Jeff White

Improving Medtech software ➤ Advancing UX careers with storytelling @ uxstorytelling.io/course ➤ UX Consultant ➤ UX Designer & Educator

In 20+ years as a UX/UI designer I've shipped hundreds of apps, websites, and features for big tech companies like Amazon and Motorola all the way down to tiny startups being run from a garage. 

5 years into my career I co-published an article about Agile UX work a colleague and I were doing at a broadcast retail company.

That led to several speaking engagements, and 1.5 years later I was in Seattle presenting the design for Kindle for iPhone 1.0 to Jeff Bezos.

I worked at Amazon for 6 years where I:

→ Designed and shipped dozens of Kindle reading apps used by millions
→ Got promoted 3 times
→ Managed and lead teams
→ Worked on highly visible "special projects"
→ Presented to Jeff Bezos and other execs more times than I can remember
 
And then I got burned out. 

So to recover I co-founded a tech startup. This is not a joke. This is also probably not advice I would give to anyone. 

The startup fizzled out quickly but it was my first exposure to entrepreneurship and I was hooked.

I didn't know what to do, I just knew I wanted to continue being out on my own.

With the help of others I started contracting. Over time that grew into a 7 figure design firm called Stepladder. 

Things about Stepladder that I'm proud of:

→ Short but impressive list of long time clients. We form partnerships.
→ 100% referral based
→ 97% of clients become return customers
→ Experienced designers come here to have more freedom in their life
→ Younger designers come here to get started and learn

I never dreamed that I would speak at conferences, work at a big tech name, or start companies. Yet here I am 20 years later incredibly fortunate, full of gratitude, sometimes a bit tired, and having learned:

→ You can't do it alone
→ Helping people is the best part of this job

I share what I've learned over the years here on LinkedIn and work with clients at www.stepladderUX.com.

Thanks for reading.

Founder and Head of Design

I’m a Product Designer and Content Creator who’s built and shaped 100+ brand websites that don’t just look good — they convert.

With a community of "15K+ design professionals and founders on LinkedIn", I create content around UX, product strategy, design systems, and no-code tools that helps startups and creators build smarter, faster, and better.

As a freelancer, I partner with 'early-stage startups, SaaS companies, and founders' to craft meaningful digital experiences — from landing pages that boost signups to full-scale product design systems that scale.

What makes my approach different?
👉 I combine design thinking with storytelling and audience insight.
👉 I don’t just design interfaces — I focus on user behavior, conversion, and product clarity.
👉 I share the process openly to educate and inspire others in the design community.

Let’s collaborate if you're:
• Launching a new product
• Revamping your UX
• Looking for a design partner who understands growth
• Or interested in reaching my engaged audience through sponsored content

📩 Reach out: nancydesign.work@gmail.com 
https://www.passionfroot.me/nancy-s

Nancy S.

Reading UX books won’t magically make you a better designer.
But the right books will change how you think forever.

As we move into 2026, UX is no longer just about clean screens or mastering the latest tool.
It’s about judgment, systems, research, writing, and strategy.

That’s why this list is intentionally structured—not random recommendations.

I’ve grouped these books around the skills that actually matter today:
• UX fundamentals that build intuition
• UI & visual systems that scale
• Design systems that survive real products
• UX research that informs decisions
• UX writing that removes friction
• UX strategy that connects design to business

If you’re early in your career, these books will help you build strong foundations.
If you’re senior, they’ll help you sharpen decision-making and zoom out.

You don’t need to read everything.
Read with intent.
Apply slowly.
Revisit often.

One book that changes how you frame problems
is more valuable than ten that just teach patterns.

Save this list for 2026.
And tell me—
which book here influenced your thinking the most, or what should I add next?

#UXDesign #ProductDesign #DesignBooks #UXResearch #DesignSystems #UXWriting #UXStrategy #DesignCareer

Crafted 100+ Brand Websites | Product Designer & Influencer | UX That Drives Results

UX research isn’t about collecting methods.
 It’s about choosing the right one at the right moment.

Interviews won’t replace analytics.

 Surveys won’t replace usability testing.

 And jumping straight to solutions without understanding the situation?
 That’s where most products fail.

