The personal website...
Agile & anxiety
Managing anxiety is a big part of my life.
I have generalized anxiety:1 I constantly feel that...
14th May 2018
Managing anxiety is a big part of my life.
I have generalized anxiety:1 I constantly feel that something will go wrong at any moment. Often, I can’t even identify what I’m anxious about.
Work is a significant contributor to my anxiety. When I’m at work (and often when I’m not), I...
Ryan Mulligan
Detect JavaScript Support in CSS
I had been aware of the scripting CSS media feature but I was still under the impression that...
20th Apr 2024
I had been aware of the scripting CSS media feature but I was still under the impression that cross-browser support was lacking. What a pleasant surprise to discover that it has been available in all modern browsers as of December 2023 according to caniuse.com. With this feature,...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
I designed a Christmas gift
I love the idea of charity donations as gifts, but I find they lack something. I don’t know about...
10th Dec 2021
I love the idea of charity donations as gifts, but I find they lack something. I don’t know about you,...
Koos Looijesteijn
I like watercolor painting
3rd Jan 2024
The DESK Magazine
How to build your secret repertoire
As a creative, your repertoire is your secret weapon.
2nd Jul 2024
As a creative, your repertoire is your secret weapon.
The personal website...
Datum ipsum
tl;dr — I’ve created a tool called Datum Ipsum to enable designers to use realistic data when...
27th Jul 2016
tl;dr — I’ve created a tool called Datum Ipsum to enable designers to use realistic data when mocking up data visualizations. Also, this is a written version of a talk I gave at Data Viz Camp 2016 in NYC. The slides for that talk are here.
In my career as a designer, both at...
The DESK Magazine
Dear Young Designer, Part II
(this is a timely continuation of Part I of Dear Young Designer)
→ You don't need to become a...
4th Nov 2025
(this is a timely continuation of Part I of Dear Young Designer)
→ You don't need to become a grifter to be successful. I know it seems that way today (given the context of 2025), but trust me there is another way that's more meaningful and
The personal website...
Making WSJ.com more accessible
As I write this, the WSJ.com team is launching a brand new homepage experience for small screens.1...
3rd Aug 2016
As I write this, the WSJ.com team is launching a brand new homepage experience for small screens.1 It’s one of our biggest subscription-drivers, a page that hundreds of thousands of people see every day. The new experience builds on the award-winning design of the WSJ iOS and...
Scott Jenson
Assertive Instincts
Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light...
6th Jan 2020
Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in. Isaac Asimov It all started while on vacation with my wife. We were driving a rental car to a remote location in Washington state. The car had a safety feature that...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
I sold Big Timer
Five months ago I sold my countdown timer web app, Big Timer! I never really announced that, so...
18th Apr 2022
Five months ago I sold my countdown timer web app, Big Timer! I never really announced that, so here’s what...
Identity Designed
WHEN
Designed by Universal Favourite, Sydney.
16th Dec 2024
Designed by Universal Favourite, Sydney.
Permanent Style
The silks of Como: A reminder of the value of craft
I miss this. Visiting a mill is such an enjoyable, often inspiring experience, yet I don’t do it as...
2 weeks ago
I miss this. Visiting a mill is such an enjoyable, often inspiring experience, yet I don’t do it as much as I used to. Perhaps because once you’d done one worsted weaver it’s hard to justify more. But we’ve never done silk. I did go to Vann... > Read more
The personal website...
Well-designed interfaces look boring
3 billion people used the internet for the first time in the past decade. Can you imagine what that...
15th Jul 2015
3 billion people used the internet for the first time in the past decade. Can you imagine what that was like? When I began using the internet, the web was pretty much just text. Interface design required finagling websites from knots of spreadsheet-like tables, and even the most...
Retail Design Blog
phenom israel
Phenom is a global HR technology company that delivers a single-platform solution and...
2nd May 2024
Phenom is a global HR technology company that delivers a single-platform solution and hyper-personalized experiences for candidates, recruiters, and employees....
Retail Design Blog
Purple Garden Restaurant
Located near Hangzhou’s famed West Lake, the project takes inspiration from Ming Dynasty gardens and...
3rd Jun 2024
Located near Hangzhou’s famed West Lake, the project takes inspiration from Ming Dynasty gardens and fuses them with a contemporary...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Take-Over Moments: The Hardest Design Problem of Semi-Autonomous Cars
Until cars achieve level 5 driving automation, there will be moments where drivers have to...
1st Jan 2021
Until cars achieve level 5 driving automation, there will be moments where drivers have to intervene. Designing these so-called take-over…
Identity Designed
Apex
Designed by Gold Front, San Francisco.
26th May 2024
Designed by Gold Front, San Francisco.
Ryan Mulligan
CSS Custom Property Fallbacks in Shorthand Values
CSS Custom Properties are incredibly versatile and have become especially useful as customizable...
14th Jul 2023
CSS Custom Properties are incredibly versatile and have become especially useful as customizable props in common layout and component style patterns. Here's an example derived from the SmolCSS site:
.grid {
--min: 15ch;
--gap: 1rem;
display: grid;
gap: var(--gap);
...
The personal website...
The service-based design org
Last year, I joined SimpleHealth with the mission of building a design org from scratch. On my first...
23rd Jan 2021
Last year, I joined SimpleHealth with the mission of building a design org from scratch. On my first day, there were no in-house designers — just a rotating cast of freelance designers hired by various departments as they were needed.
A blank slate is a design leader’s dream....
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Making semantic sidenotes without JavaScript
One of the first things I learned about professional writing is that it’s best to remove all...
12th Oct 2020
One of the first things I learned about professional writing is that it’s best to remove all unnecessary words. Problem...
The personal website...
Tiny data visualizations
This is a direct translation of a talk I gave at the NYC D3.js meetup in January of 2016. If you’d...
