Happy Friday, !

I can't believe it's the seventh week of my email newsletter journey already. I've been having an absolute blast crafting emails for you every week. Wondering what actually led to the start of The Accordion? Let me tell you.

I've always been passionate about sharing my take on the subject ever since I got into the UI/UX design realm. I realized that not many people are familiar with the relevance and importance of experience design in digital products. And it was about time to do some knowledge sharing. 

My initial idea was to target social media audiences by sharing short UI/UX design related posts. But I realized it would consume too much of my, already low, social battery. 🫣 

So I instead decided to start a design focused email newsletter, that would enable me to share content with a set of subscribers who have genuine interest in the subject. I'm not a writer, but I do have a technical background and a creative and an imaginative brain. So instead of "creating" content, I decided to "curate" content but also share my perspective on one UI/UX design concept every week. This seemed pretty reasonable to me.

💡 My thought process behind the name

I wanted to come up with a formal name with a catchy tone. I remember spending days brainstorming individually, in a group and also using AI of course. Nothing really clicked!
 

But one fine day, I was examining design components at work and realized I could relate one of the component names to my design newsletter. One such component that struck my mind was the "accordion". 

If you don't already know, an accordion component consists of multiple layers that reveal or hide content when toggled on or off. Here's an example from the Carbon design system

My newsletter, The Accordion, aims at presenting a relatable perspective on a UI/UX design concept and then goes on to providing additional links for you to expand and explore, just like how you would expand layers of an accordion component. And of course, the logo was based off of the same idea as well. 

👩‍💻 How I deliver content to your inbox

I'm happy to be a part of an awesome email marketing product called AWeber. AWeber provides email marketing solutions to small business owners as well as content creators and curators (like me). 

It seemed like a great opportunity for me to leverage the services offered by AWeber, but also get the feel of the product from a "customer" perspective for a change. This continues to help me discover user pain points that I might not come across otherwise.

If you are looking to improve a product, be a customer for that product. It is totally going to alter the way you perceive the service.

As I look back at my old emails, I notice how my content has eventually caught a theme or a vibe. If I had to give an elevator pitch for my newsletter, it would be this 🗣️

My newsletter presents one UI/UX design psychology principle in a way that relates to everyday human behavior to allow for even a non-expert to grasp and comprehend. Additionally, it meticulously curates the most relevant design content from the top creators in the industry. That's my newsletter, The Accordion 💟

I have over 50 subscribers now, and I receive a decent open rate for a beginner newsletter. If you have been enjoying my content so far, please support me by sharing the sign up link with people you know who would find value.