The 622 page FA handbook, what could be called the “Laws of the game” outlines every single rule that needs to be observed by clubs and individuals to take part in a professional game of football. These rules are adapted and enforced to different levels by officials and players as…

I recently fitted a CSP disc kit to my 1970 VW Bus, it was a relatively straight forward process but a few things caused me some issues along the way. …

TLDR; Stop debating if any particular UI element “needs to comply” with WGAG 2.1- Non-text contrast and just do it. It’s been a few years since WCAG 2.1 was published and one point that causes more discussion than any other in my circles has been Non-Text contrast. What is non-text contrast? The spec says: …

Before owning my first aircooled VW 5 years ago I had barely changed a spark plug. In the last 12 months I have removed my engine by myself twice! If you need to do some work on your Beetle or Bus engine this should hopefully give you the confidence to…

Dave House is a product designer helping BT develop a design system that can help our developers and design team work more efficiently and consistently. — We’ve formed a new team in BT Consumer Digital to create a single design system for our three consumer-facing brands — BT, EE and Plusnet. …

Why I think design systems actually have more in common with an automotive assembly line than a graphics standards manual — There are two sides to the world of design systems. One side leans towards the systematisation of graphic design, UI design or a visual language. This is to create order, meaning and harmony across design assets and to provide rules to design any new material from. …

It doesn’t matter how good your design is if nobody waits around to see it. — The waiting is the hardest part There are varying degrees of need or desire to access a website or service online. For example, accessing a government service is usually out of necessity, while visiting an expensive watch shop would usually be about desire. The willingness for people to wait for an experience might include:

Spacing your typography and components to avoid surprises in development. I’ve worked in organisations large and small, agencies and in-house. One thing that’s been common everywhere is the designers’ shock at how spacing has been implemented to their designs in production. “The spacing is all wrong” — Designer during QA process First off, it could be that the frontend developers…

I’ve worked in small and large organisations. I’ve been part of a centralised team of designers, worked embedded in a product team and also been the only designer of any kind in a large business. — Some organisations fully embrace user-centred design, with every member of the team, regardless of job title, feeling ownership of the users’ experience. Perhaps more commonly, a designer’s job is to advocate for users in companies where there is some kind of disconnect between the business and its customers. …