8th Feb 2016
This is a direct translation of a talk I gave at the NYC D3.js meetup in January of 2016. If you’d like to see a video of the talk, you can check it out on YouTube.
Have you seen this comprehensive list of Donald Trump’s insults? Or maybe this detailed rundown of the 2016...
Melissa Penfold
ISABELLA’S INCREDIBLE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
It’s a bargain hunter’s paradise at Isabella Walker-Smith’s bumper Christmas Collection which has...
29th Nov 2024
It’s a bargain hunter’s paradise at Isabella Walker-Smith’s bumper Christmas Collection which has stacks of table lamps in the style of Christian Liaigre, Kelly Wearstler, Ralph Lauren, and Aerin, from $80. There are quality travertine lamps, $280 a pair, and adorable rattan...
Christopher Butler
The View from Here
There are many reasons to make things and share them, to write and publish, to speak and record. So...
10th Sep 2023
There are many reasons to make things and share them, to write and publish, to speak and record. So many reasons, most unknown; far be it from me to make assumptions about other peoples’ motivations.
But among them, amidst even the most altruistic, is the one that is most...
Product Identity
#2 Whereby – In the name of simplicity
The Zoom alternative you probably haven't heard of
14th Sep 2023
The Zoom alternative you probably haven't heard of
The DESK Magazine
What is quality anymore?
One might say the quality of everything has improved – our TV screens have never been more crisp &...
21st Nov 2023
One might say the quality of everything has improved – our TV screens have never been more crisp & vivid, our systems and software never more refined, our roads and highways never more paved.
Identity Designed
Atypical
Designed by Behalf, Saigon.
23rd Sep 2022
Designed by Behalf, Saigon.
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Life After Lifestyle
One of the best and most inspiring articles I read this year.
12th Oct 2022
One of the best and most inspiring articles I read this year.
Scott Jenson
Tactile Controls In A Digital World
This article was written by Scott Jenson and Michael DiTullo and published at Core77 in April 2024 A...
31st May 2024
This article was written by Scott Jenson and Michael DiTullo and published at Core77 in April 2024 A few recent tech writers have leaked that the new AirPods case will likely have a touch screen. Other earbud makers have tried this as well but it’s Apple, so people will naturally...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Is Voice Interaction a Solution to Driver Distraction?
In the '90s, the average new car came with simple climate controls, a radio, and a CD player. That...
1st Aug 2022
In the '90s, the average new car came with simple climate controls, a radio, and a CD player. That is very different from a new car today…
The Turn Signal RSS...
Is Voice Interaction a Solution to Driver Distraction?
Diving into the research behind in-car voice interaction
1st Aug 2022
Diving into the research behind in-car voice interaction
Ryan Mulligan
Full-bleed Table Scrolling on Narrow Viewports
I found the following to be a rather decent solution for having HTML tables overflow the inline...
20th May 2023
I found the following to be a rather decent solution for having HTML tables overflow the inline edges of smaller/tighter/narrow viewports. Try resizing the width of the browser window if viewing this page on a larger screen.
Open CodePen demo
Notice that the table...
The personal website...
UI Density
Interfaces are becoming less dense.
I’m usually one to be skeptical of nostalgia and “we liked it...
20th May 2024
Interfaces are becoming less dense.
I’m usually one to be skeptical of nostalgia and “we liked it that way” bias, but comparing websites and applications of 2024 to their 2000s-era counterparts, the spreading out of software is hard to ignore.
To explain this trend, and suggest...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Role of Cognitive Load in Automotive UX Design
Cognitive load refers to Cognitive load is not the same as cognitive distraction. Cognitive...
1st May 2023
Cognitive load refers to Cognitive load is not the same as cognitive distraction. Cognitive distraction is Cognitive load may lead to…
Oykun Yilmaz
Practising distraction-free creativity
The design world is filled with exciting opportunities.
We see Designers on X who are creating...
21st Feb 2024
The design world is filled with exciting opportunities.
We see Designers on X who are creating Framer templates, experimenting with 3D, writing newsletters, starting design subscription agencies, selling icon packs and many more.
I know it’s tempting to chase them all. I’ve given...
Ryan Mulligan
Someone Great
Where to start? The grief is heavy and far too real. I barely slept last night. The brain fog is...
13th Mar 2024
Where to start? The grief is heavy and far too real. I barely slept last night. The brain fog is thick but finding the words and placing them here may provide some catharsis.
I lost someone great. Oscar was so much bigger than most folks will ever understand. His love, not just...
Jakob Nielsen on UX
Gestalt Principles for Visual UI Design
Users parse a layout before they read its labels. Whitespace, borders, alignment, color, and motion...
2 weeks ago
Users parse a layout before they read its labels. Whitespace, borders, alignment, color, and motion determine what belongs together. When these cues fight the content, users attach the label, price, warning, status, or action to the wrong object. Proximity, similarity, enclosure,...
The personal website...
How to take your team's creative pulse
“Could we explore other options?”
If you’ve been to a design review, you’ve probably heard this...
10th Feb 2019
“Could we explore other options?”
If you’ve been to a design review, you’ve probably heard this question. When I hear it, my heart breaks. It says that our team is out of alignment: the work I’m sharing isn’t meeting everyone’s expectations.
I’d like to share a workshop that I...
The personal website...
Practice makes perfect
Professional baker/member of my band Jake at a band retreat recently, practicing.
Editor’s note: I...
9th Apr 2014
Professional baker/member of my band Jake at a band retreat recently, practicing.
Editor’s note: I think this falls under the heading of ‘conventional wisdom.’ In addition, I’m walking a fine line between ‘self-help’ and ‘beating a dead horse.’ Perhaps poorly. Bear with me.
I do...
The Turn Signal RSS...
How Apple and Google Are Taking Over the In-Car User Experience
Apple and Google are taking over the car industry. How did we get here and what's next?
1st Dec 2022
Apple and Google are taking over the car industry. How did we get here and what's next?
