Brian Dys

You’re on mute

A related experience that I had with regard to the oh-so-important “mute” button. So, there was this big presentation for a big local banking client wherein I would present this white-labeled web app mock-ups to the stakeholders. And I was on mute.

However, no matter how I set the visual state of the WebEx button, I was still on mute. Tinkering on the audio settings did not save me from the awkward silence of everyone in the call.

It ended up that I asked a colleague to save the day and present the designs while I became the slide switcher.

Right after the call, I noticed that a button on my keyboard was lit. Yep, it was the mute button and it was active. WebEx failed to deactivate it. What a learning experience in the expense of users!

The truth is

Sure, truth is subjective. We, humans, when we go out of our heads and into the world, we must share a common truth — the same things that we believe to be true — that will hold its ground for an indefinite time.

In user interface design, there’s this thing that we call “single source of truth”. It is a design artifact that everyone refers to when needed. For example, what is the single source of truth for our brand color red?

Surely, if that red’s color value exists in one designer’s safekeeping, they might have missed (whether they missed the news entirely or missed updating their own instance) that the branding department have already updated the shade of the red which they also have in their safekeeping.

Then we can surmise that the benefit of having a single source of truth for the color red boils down to efficiency. Efficiency of maintaining only one instance (works well in the digital world) and efficiency of communications because everyone trusts that the instance is aligned with everyone.

Oh, yeah, the reading list

• State-Switch Controls: The Infamous Case of the “Mute” Button
• In search of the truth, and a song…
• On compromise in product design

• A Personal Interface
• Being intentional about your career decisions — Rachel Inman

  Taking on reports is a serious responsibility. I’ll be responsible for the careers of other people! If and when I do become a manager, I want to do a kick-ass job at it. I want to be there for my reports and support them in every way I can.

  Rachel Inman

• How to listen — really listen — to someone you don’t agree with
• Survivorship bias: when failure gets forgotten
• Why Naval Ravikant Thinks Remote Work Is The Future
• Time is not a measure of productivity
• Microsoft will allow employees to stay remote permanently
• How to Resolve Conflicts with a Remote Coworker
• Refine, Remodel, Rebuild: 3 Strategies for Experience Improvement
• Full bleed layout using simple CSS
• The Widening Responsibility for Front-End Developers

• It’s Not Only Women Who Want More Intimacy in Relationships
• Skill Mapping: A Digital Template for Remote Teams
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Advice for Living

  What enabled me to take part in the effort to free our daughters and sons to achieve whatever their talents equipped them to accomplish, with no artificial barriers blocking their way? First, a mother who, by her example, made reading a delight and counseled me constantly to “be independent,” able to fend for myself, whatever fortune might have in store for me.

  Ruth Bader Ginsburg

• Being Smart is Not Enough

• What ‘The Social Dilemma’ misunderstands about social networks
• The power of flexible consistency

  Life is chaotic. Things will go wrong. Flexible consistency is about combining proactive planning with reactive adaptation so you can make significant progress over the long-term.

  Anne-Laure Le Cunff

• UX Designer Career Path: How to Become a UX Designer
• Satisfaction and progress in open-ended work