This map is a simple reminder 
 • Qualitative → why users feel what they feel
 • Quantitative → what users actually do
 • Situation → understanding the problem space
 • Solution → validating what you’ve built

Good UX doesn’t come from doing more research.
 It comes from doing the right research.

If you’re designing without research, you’re guessing.
If you’re researching without intent, you’re wasting time.

Which UX research method do you rely on the most — and why?

Lean UX vs Agile UX — same destination, different routes.

Lean UX starts with uncertainty.
Agile UX starts with execution.

Lean UX asks:
“Should we build this at all?”

Agile UX asks:
“How do we build this better, faster, and repeatedly?”

Lean UX shines when:
• You’re exploring a new problem
• Assumptions are risky
• User needs are unclear
• Learning matters more than speed

Agile UX shines when:
• Direction is already set
• Teams need rhythm and velocity
• Incremental value matters
• Shipping consistently is critical

Where teams struggle is not choosing one —
but skipping the transition.

They jump into sprints
without learning.
Or keep researching
without ever shipping.

The strongest teams know when to:
→ Slow down to learn
→ Speed up to deliver

Lean UX reduces risk.
Agile UX increases momentum.

Real product maturity is knowing when to switch gears.

Does your team spend more time validating ideas or executing decisions — and is that balance actually intentional?

Design today often feels like this.

Standing on massive systems.
Everyone pressing keys fast.
Everyone asking for “just one more change.”

I saw this firsthand with a client recently.

They were obsessed with random tweaks:
→ “Make this bigger”
→ “Add one more animation”
→ “Let’s try another layout”

Every review added something.
Nothing was removed.

The result?
A product that looked busy, not better.
Complex, not clear.
Polished, but exhausting to use.

Design principles?
Minimalism?
Visual hierarchy?
They didn’t care.

What they wanted was movement — not meaning.

So I paused the process.

Instead of designing more, I asked:
“What problem is this change solving?”
“What decision is the user making here?”
“What happens if we don’t add this at all?”

Silence.

That’s when it clicked:
Most complexity isn’t created by bad designers.
It’s created by unfiltered decisions.

In today’s design world,
the real skill isn’t knowing more tools or theories.
It’s knowing when to say no.

Simple is not empty.
Minimal is not boring.
Clarity is not optional.

Good design today is restraint.
It’s choosing intention over noise.
And protecting the user from unnecessary chaos.


Have you ever had to fight for less while everyone asked for more?

Fake UX looks busy.
Real UX looks intentional.

Found this post resurfacing and going viral again.

And honestly, it explains why so many “well-designed” products still fail.

Teams run surveys.
They host workshops.
They track metrics.

But they do these things in isolation.

• Surveys without context create noise
• Metrics without meaning create false confidence
• Workshops without follow-through create slides, not change

Real UX happens when you connect the dots:
→ What users do
→ What users feel
→ How users are involved in shaping solutions

Miss one, and decisions start relying on assumptions instead of insight.

UX isn’t about performing research.
It’s about building understanding over time.

Where do you see teams breaking this chain most often?

Designers don’t fail because they lack talent.
 They fail because they don’t know where to look.

Good design isn’t just about Figma files or pretty screens.
 It’s about learning faster, spotting patterns, and sharpening judgment.

That’s why I keep a short list of websites I constantly return to.

Not for inspiration alone — but for:
 • Better UX thinking
 • Cleaner component decisions
 • Smarter product patterns
 • Faster problem-solving

These sites help when:
 → You’re stuck on a layout
 → Your design feels “off” but you can’t explain why
 → You need real examples, not theory
 → You want to design with confidence, not guesswork

Save this carousel.

 Revisit it when your design feels noisy, slow, or confusing.

Websites to know

Good UX decisions don’t start in Figma.
They start with an audit.

A UX audit helps you stop guessing and start seeing:
• Where users hesitate
• Where trust breaks
• Where conversions silently drop
• Which problems are real vs assumed

I’ve seen teams redesign screens again and again,
while the actual issue stayed untouched.

Because most products don’t fail due to bad UI.
They fail due to unresolved friction.

Audit first.
Design with intent.
Then scale what actually works.


If you could audit just one flow in your product today, which one would it be — onboarding, checkout, or something else?

UI UX in 2026 isn’t about mastering one tool anymore.
It’s about building a system that supports how you think, test, and decide.

