Oct 9Spotting scam vehicle listings on marketplace(s)First off, it needs to be recognised that many marketplace websites have large dedicated teams and features that stop a considerable amount of fraudulent listings going live in the first place. If you think there’s a lot of fraudulent listings on a particular marketplace, I can almost guarantee it’s a…6 min read6 min read
Jun 16Figuring out the plug order on your aircooled VW distributorI’m a member of many aircooled groups and forums, one question I see at least every month goes along the lines of: “I’m at cylinder 1 top dead centre but my rotor is pointing at {unexpected position}” Caveats before we start: I’m no expert, I’m just a weekend warrior that has made enough mistakes…Volkswagen3 min readVolkswagen3 min read
Sep 23, 2022Focusing on focus statesSome things I’ve learned about designing focus states at GDS, BT and LBG. — This is a living blog post — I will update it with more examples and clarifications over time. What is a focus state? In simple terms a focus state is a visual indicator of what interactive element on a screen is currently selected. This means it is a useful orientation device when navigating between interactive…Design12 min readDesign12 min read
Feb 1, 2022Every Design System should be different. That’s ok.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…2 min read2 min read
Aug 20, 2021The missing manual — Fitting a CSP disc brake kit to a VW T2I 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. …Volkswagen7 min readVolkswagen7 min read
Jul 5, 2021Why debate non-text contrast of UI elements?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: …Accesibility7 min readAccesibility7 min read
Mar 12, 2021Removing an engine from an aircooled VolkswagenBefore 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! …Vw10 min readVw10 min read
Published inEE Design Team·Dec 21, 2020Product optimisation at BT and a design system to help us scaleDave 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. …Design2 min readDesign2 min read
Dec 16, 2020Are design systems an industrial design function of digital products?Why I think design systems actually have more in common with an automotive assembly line than a graphics standards manual — This article was developed into a talk I gave at Converge 2022 Design Systems conference. Watch below or read the original blog 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…Design Systems9 min readDesign Systems9 min read
Apr 16, 2020Making web performance one of your top user experience metricsIt 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:UX8 min readUX8 min read
