What defines you as a person?
Is it what you feel and what you know about yourself?
Is it about what people are thinking of you?

Every time I ask this question, I get different answers.
Here’s what my friend Liz said:
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“I’m defined by my experiences and I have these experiences because I’m fearless.”
-Liz Bumgarner
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But are you really in control about what defines you?
I think for me, it’s the sum of my actions and the impact I have in the world, from my friends and family to even people I don’t know but they do and have felt my presence in any way, positive or negative.

Having said that, I’m still genuinely asking, so if you feel like it, send me a message on Instagram or Twitter and let me know what you think.

When bad UX brings more $$$

We've seen this so many times: Good design = Good business. And it's true most of the times and that makes things so much simpler for me as a designer, but what happens when the lines are blurry and sometimes bad design = even better business? 
What happens when you sacrifice a thoughtful user experience and you see your conversions skyrocketing? Are you good at your job now? Are you a good Product/UX designer? Your company is certainly happy with you, but your users are not.

Let me give you an example. This is an online IQ test that promises to give you a report with your intellectual strengths. It's a very well designed website and here's the flow. First you encounter a very well designed landing page with a clear CTA that takes you to another page that prepares you of what's next with a huge CTA that says "start IQ Test Now!". Before you click that button, you have to tick a box and accept the terms and conditions and you're instantly entering the Test area, where you have 30 minutes to answer 30 questions.

After a lot of thought and almost 30 minutes later, you click submit and you land on a check-out page where you've been asked to pay $25 to get your report! 
Now I'm certain that this website converts, because it's flawless, it looks super safe, the social proof is there and the IQ test looks legit and you've already committed 30 minutes of your life to see the results. What's $25 to learn how stupid you are, right? 

Because that's their persona.

They never mention that you have to pay to get the report, before you take the test and they know exactly what kind of people will pay.

So I'm asking you. The above experience and flow is bringing more $. If you designed it, are you a good designer? It's not a rhetorical question, I'm truly asking and I'm certainly not judging.
Well, maybe a little.

Something new & shiny

If you haven't heard yet, there's a new kid on the block in the social media playground and its name is clubhouse. It first started as a serious networking tool of thought leaders and people posing as thought leaders and it was super boring, but then it quickly evolved into something magical.
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For the ones who remember the gold era of IRC and the power of meeting new people in underground channels, sharing your thoughts, funny stories and bonding through text-chat, imagine that but 500x more powerful, because voice and I'm loving it so far.
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It's invite only and currently available for iPhone users, with an android version coming up in the next few months. If you can't wait, there's an unofficial android version you can try and if you need an invite, hit me up on twitter, I have a few left ;)

What have I been up to lately

The 5th episode of The podcast - Portrait of a Geek is live. That's where me & my friends are talking about the web, UX and technology (in Greek). Go check us out :) 

My previous YouTube Live was about a proper design handoff and we've talked about how you need to set the people who are coding your website for success.

This Sunday 28/02 at 21:00, I'm streaming live and we're talking about Prototyping and its importance in UX design. Come say hi and be part of the conversation!

What I'm watching nowadays

The rookie
It's a story about a 45 years old man who's trying to find meaning in his life and moves from his small city to L.A and joins the police as a rookie. It doesn't sound good, but it's actually very pleasant and fun to watch.

Helstrom
Your usual demonic, evil vs good story, plus I like Tom Austen and I think he fits perfectly in this role.

Resident Alien
This is a story of an Alien that crashed his spaceship in a small town somewhere in Colorado with a mission to destroy the human civilisation. And it's a comedy. Amazing concept and the Alan Tudyk, oh man, this guy rocks!

Well that was it ladies and gents! I hope you're enjoying my monthly newsletters so far and if you do, please share it with friends and other people you think they might find something of value in here.

Until next time,
Yours truly