A collection of my writing since I began writing on the web.
I’m all for design systems. I’ve designed and created many, and they’re a great way of unifying patterns, usage and language. They reduce time, save on costs and promote modular, systems-based thinking. But I’ve noticed a growing bias towards design systems focusing on the components first. This sug... Read it →
July 7th, 2017
Are designers evolving from just UX designers or just visual designers into multi-disciplinary generalists? There seems to be higher-quality design all-rounders coming back into vogue. Jack-of-all-trades When I was a freelancer it was in my best interest to be a generalist. To do everything. Being able to do more meant ... Read it →
August 9th, 2016
As a visual designer working on agile projects, I’ve said before how it’s easy to lose sight of the larger visual language in agile sprints. When you’re tackling user stories with your head down, it’s hard to come up for air and take stock of how your vis... Read it →
March 9th, 2016
A few years ago when Mark wrote his article on performance budgets, we were working together on a redesign for a luxury travel holiday website. The use of large images and typography to create a richer experience required the capping of a page’s weight so that I (the designer) di... Read it →
February 29th, 2016
A decade or more ago, digital marketing was more of a blunt instrument. It was like the first stone axe - crude, but it got the job done. I started my career in digital marketing. I’ve witnessed its growth both first-hand and now from afar, and as some aspects of... Read it →
February 27th, 2016
A look into my use of Strava and how it's positively affected my behaviour over time. My name is Jon, and I'm a Strava user. I never thought I could be as fundamentally affected by an app as I have been by Strava. Other apps can affect your behaviour in ... Read it →
December 23rd, 2015
When designing a site, app or digital product, all of the elements on screen need to work together. They need to sing together, harmonise with one another and form something greater than their constituent parts in order for the a user to start and finish their task. Agile as a ... Read it →
December 15th, 2015
Climbing 13,000 feet and riding 100 miles on a mountain bike... in a day. The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 15 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for 160 km (100 mi) from Winchester in ... Read it →
July 17th, 2015
Always nice getting a shout-out on a podcast, this time regarding the Code for America work and element collages. Read it →
May 25th, 2015
This article was originally posted on the Clearleft blog. Most Hack Farm projects start as someone's itch that needs scratching. Last year's TinyPlanner was Boxman's need for a backwards to-do list. Our 2012 Hack Farm ended up as a collaborative effort to improve political opinion tracking, which was an itch shared ... Read it →
February 10th, 2015
It's not often - for me anyway - to be quite so fundamentally affected by an app as I have been with Strava. Whereas the majority of apps available today aim to increase your productivity, give you a hit of dopamine through gamification, or aid you in getting from point ... Read it →
November 14th, 2014
This article was originally posted on the Clearleft blog Arguably the key deliverable we hand over to our clients is our pattern portfolio, comprised of two main components: The component library is a collection of all the front-end patterns or snippets we’ve extracted from our designs during the design an... Read it →
April 9th, 2013
Better late than never, right? In retrospect, my 2012 was pretty huge, both professionally and personally. On new additions In the early summer we welcomed another Aizlewood into the world - Indiana - who is truly one of the most easy-going, smiley babies I've every experienced. As I write this she's ... Read it →
January 17th, 2013
... absolutely nothin'! (Say it again, y'all) A short while back, I pitched for a project that I ultimately lost. After putting together a comprehensive proposal and fielding numerous questions (which I have no problem with), I was given the unfortunate news that I didn't win the business. This much is ... Read it →
January 5th, 2012
Creating the content for your website can be a difficult task. You have to gather information, consult experts, write thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of words, source images and get people to contribute. It’s hardly surprising that so many organisations delay their own content creation until it becomes a cr... Read it →
November 23rd, 2011
Let's work, together. For project inquiries, drop me a line.