Failing with Figma, I still hate roadmaps, and the dark side

Howdy! Welcome to this week’s Whiteboard Roundup.

I’ve had a few weeks off of writing, but now that my days are becoming a little less hectic, I’m starting to formulate things that I’d like to talk about. There are a lot of product thoughts, ruminations on work, and team culture that I want to get down into articles but haven’t had the space to do over the last few months. I feel like finally, I’m in the right frame of mind to write.

For now though, here are a few interesting articles I’ve found over the last couple of weeks that you might like, too.

Cheers.

Tom HaczewskiThe User Story

News

Is Figma the right tool for prototyping?

Designers love sticking with their design tools, and feel really upset when they disappear. I still remember when Adobe decided to shutter Fireworks and I’ve never forgiven them for it.

Designers, though, are also guilty (like many other industries and roles) of shoehorning their work into the tools that feel familiar. Why use a different tool that’s designed for a different task, when I can use the one that I am already using every day?

Figma seems like a do-all be-all design tool that, alongside all the plugins provided by the thousands of creators around the world, solve every issue and fit every process a designer could dream up.

Jasper Kense nicely articulates his journey of building an app, and how Figma didn’t quite allow him to do the things he needed to present an idea back to a user to get feedback. Prototyping, especially new ideas around generative AI, is tough at times and sometimes, you do need to actually build something.

Do the thing that will get you the feedback you need.

Check out the article here.

Product roadmaps are still rubbish

Have I mentioned that I hate product roadmaps?

Yeah, I'm not too fond of product roadmaps. They tie creators into relentless build cycles without connecting their outputs directly to user need.

But there are ways you can plan your work while maintaining focus on human-centered design.

Here’s a great exploration of some new ways to think about product roadmaps including a really interesting equation for great products.

Enjoy!

Why it’s important to design a Dark Mode

Blue light has been reported over and over as being a common threat to our sleep, and affecting our circadian rhythms.

Actually, there is conflicting evidence that this is the case and a new study has suggested that blue light doesn’t have the impact that we thought it does.

Having said that, bright lights emitted from devices do still affect our sleep, and a more calming, redder-orangier-yellower light is just a more gentle experience in the evenings.

Plus, emitting less light from a phone will extend battery life and use less energy, which is a nice benefit.

There’s a nice little article explaining why you might consider making a dark mode for your apps: give it a look.

Thanks for reading.

Can we actually have a summer yet?

As you’re here to the end, here’s my thought for the week to leave you on:

See you next time, friends!

Brought to you by Tom Haczewski, director of The User Story. We’re a product strategy, research and UX agency based in Norwich, working with SaaS teams and startups.