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Field Notes /Patterns to watch

Design Watch

A digest of patterns worth investigating.

What’s changing, and is it useful? New options, not novelty.

  • Weekly source scan15–20 min · Bookmark changes and questions
  • Monthly investigation45–60 min · Compare examples and evidence

01 / Published

Completed investigations 0

Nothing published yet.

02 / In progress

Open investigations 2

Draft

AI-assisted verification

How might business applications help people verify AI-generated information before consequential actions?

Added

Plan
  • Collect dated examples from more than one product, with links to the actual interaction.
  • Look for evidence about checking sources, correcting errors, and keeping control.
  • Assess implications for trust, accessibility, effort, and recovery before choosing a direction.

Draft

From AI Note-Taking to Ambient Intelligence

How might assistants move from capturing conversations to helping with actions while preserving transparency and control?

Added

Open note →

03 / Where I look

Sources to scan

Tools & workflows1

Platform guidance2

Editorial perspectives1

Standards1

04 / Do one yourself

Develop an investigationGuide, example, worksheet

  1. Describe the pattern

    Find real examples. What changed, and for which task?

  2. Check the evidence

    Popular isn’t proven. Who does the evidence describe?

  3. Weigh the fit

    Does it fit your users and constraints? Is there a simpler option?

  4. Choose a small next step

    Investigate, test, adopt or pass. Say why and when to revisit.

See an example

An animated saved state

Problem
Someone needs to know that the save completed.
Evidence gap
No evidence yet that motion beats clear text.
Fit & cost
Reduced motion, announcements, interrupted saves, extra work.
Small experiment
Compare quiet text with the motion version.
Decision
Test. Keep the simple version until evidence says otherwise.

Make your own note

Evaluate a patternOpen guided worksheetClose worksheet
01Describe the pattern

Find real examples. What changed, and for which task?

A plain name, plus dated links.

The need, not the solution.

02Check the evidence

Popular isn’t proven. Who does the evidence describe?

Guidance, observation or research, with its limits.

Gaps, conflicts, what would change your view.

03Weigh the fit

Does it fit your users and constraints? Is there a simpler option?

Platform, clarity, accessibility, motion.

Performance, complexity, maintenance.

04Choose a small next step

Investigate, test, adopt or pass. Say why and when to revisit.

Investigate / test / adopt / pass, and why.

Smallest test, what to watch, review date.

Preview note as text
# Design Watch

Decide what is worth trying.

## 1. Describe the pattern

Find real examples. What changed, and for which task?

### Pattern & sources
[A plain name, plus dated links.]

### Problem it might solve
[The need, not the solution.]

## 2. Check the evidence

Popular isn’t proven. Who does the evidence describe?

### What supports it?
[Guidance, observation or research, with its limits.]

### What is still an assumption?
[Gaps, conflicts, what would change your view.]

## 3. Weigh the fit

Does it fit your users and constraints? Is there a simpler option?

### Would it fit here?
[Platform, clarity, accessibility, motion.]

### What would it cost?
[Performance, complexity, maintenance.]

## 4. Choose a small next step

Investigate, test, adopt or pass. Say why and when to revisit.

### What is your decision?
[Investigate / test / adopt / pass, and why.]

### How will you test or revisit it?
[Smallest test, what to watch, review date.]

Further reading:
NN/g: The Aesthetic-Usability Effect
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/aesthetic-usability-effect/

Every quarterWhat did I apply, test, drop, or change my mind about?

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