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Automattic Design Stories 485

Automattic Design Stories 485

  • The power of stories

    Stories are powerful. For the last few months we have been immersed in the world of small business owners. This began with a series of over 40 interviews with small business owners; we used these to gain an understanding of their goals, needs and pains. Based on these insights, we began imagining an ideal world…

    The power of stories
  • Kylea Parker Avatar
    Kylea Parker

    Feeling uncomfortable

    “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” ― Isaac Asimov The biggest advantage of starting something new is a fresh perspective, whether it be a new job, a new hobby, or traveling to a new country for the first time. You…

    Feeling uncomfortable
  • Brie Anne Demkiw Avatar
    Brie Anne Demkiw

    Being Wrong

    “To err is to wander, and wandering is the way we discover the world; and, lost in thought, it is also the way we discover ourselves. Being right might be gratifying, but in the end it is static, a mere statement. Being wrong is hard and humbling, and sometimes even dangerous, but in the end…

    Being Wrong
  • Trust Funnels

    Consistency builds trust. Speed builds trust. Simplicity builds trust. —Automattic Design Principle Lately, my focus has been revolving around landing pages and landing page systems. So while I was going through our design principles the other day, it struck me: All our potential customers go through the same micro funnels before they sign up through…

    Trust Funnels
  • Filippo Di Trapani Avatar
    Filippo Di Trapani

    Starting with curiosity to make the difference

    Before getting into my design career almost 15 years ago, I was an art student for an even longer time. At school, I was trained to be curious and produce creative work. We were taught how to explore the unknown, try things that hadn’t been done before, and seek out different approaches. Those skills carried…

    Starting with curiosity to make the difference
  • Contributor stories

    WordPress exists today because people contribute to it. They contribute in their evenings, weekends and lunch times. People choose to take WordCamp vacations, attend contribution days on a Sunday with their family. These volunteer contributors are the heartbeat of WordPress. They are the stories that whilst often unheard need listening to. Let’s be real, contribution…

    Contributor stories
  • Ian Stewart Avatar
    Ian Stewart

    Seeking out differences and changing

    If you’ve ever had to do anything moderately hard over a long period of time, failed at it, tried again, found some success, failed at it, tried again, and so on, looping on and on, you’ve probably in some way gone back to your first principles. Those foundational building blocks that lie deep beneath any…

    Seeking out differences and changing
  • Long Live the King!

    Content is king. Except that’s it’s often times regarded as the king of a small island located in the middle of a marshland far away from civilization. It’s a king that no one seems to have much time for, especially for those who are building their own businesses. There’s been a lot of research lately…

    Long Live the King!
    Photo by Michael Spain on Unsplash
  • nozomimimi Avatar
    nozomimimi

    Localization beyond translation

    In my previous life, I worked on bridging gaps between international versions of software products—my team and I conducted user interviews and usability studies in both the US and Japan, focusing on our end users, “Visitors”, to see how different parts of user experience that we offer are perceived by people from different cultures and…

    Localization beyond translation
    Photo by Janko Ferlic on <a href="https://www.pexels.com/" rel="nofollow">Pexels.com</a>
  • Filipe Varela Avatar
    Filipe Varela

    Traveling the world and telling stories

    Some say we travel not to see the world, but look inwards instead. By removing the shell that is our comfort zone, we can learn more about ourselves, and test our ability to create new paths in absence of what’s familiar. To go where we’ve never been. The interesting thing is that developing a product…

    Traveling the world and telling stories