This week we have a super short reading list for you—focused on words, witty conversations, logos, learning and a bunch of takeaways from talks. After all, to quote the talented Michael Bierut, its all about:

“Simplicity, wit and good typography”

Typography for User Interfaces

In a world going mobile (and conversational), I cannot but overemphasise the importance of type and content. And this article does a great job of hand-holding us through the evolution of the pixelated letter to some of my favourite terms: hinting, kerning—and some actionable tips. After all, "every word and letter in an interface matters. Good writing is good design. Text is ultimately interface"

Technical & Social challenges of Conversational Design — uxdesign.cc

Designer Adrian has been tinkering with conversational interfaces and made his website conversational. These are his learnings—and in keeping with the earlier link on Typography, seems like crafting words matter as much, if not more in the new world. More than pixels and programming perhaps?

Are Branding Agencies Still Relevant? — www.fastcodesign.com

I used to be part of a branding world, once upon a time—and moved to the view that the brand ultimately was the experience, not just the logo. And moved to the world of Ux. "The old way of designing brands is in desperate need of a rethink", chimes in Paul Woods. Here's whats changing or needs a rethink.

Events/Courses

User Experience Online Courses | Interaction Design Foundation — www.interaction-design.org

A bunch of short online courses (untested yet) that look pretty promising. They're paid but not exorbitantly priced. If you attend, do share the feedback.

Talks & Takeaways (for UX Designers and non-Designers) from Interaction16 Redux

The headline couldn't have been more descriptive, this is a summing up of a recent IxDA Redux event we had on the new thinking and trends around Ux/Ix —including should we move beyond designing just for the user?

Until next week,

@JDallcaps @SAIFpartners