The DESK Magazine
Death by a Thousand Buttons — from the Desk of van Schneider — Edition №268
Welcome back to DESK!
New York threw us another perfect weekend so I took the Escape Machine down to...
4th Jun 2025
Welcome back to DESK!
New York threw us another perfect weekend so I took the Escape Machine down to Balthazar in SoHo for some overpriced eggs benedict (a Tobias favorite, although I prefer it at PASTIS in Meatpacking District, same owner, better food).
While enjoying my brunch...
Sarah Parmenter
The New Macbook Pro with Touchbar
I purchased my new MacBook Pro on a flight from London to San Francisco in the Autumn. I felt all...
21st Mar 2017
I purchased my new MacBook Pro on a flight from London to San Francisco in the Autumn. I felt all futuristic as I secured one of the new machines whilst on a poor internet connection, blazing through the sky. I felt even more nerdy when the Apple Store in Union Square was one of...
The personal website...
Switching to variable fonts
Ever since I first learned about variable fonts, I’ve wanted to use them in my own work. After...
3rd Mar 2019
Ever since I first learned about variable fonts, I’ve wanted to use them in my own work. After learning that Source Serif and Inter both had variable versions, I started switching this site over to use them. Here’s how I implemented the change, and what I learned along the...
Permanent Style
The rules and how to break them: Your socks should match your trousers
Well, hello there. Welcome back to our series on the menswear ‘rules’, where we explain why these...
2nd Feb 2026
Well, hello there. Welcome back to our series on the menswear ‘rules’, where we explain why these conventions exist and as a result how they should be broken. The key is not to follow any rule blindly. Instead, see these rules as advice fr... > Read more
Ryan Mulligan
Website Themes and Color Schemes
Getting into the mode
Before we begin, I'd like to preface this article with the following resources...
1st Feb 2022
Getting into the mode
Before we begin, I'd like to preface this article with the following resources that were helpful guides on my theming quest. They explain a lot of the intricacies of setting up dark mode and I recommend reading them before my own.
A Complete Guide to Dark...
Jim Nielsen’s Blog
Contrast Is Clarifying
Which is best?
Generalist or specialist?
Native or web?
Web site or web app?
JavaScript or...
2nd Dec 2024
Which is best?
Generalist or specialist?
Native or web?
Web site or web app?
JavaScript or Typescript?
Framework or library?
Server side or client side?
Photoshop or Sketch or Figma?
Designing in a tool or design in the browser?
Skueomorphic or flat?
Mac or PC or Linux?
This list...
The personal website...
Consequentialism
Consequentialism became the most popular approach to ethics following the Age of Enlightenment....
10th May 2020
Consequentialism became the most popular approach to ethics following the Age of Enlightenment. Writers in the late 18th and early 19th century saw how strict, rule-based, duty-bound theories of ethics resulted in contradictory and often destructive behavior. After Napoleon’s...
abdz.do - Have you...
An Introduction to the AI Generative Sneakers by Grant Franck
An Introduction to the AI Generative Sneakers by Grant Franck
...
23rd Jan 2023
An Introduction to the AI Generative Sneakers by Grant Franck
AoiroStudio0123—23
Grant Franck is a 3D artist and design director who has pushed the boundaries of sneaker design with his use of AI generative techniques. His series of...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Spent most of the day in bed with a cold. Head feels pretty clear though. I feel bad, but I’m...
1st Feb 2022
Spent most of the day in bed with a cold. Head feels pretty clear though. I feel bad, but I’m...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Knots 3D
"Feel free to explore our knot catalog and learn how to tie over 150 knots!
"
1st Jun 2022
"Feel free to explore our knot catalog and learn how to tie over 150 knots!
"
Koos Looijesteijn
Learnings from years of technological progress wasted
26th Mar 2024
The Turn Signal RSS...
Swiping vs Tapping, What is Less Distracting to Drivers?
Is it possible to make touch interaction as easy as with a physical control?
1st Feb 2022
Is it possible to make touch interaction as easy as with a physical control?
Retail Design Blog
Amouage Zhang Yuan
In the heart of Shanghai’s historic Zhang Yuan district, Paris-based agency Héroïne has redefined...
1st Aug 2025
In the heart of Shanghai’s historic Zhang Yuan district, Paris-based agency Héroïne has redefined luxury retail with The Sillage, a...
julian.digital
Media Consumption (Jan 2021)
>_ Summary Read 11 books (2456 min, +111% MoM) and 26 articles (-46%) Listened to 263 songs (-59%)...
1st Feb 2021
>_ Summary Read 11 books (2456 min, +111% MoM) and 26 articles (-46%) Listened to 263 songs (-59%) and 15 podcasts (749 min, -43%) Watched 1 movie (107 min, -54%), 7 soccer games (835 min, -.6%) and 21 TV episodes (1079 min, +40%) Played 0 board games (0 min, -100%) and 1 video...
Retail Design Blog
Roche Diagnostic Center Interior by Studio Alexander Fehre
The Roche Diagnostic Innovation Center in Penzberg, Bavaria, is a 35,500 m² research and workplace...
2nd Jul 2026
The Roche Diagnostic Innovation Center in Penzberg, Bavaria, is a 35,500 m² research and workplace complex realized for Roche Diagnostics...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie titles
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: annyas.com License: All Rights Reserved....
26th Dec 2022
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: annyas.com License: All Rights Reserved.
“Rankin/Bass present” is lettering based on Weiß-Initialen Serie II, or Weiss Initials Series II, with the alternate forms for A and E, rendered bolder, with rough contours and a bouncing...
The personal website...
My management philosophy
After reading Lara Hogan’s post and getting some inspiration from my own manager, I thought it’d be...
10th Jun 2018
After reading Lara Hogan’s post and getting some inspiration from my own manager, I thought it’d be good to write up my management philosophy. This reflects my approach at this moment in time — I’m still pretty new to management, and will be revisiting this over time.
