#42 / Can AI facilitate a design workshop?

Hello my friend! 👋

I’ve been leading a design workshop this week, bringing together folks from the engineering, product, and design teams. The results were fantastic – loads of notes and insights, plus we agreed on a list of potential directions. I put a lot of effort into preparing for it and even used AI to streamline some of the communication tasks, which accounted for about 5–10% of the workload.

It felt like hosting a successful dinner party where everyone left satisfied. And no, at this point, AI isn’t ready to take over my entire job. So for the question, ‘Can AI facilitate a design workshop’, the answer is no, for now.

However, I aim to uncover more opportunities (and there are plenty) to make the process faster or to free up more of my time and energy for tasks of greater value. I’m considering increasing the portion of work done by AI from 5–10% to 20–30% without introducing significant risks. But that’s a hefty subject to dive into, so let’s save it for another day :)

Here’re a few things I’d like to share with you today 🙂

• Marques Brownlee‘s tech videos

• Reflecting on Podcast Recording

• “Songs of the year” list

• Temu’s dark patten UX

• UX Design vs. UI Design vs. Product Design: Understanding the Differences

Have a great one and see you soon!

Marques Brownlee‘s tech videos

My favorite tech videos are by Marques Brownlee. The video quality is top-notch, filled with tons of editing, transitions, and other tech elements. But even if you strip away all these tech aspects, it’s his way of expression, speed of speech, and rhythm that I admire the most. His ability to communicate in such a genuine, natural, and persuasive manner, coupled with spot-on opinions, is something I aspire to learn and emulate, especially for tech content.

Reflecting on Podcast Recording

One day, with about forty to fifty minutes to myself at home, I decided to record a podcast episode. After hooking up the sound card and microphone and recording for twenty minutes, I realized only the first ten minutes of audio were usable. I’ve now decided to ditch these complex professional setups, like the Shure microphone with a sound card, and using a DSLR as a camera. Every time I fiddle with this equipment, it zaps at least 50% of my enthusiasm for the project, leading me to hastily finish up.

Being able to hit record anytime without wasting time setting up is my goal. Tweaking equipment in the middle is just a time and energy sink, even if it does result in slightly better quality.

I’m not a professional YouTuber; I’m just doing this for my own learning and growth. There’s no need for me to fuss over these aspects. I’ve decided to stick to using my iPhone with a Logi camera, coupled with Rode’s wireless microphone, which is more than sufficient. The key is getting set up in ten seconds and diving right into recording—how great is that!

“Songs of the year” list

Do you feel frustrated when seeing your “songs of the year” list is occupied by your kid’s song? Well, some products know what their customer want: NetEase Music’s annual playlist smartly offers an option to filter out children’s songs, while my Spotify is still swamped with tunes from the Wiggles and other kiddie hits.

Temu’s dark patten UX

I finally became a user of Temu (thanks to all the ads). After downloading the app, I was seamlessly guided to complete my first order. They really understood the consumer psychology: ten-minute flash sales, coupons, and various tactics to stimulate that first purchase.

Their design is evidently data-driven and optimized to the extreme, quite formidable. It’s like we are lab rats, hurried through a ten-minute maze, rapidly placing orders, thinking they’ve snagged a deal.

UX Design vs. UI Design vs. Product Design: Understanding the Differences

In this video, we’ll explain the differences between UX Design, UI Design, and Product Design. If you’re considering a career change into UX/UI design but don’t have much knowledge or experience in the industry, this video is for you! By the end of this video, you’ll have a better understanding of the different roles within UX/UI design, which will help you make a more informed decision about your career path.

Bear Academy Newsletter@2023

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Bear Academy Newsletter

Non-crap tips and thoughts on design, product and technology ✨

🐻 Bear Who?

Hi there 👋, I’m Bear, a seasoned Product Designer with 15 years of overall design experience and six years in product design, transforming the user experiences for millions 📝

As an Apple Award-Winning Podcast Host at BearTalk and a Design Mentor at Springboard and CareerFoundry, I apply my self-taught design skills and science background to solve complicated problems and mentor budding designers 😃

In my downtime, you’ll find me reading, drawing, podcasting, and making videos about everything from tech to design and productivity 👨‍🎨

🤓 Work

• 💼 What I do：Product Designer at Xero

• 🌃 I also do：Design Mentor at Springboard and CareerFoundry / Founder at Bear Academy

• 🎤 Side hustle：Podcast host at Award-winning podcast BearTalk

💡 Goodies

• Bear Academy - my courses around UX Design, AI, etc

• Bear Academy Newsletter - my free newsletter, which you are reading now

• Beartalking.com - all my posts, English and Chinese

• Youtube.com/@Bearliu - A video is worth a thousand words

💬 Contact

• https://twitter.com/bearbig - Majorly I post in Chinese

• bear@beartalking.com - The old fashion email way

• LinkedIn.com/in/bearliu - My professional life