Finding my way with words
Welcome to my first Weeknote (name TBC, as ChatGPT hasn’t been the most helpful).
I’ve been feeling really inspired lately — having gone back to school, started a really exciting research project, picking up a lot of skills in work, etc. I love this energy but I don’t want to lose it either, which is why I’m going to start capturing my week — as thoughts, reflections, musings, word scribbles — consider it a better placed home for my iPhone notes.
I’ve always loved writing, but this + perfectionism don’t go hand-in-hand. Therefore, my Weeknotes will take on more of a fluid, structure-less experiment, as I build a bigger fortress for more composed thoughts elsewhere (and of course, my Medium blog dedicated to my research project).
Work-life-in-a-week
I’ve been on a government project for 6ish months now, and it still feels like I’m mentally onboarding. Public sector work are big, bad challenges (and I love it). As a UX designer, I’m being tested on Figma everyday and designing for gov.uk — working with one of the most accessible design systems — is no easy feat.
When I’m not designing wireframes, I’ve been making Excel spreadsheets accessible. It’s been interesting. After all, I chose a career in design, precisely to avoid hearing language like “IFA1>Y2=MY”. But 3 weeks of spreadsheets later, I started to appreciate the value of accessibility beyond web (i.e. print). Some things I’ve learnt:
Blank cells are a no. Not only do screen readers navigate by cell, it confuses other users if they don’t know where tables start and end. This principle directly challenges my UX brain, where we rely on white space for clarity.
Screen readers aren’t the only ones who navigate by cell either. During research sessions, I observed less tech-savvy users using their keyboard to move around Excel too. It goes to show that when designing for the 5% — more often than you think, you’re really designing for the 100%.
Excel accessibility is a niche thing. Different sources contradict each other. This is why I’ve recently joined the Government Digital channel on Slack, which has been such a welcoming, helpful community to learn from! And also where I discovered the existence of International Spreadsheet Day…
I also had my first dream in Figma today (on a Saturday night). Maybe this is my cue to chill out a bit.
My life outside of work
I recently came back from a weekend in Edinburgh, where I survived the chilly -5°c and hiked Arthur’s Seat! It was my first solo-ish trip: I loved that I was approachable, could do whatever I wanted on my own time, and have officially been hardened for the rest of winter. London’s chill has nothing on me now.
Other notable things of the week:
I’ve been obsessed with my jump rope — it’s done wonders for my footwork and I can’t stop learning tricks.
While I’m spending Christmas on my own this year, I’ve been feeling a lot of love by the amount of friends that have invited me to spend the holidays with their families. I’ve never been a really festive person, but I do love Christmas for the reasons of love (also why I make Christmas cards a priority year after year).
As it’s getting darker, I’ve been putting my walking pad to full use. Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel and I look awkward on calls, but it’s okay, those steps gotta be done.
Reads of the week
Blogging and working in the open, Steve Messer
Letting go of urgency, Wild Thinking Studio
This one sat with me. We live in a chaotic world, and a lot of us try to just do whatever good we can in it. Sometimes I forget that the world is just another system, and we as observers influence the system as it does us.
Policy design, service design, systems thinking, Wild Thinking Studio
“For me design offers an approach, what I have defined as ‘purposeful creativity’, which has a lot more in common with policy-making than many might think.”
Navigating Complexity: Unraveling the causal structure of real-world systems, Bioform Labs
The complex relationship between the systems we design and the value they create, Dennus Hambeukers
“When we release a design, a system, into the world, it takes on a life of its own, users use it in unexpected ways. Design is equal parts intention and surrender.”
