Technically speaking, a chicken is an ancient and highly efficient 3D-printer. That’s one of the fun facts of the “Bulambuli Valley” video to raise funds for Uganda through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.

Find this hilarious video and 9 other links, most of which relate to user experience and design management, in the July digest.

“If you want to build a product that millions [use] you must defy this tendency to prioritize the core product at the expense of the “first mile”.” Scott Belsky’s article gives some experienced and practical advice to anyone seeking to engage users in a web, app or VR experience – whatever the format, it’s always about satisfying the human on the other side of the screen. Really great post, even if it’s a lot of common sense, but that is exactly what we tend to miss when designing product & brand experiences.

Some practical advice about satisfying the human on the other side of the screen

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Same area of expertise, similar topic, different person, different company. Jared Braiterman, who holds a doctorate in cultural anthropology from Stanford, discusses his role as VP of experience design for Asia-Pacific at  McKinsey. Yes, McKinsey has started a design practice. “The pace of change now means having an emotional […] connection with the customer becomes paramount [and] that’s why McKinsey is starting to hire anthropologists,” the Tokyo-based designer explains. Short read, more for the curious people out there.

Having an emotional connection with customers becomes paramount, that’s why McKinsey is hiring anthropologists

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I blogged about Jan Chipchase already. He is another type of cultural anthropologist who travels the world for clients, helping them to understand cultures and detect weak signals that could give them an edge over those who stay on the surface. Probably a very interesting role, about which he reports in this post after travelling “7,000km overland through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan’s GBAO region and China’s western provinces.” It’s the type of post that takes you far away and changes from the usual Silicon-Valley-design-thinking-innovation stuff. Even though he still finds parallels.

Chipchase detects weak signals that could give his clients an edge over those who stay on the surface

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“Many thanks Donald Trump for suggesting I run for President, based on the fact that I wrote ‘The Art of the Deal’,” Tony Schwartz tweeted after hearing Trump saying “We need a leader that wrote ‘The Art of the Deal’.” Being a ghost writer is about writing for someone else and accepting not to be acknowledged for it… but Schwartz decided to speak out anyway by giving this interview to The New Yorker. An obvious read for a European – we can’t figure out why Trump is front-runner in the presidential election of such a great country – and a necessary one for the world. I hope it can help Trump not to be elected.

An obvious read for a European, and a necessary one for the world

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I hated the title, but I clicked anyway, and I ended up reading a really good article. Ron Shevlin lays out some fundamental changes that financial organizations are confronted to, drawing parallels with sectors like retail, and provides a couple of tips to address them. I guess that – by being in the crowdfunding & fintech sphere – I’m part of this challenge to banks. But as newcomers can be out-innovated too, I truly enjoyed the read about the “platformification” of banking.

As we can be out-innovated too, I truly enjoyed this read about “platformification”

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Charlie Waite, Senior UI/UX Design Manager, shares his experience about working at GoPro and making the brand easy to engage and interact with. Knowing that the GoPro camera in itself is already a great design product, I found it interesting to read how you define this product’s experience even further: “One of the reasons I chose GoPro over some other companies was the fact that we were helping enable people to tell stories and live their lives, but at the root of that was getting people outside and away from technology.“

I found it interesting to read how you define this – already great – product’s experience even further

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I want to share two things here: the article about a bank’s design process, but also the InVision blog and the overall user experience that this company has adopted. I haven’t used their product – design prototyping software – yet, but I’m very impressed of their content, website and onboarding. Check it out for yourself.

Two things here: the article about a bank’s design process, but also the InVision blog and user experience

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A very funny video for an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. It’s funny because it plays with the buzzwords that often come up when it comes to covering innovation across the world. But since chicken laying eggs are – truth be told – another form of 3D-printers, the humor is even more enjoyable: “In Bulambuli Valley, Uganda, there’s a community of innovators […] trying to build a better future [with] groundbreaking products like Chicken™ the first 3D Egg Printer, and Tomato, the 100% solar powered food revolution.” If you want to support the project, initiated a London based NGO that has based its operations in this small valley in Uganda, donate here.

Chicken laying eggs are just another form of 3D-printers

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This is a really great post, very insightful and “deeper” than the other product- and web-design related links shared in this July post. A former Facebook product leader (whose Linkedin profile modestly says “Tech visionary, venture capitalist & bestselling author“…) gives some truly good tips about creating a mobile experience today. Each of the lessons boils down to being mindful about users’ goals, adjusting to human attention, presenting clear and logical choices, and making the service feel personal without overstepping.

This post is very insightful and “deeper” than the other ones shared here

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I don’t like Tinkov (or Tinkoff) because he’s just another Trump; a successful entrepreneur who, partly through his questionable ethics and morals, wants to overthrow established models. I’m not against innovation or conflict, but the way he came into cycling was just disrespectful. But I must admit that this farewell blog post to cycling is a great read. Extract: “Look at teams like Cannondale or Trek, that have put a lot of money into cycling without any real results. They’re Mickey Mouse teams. They’re a disaster. […] I did better and achieved more with less money.“

He is just disrespectful. But I must admit that this blog post is a great read

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Check what’s on my reading list any time on Twitter.com/yannigroth/likes or Medium.com/@yannig/has-recommended, and don’t hesitate to mention me if you feel like sharing. En route!