Jessica Hägg

I don't know when or how it happened, but Config has become one of the major yearly conferences in our industry. Given how much Figma plays a role in the practice, it's common for design system teams to watch with anticipation/excitement/dread for what's coming. In our latest episode, Davy Fung and I discuss the reveals from Config and what that may mean for folks in the design systems practice moving forward. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gRMBzfbJ #designsystems #figma #congfig #podcast

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If you feel like the honesty and humanity has been drained from the design industry in recent years then consider subscribing to Blair Fraser's new substack "The imperfect designer". He will be exploring an alternative viewpoint on the design profession covering topics like self doubt, burn-out, failure and the constant struggle to achieve balance in life. Zero hustle content guaranteed 😉 https://lnkd.in/eQdrvP-Y

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Really annoyed at Figma's price gouging here. There is no reason other than greed: https://lnkd.in/gfdrEiWH Oh, and I emailed them about it and this line from their reply was particularly poignant: "Additionally the minimum for enterprise is a $5k invoice minimum. 6 enterprise seats or made up with other products." To put that in context... our monthly Adobe bill (for 8 CC, 7 PS, 6 Acrobat licenses) is ~NZ$2k... Amazing how quickly enshittification sets in... #Figma #Design #SoftwareLicensing

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I’m noodling on a new thing—The Imperfect Designer. It’s a space for designers and creatives to talk about the messy side of the journey: burnout, perfectionism, self-doubt, and finding balance in both career and life. 🧘 I’ll be sharing my personal thoughts, ideas, and inspiration for navigating a career that embraces imperfection. Why not follow along and see where it goes? 🚀 This is for everyday creatives—whether you're in product design, UX, another creative field or just trying to figure out how to balance life with your work. #Design #healthandwellness #Creativity #SelfCare #WorkLifeBalance #Creatives #personaldevelopment

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Yesterday, I had the pleasure of chatting with Nesrine Changuel, PhD about the often-overlooked yet vital role of delight in tech products. Too often, this concept is dismissed as mere eye candy—a superficial layer tacked onto the core functionality of an app or website. But if we look closer, creating an emotional connection with users and customers might just be the key to true success. Borrowing her brilliant neologism, it’s not about B2C or B2B anymore—it’s all about B2H: Business-to-Humans. There’s so much more to explore on this topic! #emotionaldesign #delight #whatpeoplelove

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🚀 Big News: OpenDesignDocs.com gets a makeover! As we step into 2025, I’m thrilled to unveil the redesign of www.opendesigndocs.com — a platform built for the design community. 🎨✨ Imagine a space where designers of all levels can share knowledge, exchange ideas, and learn from each other. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, we all have something to give and something to gain. 🔥 What’s new: • A fresh, scalable site built to support this growing vision 🌟 What’s next: • Content from other leaders in the industry • Features that make sharing your expertise seamless • Profiles, analytics, audience ownership 👉 Let's build this together: If you’re interested in partnering to help build this space or have ideas on how we can make it even better, I’d love to hear from you. Here's to 2025!

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Someone has to say it! Tobias saying it makes it even more legit. Meet and work with a lot of young folks who are looking for mentors at workplace thinking they would be hand held at every step. While guides are there, one needs to walk the path and grind towards a path set by the mentor. Things don’t happen on their own. Blaming is another aspect of design folks where stakeholders are held responsible for what’s happening around them without introspecting why is it happening and what one can do to change that behaviour around by using design frameworks and improving the craft on a daily basis. So much of entitlement will never get us anywhere. #designlife

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#Adobe is in hot water with the DOJ, and for good reason. 🔥💁‍♂️ Just two days ago, the DOJ sued Adobe over hidden fees and difficulties in canceling subscriptions. This lawsuit highlights significant customer complaints about Adobe’s subscription practices, pointing to deceptive tactics that make it harder for users to opt out. 😠 Do we really think users appreciate being trapped by manipulative design? Especially those who value transparency, only to find themselves surprised by hidden fees and complicated cancellation processes. This lawsuit against Adobe underscores a critical issue in the digital subscription industry. 👀 Taking a step back, wouldn’t it make more sense for companies to prioritize ethical design and genuine user engagement? Design should enhance the user experience, not exploit it. Imagine interfaces that respect user autonomy and foster trust. 🙂‍↕️ There are different approaches, like designing with clarity and simplicity. Lots of companies are already implementing straightforward cancellation processes and transparent pricing. These practices build trust and promote long-term user loyalty. 🤗 Granted, eliminating dark patterns might be a challenge for some companies used to quick gains. But we should reconsider how these practices align with long-term brand integrity. Are short-term profits worth the potential damage to reputation and user relationships? 🧐 As a designer, I know how important innovation and experimentation are. Both are key to advancing our field. But we must question our practices and ensure we’re creating value in the right way. 💪 There’s a lot of potential to develop ethical, user-friendly solutions. Digital design should be a playground for creating transparent and respectful user experiences. This future can foster trust and engagement, benefiting both users and companies alike. ✨ #design #userexperience #ux #experience #darkpatterns #innovation #subscription #DOJ #FTC

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After a good, long UX discovery call today with a client—one where'd talked about user research, information architecture, design, data, user types, etc... —the client summarized beautifully, by stating: "We just need you to do your UX thing!" Sometimes it is the simplest of requests that lead to the best results. My team and I took that as a huge sign of trust! They know we got this. #UXDesign #TrustTheProcess #UXThing #Teamwork #ProblemSolving #DesignThinking

