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 […]

The first step to designing a solution is understanding whom we’re designing for and what problem we’re solving. In a Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach, this means research, personas, and journey maps. We’re gathering knowledge about users’ goals, frustrations, preferences, responsibilities, and expertise. Documentation about users often includes things like their name, age, gender, and marital […]

I recently worked with a client to design a standalone Apple Watch application to accompany an exiting iOS app. When starting, I was surprised at the lack of design resources for the Apple Watch, specifically for designing standalone watch apps. Here are my top six tips and resources for designing for the Apple Watch. 1. […]

A successful software application needs one united conceptual model. But bringing together different mental models and turning them into a cohesive experience is a significant design challenge. Where should the application maintain divergence, and where should it unify similar concepts? Where do we (as a product team) aim to meet expectations, and where do we […]

Almost all of the work we do at Atomic is forward-facing. We design cutting-edge mobile applications, rethink software that defines businesses, and develop code that automates the way our cars, batteries, and trucks manage themselves. Occasionally, we have to make software for legacy hardware. I recently finished designing for an embedded touch screen the size […]

I’ve been working with one of our clients for several years, which has given me a great opportunity to watch their mobile and web applications grow and respond to feedback from users. This month, I was asked to update their existing iOS application to reflect changes that came from the latest iOS update, namely a […]

If your team is like many of the teams we work with, you’ve implemented a component library, but you’re finding that things aren’t working as smoothly expected. Component libraries alone can do the job for a small, highly-skilled implementation team. But communication seems to break down when you add in less-than-top-rated developers or designers or those […]

The planning phase of any project is crucial, and there are many deliverables that can help document it, including a project roadmap, a product backbone, and user research insights. The challenge comes when trying to turn these deliverables into a wireframe or design. For a recent project, I took to writing context scenarios to bridge […]

Agile methodology, in its truest form, is not a series of processes, sprint cadences, and ceremonies. It’s the ability to quickly adapt or pivot when faced with unforeseen challenges or new information. It often comes into play while reprioritizing a backlog of work or deciding on a quicker/cheaper way to implement a feature during development. […]