friday.FIVE.1
Five things for you to do, enjoy or be inspired by this weekend.
“everything's fine just need some air” Alex B at Both Are True is taking a break through the end of year + then some… kudos AB. Maybe we all should too. I’ve never worked for an org that shuts down completely over the end of the year / new year but I’m feeling that’s the right move. Give everyone a total break. I’m a fan. And looking for that place.
Speaking of end of the year, I’ve never been part of a team that had a solid year end retro in place but believe there’s not only value there but some fun as well (ask me about my Quote of the Year sometime). When I was UX Director for a small startup a few years ago, we used this Design Team End of Year Retrospective from ifbirdsfly.com. While a bit long it’s a valuable template to pull from in the least + even with small teams can foster good discussions + motivations.
As a recovering photographer + visual media addict, i’m always open to finding good inspiration. In this case, Blind magazine’s Complete Guide of Photobooks to Buy for Christmas has you covered. The titles alone are worth perusing - Silence is a Gift, Route of the Beautiful Star, This is My Life I’m Talking About.
In case you missed it, end of the year from Figma. “The numbers tell part of the story: 180 new releases, 10,000 Config attendees, and over 220 Friends of Figma worldwide.” PS - early bird tix on sale for Config 2025.
Lastly, the 2024 DesignOps Benchmark Report is out (one of my fav subjects). Shout out to DesignOps Assembly for putting this together, it reads well + looks great. Anyone that knows me can attest to my passion in this area as elaborated here as part of my process + demonstrated here in the form of co-leading setup of this multi day on site UXR project.