We’ve recently written quite a bit about UX designers (check out our blog on how to win UX jobs by beefing up your portfolio, here) and the one piece of information that rings true through all of our content, is that UX design is a fluid profession that requires creatives to constantly be learning, updating their skillsets, and adopting new best practices.
One of the best ways to stay ahead of the curve in the UX field is by reading blogs written by top industry talent and thought leaders, where new trends and practices often originate. With 2016 already shaping up to be a big year for professionals in the UX field, here are 10 UX blogs to start keeping an eye on today:
A List Apart: This UX blog is all about challenging conventional wisdom of UX design and pushing the industry forward. Not only does this blog provide great insights and helps you think differently about your profession, but they also encourage content submissions that you can take advantage of when you finally have that “ah-ha” moment.
UX Booth: “Make the Internet a better place,” that’s the goal of this UX blog for beginner and intermediate UX designers. UX Booth provides great insights on the basics, which is valuable for UX professionals because as we all know, “the basics” are constantly changing.
Usability Geek: User Experience really boils down to “usability”. As UX pros know, the usability skills learned in the classroom can be radically different than those learned in the field. Usability Geek looks to bridge that gap with their informative content.
Boxes and Arrows: If there’s a gold standard for UX blogs, Boxes and Arrows might be it. The peer-reviewed blog not only provides great content created by UXers for UXers , but it’s also been around since 2001, proving that their content has successfully supported its readership’s needs for more than 15 years! Talk about staying power.
Smashing Magazine: Smashing Magazine goes far beyond User Experience, but their UX section is always worth a read. Their writing core is built around established UX designers, across a number of different verticals, meaning content is always helpful today and always put in the context of the industry over the last five, 10, even 20 years.
Foolproof: When it comes to forward thinking in UX design, few were ahead of Foolproof. This UK-based design agency has been advocating for beautiful and functional design on the web since as early as 2002. The best part? They’ve been documenting their thoughts through their blog ever since and have some great nuggets of content that every UXer should take advantage of.
Wireframes: Whether you’re creating them, searching for them, or downloading them, wireframes are essential to every UXers day-to-day. This blog should be your go-to source when you need a new wireframe, tips on creating wireframes, or feel like reading about other UXers experiences with wireframes. Have I said wireframe enough?
Usabilla: Usabilla helps UX designers by providing insights from the other side of the aisle. They help big brands improve their UX design by testing and providing live feedback, and they’re documenting their learned insights throughout their blog. Not only is their content solid and helpful, but their blog is also possibly the easiest to navigate compared to the rest of the pack.
Invision: The Invision App is a tool for designers that aids in their UX product management. Since they create products for UXers, they’re pretty in tune with these professional’s needs and the proof of that is in their content. Since the Invision App is all about working smarter for UX professionals, their content also looks to help you be more efficient–and includes some great design thought leadership as well.
Designmodo: Designmodo is a great blog for the latest trends, free tools and deals on pay-to-play wireframes, toolkits and more. This blog post will help UX designers stay abreast on the latest happenings in the industry, solve day-to-day issues every UX designer encounters, and learn about new products and tools that are circulating in the space.
As the Internet continues to infiltrate every aspect of our daily lives, the demand for UX professionals will only increase and the best way to win these jobs is by being up to date on all aspects of the space.
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