Whiteboarding to untangle problems.
AI to speed up execution.
A/B testing to validate instincts with data.

This is Part 1 of my 2026 UI/UX tools stack — tools I see designers actually using in real work, not just bookmarking and forgetting.

These tools help you:
• think collaboratively (before pixels)
• move from idea → prototype faster
• reduce rework and endless iterations
• connect design decisions to outcomes

From FigJam, Miro, Whimsical, and Mural for clarity,
to AI tools like Uizard, Spline AI, Runway, and Sider for momentum,
to testing tools that close the loop between design and performance.

Because tools don’t make you a great designer.
Judgment does.
The right tools simply remove friction so your judgment shows up earlier.

This is the start of a series where I’ll break down:
→ when to use each tool
→ what to avoid
→ and how to combine them into a workflow that actually works

Which tool here do you already rely on?
And which one should I deep-dive next in Part 2?

Busy ≠ productive.

This is what decision fatigue looks like.
In the design world, it often hides behind “hard work”:

• Endless revisions with no clear goal
 • Too many components, not enough clarity
 • Designing faster, but thinking less
 • Feedback loops that create confusion, not direction
 • Polished screens that still don’t solve the problem

When designers are overwhelmed,
 they stop designing intentionally.
They react instead of deciding.

The real cost isn’t time.

 It’s poor UX, slower teams, and fragile decisions.
Great design comes from focus, not force.

 From fewer priorities, not louder opinions.
Sometimes the most productive thing a designer can do
 is remove options, simplify decisions, and pause.

Where do you feel decision fatigue the most?
Screens, feedback, stakeholders, or timelines? 👇

#UXDesign #ProductDesign #DesignLeadership #DesignThinking
 #FocusOverBusy #UXStrategy #CreativeProcess

Top 10 vibe-coding tools designers will love in 2026 

1. lovable.dev
2. bolt.new
3. wegic.ai
4. cursor.com
5. https://lnkd.in/geE_H36k
6. same.new
7. bubble.io
8. macaly.com
9. replit.com
10. v0.app

Vibe coding is changing how designers build:
 → Less handoff
 → Faster experiments
 → More control over outcomes

These tools help designers move from idea → interface → interaction without waiting on perfect conditions.

Pro Tip: Most of these tools offer free tiers or sandbox environments. Try a few before committing to one. The right fit depends on your creative style and project needs.

This isn’t about replacing design skills.
 It’s about amplifying them.

Designers who understand code just enough
 will design better decisions, not just prettier screens.

Human-Centered Design isn’t a framework.
It’s a way of thinking.

It doesn’t begin with features.
It doesn’t begin with UI.
It begins with people.

Their goals.
Their confusion.
Their emotions.
Their environment.

Good design doesn’t ask users to learn the product.
It adapts to how people already think and behave.

That’s why human-centered design is not linear:
→ You empathize to understand real pain
→ You define to avoid solving the wrong problem
→ You ideate and prototype to explore possibilities
→ You test to remove assumptions
→ You implement to create real-world impact

And then you repeat.

Because users change.
Context changes.
And design must evolve with them.

If your solution looks great but feels hard to use,
empathy was missing.

If your product works but doesn’t stick,
feedback came too late.

Human-centered design isn’t slower.
It’s smarter.

Which stage do you think teams rush the most —
Empathize, Define, or Test?

5 Websites to Level Up Your Design Skills 

 1. Mobbin
Explore real-world mobile and web design patterns from top apps.
mobbin.com

 2. Page Flows
Learn UX through user journey recordings and product onboarding flows.
pageflows.com

 3. Design Systems Repo
Discover and study open-source design systems from global brands.
designsystemsrepo.com

 4. Collect UI
Browse thousands of curated daily UI shots for visual inspiration.
collectui.com

 5. GoodUI
Learn from A/B tested patterns that actually improve user experience.
goodui.org

Save these. Explore one each week.
Your design intuition grows when you see how others solve problems.

hashtag

#UXDesign hashtag
#ProductDesign hashtag
#UIDesign hashtag
#DesignResources hashtag
#UXResearch hashtag
#DesignThinking hashtag
#UserExperience hashtag
#Figma hashtag
#LearningDesign

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