My...
Product Identity
A small ask, and an open invitation
Two things going on right now
13th Jan 2026
Two things going on right now
Retail Design Blog
Kaymana Earth Villa by Pablo Luna Studio
Earth Villa is part of Kaymana, a hospitality complex in Uluwatu, Bali, conceived around the ideas...
2 weeks ago
Earth Villa is part of Kaymana, a hospitality complex in Uluwatu, Bali, conceived around the ideas of solid flow, transition,...
julian.digital
Media Consumption (Mar 2021)
>_ Summary Read 6 books (1664 min, -24% MoM) and 43 articles (+95%) Listened to 596 songs (+64%) and...
2nd Apr 2021
>_ Summary Read 6 books (1664 min, -24% MoM) and 43 articles (+95%) Listened to 596 songs (+64%) and 17 podcasts (747 min, -.3%) Watched 2 movies (251 min, -72%), 5 soccer games (680 min, -30%) and 15 TV episodes (944 min, +133%) Played 0 board games (0 min, same) and 0 video...
julian.digital
Thoughts on Clubhouse
Today marks the 77th day since I got onboarded to Clubhouse. Clubhouse, for those not familiar with...
21st Dec 2020
Today marks the 77th day since I got onboarded to Clubhouse. Clubhouse, for those not familiar with it, is essentially an audio-first social network. It’s kind of a mix between Reddit and a podcast. An interactive radio show. The app lets you jump into different chat rooms and...
Luke Mitchell |...
RSS is calm
I’ve been thinking a bit about how I consume from the web, to improve my digital health. Here’s some...
5th Oct 2020
I’ve been thinking a bit about how I consume from the web, to improve my digital health. Here’s some things I’ve done recently:
Delete all work stuff from my phone (Slack, Email etc).
Clean up my social follows, and use Twitterrific ‘muffles’ more.
Use Drafts to record ideas and...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Process Behind the Touch Interaction Concept
A behind the scenes look at the design of the new touch concept
1st May 2020
A behind the scenes look at the design of the new touch concept
The personal website...
Generative art Open Graph preview images
I like writing and sharing essays on twitter. I especially like the way the link previews look when...
29th Oct 2022
I like writing and sharing essays on twitter. I especially like the way the link previews look when they have images that stand out in the timeline. In the past, I’ve created illustrations for each of my posts. But I have two problems: 1. Creating illustrations takes time, and 2....
The personal website...
Responsive roadmaps
Shane Parrish’s essay The Map is Not the Territory begins:
The map of reality is not reality. Even...
8th May 2019
Shane Parrish’s essay The Map is Not the Territory begins:
The map of reality is not reality. Even the best maps are imperfect. That’s because they are reductions of what they represent.
The same is true for product roadmaps. Understanding and applying Parrish’s mental model is...
The Pudding
Sizing Chaos
The inter-generational struggle to find clothes that fit more than a tiny portion of women
18th Feb 2026
The inter-generational struggle to find clothes that fit more than a tiny portion of women
Christopher Butler
Earning Attention
This is something I say in the course of nearly every conversation I have with every agency design...
6th Apr 2026
This is something I say in the course of nearly every conversation I have with every agency design team I consult.
I remind them, over and over again, that marketing is two kinds of persuasion: FIRST, persuading a person to actually pay attention, and THEN, persuading them of...
Identity Designed
Krayna
Designed by Heyholm, Basel.
5th Jul 2023
Designed by Heyholm, Basel.
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Fixing the under-appreciated JavaScript Map class and using it to construct a build system
17th Nov 2025
Permanent Style
Reader Profile: Jaime
Jaime is a reader based in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s a pastor there, and works particularly on social...
2nd Jan 2026
Jaime is a reader based in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s a pastor there, and works particularly on social justice projects and inter-faith relations. Church has always been an excuse for him to dress up, but also an excuse to talk to young men in t... > Read more
The personal website...
What it means to design a platform
After four months of parental leave, I came back to work and noticed something different. Many of...
11th Jan 2023
After four months of parental leave, I came back to work and noticed something different. Many of the words, phrases, acronyms, and figures of speech I took for granted no longer held the same meanings. Specifically, the word “platform:” before my time off, I would breeze over it...
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...
13th Apr 2026
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
New design pattern: Drag To Tag
10th Sep 2013
Identity Designed
Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku
Designed by Tofu, Gdańsk.
1st Aug 2023
Designed by Tofu, Gdańsk.
The Pudding
Is the Love Song Dying?
Is love dead in pop music? We checked all 5,141 Top 10 hits since 1958.
11th Nov 2024
Is love dead in pop music? We checked all 5,141 Top 10 hits since 1958.
Scott Jenson
The Present Needs Files
My last post “The Future Needs Files” clearly touched a nerve. The comments covered concerns well...
14th Sep 2021
My last post “The Future Needs Files” clearly touched a nerve. The comments covered concerns well beyond what I intended. This amazing energy shows how fundamental and impassioned we are when it comes to “storing my data”. However, I made a mistake by titling my post “The Future...
The personal website...
What happens when things go wrong
The rise of the startup economy – and the abundance of millennial entrepreneurial wisdom it has...
6th May 2014
The rise of the startup economy – and the abundance of millennial entrepreneurial wisdom it has produced – means you can hardly go a day without seeing Samuel Becket’s words writ large:
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
In celebrating...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
As We Are Now book jacket
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.abebooks.com Between the Covers (edited). License:...
13th Aug 2024
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.abebooks.com Between the Covers (edited). License: All Rights Reserved.
One advantage that lettering has over typeset text is that the artist can always alter letterforms ad hoc, depending on the context. This allows her to make...
Identity Designed
Imio
Designed by G—W Studios, Stockholm.
8th Mar 2023
Designed by G—W Studios, Stockholm.
Fonts In Use – Blog...
