Contract work on a FedEx Hong Kong web experience was a useful reminder that the most familiar brands still face very specific user and interface challenges.
Start with the context
A global brand can bring recognition and expectations, but a regional web experience still has its own audiences, tasks, and constraints. The design has to work for the situation in front of it.
The interface is the last mile
Good UX work connects an understanding of the task to clear structure and an interface that supports it. Visual decisions matter, but they are most useful when they follow a reasoned account of what people need to do.
A recurring lesson
I try not to confuse a polished screen with a solved problem. The interesting work is often in the decisions that make the screen feel obvious.