The Fountain Institute is an independent online school that teaches advanced UX & product skills.
Newsletter 2.0 (now with links, quotes, memes, videos, and events)
Dear Reader,
Jeff here...Today, we're trying something different with the newsletter.
For the last two years, Hannah and I have been writing this weekly advice column for you and over 5,000 designers.
It's been a wild ride...from late-night cramming to early-morning writing sessions to beautiful feedback and encouragement that makes it all worth it.
This advice letter has been a weekly reminder for us to keep innovating, but the Fountain Institute is becoming more than just Hannah and I...
The community of designers around the Fountain Institute is our real value so we thought--it's time for our newsletter to grow with the community.
Introducing the newsletter2.0...(final_final_but_not_really)
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π¦Ύ AI-powered post-its
βToday, Miro launched an AI version of its popular white-boarding tool (shared by Jerome Bertrand)
βLearn moreβ
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Non-managerial career path
βStaff Design explores how individual contributors are exploring careers at the highest level and has some great resources
(shared by Anja Lena)
βLearn moreβ
π° Paid Figma plugins
βFigma just launched a section in their resources page with paid items
βLearn moreβ
π§ How to be a facilitator
βHannah Baker just published an article on how and why you should build skills as a design facilitator
βLearn moreβ
Apply to join the Guild of Working Designers here.
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from Henry Mintzberg, an excellent source for design strategy
βShare this quote on Instagramβ
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βSource, shared by Rana Fathi in the Guildβ
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Learn to create a winning strategy in UX
| Watch the Video on Youtube |
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Learn how to initiate systemic change within an organization, whether a small team or a large city.
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
| Reserve a Seat (Free) |
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Learn how to build a winning UX or product strategy that aligns design with business.
April 17-May 8, 2023
| Reserve a Seat |
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Until next week!
Jeff Humble
βDesigner & Co-Founder
βThe Fountain Institute
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P.S. We'd love some feedback on the new newsletter. Hit reply and let us know what you think!
The Fountain Institute
The Fountain Institute is an independent online school that teaches advanced UX & product skills.
When Hype Comes Before User Insight by Jeff Humble Dear Reader, Have you ever seen a hyped-up product that felt worthless? Today I want to tell you a tale of two companies and how they handled user demand. One took a hype-based approach, trying to create demand, while the other achieved real demand (and hype) through user insights. Hype-First Failure: Quibi (2020) On its surface, Quibi made perfect sense to investors in 2020. The idea was to create Hollywood-quality ten-minute movies and...
Are you stuck in reactive mode? by Jeff Humble Dear Reader, Some designers spend their whole careers reacting to other people's moves. As a design manager, I remember being in this position. I had to brace myself every Monday morning for some radical change in company direction. We never knew what the new agenda would be, but we knew that it would throw our work into chaos. Sometimes, all it took was for the founder to read a single article to change the company agenda. When a competitor...
Why Your Portfolio Isnβt Working (and How to Fix It) By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, Letβs talk about a harsh truth: Your UX portfolio might be the least important thing in your job search. Yep, I said it. You spent hours making sure it showcases your best work. You structured your case studies just right. You ensured your problem statements, research insights, and solutions flowed together. And yetβ¦ hiring managers are ghosting you like a bad Hinge date. Well, the problem isnβt your...