All articles

More articles, on design, building software, creating products, and much more.

Design Leadership

The Problem of Creative Scaling

The skill that got you promoted is the skill that's killing you. Why creative leaders hit a wall when their org doubles, and what the job actually becomes on the other side.

6m0s

Design Systems

Micro Design Systems, Seven Years Later

A 2026 follow-up to the original 2019 post on modular design systems. What held up, what changed, and what we'd write if we were starting today. Covers design tokens, design engineers, and the quiet death of the design systems team.

5m30s

Design Career

Dear (Future) Designer: Don't Learn How To Code

The pressure to learn to code is persistent bad advice. What you actually need is literacy, not fluency — and the list of things worth learning is shorter than you think.

5m0s

Design Leadership

When to Hire a Design Partner, and When to Hire In-House

The choice between a design partner and a senior in-house hire isn't a tradeoff between two versions of the same role. They do meaningfully different jobs. Here's how to decide which one your team actually needs.

5m30s

Design Insights

What AI Actually Changes in Product Design

The discourse has collapsed into either 'AI eats design' or 'AI is nothing new.' Both are wrong. What actually changes, what doesn't, and how designers should adjust.

5m30s

Design Insights

Dear (Future) Designer: Accessibility Is Not A Feature

Accessibility is not something you add on top of a finished design. It is not a toggle. It is not a checklist you complete at the end. Accessibility is a quality of the design itself.

3m0s

Design Insights

Dear (Future) Designer: Understand Why Touch Matters

Fitts's Law is a fundamental principle that predicts interaction time based on target size and distance. Understanding this simple yet powerful concept helps designers create interfaces that are not just beautiful, but effortlessly usable.

3m0s

Design Leadership

On Design Evangelism

Design Evangelism, though less explored than its developer counterpart, is crucial for advocating the value of good design within organizations. This article delves into the four key roles of design evangelists—advocating, educating, collaborating, and inspiring—to empower teams and elevate design's impact.

8m0s

Design Systems

Micro Design Systems: Breaking the Monolith

Modular design systems will scale better, make design faster, and be less likely to fail. By applying the microservices architecture to design systems, we can create purpose-driven, interconnected services that grow with our products.

10m0s