Blog

Discover articles from the Nomat team with practical tips and resources to help your next UX project.

Blog

Discover articles from the Nomat team with practical tips and resources to help your next UX project.

Blog

Discover articles from the Nomat team with practical tips and resources to help your next UX project.

Illustration of an open laptop. The message on the screen says "Enter the 4-digit code sent to you at ******12"
Author photo

Joshua Zhang

12 Sept 2023

Designing a Smooth Multi-Factor Authentication Experience

We explore multi-factor authentication and how to to design a smooth multi-factor authentication experience

Illustraion of a man pulling an ancor which is weighing down a mobile phone
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Chris Gray

18 May 2023

Design is Hard

We unpack some reasons why design can be hard, and suggest practical solutions for how to make it easier. In particular, we focus on strategies to make designing digital products smoother for everyone involved.

An illustration of a old fashioned key which is labled Stakeholder Engagement
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Marli Gray

13 Feb 2023

Human-Centred Design (HCD) in Government

Nomat Director Marli Gray has had the opportunity to collaborate with different Victorian Government departments and organisations in supporting HCD projects. In this piece she documents some insights related to the notible digital transformation in the g...

An illustration of a man standing on a cliff looking at clouds with the stages of a Journey Map on them
Author photo

Eliza Crisp

20 Oct 2022

Exploring Future-State Journey Maps

Future-state journey maps are a powerful tool which can help inform teams about opportunities for the future. Here we consider how they can be utilised to effectively plot the path to future success for a product or service.

Illustration of a man looking at the jobs he needs to do
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Amanda Chen

11 Aug 2022

Jobs-To-Be-Done Framework and Better Outcomes

The Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) framework is a useful tool to better understand a problem space and can be used to understand customer needs, goals and problems to create more effective solutions.

An illustration of a piece of paper with the words One size does not fit all on it
Author photo

Amanda Chen

12 May 2022

Personalisation for Humans

Having a consistent level of personalisation across all channels and delivering genuine customer value has become more important than ever. Here we explore the ins and outs of personalisation and how human centred design can help.

An illustration with the word why in the middle and UX activities around the outside
Author photo

Amanda Chen

17 Nov 2021

When Choosing Research Tools, Choose Your 'Why'

We've put together a non-exhaustive list of business problems or digital product problems that can be explored through research, to help you choose your 'why' and find the right tools for the job. 

An illustration of a woman sitting at a desk writing
Author photo

Bao Nguyen

13 Oct 2021

10 Tips to Help You Run Your Online Workshop

Workshops are a great way to get project buy-in, promote collaboration and get everyone onto the same page. But what happens if you are unable to meet in person? Here are 10 tips to help you run your online workshop.

An illustration of a ven diagram with Accessibility and Usability crossing over
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Amanda Chen

23 Sept 2021

Building Better Outcomes With Inclusive Design

Inclusive design is good for customers, businesses and can lead to more innovative designs. Here we explore why inclusive design is important and provides some tips on starting or continuing your inclusive design journey.

An illustration of an eye, and magnifying class and a brain
Author photo

Chris Gray

24 May 2021

3 Benefits of Human-Centred Design

One advantage of working for a human-centred design firm is the breadth of projects we work on. Here, we bring attention to the 3 things that we think make human-centred design so beneficial and useful.

An illustration of people Remote Working
Author photo

Chris Gray

17 Mar 2020

COVID-19: Time to Get To Work

Many teams, like ours at Nomat, started the work from home routine a week ago, for us it was a scary decision, but we believe the right one.

Image of a group of balloons lifting up and a single balloon stuck on the ground with the text "A humble team soars"
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Chris Gray

19 Nov 2019

Why Humility is the Secret to Product Success

Find out why humility provides a foundation for effective design and how it supports a culture where teams can build great products.

Illustration of an ear listening to a colourful group of speech bubbles
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Marli Gray

17 Apr 2019

Active Listening: Mastering the Art of Engaging Conversation

Developing skills and techniques in active listening has many benefits in the Human Centred Design (HCD) world. Building your skills takes practice, so here are some strategies that might help.

An illustration of squiggly shape with a tag attached that says 'design' in the style of a dictionary entry
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Selena Kearney

24 Jan 2018

Defining Design: Is a universal definition possible?

How important, relevant or useful would a single agreed upon definition be for the discipline of design? Are the specialisations that exist within its umbrella too different to share a common core description? Are the boundaries too fuzzy to formally defi...

A screenshot of a survey pop up in a browser
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Chris Gray

23 Nov 2017

True Intent Survey: Understanding Why Users Visit Your Site

A true intent survey is run on a live website that intercepts visitors and asks a series of specific questions about their visit. It seeks to understand why people are visiting, the tasks that they have come to complete, and then about their experience of...

