Dope or Dead Design (DoDD)

Originally published Oct 26, 2019

Hey there 👋🏾, glad you made it. Alright, enough small talk.

The Backstory

For some time now, I’ve worked on intentionally being present during everything that I do. It’s been pretty beneficial all around. Among working wonders on my existence as a human being, it has also made me a better user experience (UX) professional. Long story short, I’m all for being present (try it out!)…but this isn’t about that.

I found myself feeling very present while driving one day (the fact that this doesn’t happen more often sounds insane). In this moment, I became really grateful that everyone knew to stop when the light was red…and very irritated by the lack of signage to warn me about roadwork (smh, typical LA 🙄). I noticed a lot and it didn’t take long for me to know what I did/did not appreciate from a UX perspective. Thus, Dope or Dead Design was born.

Dope or Dead Design

To keep it short:

Dope design = on the money and I wouldn’t mind repeating the experience.

Dead design = dead loss. It missed the mark…at least for me. Definitely not happening again if I can help it. (Feel free to refer to Urban Dictionary’s definition of “that’s dead” if you need further clarification).

I enjoy living in the physical world. I’m a very tactile person (with objects, not people). I love doing things with my hands and I’ve grown to appreciate unexpectedly delightful experiences. I work in tech and it’s great to come across a pleasing journey in the digital realm but I think switching it up here will be fun . Thus, I’ll be focusing on the little things I’m grateful (and not so grateful) for that someone thought to include in a design that doesn’t live on my phone or computer.

Stay tuned!