Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
43

Design can be free

from Scott Jenson [alt+shift+b] in design

As consumer devices get ‘smart’, they tend to sprout a large number push buttons. It’s almost cliche at this point to complain about them. The tiny buttons, hidden modes, and Konami Code interaction encourages mistakes and forces frequent trips to the user manual. Of course, they are survivable, but we don’t like them. As a […]
15th Jan 2023

Stay updated

Get a weekly newsletter with the top 5 articles worth reading every week.

More from Scott Jenson

The Ma of a New Machine

Fast AI requires slow thinking The current Silicon Valley flex is trading notes on your favorite new AI tools over lunch. Each week brings another one to explore. Some of these tools are very impressive; I’ve been able to reply to someone with an alternative UI design in less than a minute, and they were […]

13th Apr 2026 • 1 votes
Boring is good

The initial, feverish enthusiasm for large language models (LLMs) is beginning to cool, and for good reason. It’s time to trade the out-of-control hype for a more pragmatic, even “boring,” approach. A recent MIT report shows that 95% of companies implementing this technology have yet to see a positive outcome. It’s understandable to feel confused. […]

15th Sep 2025 • 52 votes
Hype is a Business Tool

Remember WAAAY back in late 2022 (what feels like ancient history now) when you first started playing with ChatGPT? Like everyone else, you probably created a poem in a pirate’s voice. “Pirate Poetry” was fun, exciting, and even playful. Today, EVERYONE is talking about AI, and the conversation is all over the map. You have […]

6th Aug 2025 • 72 votes
Design for a Small Planet

Back in 1971, “Diet for a Small Planet” by Frances Moore Lappé made it clear the costs of eating meat were far greater than we had assumed. If we wanted the planet to thrive, we needed to shift to a more resource-efficient way to eat. UX Design is going through its own “you cost too […]

18th Mar 2025 • 71 votes
Reactive Haptics

When people think of haptics, they usually think of typing on mobile keyboards or tapping on trackpads. While impressive, these are fairly limited uses of haptics, both attempting to recreate a simple “click.” These are one-shot user events that don’t respond dynamically to the user. On the Android team, I explored a range of interactive […]

11th Feb 2025 • 64 votes

More in design

lo-pi radio

Live lo-fi beats from the digits of pi, forever.

2 days ago • 1 votes
UX Roundup: Practice Interviewing With AI | AI Answer Complexity | Date-Picking | NASA-TLX | Why vs. What | Activity Theory | Filtering | Commanding Heights

AI can’t simulate human research participants yet, but it can help interviewers practice before meeting real users | AI answers can drain users’ cognitive budgets through several kinds of complexity | Let users type distant dates | Simplifying the NASA-TLX instrument for measuring task load | The “why” is the true value of user research | Activity theory recommends designing for the whole job | Filter overload swamps users | Who will hold the “commanding heights” of the AI economy?

3 days ago • 1 votes
Nobody asked for the sparkle button

Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.

3 days ago • 1 votes
Alaska Airlines Flagship Lounge by Graham Baba Architects

At the Alaska Airlines Flagship Lounge in SeaTac International Airport, the door is always open. Travelers seek lounges as an...

3 days ago • 1 votes
📚 BoredReading

You seem to be enjoying this.

Join free to unlock everything.

Create free account

Already have an account? Sign in