A screenshot of an article about A/B Testing
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Chris Gray

14 Nov 2017

A/B Testing: We Can Do Better

A/B testing is something we come across more and more, typically in organisations with greater digital maturity. While I love A/B testing, too often I see firms using a shot gun based approach lacking genuine insight to create meaningful hypothesis and ho...

An illustration of two people sitting at a desk with a computer conducting a moderated usability test
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Chris Gray

13 July 2017

Moderating a Usability Test

Mastering the art of moderation can take years, running lots of sessions and making lots of mistakes. That said, with a little practice and a solid understanding of the basics anyone can quickly learn how to run a usability test and begin the journey to m...

A model made of LEGO representing team building
Author photo

Chris Gray

23 Jan 2017

LEGO® Serious Play®: Applying Play to User Experience Design (UX)

LEGO Serious Play is a technique that supports deep exploration of concepts, ideas and opportunities to solve problems, and we have been using it within user experience design projects.

A tip sheet for innovation
Author photo

Selena Kearney

18 Oct 2016

3 Tips for Innovation

It is possible to start practicing in small ways, on a single project or within a team, which can gain traction and start to build up a culture of innovation in your broader organisation. Here's some simple ideas to help you start growing a culture of inn...

An image of a checklist showing the first five considerations of whether to run a design sprint or not. The first five steps shown are "we have a defined customer problem and business problem", "We don't know the solution to the problem yet", "We want to learn quickly and cheaply", "We are comfortable with generating new ideas", "We are ok with finding a solution that doesn't work"
Author photo

Chris Gray

25 Aug 2016

Design Sprint Checklist

A Design Sprint checklist will help you determine whether to run a Design Sprint and what makes for a successful Design Sprint

An infographic poster showing the six benefits of UX design. The benefits shown include "create the right product from the start" and "User experience is crucial to SEO"
Author photo

Chris Gray

7 July 2016

6 Benefits of UX Design

The six benefits of UX design to help improve product strategy and outcomes.

An image of different people made up of legos in an office space
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Chris Gray

14 Apr 2016

Strategic Research Within Agile Environments: Is it possible?

Strategic research within Agile environments can be challenging. There needs to be a focus on tactical research while considering more strategic needs.

An image of a Christmas poster titled "'Tis the season to be jolly!" showing Marli, Chris and Selena from the Nomat team in a christmas bauble along with a season's greetings message
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Chris Gray

22 Dec 2015

End of Year UX Festivities

A reflection of the 2016 year including what the Nomat team have been up to during the year.

An screenshot of the home button on the LinkedIn website
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Chris Gray

29 Oct 2015

Think the Home Button is Unnecessary? Think Again

There is a persistent trend of removing the home button from website navigation which can create potential usability issues. It is important that users can easily access the homepage. There are alternate approaches to the conventional home link placement,...

A photo of a sketch with ideas on it
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Chris Gray

15 Oct 2015

Rapid Iterative Concept Workshops: A Case Study of Rapidly Exploring New Products and Validating Them With Customers

Creating successful products in fast moving environments is a challenge facing many teams. How do you quickly explore new concepts? And how do you identify which are likely to be successful with customers? In this post we share a technique called rapid it...

An infographic poster with two things about Nomat people might not know about. The Nomat name comes from the word 'Nomad', reflecting a mission to help organisations to greener pastures.  Nomat believes in giving back to the UX community through training and mentoring. Nomat is also contributing beyond the UX world by supporting the Global Girl Project
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Chris Gray

24 Sept 2015

2 Things You Might Not Know About Nomat on Our 2nd Birthday

It has been a busy year so here are two things people might not know about Nomat.

An illustration of how to run an unmoderated remote usability test. Steps include gathering information before you start, and setting clear expectations during testing
Author photo

Chris Gray

7 July 2015

How to Run an Unmoderated Remote Usability Test (URUT)

Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing (URUT) is a technique that can offer quick, inexpensive and robust usability testing. Of particular value can be the ability to use the technique for benchmarking and context-sensitive studies. It is a great tool to ha...

A photo of a impact marix of ideas
Author photo

Chris Gray

24 June 2015

User Research in an Agile Environment

The increased adoption of the agile development process within the digital industry can presents a challenge for incorporating rigorous research as part of the design process.

A photo of Chris Gray running some training
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Chris Gray

4 June 2015

UX training: 5 Lessons I’ve Learnt From Teaching User Experience

I’ve loved teaching during my time as a UX practitioner, I really see the value in imparting knowledge to others in this industry, and training is one way to do this. Here is what I have learned...

A photo of an office where a usbaility test has been set up on the desk
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Chris Gray

12 May 2015

Usability Testing: Does Independence Matter?

