Powerful Design Frameworks and Methods
Business Innovation Frameworks
Creating new products is only one way to innovate. The Ten Types of Innovation® framework by Deloitte Digital (previously Doblin) provides a way to identify new opportunities beyond products and develop viable innovations.
AI + Design Guides
Google’s People + AI Research
IBM’s Design for AI
Microsoft’s Guidelines for Human-AI Interaction
Design Practices to Enhance Business Performance
Understanding a companies design maturity stage can help leaders strategize on how to best enhance business outcomes.
Invision’s Design Maturity Model and report includes key takeaways, behaviors, and outcomes of organizations defining design in business.
Nielsen Norman Group’s UX Maturity Model measures an organization’s desire and ability to successfully deliver user-centered design. It encompasses the quality and consistency of research and design processes, resources, tools, and operations, as well as the organization’s propensity to support and strengthen UX now and in the future, through its leadership, workforce, and culture.
Design Thinking shaped strategy at P&G during their turn around (now ~$350B market cap). However, it was not easy as the Design Innovation process can seem like chaos! Claudia Kotchka, prior VP of innovation at P&G, shares how to communicate and lead; Claudia Kotchka on Innovation and Creativity.
Design Frameworks
IBM Design Thinking. Explore a human-centered framework to solve users' problems at the speed and scale.
Stanford d.school. Journey through a Design Thinking experience and apply it in the real world.
Nielsen Norman Group. Approach problem-solving with a hands-on, user-centric mindset to drive innovation and a competitive advantage.
UN Sustainable Development. Goals for developing of a future that is more sustainable and less destructive.
Research Methods
IBM Research Framework. A framework to drive actionable user insights and build empathy for users.
18F Method Cards. The go-to site when working with government clients. A collection of tools to bring human-centered design into any project.
User research tool box. A list of useful UX research links by Kate Towsey.
General Design Systems
Apple Human Interface Guidelines. UX for all Apple solutions.
Google’s Material Design, Icons, and Components. A unified system that combines theory, resources, and tools for crafting digital experiences.
IBM’s Design System branch called Carbon.
Microsoft Design and UI. Fluent UX for Microsoft solutions.
Nathan Curtis explains that a design system is a product.
SmashingMagazine released a useful book, Design Systems, by Alla Kholmatova.
Tools to review all design systems: Adele on UXpin.
Product Design Systems
Airbnb’s DLS design system and react components.
Altissian’s design language and UI Kit, and key lessons.
Intuit’s Design Systems Insights, including Harmony and Quickbooks.
Salesforce has their Lightening Design System for Salesforce apps.
Shopify released Polaris for Shopify merchants.
Tools
I often refer to the Design and Research tools UserInterviews Subway Map. The 2021 version is my favorite because it is easiest to read. The 2023 version is available now.