10 Years of Fonts In Use
Contributed by Nick Sherman
License: All Rights Reserved.
Fonts In Use officially launched 10...
21st Dec 2020
Contributed by Nick Sherman
License: All Rights Reserved.
Fonts In Use officially launched 10 years ago today, on December 21, 2010. The site, which started as just the Blog before opening up to public contributions in 2012, has grown far beyond our expectations when we...
The DESK Magazine
When did our tools become our religion?
Designers love to argue about design tools. Some treat it as their religion, as if their design tool...
6th Sep 2022
Designers love to argue about design tools. Some treat it as their religion, as if their design tool is the only thing that gives them meaning or an identity.
UX Collective
When design stops asking why and starts asking: Can AI do it?
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
2nd Feb 2026
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
The personal website...
Why the web will win
197 billion apps were downloaded in 20171: that’s almost 26 per human being on the planet Earth. 6...
6th Jan 2018
197 billion apps were downloaded in 20171: that’s almost 26 per human being on the planet Earth. 6 apps per second. In the 10 years since Apple opened the App Store, app downloads have doubled, on average, every two years.2
Given the numbers, it’s not surprising that many...
Retail Design Blog
NFIB Offices by HLGstudio
HLGstudio reimagined the NFIB offices in Nashville, creating a vibrant, collaborative environment...
6th May 2025
HLGstudio reimagined the NFIB offices in Nashville, creating a vibrant, collaborative environment that maximizes natural daylight and promotes productivity and...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Mixed Reality: The Future of Automotive UX Prototyping
My dream scenario is one where I can send my prototypes remotely to my car's infotainment system and...
1st Mar 2024
My dream scenario is one where I can send my prototypes remotely to my car's infotainment system and try them while driving. Unfortunately,…
Nela Dunato Art &...
Why I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency
As of September 1st 2023 I’ve been self-employed for 10 years. For this anniversary, I decided to...
2nd Sep 2023
As of September 1st 2023 I’ve been self-employed for 10 years. For this anniversary, I decided to answer a question I'm often asked by family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers: do I plan to hire more people and grow my own design agency? I don't, and in this article I...
The personal website...
Crystal ball 1-on-1s
1-on-1s are my favorite management tool. Not only for managing direct reports; sideways and upwards...
25th Mar 2018
1-on-1s are my favorite management tool. Not only for managing direct reports; sideways and upwards management need 1-on-1s, too. Here’s my general definition for a 1-on-1:
Reoccuring - Whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, set a cadence and stick with it.
Informal - Don’t...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Everybody’s lost it, Part I
My beloved veterinarian’s office apparently moved to a new office location without informing...
19th Sep 2025
My beloved veterinarian’s office apparently moved to a new office location without informing customers. They also changed phone systems. The new phone system doesn’t work, and they didn’t leave a forwarding message on the old phone system. You call, leave a message, never hear...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
There are no individual contributors in design
This term, that I believe comes from software development, is taking hold in other fields too:...
3rd Jun 2021
This term, that I believe comes from software development, is taking hold in other fields too: individual contributor. I don’t...
Jakob Nielsen on UX
UX Roundup: UX Leaders Need Profits | In-depth AI | Emotional Avatar Animation | Construction Time |...
UX should quest for profits, not a seat at the table | In-depth AI reviews of draft academic papers...
1st Dec 2025
UX should quest for profits, not a seat at the table | In-depth AI reviews of draft academic papers | Emotional lip-synching of avatars when singing | Time needed to build AI supercompute data centers | Discover user needs
Ryan Mulligan
Scrollspy Navigation Web Component
Just here for the code and demos? Check out the scrollspy-nav repository on GitHub and its...
7th Oct 2023
Just here for the code and demos? Check out the scrollspy-nav repository on GitHub and its corresponding demo page.
The backstory
A "scrollspy" is a method of tracking which link in a menu is active based on a relevant section of information being visible in the viewport....
Oykun Yilmaz
Hustle Culture for Designers
We all have our aspirations and goals in life and career.
For me, it goes from having an impact on...
23rd Sep 2023
We all have our aspirations and goals in life and career.
For me, it goes from having an impact on my full-time work to helping designers via my blog, email newsletter, and other educational content.
I need to work damn hard to achieve these goals! Making the most of every...
Product Identity
Designing for a single purpose
What do a Dutch chocolate chip cookie and a thousand-year-old teahouse in Kyoto have in common?
7th May 2024
What do a Dutch chocolate chip cookie and a thousand-year-old teahouse in Kyoto have in common?
Product Identity
#1: Are.na – The social network antithesis
In this world of distraction, Are.na presence is a bliss
21st Aug 2023
In this world of distraction, Are.na presence is a bliss
The DESK Magazine
Make it invisible
Our approach to building products may seem counterintuitive. Our goal is to make a product so good,...
5th Oct 2022
Our approach to building products may seem counterintuitive. Our goal is to make a product so good, you don't think about the product at all.
Oykun Yilmaz
Designers, charge more $$$ to help yourself and your clients.
Many designers shy away from increasing their rates, fearing it will scare clients away and put them...
27th Apr 2024
Many designers shy away from increasing their rates, fearing it will scare clients away and put them under pressure to deliver higher-quality work.
Understandable concerns with the common fixed mindset.
However, if you want to grow as a Designer, you must be comfortable with...
The personal website...
A website to call my own
Most of this site was built at my favorite coffee shop of late, Sump.
I make a living designing and...
2nd Dec 2013
Most of this site was built at my favorite coffee shop of late, Sump.
I make a living designing and developing, among many many other things, websites. So, for the past few years, I’ve had the embarrassing task of explaining something to all my clients and — worse, if you can...
The DESK Magazine
The best portfolios launched with Semplice in May 2022
Every week, we handpick two portfolios created with Semplice to feature on our Showcase. These are...