There are scenarios where independent usability testing is crucial including external designers completing work however there are also cases where the designer and tester can be one in the same.

A screenshot of a web analytics browser window
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Chris Gray

13 Apr 2015

5 Web Analytics Reports for UX

Web analytics data is acknowledged as a core competency for managing websites but it seems to be infrequently used by UX practitioners. Here are some basic reports which can be used to inform the design process and can aid any UXer to better understand th...

A sketch of a man in the middle of a lot of stakeholders
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Chris Gray

23 Jan 2015

Eliminating Opinions in UX

I’m not usually one for making New Year resolutions, no overt declarations made at midnight anyway. But as I think about it more, I probably do, all be it small goals and plans to make this year a success. So here is a goal that’s been on my mind: I’m goi...

Two sets of eyes looking at each other.
Author photo

Chris Gray

23 Dec 2014

Empathy: A Little Bit Goes a Long Way

At the heart of giving is empathy, the ability to understand someone else’s feelings. Effective UX requires us to empathise with both our customers and our stakeholders.

A photo of a lone raindeer walking in the snow. The photo is called 'Happy Christmas’ by Tristan Ferne
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Chris Gray

8 Dec 2014

Getting Into the Christmas Spirit With UXmas

This year we contributed an article, 'What can UXers Learn From Rudolph', to UXmas.

A infographic poster about what Nomat accomplished in the first year by the numbers. This includes 6 successful redesigns, 1 developed business case, 3 UX teams supported, 5 training sessions, 1 experience map and 2 contextual enquiries
Author photo

Chris Gray

12 Nov 2014

Our First Year

To celebrate our first successful year in business, we have pulled together this poster of what we have been up to.

A photo of a white sculpture in a park. The sculpture is titled 'Body of Knowledge', 2010 from Jaume Plensa, steel sculpture, at Westend Campus of Goethe University Frankfurt
Author photo

Chris Gray

31 Oct 2014

Why UX Teams Should Build a Body of Knowledge

One of the biggest challenges facing UX teams is the ability to track and maintain information collected about customers, and specifically from UX Research. In order to deliver more effective design we need to understand our customers through a body of kn...

Pow! System usabilty scale
Author photo

Chris Gray

10 July 2014

How the SUS Will Turn You Into a UX Superhero

The SUS (System Usability Scale) measures the usability of products and services. Learn more about how it can help to communicate an understanding of usability and to convince stakeholders of the need to implement change.

A sketch note of a talk on surveys. The principles shown include "Avoid double negatives", "Avoid questions with two concepts", "Use balanced rating scales", "Use open ended questions", "Include "don't know options", and "group similar questions."
Author photo

Chris Gray

17 May 2014

Surveys for UX

Last year Nomat wrote an article on using surveys in user experience (UX) for UX Mastery. The piece covers what a survey is, how they can benefit the design process, what to consider before writing a survey, creating an effective survey (writing good ques...

Interested to know more? Let’s Talk.

Interested to know more?
Let’s Talk.

Interested to know more? Let’s Talk.

Ready to collaborate?

Let’s chat

(03) 9088 0868

Send us an email

Visit our office

Ground Floor, 68 Clarke Street
South Melbourne
VIC 3205

Social media

Acknowledgement of Country

Nomat acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.

Diversity and inclusion

Nomat celebrates, values and champions people of all ethnicities, faiths, ages, abilities, languages, gender identities and sexual orientations. We want everyone to feel safe to bring their whole selves to Nomat. 

Corporate Social Responsibility

We strive to give back by supporting grassroots organisations like Global Girl Project via pro bono work and donations.

Ready to collaborate?

Let’s chat

(03) 9088 0868

Send us an email

Visit our office

Ground Floor, 68 Clarke Street
South Melbourne
VIC 3205

Social media

Acknowledgement of Country

Nomat acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.

Diversity and inclusion

Nomat celebrates, values and champions people of all ethnicities, faiths, ages, abilities, languages, gender identities and sexual orientations. We want everyone to feel safe to bring their whole selves to Nomat. 

Corporate Social Responsibility

We strive to give back by supporting grassroots organisations like Global Girl Project via pro bono work and donations.

Ready to collaborate?

Let’s chat

(03) 9088 0868

Send us an email

Visit our office

Ground Floor, 68 Clarke Street
South Melbourne
VIC 3205

Social media

Acknowledgement of Country

Nomat acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.

Diversity and inclusion

Nomat celebrates, values and champions people of all ethnicities, faiths, ages, abilities, languages, gender identities and sexual orientations. We want everyone to feel safe to bring their whole selves to Nomat. 

Corporate Social Responsibility

We strive to give back by supporting grassroots organisations like Global Girl Project via pro bono work and donations.