
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
An aphorism attributed to Albert Einstein.
But how could you determine if the UI you designed could (and should) be made optimally simpler — meaning can still be made more simple than the current without losing anything of value to the users (and while adding more value as well)?
First, market data
Given that the product is in the market already, gather insights on the usage of the product and the UI’s role in it.
Are there complaints pertaining to a particular screen / page? Look deeper into those.
As they say, we only improve what we measure. But we don’t measure what we don’t know. We don’t talk about empathy because it’s not a variable or a metric in any of our systems. So how can we make space for empathy in our programs as they continue to eat the world?
PC Maffey in How Programming Shapes the Mind
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They don’t know I’m dead and my ghost is holding on.
Nina Simone
First heard of Nina Simone in her song “Don’t You Pay Them No Mind.” Then watched the documentary “What Happened, Miss Simone?“
It’s now complete — all of the objectives I’ve gotten onto my notes. Now comes the challenging part of putting it together — connecting the dots — making sense of it all.
I’ll probably start making outlines and bullet points and eventually some framework for my first six months and beyond at Avaloq.
The team, finally
After four long days, I’ve finally met with the team exclusively. It’s surprising to even recognize some of the musical artists and bands that they like. Whew! I’m not too far off. So in a Venn diagram, you could see our circles nudged a bit together in this regard. I consider myself to be a kuya millennial both in age and role, anyway.
📻 🎸 🤘
They are a tight-knit group. As one of them said, “Gel naman kami.” I understood it as “they are already gelled together as a solid team”. In my mind I could imagine the gooey green mutagen ooze (sans Ninja Turtles) binding them together. It’s a good thing that it’s not Elmer’s Glue because if it were, where could I snugly fit in?

Next week, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty!

Today, the team and I had a smaller group of meet and greet along with our chapter lead who was directly leading the team before I came along. It was funny that suddenly, everyone’s device camera started malfunctioning when it was one’s turn to speak. Glad I took a bath today that I was able to show myself!
Relax. Have fun at work. Really enjoy the work that you do.
Oh yes. That’s what the head of design said to me during our one-on-one. But that was the last thing that he said. Prior that were all his good-natured wishes for the Manila design team.
I feel great about this new journey!