The following is a little checklist I’ve been keeping whilst working at IG.com as a UX designer, it’s a useful reminder for me whilst designing different aspect of the trading platform. Its certainly a piece of work-in-progress and feedbacks are most welcomed.

P.S. Unfortunately, importing the list into Medium have completely screwed up the formatting

Before we start — Do we have a clear objective in mind

1. What do we want the users to do
2. What don’t we want the users to do
3. What data do we have to support the work
4. What are the metrics we are looking for to track whether we meet desired behaviour
5. What assumptions are we making?
6. …

I actually had the idea for UXstamps more than a year ago. I was in London at the time and shared the idea with a few mates, the response was “OK”, no excitement, no drama. Still, I went ahead and got a prototype done via Taobao.com. What came back was an rather ugly bulky 3d printed stamp, it kinda worked but was also hideous, the idea was left aside. Fast forward just 2 months ago, I mentioned the idea to a good friend and was encouraged to make the idea happen.

Or maybe I just haven’t found the app/service I have in mind yet…

I’ve casually invested in stocks and shares for a number of years now, never anything big and only on companies I know. Like everyone else, I simply want my money to grow that little bit more.

I’ve used a handful of platforms so far, some HK based like HSBC and 8securities.com, some UK based like fool.co.uk and getbux.com. They all have their pros and cons, some of good prices but bad UI. The difficult thing about these trading platforms (same goes for crypto trading platforms) is the…

I previously wrote a short list of what made being a Dad difficult, not wanting to focus on just the difficult side, I wanted to share what makes it amazing and magical as well. So here goes:

1. Seeing my daughter smile
2. Watching my daughter and my wife interact, playing together, attempting to chat.
3. The laughters, so many silly but adorable moments
4. Being able to comfort her and make her feel safe
5. Seeing her go from teary eyes to the biggest smile
6. Gave me a new focus in life, less options also mean less distractions
7. Getting cuddles
8. Realising how lucky I am to have such an amazing life partner

1. Watching my wife go into labour

2. Seeing our daughter being ill

3. Decide between making money or spend more time with the family

4. The lack of sleep

5. Worrying if our daughter had poo’d enough

6. Putting the little monster to sleep and making sure I don’t wake her up

7. Her crying whilst on public transport

8. The joint aches, mainly from my wrists and back

9. Seeing my wife nurse our daughter while being even more tired than I am

10. The idea that my daughter will have a boyfriend (or girlfriend) one day

11. Having my heart opened up so wide by her

That’s just my experience so far as a Dad, did I miss anything? What are you finding difficult or wonderful?

I actually had the idea for UXstamps more than a year ago. I was in London at the time and shared the idea with a few mates, the response was “OK”, no excitement, no drama. Still, I went ahead and got a prototype done via Taobao.com. What came back was a rather ugly bulky 3d printed stamp, it kinda worked but was also hideous, the idea was left aside. Fast forward just 2 months ago, I mentioned the idea to a good friend and was encouraged to make the idea happen.

As much as I enjoy writing these email newsletters to, as helpful as it as been as an exercise in processing and write down my thinkings, curating content and journals my weeks. There is something now much more important for me to focus my energy on, my daughter.

This little “angel/monster” is now my everything, I’ve got to cut out anything not essential, I’ve got to focus on learning to be a good Dad. I will start this newsletter again, I’m not sure when.

Here’s an uber list of interesting products and articles I’ve been saving since the last email…

One Concern: On Privacy