1st Jun 2022
Every week, we handpick two portfolios created with Semplice to feature on our Showcase. These are the best of the best, chosen by yours truly from hundreds of beautiful submissions.
The DESK Magazine
Why we built an anti-social tool
This article was originally intended for the upcoming mymind.com blog, but it feels so personal to...
7th Jul 2022
This article was originally intended for the upcoming mymind.com blog, but it feels so personal to me, I found it fitting to share here with you.
The Turn Signal RSS...
Guidelines for Designing an In-Car Voice Assistant
A collection of guidelines for designing in-car voice assistants
1st Sep 2022
A collection of guidelines for designing in-car voice assistants
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Philip K. Dick paperback covers (Panther Science Fiction)
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by
citizen3xx24j....
20th Jun 2021
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by
citizen3xx24j. License: All Rights Reserved.
Now Wait for Last Year (1975). Cover art by Chris Foss. [More info on ISFDB]
Roslyn Gothic arguably saw its most extensive and iconic use on the...
The personal website...
Who are design systems for?
I’ve spent the past few days feeling an immense amount of FOMO. A major design conference called...
14th Dec 2018
I’ve spent the past few days feeling an immense amount of FOMO. A major design conference called Clarity happened here in New York, and my twitter feed has been full of pictures and quotes from the very talented and articulate speakers. Lesson learned: go to more conferences. To...
The personal website...
Working to work
Despite the fact that I build websites for a living, I do a significant amount of work in my...
18th Jan 2014
Despite the fact that I build websites for a living, I do a significant amount of work in my notebooks.
Quick quiz: what does a web developer do for a living? If you said ‘make websites, duh,’ you’re technically correct (the best kind of correct). And you’re in good company; I’d...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Designing A New UX Concept to Reduce Driver Distraction
Since the arrival of the first iPhone, designers at car companies have tried to copy its minimalist...
1st Jun 2019
Since the arrival of the first iPhone, designers at car companies have tried to copy its minimalist look and interface in the interiors of…
The personal website...
What is a brand?
A few weeks ago, I jumped into a new job as the head of a design team at a startup called...
4th Mar 2020
A few weeks ago, I jumped into a new job as the head of a design team at a startup called SimpleHealth. One of my first tasks is to kick off a big brand update. Full creative control, clear product/market fit, a long timeline — this is going to be a breeze. Right?
Only, I asked...
Scott Jenson
Reactive Haptics
When people think of haptics, they usually think of typing on mobile keyboards or tapping on...
11th Feb 2025
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...
The personal website...
A design API in practice
Update 6/12/22: The links to the implmentation of the API are currently broken. I'm updating some...
6th Jul 2020
Update 6/12/22: The links to the implmentation of the API are currently broken. I'm updating some dependencies to make it work again.
A few months ago I wrote an essay titled “Design APIs: the evolution of design systems”. The API model for design systems resonated with design...
Nela Dunato Art &...
Art Day: How to make time for creative projects while busy with client work
Self-employed creative professionals have significantly more control over our schedules than those...
12th Nov 2024
Self-employed creative professionals have significantly more control over our schedules than those employed in other organizations, but finding time for our own art can still be a challenge. While I was writing and editing my first book, I started using a technique that helped me...
Permanent Style
Steven Hitchcock tweed bespoke coat: Review
This is the first English overcoat I’ve ever had made - or a traditional one anyway. There was the...
22nd Oct 2025
This is the first English overcoat I’ve ever had made - or a traditional one anyway. There was the topcoat from Michael Browne , but that was his own particular style and structure. And there was the wrap coat from Whitcomb & Shaftesbury , b... > Read more
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Citroën Ami and the Future of Urban Transportation
The Ami started life as the AMI ONE C Concept which was a study on new ways to overcome the...
1st Oct 2020
The Ami started life as the AMI ONE C Concept which was a study on new ways to overcome the challenges of designing a small, affordable…
The personal website...
Decentralizing quality
Everyone agrees quality matters, but we can’t agree on what it is — or who gets to decide.
I’ve...
30th Sep 2025
Everyone agrees quality matters, but we can’t agree on what it is — or who gets to decide.
I’ve experienced the drive for quality in every design leadership role I’ve had. When it comes to software, we like to pretend that quality is a number. Dashboards stand in for judgment,...
Product Identity
Growth pains
On scale: against the pursuit of unicorns
12th May 2026
On scale: against the pursuit of unicorns
The DESK Magazine
Beautiful mistakes
I recently saw a short video about how the red wax seals on the famous Maker's Mark whiskey bottles...
27th May 2026
I recently saw a short video about how the red wax seals on the famous Maker's Mark whiskey bottles get applied. They're still dipped and sealed by hand which makes it special because no two bottles are exactly alike.
But what I didn't know
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Fairway Market logos
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: nypost.com Christopher Sadowski. License: All Rights...
26th Jan 2020
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: nypost.com Christopher Sadowski. License: All Rights Reserved.
Dom Bold and Agenda.
Fairway Market is a chain of grocery stores in the New York metropolitan area. From Wikipedia:
Founded in 1933, it expanded in the New York area...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
She’s the Boss.
SNOW WHITE is my jailer. She reclines near me while I work, watching closely for the moment I stand...
1st Jun 2026
SNOW WHITE is my jailer. She reclines near me while I work, watching closely for the moment I stand up. The instant I leave my desk, she directs me to her feeding area so I can open another can of cat food and arrange its contents neatly on a plate. She’ll eat a few bites, then...
Identity Designed
Big C Charters
Designed by Mucho, San Francisco.
7th Jul 2022
Designed by Mucho, San Francisco.
The personal website...
Who are design systems for?
I’ve spent the past few days feeling an immense amount of FOMO. A major design conference called...
14th Dec 2018
I’ve spent the past few days feeling an immense amount of FOMO. A major design conference called Clarity happened here in New York, and my twitter feed has been full of pictures and quotes from the very talented and articulate speakers. Lesson learned: go to more conferences. To...
