Polytechnicast

It's useful to have even a rough concept of what you're working toward, things you know are important or likely to encounter, or at least are worth checking to see if they'd be helpful. For example, a mental model like a creative progression going from rough concept to refined to complete. You can have a UX Mindset informed mental model of getting your work done so that you are working toward incl...

Any product we make connects a variety of groups of people. UX Constituencies are groups of people I find relate to most any project/product/system/endeavor: your audience, your team, your organization, the world, and you. Here I explore why considering each of those groups helps you make more meaningful things whether you're a UX expert or any person with a UX Mindset. And the UX Mindset series c...

Listening is the most powerful thing you can do to understand. Here I share a few ways of listening that work individually or combined to meet the needs of you and your team in the moment. And the UX Mindset series continues! Related Links and Resources Introduction to the UX Mindset Series UX Mindset for Business UX Mindset for Software Engineering UX Mindset for Designers UX Mindset for Artists...

Being open to including others is a big start to making something more meaningful. List making is one of the best tools you can use no matter if you identify as a ux designer or not. This episode continues the UX Mindset series! Related Links and Resources Introduction to the UX Mindset Series UX Mindset for Business UX Mindset for Software Engineering UX Mindset for Designers UX Mindset for Artis...

Audiences learn about your work, then what's it like for them to learn more, to support your work. If you offer a variety of products how do they find the one they need in this moment? UX Mindset for artists has two distinct and useful concerns: Making your work findable, purchasable, useful, and usable Including the audience in the work itself This episode continues the UX Mindset series! Related...

Advocate for design in order to advocate for and include learning about our audiences. We designers practice many useful skills to help us and those we work with to make inclusive decisions that shape products and systems. Something that can get overlooked along the way: helping others see the value of this including of human context. It's useful to practice helping others learn from their audienc...

As someone who's worked both as a software engineer and ux designer I want to share the value adding human centered design tools for making engineering decisions. This episode continues the UX Mindset series! Related Links and Resources Introduction to the UX Mindset Series UX Mindset for Business Art Soundoff — Lean Into Art Rob's Products and Ways to Support the Polytechnicast Get Guitar Fretter...

Continuing the UX Mindset series, I share why I think it's so useful for anyone running, planning, or leading a business to see user experience design and human centered design tools as so worthwhile to include in decision making. Related Links and Resources Introduction to the UX Mindset Series Rob's Products and Ways to Support the Polytechnicast Get Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a...

Something I've been considerering for a number of years: how can I help spreat the tools of ux design far and wide. Human centered design + understanding systems and situations where the things we make connect with the audiences we serve are useful mechanisms for so many. Here I talk about how I started with "UX for all" then "Practicing UX" and am thinking how "UX Mindset" may be even more approa...

Since I'm taking part in a creative challenge called Art Soundoff ( http://artsoundoff.com) , I decided to use the workbook from my Customizing Your Next Creative Challenge workshop. Customizing Your Next Creative Challenge is available on Gumroad and Skillshare . Related Links and Resources Polytechnicast - Creative Challenge Worksheet - YouTube Video Download your own PDF of the workbook to expl...

Guitar Fretter is 10 years old and I still have more ideas to add and refine. Some of those ideas I'm putting into a new game, some I'm putting into the classic version of Guitar Fretter. Recently I thought I'd make a quick art update and I expected to be ready to publish in about 4 days. Did things get out of hand where it took 4 weeks instead? Analyzing the list of what to improve and testing al...

In this Polytechnicast I consider how I've found MVP useful. Also how MVP and any highly celebrated business and design concept will go through a cycle where the name for the concept draws more and more negative takes. And I share the news that I'm launching a Patreon of news and special episodes of the Polytechnicast and more ! Related Links and Resources Support and follow Rob on Patreon for mor...

I wrote this article called Being There When a Team is Starting Their First Design Journey , my first Medium article. So many organizations in the recent 10+ years have asked: what if we explore if we should build something for our audience instead of just can we build something. They may not have intended to ask that question at the start, but they're asking this when they invite human centered d...

