Samuel W.

User Experience Designer

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A collection of posts I wrote about design process, technology and productivity.

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Fixing iOS Books Cover Problem with custom ePUB

Look at my new iPad Books screen. All book covers are gone. I have bought the new iPad Mini 5 recently and I'm trying to transfer all my books from old iPad to the new one. Using iCloud Reading Now allows me to sync all devices with my books, notes and highlights, even those are not purchased from…

Mar 31, 2019

I realise I dont need a read-it-later service. You should too.

And here's a month passed in 2019. 11 more to go. By this time, your new year resolutions probably are either a failure or a good start. While I was refining my Todoist workflow, I have realised I don’t need a read-it-later service. The idea is to replace read-it-later app by your todo app and note…

Feb 17, 2019

Feature Wishlist for My Favorites Apps in 2018

I'm starting a new tradition this year by writing a feature wishlist to apps and services that I use regularly. Instead of tweeting complaints, why not make it a constructive suggestion so developers can take it seriously? Here's a list of suggestions I wrote: 1. Splitwise It is not easy to get your…

Jan 15, 2019

Lessons learned from personal project

Getting Started. There is no better time to start your personal project than today. I have been living in the bubble of agency model for years taking client projects. There were regrets and compromises accommodating with clients’ need and reality. I have always wondered the decision that I would…

Dec 11, 2018

2018 October Update

It was a challenging yet rewarding period in the last two months. I have set up the bare-bones structure of my personal site, yet it was a long way until perfect. Without much resources on the Internet, coming up with a decent design and functional website is a long learning process. In the last two…

Oct 31, 2018

Practical Evernote Tips

Practical Evernote tips that help you to build your own knowledge base and get things done

Oct 29, 2018

Lessons from IKEA

My journey to Scandinavia continued in Älmhult, Sweden (2 hours of train ride from Copenhagen), after the Design Matters conference. It was the home of the biggest furniture retailer in the world - IKEA. The town as the headquarter of IKEA, offers a museum and also a hotel, just for the visitors…

Oct 08, 2018

Journey to Design Matters

It was a truly enlightening trip to Denmark, attending Design Matters 2018 in Copenhagen (Sep 26 -27, 2018). Not only did the talks and workshops given by design practitioners across the industry are illuminating, but it had also made me realized to take a step back to reflect on the whole workflow…

Sep 29, 2018

Essential Color Tools to Step Up Your Design Game

Color is the combination of science and art, a simple color change could have drastic effect on the emotion or perception of the viewer. Being a UI/UX designer, mastering the color theory and its application truly can step up your design game. Stephen Few’s “Tapping the Power of Visual Perception…

Jul 06, 2018

How to do localization right - Citymapper in Hong Kong

After switching to Android last year, Google Map has been my first choice of transit app. Living in a city that public transport operators discourage open data , transit app is for navigation most of the time. Although selected lines of MTR and bus operators have their app to share real-time next…

Jul 03, 2018

Whole Earth Catalog

Steve Jobs did not say “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”, he quoted this line from a 452-page book named “Whole Earth Catalog”. Critics and reporters have been saying the book has changed the world (not only through its influence on Steve Jobs), as a symbol of the formation of counterculture. A lot of new…

Jun 03, 2018

Why real data & content matter

We have a lot of assumptions in the process of creating wireframes and mockups for websites & apps. As wireframes & mock-ups are not dynamic, it is easy to aware various scenarios when dummy content or placeholders are used. In contrast to graphic design or typesetting, which you build on certain…

Apr 24, 2018

A Brief Guide to Setting up Mac … (again)

Buying a new mac is one of the most exciting things I enjoy. The experience is sacred, since owning a new Mac is far less frequent than switching new phones (not that I switch new iPhone every year). The box-opening is a total satisfaction, a box is slowing sliding down from the cover with friction…

Oct 21, 2017