UX Collective
When the canvas starts acting, who’s really in control?
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
a week ago
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
julian.digital
Media Consumption (Apr 2021)
>_ Summary Read 4 books (671 min, -60% MoM) and 33 articles (-23%) Listened to 613 songs (+3%) and...
3rd May 2021
>_ Summary Read 4 books (671 min, -60% MoM) and 33 articles (-23%) Listened to 613 songs (+3%) and 11 podcasts (704 min, -6%) Watched 6 movies (752 min, +199%), 12 soccer games (1395 min, +105%) and 0 TV episodes (0 min, -100%) Played 1 board game (50 min, + ∞) and 0 video games...
Scott Jenson
A UX designer walks into a Tesla Bar
I borrowed a friend’s Tesla 3 yesterday. About 5 minutes into the ride, the windshield started...
29th Dec 2021
I borrowed a friend’s Tesla 3 yesterday. About 5 minutes into the ride, the windshield started fogging up. I couldn’t find the defroster on the large control screen Teslas are so famous for. In desperation, I tapped the CAR icon but that took me to the settings screen which ended...
The personal website...
Product thinking is a lifeline for struggling design systems
Here’s a common problem: a design team creates a design system. They craft beautiful documentation,...
12th Dec 2019
Here’s a common problem: a design team creates a design system. They craft beautiful documentation, crystal-clear guidelines, and meticulously organized files. But the design system never gains traction. Engineers don’t use it, and other designers quickly stop maintaining it. It...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Your opt-innie wants to talk to your opt-outtie.
Here’s a fact: “Opt-in” is great for programs a platform controls, but meaningless when that...
15th Mar 2025
Here’s a fact: “Opt-in” is great for programs a platform controls, but meaningless when that platform has no control.
Take, for example, oh, I don’t know, let’s say AI companies scraping web content without your permission. The heart wants to make content scraping permissions...
Christopher Butler
sketchbook – 2024 March 9 - March 16
Putting these up on my website is a new thing I am doing!
Either nothing is magic or everything...
9th Mar 2024
Putting these up on my website is a new thing I am doing!
Either nothing is magic or everything is.
We are doing solar this year!
The back is better than the front.
Jakob Nielsen on UX
UX Roundup: AI Judgment | Heuristic Evaluation | Consistent Brand Assets | New Music Model
AI judgment may follow a scaling law | Scaling AI’s judgment of usability heuristics | Generating...
2nd Feb 2026
AI judgment may follow a scaling law | Scaling AI’s judgment of usability heuristics | Generating consistent visual design assets with AI | New AI music model: Mureka O2
Oykun Yilmaz
Stop charging hourly! Start charging for the Value!
Money has always been an uncomfortable topic to talk about, especially for us creatives. We value...
10th Aug 2022
Money has always been an uncomfortable topic to talk about, especially for us creatives. We value our creation, get satisfaction from the process and the result so much that we often do not really give the importance it deserves to this money topic.
I have been designing for many...
Retail Design Blog
Tan Mok Won Mixed Use Spaceby USER + NAUxLab
Tan-Mok-Won is located on the site of a 2013 fire in Ulsan, South Korea. Such history defines the...
3rd Feb 2025
Tan-Mok-Won is located on the site of a 2013 fire in Ulsan, South Korea. Such history defines the site’s locality,...
The personal website...
Delight comes last
Paul Adams put it bluntly:
“Grid, font, colour, and aesthetic style are irrelevant if [outcomes]...
23rd Jun 2019
Paul Adams put it bluntly:
“Grid, font, colour, and aesthetic style are irrelevant if [outcomes] haven’t been resolved first … [but] sometimes it’s just more fun to draw nice pictures and bury oneself in pixels than deal with complicated business decisions and people with...
Christopher Butler
Are We Ready?
Inventions that were ahead of their time can help us to understand whether we are truly ready to...
3rd Dec 2021
Inventions that were ahead of their time can help us to understand whether we are truly ready to live in the world we are making.
every detail — but hinting at them by highlighting mere facets that represent a coherent reality beneath them. If that reality is convincing, then...
The DESK Magazine
3 lessons from Jony Ive
I nearly walked away from writing this essay. Trendy or current topics usually make me turn the...
27th May 2025
I nearly walked away from writing this essay. Trendy or current topics usually make me turn the other way, but I'm making an exception today. I'm not sure if you watched the interview with Jony Ive and Patrick (CEO of Stripe) last week. It's
Christopher Butler
Friction Can Be Good
Something I have noticed as content, software, and product design have attempted to eradicate...
8th Mar 2023
Something I have noticed as content, software, and product design have attempted to eradicate friction is that friction is not necessarily a bad thing.
Friction is a part of everyday life. It comes from the difference between one thing and another — the encounter of two things....
Christopher Butler
Periodical 15
All art is a copy of something.
Hello from the art room.
My older kiddo and I watched a short...
2nd Feb 2024
All art is a copy of something.
Hello from the art room.
My older kiddo and I watched a short documentary about artist and engineer Peter Vogel this morning. I learned about him from flipping through an old issue of OMNI from the early 80s which reviewed a gallery showing...
The Pudding
Why some people mow a lawn better than others.
Why some people mow a lawn better than others.
4th Aug 2026
Why some people mow a lawn better than others.
The Pudding
Common Threads
Visualizing how musicals use motifs to tell stories.
9th Dec 2025
Visualizing how musicals use motifs to tell stories.
The personal website...
Why the web will win
197 billion apps were downloaded in 20171: that’s almost 26 per human being on the planet Earth. 6...
6th Jan 2018
197 billion apps were downloaded in 20171: that’s almost 26 per human being on the planet Earth. 6 apps per second. In the 10 years since Apple opened the App Store, app downloads have doubled, on average, every two years.2
Given the numbers, it’s not surprising that many...
ramsés cabello
web iterations @ sketch
hi everyone 〜 ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪
just wanted to share a few bits of work i’ve been recently doing at Sketch 〜...
