The Grayscale Problem — Smashing Magazine

From A/B tests to AI slop, the modern web is bleeding out its colour. Standardized, templated, and overoptimized, it’s starting to feel like a digital Levittown. But it doesn’t have to be. Last year, a study found that cars are steadily getting less colourful. In the US, around 80% of cars are now black, white, … Read more

How To Make Your UX Research Hard To Ignore — Smashing Magazine

Research isn’t everything. Facts alone don’t win arguments, but powerful stories do. Here’s how to turn your research into narratives that inspire trust and influence decisions. In the early days of my career, I believed that nothing wins an argument more effectively than strong and unbiased research. Surely facts speak for themselves, I thought. If … Read more

Work In Progress, Part 13 🚧

This is the latest in a series of posts explaining the decisions we make at Dribbble that affect our users, as well as the results of those decisions (positive or negative). It’s been one year since users began transacting on Dribbble. The functionality we introduced last September – which enabled clients to request design services … Read more

Achieve More With Less — Smashing Magazine

A simple but powerful mental model for working with AI: treat it like an enthusiastic intern with no real-world experience. Paul Boag shares lessons learned from real client projects across user research, design, development, and content creation. I have made a lot of mistakes with AI over the past couple of years. I have wasted … Read more

How Heartbeat Design Studio Rebuilt Hyros with Speed, Style, and Substance

When Heartbeat Design Studio was approached via Dribbble to rebrand and redesign Hyros.com, they were met with a challenge that was as ambitious as it was creatively fulfilling: deliver a complete website overhaul, including brand visuals, UX, and animation, in just about a month. It wasn’t a simple refresh. Hyros, a data attribution platform used … Read more

Practical Applications (Part 2) — Smashing Magazine

Motion can be tricky: too much distracts, too little feels flat. Ambient animations sit in the middle. They’re subtle, slow-moving details that add atmosphere without stealing the show. In part two of his series, web design pioneer Andy Clarke shows how ambient animations can add personality to any website design. First, a recap: Ambient animations … Read more