Untitled. With Alin Buda.

If are quiet and pay attention, you can hear the funeral march in the distance. I wrote on this topic before. You can read my on my Medium channel. It was long, probably boring and most of everyone, never read the end of it. So I decided to publish it in a different format, because some things have changed in my head and also, just to piss-off a few people. For those who aren’t patient enough — I tell you the end of it. The persona as is used today is dead weight. It is a corpse that pulls all projects from the centre, down, in the unknown. I'm making a referrence to one of the most interesting expeiments done in a while - learn more about it by searching Alexander Nix at Concordia. Enjoy!

The actual context (the lockdown), is creating the opportunity for change. One important aspect is work. We can't be returning to the old normal, we must explore new ways of large scale and long-term collaboration. Excessive commute, the open plan office and endless meetings are the worst enemies for our attention and productivity. Let's keep the conversation going and do something about it. I plan to do my part.

The actual context (the lockdown), is creating the opportunity for change. One important aspect is work. We can't be returning to the old normal, we must explore new ways of large scale and long-term collaboration. Excessive commute, the open plan office and endless meetings are the worst enemies for our attention and productivity. Let's keep the conversation going and do something about it. I plan to do my part.

I love Monzo but Monzo needs to mature, soon. If they keep growing but forget about the relevant details, they will end up in the same place with the monsters they challenged in the first place. This episode is about managing the expectations, being transparent and helpful so you build the right kind of brand. A brand you can rely on when the s**t hits the fan. Enjoy!

I love Monzo but Monzo needs to mature, soon. If they keep growing but forget about the relevant details, they will end up in the same place with the monsters they challenged in the first place. This episode is about managing the expectations, being transparent and helpful so you build the right kind of brand. A brand you can rely on when the s**t hits the fan. Enjoy!

I love Monzo but Monzo needs to mature, soon. If they keep growing but forget about the relevant details, they will end up in the same place with the monsters they challenged in the first place. This episode is about managing the expectations, being transparent and helpful so you build the right kind of brand. A brand you can rely on when the s**t hits the fan. Enjoy!

I keep saying that you and me, as designers, we need to learn when we need to be bold and celebrate our victories but also be humble, recognise and learn from our mistakes. This episode is about two important failures from design perspective coming from two big companies that hire some extraordinary people and then completely ignore one sacred basic rules of design - deliver what you promise. By the time you listen to this, the mistakes will be forgotten by most of their customers but as designers, is our duty to learn from those mistakes.

I keep saying that you and me, as designers, we need to learn when we need to be bold and celebrate our victories but also be humble, recognise and learn from our mistakes. This episode is about two important failures from design perspective coming from two big companies that hire some extraordinary people and then completely ignore one sacred basic rules of design - deliver what you promise. By the time you listen to this, the mistakes will be forgotten by most of their customers but as designers, is our duty to learn from those mistakes.

The current pandemic, beside the loss and distress is giving us also an opportunity to learn something as designers. We can see that motivated by a crisis, humans will change behaviour and embrace new attitudes that will stay with us for a while. We talk too much about empathy in design, sometimes just to show the others that we care and feel validated. We pretend better and better to care instead of being more compassionate, more humble and honest about what we design. And it really shows.

The current pandemic, beside the loss and distress is giving us also an opportunity to learn something as designers. We can see that motivated by a crisis, humans will change behaviour and embrace new attitudes that will stay with us for a while. We talk too much about empathy in design, sometimes just to show the others that we care and feel validated. We pretend better and better to care instead of being more compassionate, more humble and honest about what we design. And it really shows.

The way we test digital experiences today is outdated and produces toxic data. Data that alters the products we create and slows us down as designers in learning how to learn about users. The methods mostly used by (usability) testing platforms are delivering almost nothing. It is time to change this and I am ready to do my part. For start, I will invite seasoned designers to the conversation but until then, please consider this the spark that starts a fire. As designers we need to become more interested by data, by personality traits, by business propositions and context. We need to get out our bubbles and get familiar with the tools and methods the scientists are using. We have by now, enough bad examples of abusing the power of those tools and knowledge - it is time to reclaim those methods and use them for good. Two relevant examples (I hope) to give you more context to this conversation: a.Cambridge Analytica - The Power of Big Data and Psychographics b.1Personality tests - 16personalities.com If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

