Jeff Golenski

Jeff Golenski

Craft User Research

Building a Process for Design Research

Good design happens when you understand your users and how they think. Research provides a vehicle for this familiarity, helping us as designers build empathy so that we can identify and solve our users’ problems. Read on to learn how to build good research processes into your design work.
Jeff Golenski

Automattic Design

Never mind “Autopilot.” What about the people who are afraid to fly? Thoughts on creating website building software for small businesses.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that no matter how easy something may be, some folks have a tendency to stay clear away from it. And not because they don’t want to, but perhaps there’s a perception-based fear that keeps them away. They once could have had a bad experience with…
Jeff Golenski

Automattic Design

Designing consistency: Impact on agencies and their customers

A long time ago in a galaxy where I still currently reside, I was a marketing & product designer for several multimedia agencies focused on building marketing websites for small businesses. The platform of choice for these small businesses? You guessed it: WordPress. Most of us know WordPress as an open source platform that’s fairly…
Jeff Golenski

Automattic Design

Fresh look into Gutenberg for WordPress. A usability walkthrough

Although I’ve seen Gutenberg in action on the big screen, up until now, I haven’t really tried to use it to create content or layout. This 53 minute long walkthrough is my first real in-depth attempt at utilizing Gutenberg to create a blog post.
Jeff Golenski

Automattic Design

Finding your target audience. A simple guide to driving more traffic to your blog.

Originally written for DesignTactician.blog First, define your purpose It may seem like a silly question to ask oneself—but its often a question that’s overlooked when folks get a website or blog online (or before). But the answer to “why” can often shift the tactics in which to have a successful website or blog. What’s the…
Jeff Golenski

Automattic Design

You can’t create successful products if you don’t leave your desk

For the past 15 years I’ve been anchored at a desk creating everything from marketing material to user experiences for various applications and software. Now more than ever, people can work from their desk and not have to interact with others in a physical capacity. This can certainly be great for productivity, but also comes…
Jeff Golenski

Automattic Design

Utilizing Growth Design to create a better experience for our customers

One of the greatest benefits of working at Automattic is that I’m continuously challenged by my colleagues to be a better designer. We have an incredible pool of diverse talent with different perspective from all over the world, which means that we’re all in a position to teach and to be taught. A few weeks…
Jeff Golenski

Automattic Design

Filling in the Cracks: The Road to Better Brand Perception

I was born and raised within a rural town in New England. A place where public transit is virtually nonexistent and the primary mode of transportation is via automobiles. Traveling to the nearest grocery market, one finds themselves on a short pilgrimage— driving down long windy country roads whose sides are lined with trees and tall…
Jeff Golenski

Automattic Design

Staying focused by shifting focus.

As designers, we have a single task. Finding a solution to a problem. No matter what discipline of design we work in, the premise is always the same. A problem exists and we need a remedy. But the thing is—problems are sometimes hard… really hard. Depending on the scope of the issue, finding the answer often…