Product design in the age of AI
As AI makes design faster and cheaper, the value of designers shifts from producing artifacts to framing decisions and taking responsibility for the quality of what gets made.
Writing
Notes on design, software, craft, and product thinking.
Latest posts
Learning is messy
We learn quickest through the messy experimentation that allows us to build intuition, judgment, and a deeper understanding of what's possible.
On learned helplessness
The thing about learned helplessness is that it can feel like the world is against you, when it's really you against you.
How I supercharge my work journal with Notion AI
How I use Notion AI in my work journal to summarize work, surface insights, spot trends, and generate design case study outlines.
How my design portfolio has evolved over the past 15 years
A look back at 15 years of my portfolio website, the experiments and patterns I used to present my design work and career online.
Using a work journal to create design case studies
How keeping a work journal helps designers reflect, grow, and turn day-to-day notes into compelling portfolio case studies.
Systems thinking is what makes designers great
Why the best designers stand out not for polish alone, but for thinking holistically about how their work affects everything it touches.
Time with teammates is as important as time with users
Designers need to invest just as much time in getting to know their teammates and cross-functional partners.
How to measure design impact
A step-by-step method for measuring design impact by combining top tasks with PURE usability ratings, as applied at Gem.
What to do about ambiguous design problems
Why, when facing an ambiguous design problem with no clear definition, the most powerful thing you can do is start moving in any direction.
What we get wrong as designers
It feels good to be right, and seeking right ideas is more comfortable than seeking wrong ones. But regularly trying to be right (to validate our ideas) only shuts us off from what's actually right and best.
Defining your own career path
Why the answer to every career question is 'it depends'—and how defining your path means looking inward at who you really want to be.
Where do IC designers go once they peak?
On why senior individual-contributor designers shouldn't have to move into management to grow—and how the industry can build a real IC leadership track.
Design edge cases and where to find them
Four strategies for surfacing the edge cases that hide in any product, from extreme scales to accessibility, technology, and user intentions.
What it means to be a designer who's creative
Why creative design is not art: it lives at the intersection of uniqueness and value, propelled by constraints rather than freed from them.
A better way to compare yourself
Why comparing yourself to those you admire can be productive instead of discouraging, broken down into five mindset shifts.
Oh shit, my weekend project turned into an App Store Best New App
How a quick weekend app for sharing book quotes, Snaplight, got featured by Apple—and the lessons that matter more than star ratings.