Strategy

There’s too much work to do, and too little time. Too few designers. Too little energy. Odds are, you can’t singlehandedly design every interface, flow, social post, landing page, icon, illustration, logo, and whatever else your project needs. No matter how large your team, there will always be

Some decisions are easily reversible; others are one-way doors. I prefer the former. There’s comfort in having a safety net. I like to be able to say, “I think this idea will work, but if it doesn’t, we can always roll it back.” One-way doors are risky, but

When making design decisions, we should stay aware of whether we’re pursuing a local maximum or a global maximum. Think of a project you’re working on that involves some tricky decisions. Now visualize that project as a mountain, with the summit being the ideal version of that project

The blank screen is intimidating. Without the constraints inherent in designing for the physical world, we’re restricted only by what the browser or OS can render. This is exhilarating, but also kind of scary. With infinite potential solutions to any problem, how do we choose the right one? Is

Design is a form of hospitality. Done well, design should be welcoming. It should invite users into the world it creates, making them feel at home. This is true for websites, apps, books, posters, album covers — you name it. Most design is about reducing friction: reducing the friction to find

Why care about design? Even as a professional designer, I ask myself that sometimes. There are days when my work feels inconsequential. After I’ve spent an hour agonizing over a button’s pixel alignment, or vacillating between two indistinguishable shades of gray, I find myself wondering: will anyone even

Last week, Bloomberg published a 38,000-word behemoth entitled What is Code? It took up an entire issue of their print edition, though to really appreciate the piece in all its glory, it needs to be experienced digitally. Everyone should read it, especially if you aren’t interested in programming

Every user interaction is a narrative. Whether the user is browsing a website, inputting data into a form, or using an app, they’re the key player in a story. Stories are the most resonant way to communicate information – since design is largely about communication, this should interest us. Raw

Creation is the process by which we bring something new into existence. It may be derivative, it may even be a ripoff, but it’s still something new. Destruction is the process by which we tear down something that already exists. Reduction is the process by which we remove extraneous