Today I annotated 11 double sided physical pages of goals and what happened next is I left them at a bagel place. Related Links and Resources Online store for Rob Stenzinger: workshops ebooks for ux design, creative coding, creative challenges, goals, and storytelling For Skillshare subscribers or those new to Skillshare who'd like to sign up for 2 free months + get the Drawing User Journey Maps c...

As a guest instructor I recently taught a class about making use of visual storytelling to serve the product design process in a variety of ways - especially through sketching the stories and visuals as quick doodles. Related Links and Resources Guitar Fretter - a game that makes an arcade memory match out of memorizing the notes on a fret board is on SALE for a limited time on all platforms it's...

As part of the Art Soundoff creative challenge, I explore this journal prompt "Outlets". I consider how guitar, drawing, and playing games appeal to me in some contexts as a way to wind down or decompress. Related Links and Resources Guitar Fretter - a game that makes an arcade memory match out of memorizing the notes on a fret board is on SALE for a limited time on all platforms it's on This Pand...

As part of the Art Soundoff creative challenge, I explore this journal prompt "3 things about your art". Fantasy art, comics storytelling is something I found later than sooner, and sketching are all building blocks for my work. Related Links and Resources [Guitar Fretter - a game that makes an arcade memory match out of memorizing the notes on a fret board is on SALE for a limited time on all pla...

Sharing your time to listen, learn, and help connect others to the community you've been part of is a worthwhile endeavor. In this episode of the Polytechnicast I reflect on some recent volunteering I'm doing to support those studying systemic minded human centered design. Related Links and Resources Guitar Fretter - a game that makes an arcade memory match out of memorizing the notes on a fret bo...

Considering how I related to perfectionism in my creative projects making video games about 15 years ago. This influenced things I explored in UX design and in making comics and carry with me to this day. Related Links and Resources Guitar Fretter - a game that makes an arcade memory match out of memorizing the notes on a fret board is on SALE for a limited time on all platforms it's on This Panda...

What's sharable, useable, and useful to put in your portfolio? Your UX portfolio is an interesting challenge. Doing the work that leads to a credible conceptual foundation for a product or service doesn't always come with sharable artifacts to curate as a gallery in a portfolio. In any case, finding the story, the goals of your audience, and your goals is a place to consider your portfolio as a de...

Thinking about some things I've found helpful for building a useful shared understanding through conversations with your audience, your organization, and your team. Related Links and Resources Mental Models - Rosenfeld Media Drawing User Journey Maps to Design User Experiences, Gather Ideas, and Collaborate - on SALE through November 2019 For Skillshare subscribers or those new to Skillshare who'd...

Thinking about creativity, the label of being a creative, and the relationship between service and expression as a designer. Related Links and Resources LIA Cast 294 - UX, Obviously — Lean Into Art Drawing User Journey Maps to Design User Experiences, Gather Ideas, and Collaborate - on SALE through November 2019 For Skillshare subscribers or those new to Skillshare who'd like to sign up for 2 free...

Even though there's a few more days to go in this year's Art Soundoff creative challenge, I'm looking at my experience of this year's challenge asking what went well and what could be better. Related Links and Resources Drawing User Journey Maps to Design User Experiences, Gather Ideas, and Collaborate - on SALE through November 2019 For Skillshare subscribers or those new to Skillshare who'd like...

This summer indie creator and publisher Jaques Nyemb shared and 8-episode fascinating thoughtful and fun micropodcast series called Slow Dooown. Each episode Jaques asks a question of the audience and in this episode of the Polytechnicast I share some replies and thoughts about collaborating, social presence, and being sustainably creative. Related Links and Resources Slow Dooown - art podcast by...

While exploring the Art Soundoff journal prompt "what are you drawing?" I describe some of the drawings I'm working on now and how they are based on holiday gifts I created last year. Related Links and Resources Drawing User Journey Maps to Design User Experiences, Gather Ideas, and Collaborate - on SALE through November 2019 For Skillshare subscribers or those new to Skillshare who'd like to sign...