Manufacturing, OOUX, Simply Said, and Anti-Apple Watch
Somethings Novel — May 16, 2025
Something I’m writing…
Design isn’t a manufacturing line.
What Henry Ford knew about design and innovation that we’ve forgotten.
Henry Ford didn’t start with the assembly line. He started with exploration. Only after discovering the right solution did manufacturing make sense. In today’s fast-paced UX world, we often skip that discovery phase, defaulting to “just ship it.” But real innovation comes from thoughtful iteration, not rapid output.
This article explores the danger of themanufacturing mindset, how to resist it and embrace design as a thinking-through-making practice, and lead teams toward deeper, more valuable outcomes.
Something I’m thinking about…
Good structure begets good design. I’ve written about this a few weeks ago, but I wanted to circle back to it. Why? Because I believe it’s incredibly important. In a recent project at my day job, I was able to see how a project came together relatively quickly and with high quality because of the structure the design team was able to bring. They used an approach called Object Oriented User Experience (OOUX). I’ve been invited to host a podcast with its creator Sophia Prater, and plan to see her at a conference in June. I’m super excited about the incredible value OOUX and want to see more teams using the tools it provides to improve their work.
Something I’m reading…
Simply Said
Communicating Better at Work and Beyond
By Jayne Sullivan
If you’ve followed any of my writing, or you know me personally, you know…I am a champion of good communication. Whether it’s a presentation, a one-on-one, a casual conversation, design idea session, review, or whatever. Good communication is critical for good collaboration. After finishing the first half of this in audiobook, I bought myself a physical copy so I can highlight and keep it handy. This is one being added to my “communication stack” for books every designer and design leader needs to read.
A few key takeaways so far:
Keep your core message short. 10 words so it’s easy for your audience to repeat.
Matching voice and tone to the content boosts confidence and trustworthiness of the message.
Pauses allow your audience to process your information.
Depending upon the goal of your message, you can use a few different structures of presentation.
If you want to be a better communicator, get this book. Even if you’re a good communicator, this will help polish your skills and make you more effective in getting your messages across.
Something I’m enjoying…
Last week I had a moment…I was overwhelmed by all of the pings, dings, and wrist taps from my iPhone and Apple Watch. I was so sick of the barrage of information that I decided I wanted an “Apple Watch fast”. One month without wearing my Apple Watch (daily). I still use it when I exercise to track my heart rate, but I take it off immediately after that. Instead of a smart watch, I’ve pull an old analog watch with a very satisfying “tick” every second. So far, my test has been a huge success in reducing my “stress” by not having notifications on my wrist. I am still fighting the temptation to check my phone all the time, but so far I’ve been pleased to feel less anxious overall.
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Yes, I use affiliate links for the products and books I share. Why? Well, it helps support this extra work that I do in my personal time on my personal budget. Thanks for your support.