Motivation by LXD Lab
Learning about motivation is key for us designers. LXD Lab published a nice little pocket guide that summarizes the fundamentals.
+1 Viztober initiative by Eva-Lotta Lamm
While it is already the middle of October, you can still discover all the previous solutions shared on social media. “I’ll draw one emotion per day and I invite you to join me and draw your own versions from the prompt list I prepared.”
My newest UX Knowledge Piece Sketch: Social Proof
My newest sketch is about applying social proof in your design work:
Check out my sketch & detailed article here soon. (As a newsletter subscriber, you not only get my newest UX Knowledge Piece Sketch directly to your inbox each month: you get early access to it, too.)
Coupon codes for my Udemy courses & other deals
Udemy courses
Sketching for UX Designers course - €13.99
Be a better designer by understanding development aspects course - €12.99
Other deals
Being part of the 10x designers community has been one of the best experience in my professional life as a designer. Join me on this learning journey, let’s grow together! (Launch sale: $99 instead of $129 for 3 months)
As you know, I find collecting and analyzing design inspiration a very important skill, and I became an advocate of Mobbin, join with my link to support me with a couple of dollars, I’d really appreciate it!
The Ultimate UI Design Mastery Bundle is an epic starting point if you want to become a UI designer, I believe that the designers at Supercharge are among the best, and they consistently share great knowledge. I attended their Advanced Figma course, so I experienced their teaching style myself. The best thing about the bundle is that you are getting all their current courses (30 hours+) for a reduced price and you are going to get 3 upcoming UI courses for free. Again, if you join via my link, you’ll support my work!
Thanks for reading my newsletter, I hope you enjoyed it! 💙
Krisztina
P.S.: Have you written or found an interesting design / visual thinking article or other resource lately? Please send me a DM on Twitter! I might feature your resource in the next issue!