3 Ways to Be a Designer that Developers Love

Being a designer on a software project can be difficult. There’s a lot of nebulous space to work through. Who are we building this product for? What is our value proposition? How will we elicit delight? What minimal product should we start with? On top of all that, there’s also the question of, How do […]

6 Ways to Make the Most of Your Remote Sprint Retrospective

Like many companies, Atomic is currently operating remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While software design and development are certainly possible in a fully-remote context, there are a few meetings and tasks that can be more difficult when you can’t be in the same room as your teammates. The sprint retrospective is one of them. […]

A Guide to Surviving Burnout, Part 3 – Learn to Avoid Burnout

In the first two posts of this series, we learned how to identify signs of burnout and how to recover from burnout once we are already experiencing it. This post will focus on proactive steps to take to avoid burnout altogether.

A Guide to Surviving Burnout, Part 2 – Learn to Recover from Burnout

Last week, I talked about how to spot the signs of burnout. Today’s post is all about what to do once you’ve identified them in yourself. These three steps will help you leave that feeling of burnout behind. 1. Take Time Off When I am deep in the fiery pits of burnout, the most effective […]

A Guide to Surviving Burnout, Part 1 – Learn to Identify Burnout

As an infinitely curious person with a (sometimes not) healthy dose of perfectionism, I often find myself taking on a bit too much. This eventually leads to a feeling of burnout. Over the years, I’ve learned that I’m not alone. In fact, in a recent Gallup study, 44% of people reported feeling burned out sometimes. […]

15 Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Software Project

When starting a new software project, there are a series of questions that need to be explored before diving headfirst into the development cycle. At Atomic, we often spend time in what we call the “Research, Design, and Planning” phase of the project to do just that.

UX Patterns: When to Avoid Dropdown Lists

Dropdown lists are common user interface components. Chances are, you interact with them frequently—whether you’re entering your address in a form or selecting the color of a sweater when online shopping. Let’s chat about the good and not-so-good aspects of dropdown lists, and when you should avoid them altogether.

Designers, Let’s Chat about Infinite Scrolling

I keep a running list of blog post ideas. As I find myself facing interesting design, project management, or interpersonal problems to solve, I jot them down. The hope is that one day, I will craft a nice blog post out of each of them. For over two years, I have had an item on […]

Seven Steps for Turning a Difficult Situation into a Productive Conversation

We’ve all been there. Your coworker is not pulling his weight. Your significant other has been acting passive-aggressively. Your friend keeps letting you down on promises. Relationships are hard. Good ones are also crucial to having a happy and productive life. So what do you do when you find yourself in one of these thorny […]

Not All Software Design Is Shiny. Here’s How to Cope with That.

Being a software designer has many perks. I get to work with cool new technology each day. I get to build tools that make people’s lives better. The compensation and benefits certainly are not bad either—it’s nice to not worry about how I’ll pay the bills, and you’ll never hear me complain about dogs being […]

Atomic Spin

Atomic Object’s blog on everything we find fascinating.

By: Sarah Brockett

Author: Sarah Brockett