Gina Bhawalkar
Principal Analyst, Serving Customer Experience Professionals

Author Insights
Blog
New Research: State Of Design Teams — We Need Your Help!
To give you insights on the state of experience design (XD)/user experience (UX) teams, my colleagues and I, who cover design and UX, run an annual survey. In our most recent one, 61% of respondents reported that their design team impacts strategic decisions, for example. And I’m excited to share that our 2020 State Of […]
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Get Your Design System Right: Approach It Like A Product
A design system continually evolves — it’s not a project a design team can complete and move on from. In fact, a design system requires an ongoing time and resources investment just like a customer-facing digital product.
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Like Night And Day: Twitter’s And Apple’s Contrasting Moves On Accessibility
The two companies' recent actions highlight the difference between placing accessibility front and center versus treating it as an afterthought.
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We Evaluated Banks’ In-App Messaging On COVID-19: Five Brands Stood Out
What do consumers expect from their banks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? We interviewed 40 customers of 14 banks to find out.
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Open Source Design: What It Is And Why It Matters
There’s a new buzz phrase in the air — “open source design.” What is it? It’s a “remix” (to borrow a term from Figma) of the open source software movement’s commitment to sharing and collaborative validation and improvement of software source code. What Are Examples Of Open Source Design? You don’t need to look far to find companies embracing this idea by: Making design systems public. Most design teams are […]
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Get Accessibility Right: Recruit People With Disabilities Into The Design Process
When I speak with companies that are new to digital accessibility, they almost always start the conversation with some version of this question: “What do we need to do to comply with accessibility standards so we don’t get sued?” They’re right to ask, because web accessibility lawsuits are proliferating — there were over 2,000 in […]
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The Good And The Bad Of US Federal Website UX
Discover what federal agency websites excel at and where are the biggest areas of opportunity.
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Why And How To Create A Design System And Get Help With It
Fifty percent — that’s the percentage of design professionals who say their company now uses a design system according to Forrester’s Q3 2019 Global State Of Design Teams Survey. And a whopping 74% of those survey respondents say that their companies are using a design system more than two years ago. Over a third even […]
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Retailers: Make Your Website Accessible Or Leave Money On The Table
Only a tiny fraction of websites get accessibility right. Learn how to ensure your online experience doesn't freeze out would-be shoppers.
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Countdown To Showdown: Domino’s Supreme Error And Why Businesses Should Do The Opposite
When you hear “Domino’s” and “supreme” in the same sentence, you could be forgiven for thinking we’re talking about the “Supreme” on its menu — a pizza loaded with pepperoni, bacon, beef, sausage, mushroom, pineapple, and onion. But no, I’m talking about a bad business decision — which any company with a website or app […]
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Bake Your Values Into Your Design System — Takeaways From Clarity 2019
Having a design system is now table stakes for companies that want to scale design; drive a consistent, seamless customer experience; manage design debt and technical debt; and free up designer time to solve new challenges — not reinvent the wheel. But can a design system also ensure that the experiences you create are inclusive? […]
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CX SF 2019: Are You Designing For Everyone In Your Target Market?
When we design for the “average” person, we design for no one. One of my favorite books, The End of Average, opens with the story of how, during World War II, the US Air Force faced a high death rate — pilots were unable to control their planes, which led to crashes, often fatal. The […]
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You Need A Design System — Here’s Why
A recent study on design maturity from InVision revealed something really interesting: that design team size is not predictive of a design team’s maturity. That is, it’s possible to dedicate a lot of headcount to design but still see limited benefits on business outcomes. Not only did they find there’s not a correlation, but they […]
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Can You Prove The Business Impact Of Better Design?
Design leaders often ask me: “How do I make the case to grow my team?” “How do I prove the impact that better design has on my organization?” “How do I elevate the impact of design?” The answers to all three questions come down to having a repeatable process in place for linking design investments […]
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Global Accessibility Awareness Day: Equal Access Is Good Business
Yesterday, my LinkedIn feed lit up with posts from individuals and companies stating their commitment to digital inclusion. Why? Because it was Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day aimed at getting everyone talking and learning about digital accessibility and inclusive design. Why do we need a day dedicated to this? Because many companies are […]
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The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Of Canadian Mobile Banking Experiences In 2019
Mobile apps have become the touchpoint of choice for millions of people to manage their finances, and Forrester regularly reviews those of leading banks. We just published our latest evaluations of the apps of the big five Canadian banks: BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust. Overall, they’ve raised the bar, striking a good […]
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Design And Research Teams Are Scaling But Not How You’d Think
When I talk to design leaders these days, the No. 1 question on their minds is how to scale to meet the demand for design and research. It’s a good problem to have — executives have moved from asking “Do we need design?” to “How do we get more design and research?” Successful design organizations […]
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The Inclusive Design Imperative: Win And Retain More Customers
Inclusive design is good for business. I lay out the reasons why in my latest report, “The Inclusive Design Imperative: Win And Retain More Customers,” and explain how you can establish the foundation for it to take hold. Once you raise awareness of inclusive design and spark the desire in employees to do better, it’s […]
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What XD Pros Can Learn From Diversity And Inclusion Leaders: Highlights From The From Day One Conference In San Francisco
Does your company have a diversity and inclusion (D&I) program? There’s a good chance you do — D&I is currently having its moment in the spotlight. But the D&I conversation at many organizations neglects a crucial element: a process for how the company will actually fulfill its commitment to D&I in the experiences it designs […]
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Accessible Pizza And Other Highlights From CSUN 2019
Accessible digital design is more possible and more relevant than ever. Find out how it can widen your customer base while making life easier for people with disabilities.
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