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I don’t know many Design teams that aren’t stretched right now Hiring more people seems seems like the logical answer Problem is that budgets are not secure / frozen for many and hiring can be SLOWWWWW Bringing in agencies can be a temporary solution Sure it won’t help you with the long term goal of building out perm teams But it will: > help you work at speed and offer fresh ideas / perspectives > provide a means of managing demand loads flux / 'more specialist' needs > not tie you in to have to redistribute designers elsewhere once that work is done > enable you to test out different models and test the types of designers you might need going forward > allow you to pick up demand quickly with less oversight from you required compared to a bunch of lone contractors The trick is embedding agencies in the right way to add value from both a work and culture perspective. Nail down expectations, communication and collaboration across the leadership teams from both sides and you’ll be onto a winning strategy Trust me :) ------ I know from recent conversations that many are still quite hesitant around the moves they are making. If you are thinking about bringing an agency in — hit me up, happy to share some thoughts no strings attached. Just like to be able to pass on what has worked for me/us/clients before and pay it forward #Design #ScalingDesign

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WANTED: Senior-Level UI/UX Designer for iOS (Full-Time or Part-Time, Remote) 🦸‍♂️ Ready to join the A-list? We’re on the lookout for a phenomenal Senior-Level UI/UX Designer to join our league of extraordinary creatives. If your UI designs can make the Mona Lisa look like child’s play, this is for you! Why you should care: 🥇 2022 App Store Award Winner — yup, that's us 🏆 2022 Apple Design Award Finalist — we’re almost celebrities 🌎 Over 4 million users — the most genuine community ❤️ 4.9 App Store rating — because excellence is our baseline 📲 Check out our blockbuster apps: Waterllama - https://lnkd.in/eF94Kxg Mindllama - https://lnkd.in/gnuSkpbC Pinkllama - https://lnkd.in/gBtdFdWR 🧑‍🚀 Your Mission, should you choose to accept: • Create breathtaking UI/UX designs that captivate • Design compelling marketing assets that make it irresistible • Deliver master files to developers like a guru • Evaluate implementations with the eye of an eagle 👑 Must-Haves: • Fluent in English, Ukrainian, or Russian language (communication is key) • Extensive experience in iOS app design — sorry, no beginners • Located in Europe or US time zones for seamless collaboration 👾 Passionate about pixel perfection? You might just be our dream match. 📫 Prove you've got the magic touch by sending your portfolio to team@waterllama.com Make sure to: 1. Describe your epic journey in iOS app design 2. Flex the examples of iOS apps you’ve elevated 3. Link your Top 3 favorite iOS apps (we’re all fans here!) PS: If the thought of being ‘just another designer’ terrifies you, this might be the gig for you. We’re only looking for those who are ready to handle the spotlight with us and challenge their limits. Oh, and the last two cents: put “llamazing” into your email subject to let us know you’ve read through to the end. Talk soon!

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Career progression

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🎨 DesignOps as Products? At Laerdal Medical, we turned DesignOps into products—tools like our design system (Life) and research service (Realiti) that teams want to use. It's all about focusing on outcomes, like satisfaction and usage, rather than just delivering outputs. Curious how it works? 👉 Check out the article! #DesignOps

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We’re often taught a linear process when it comes to building software, right? Discovery → Define → Design → Release But what happens when you land a job right in the middle of that process? After countless decisions have been made? What do you do? --- I’ve seen so many new designers expect to start a job and hit the ground running. 🏇 They want to impress everyone. 🤿 They’ll jump straight into designs.  🏅 They’ll expect to contribute to meetings. 😖 Then they’re surprised when no one listens. --- Building great software is hard. We know that. Not only is the code complex. There may be tons of flows, features, screens, components, and copy to think about and keep track of. Then there are the hundreds of conversations, debates, arguments, and decisions that went into coming up with all the code, flows, features, screens, components, and copy. That’s all well and good when you were there from the beginning, but how often are we actually starting all of this from scratch? The chances are good when you land a job you’re replacing someone who recently left or you’re part of a growing team. Either way, a lot of these decisions have been made and you need to help execute. If you *really* want to help execute, you can’t start from the middle. You need to start from the start. ✅ Starting from the start is about understanding the context. ✅ It’s about breaking up bigger problems into more digestible chunks. ✅ It’s about looking back at everything you know you know. ✅ It’s about getting a better sense of what you don’t yet know. 🎯 Here are a few key takeaways: ▶️ You’re likely going to end up in the middle of a process: When you start a new job, you’re most likely going to end up on a team that has already started work. Spend the first month getting to know the people, the processes, and the overall context. ▶️ Don’t rush into it: You *could* skip the context and jump to one specific solution, but you may be totally wrong at best, or risk hurting your credibility with the team at worst. You won’t get fired for doing your due diligence. ▶️ It’s a marathon, not a sprint: You’ve often got time to take a step back and consider the larger problem. You may not have months or even weeks, but even if you’ve only got a few hours, do what you can to get the context before settling on a solution. ▶️ You won’t have all the answers: Unless you’re a software team of one, your team will have insights you aren’t aware of. They may have additional context and additional insights. Reach out to your team and see what they have to say. ▶️ Avoid confirmation bias: Chances are good you’ll have some ideas in your head. There’s nothing wrong with that. But be sure to avoid confirming your suspicions or validating your ideas simply because they’re your ideas. Be objective and open to anything. --- So the next time you’re faced with a big problem, take a step back and start from the start. #UXdesign #SoftSkills

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