The way we test digital experiences today is outdated and produces toxic data. Data that alters the products we create and slows us down as designers in learning how to learn about users. The methods mostly used by (usability) testing platforms are delivering almost nothing. It is time to change this and I am ready to do my part. For start, I will invite seasoned designers to the conversation but until then, please consider this the spark that starts a fire. As designers we need to become more interested by data, by personality traits, by business propositions and context. We need to get out our bubbles and get familiar with the tools and methods the scientists are using. We have by now, enough bad examples of abusing the power of those tools and knowledge - it is time to reclaim those methods and use them for good. Two relevant examples (I hope) to give you more context to this conversation: a.Cambridge Analytica - The Power of Big Data and Psychographics b.1Personality tests - 16personalities.com If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

For generations, millions of people tried to save the Earth. Don’t use plastic, don’t buy gas, turn off the lights, stop the engine, walk more, eat less. Save the trees, save the bees. By all means, these are skills we need to embrace to counter the effects of consumerism but to save the Earth, it is a different game. I think we are looking at this huge problem the wrong way. It is impossible to save the Earth. We don’t have that kind of power and by power, I mean knowledge. If we can save something, we can save ourselves. We are part of this planet, as trees and bees. Out desire to be different, our socio-political framework won’t allow this. We solve this issue and the planet and we might survive. As for the planet, it will be just fine with or without us. If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

For generations, millions of people tried to save the Earth. Don’t use plastic, don’t buy gas, turn off the lights, stop the engine, walk more, eat less. Save the trees, save the bees. By all means, these are skills we need to embrace to counter the effects of consumerism but to save the Earth, it is a different game. I think we are looking at this huge problem the wrong way. It is impossible to save the Earth. We don’t have that kind of power and by power, I mean knowledge. If we can save something, we can save ourselves. We are part of this planet, as trees and bees. Out desire to be different, our socio-political framework won’t allow this. We solve this issue and the planet and we might survive. As for the planet, it will be just fine with or without us. If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

Today, one of the hottest product on the market, besides data, is attention. Our attention is exploited in ways we would find ridiculous only a decade ago. I don't bring too much of news to the table, most of you are aware of this fact. Most of you choose to do nothing because you don't understand the effects. And this is normal. None of us was prepared for this. The first step in getting to this type of resource for any company interested in your attention is building a habit and that starts with teaching you a pattern. To teach you a habit, most platforms offer a random incentive - quick rewards for micro-interactions - post a photo, receive (maybe) likes, leave a comment, (maybe)someone (sometimes) will answer. A byproduct of this interaction is the fear of missing out - a great motivator for most of us. The fact that the random reward is in place makes everyone constantly check for the red badge that announces that someone cares for you. It is time to rise above this. In small steps and the first step is to understand that your attention is exploited. Pay attention to your habits because someone already does. If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

Today, one of the hottest product on the market, besides data, is attention. Our attention is exploited in ways we would find ridiculous only a decade ago. I don't bring too much of news to the table, most of you are aware of this fact. Most of you choose to do nothing because you don't understand the effects. And this is normal. None of us was prepared for this. The first step in getting to this type of resource for any company interested in your attention is building a habit and that starts with teaching you a pattern. To teach you a habit, most platforms offer a random incentive - quick rewards for micro-interactions - post a photo, receive (maybe) likes, leave a comment, (maybe)someone (sometimes) will answer. A byproduct of this interaction is the fear of missing out - a great motivator for most of us. The fact that the random reward is in place makes everyone constantly check for the red badge that announces that someone cares for you. It is time to rise above this. In small steps and the first step is to understand that your attention is exploited. Pay attention to your habits because someone already does. If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

The way we make use of persona in digital design has proven to be not only inefficient but also dangerous. This conversation is a case against this practice. We (as designers) know better and is our duty to update the standard of our design processes. As usual this is just the beginning of the conversation. I will come back to this, with help. Enjoy! If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

The way we make use of persona in digital design has proven to be not only inefficient but also dangerous. This conversation is a case against this practice. We (as designers) know better and is our duty to update the standard of our design processes. As usual this is just the beginning of the conversation. I will come back to this, with help. Enjoy! If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

We are lucky, there are few important voices out there that worry about ethics in technology. This episode is about our responsibility as designers and is barely scratching the surface of this heavy subject so I promise I will be back, with help. Enjoy! If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

We are lucky, there are few important voices out there that worry about ethics in technology. This episode is about our responsibility as designers and is barely scratching the surface of this heavy subject so I promise I will be back, with help. Enjoy! If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to hello@alinbuda.com or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!