Hi Luke,

"With great power, comes great responsibility."

—Uncle Ben, Spiderman

If I were to try and capture the recent Web Directions South 2012 conference in a sentence, the above quote would be it. As creators of web, mobile and desktop software, every design decision we make will influence someone's thoughts, culture and behaviour. The question each of us needs to answer for ourselves is: how will we use the power that we wield?

This same question was posed in a different way by a number of speakers at the conference: Ben Hammersley, Jon Kolko, John Allsopp, Avis Mulhall and others. Here at UX Mastery, we're giving some thought to how we can make this vast world in which we live that tiny bit better, and I encourage you to make time for reflection as well.

For example, if you're a freelancer and currently weighing up contracts, put the bottom line aside for a moment, and consider what each project contributes to the greater good. The satisfaction you derive from being involved in a project that makes a difference may well edge out that other lucrative but less soul-nourishing contract.

We hope you enjoy the content in today's issue.

All the best,

In every newsletter we include a tip to help you be a better UX designer.

Today's tip: Relax the parameters of early stage test participants

When recruiting participants for user testing, it's ideal that your participants come from the target market at which your product is aimed.

However, it can be easy to let the logistics of finding perfect candidates delay your testing schedule. It can be expensive too—in a worst case scenario, it may even prevent testing from happening at all. So if you're in the early stages of your project, just rope anyone in—your colleagues, friends, or family members—to participate in a "guerilla" usability test. It's once your design begins to take shape that more targeted participants will be most valuable.

Do you have a UX tip to share? Let us know.

• UX Myths: a goldmine of useful ammunition for when having UX discussions
• You're saving time: an interactive infographic about how much time UX saves
• A snapshot view of design from a psychologist's perspective
• A bunch of persona layouts captured on Pinterest - useful for evaluating the best ways to communicate user research
• The Infinite Grid: designing responsive layouts on an 'infinite' grid helps us better think about the relationships between elements
• A great article on how UX can take a larger, more mission-critical role in the future of a company
• Demystifying UX Design: a good reminder about two key false assumptions UXers may commonly make.
• Microsoft Digits: the 'wild west' of gestural input technology is still here
• How a simple, cheap, analogue whiteboard can help communicate and build consensus in your team.
• We love sketching! Here's why it can be important to sketch BEFORE you wireframe.
• Working on a Team as a UX Designer: four contributions UX can make to a design team

Did you read something recently that our readers should know about? Send it to us!

Well Luke, that's all for this issue. If you have any suggestions, feedback or comments, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

• Send us an email
• Contact us on Twitter: @uxmastery
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• Leave a comment on the UX Mastery website

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