24th Apr 2025
hi everyone 〜 ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪
just wanted to share a few bits of work i’ve been recently doing at Sketch 〜 together with the team we updated the typeface on the web app and adjusted all the icons to match the look & feel of the mac app.
i wrote a little bit more about icons...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Bringing the Coolest Car of the Carrera Panamericana to Life
I recently came across the work of Ralph Morse, a photographer who worked for Life Magazine. Many of...
1st Sep 2019
I recently came across the work of Ralph Morse, a photographer who worked for Life Magazine. Many of his photos are made available by Google…
Retail Design Blog
Mercedes-Benz Offices by Boytorun Architects
Boytorun Architects designed the Mercedes-Benz Istanbul Headquarters in a way that fosters...
1st Aug 2024
Boytorun Architects designed the Mercedes-Benz Istanbul Headquarters in a way that fosters collaboration and innovation, emphasizing a sense of belonging...
The personal website...
Inclusive design on the Tokyo subway
For the past two weeks, I’ve been exploring Tokyo. Until the last few days of 2018, I had never been...
13th Jan 2019
For the past two weeks, I’ve been exploring Tokyo. Until the last few days of 2018, I had never been to Tokyo — or, for that matter, any city as large as Tokyo. And while I have many many great memories of the city, I’m particularly eager to share my impressions of the Tokyo...
Alex Baldwin
See, Think, Design, Produce
Jonathan Corum, New York Times
See
Practice until your eyes can see it
See what others have done
See...
7th May 2014
Jonathan Corum, New York Times
See
Practice until your eyes can see it
See what others have done
See what’s possible
Look at more than you can use
Think
Find a clear thought and get it on paper
Sketching is visual problem solving
Sketches are not commitments
What are you trying...
Product Identity
We should seek communities anew
Notes for the aspiring designer
29th Dec 2025
Notes for the aspiring designer
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Harris/Walz 2024 US Presidential Campaign
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Source: www.flickr.com Kit Karzen/Harris for President. License:...
4th Sep 2024
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Source: www.flickr.com Kit Karzen/Harris for President. License: All Rights Reserved.
The Kamala Harris 2024 campaign identity, designed by Wide Eye Creative, is built around Sans Plomb, a condensed gothic not unlike the Bureau Grot used by...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Handwritten notes in the time of AI note takers
“Here is the thing people get wrong about AI in meetings. The transcript captures what was said. It...
9th Apr 2026
“Here is the thing people get wrong about AI in meetings. The transcript captures what was said. It does not capture what mattered.”—Lucas Radke
The best project management tool is still a pen, plus the discipline to notice what the machine cannot.
The post Handwritten notes in...
ramsés cabello
summer & new inspector panels @ sketch
hi everyone 〜 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )
it’s been a few months since i sat down to write an update on the...
22nd Aug 2025
hi everyone 〜 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )
it’s been a few months since i sat down to write an update on the journal.
we’re almost at the end of august and all my memories of the last few months include really high temperatures. most days i escaped the heat by going to a cafe and ordering a...
Retail Design Blog
Audemars Piguet office by Studio Banana
Studio Banana designed an avant-garde work environment at Audemars Piguet Manufacture Le Locle,...
4th Nov 2024
Studio Banana designed an avant-garde work environment at Audemars Piguet Manufacture Le Locle, blending high-end manufacturing with biophilic design principles...
Retail Design Blog
CNC & Active Offices by Studio Reaktor
The new office spaces of Czech News Center and Active Radio were built within the new Hagibor...
4th Aug 2026
The new office spaces of Czech News Center and Active Radio were built within the new Hagibor administrative complex on...
Luke Mitchell |...
IKEA Bekant Standing Desk: Personal Review
Since the lockdown, all of us at thoughtbot have been working from home. I took the opportunity to...
21st Sep 2020
Since the lockdown, all of us at thoughtbot have been working from home. I took the opportunity to upgrade my home setup. The biggest change was a new desk.
I’ve wanted a sit-stand desk for a long time, this gave the perfect oppurtunity to try one. I settled on the IKEA Bekant,...
Jakob Nielsen on UX
UX Roundup: Corkboard Mockup | Loss-Making Promos | AI Movie | Video-to-Music | Mainstream AI |...
Corkboard mockup of project history | Are promotions profitable or not?
1st Sep 2025
Corkboard mockup of project history | Are promotions profitable or not?
Scott Jenson
Design can be free (part 3)
This is the third in a series. The first two showed how confusing products could be fixed with...
7th Feb 2023
This is the third in a series. The first two showed how confusing products could be fixed with fairly simple changes. It’s often possible to significantly improve a product even using the same hardware. This one tackles a much trickier problem: improving the quality of hardware....
Jakob Nielsen on UX
UX Roundup: AI is the Computer | Disrupting Filmed Entertainment | UX Trends | GOMS | Nano Banana 2...
Summary: The AI is the computer | AI is disrupting the filmed entertainment industry | UX trends for...
2nd Mar 2026
Summary: The AI is the computer | AI is disrupting the filmed entertainment industry | UX trends for 2026 | AI can use the GOMS UI analysis method | New image model: Nano Banana 2 | New music model: Lyria 3
The personal website...
Copying is the way design works
CC-BY SA 4.0
(more on that in a bit). You can download, copy, remix, excerpt,
...
28th Oct 2020
CC-BY SA 4.0
(more on that in a bit). You can download, copy, remix, excerpt,
change, and repost it however you see fit.
I
Charles Eames said
it best: “We don’t do ‘art’ — we solve problems.”1
2
They...
The DESK Magazine
Objects of Affection — From the Desk of van Schneider — Edition №257
As always, if you missed last weeks email, its now on my blog. Last week I shared my big bucket list...
3rd Feb 2025
As always, if you missed last weeks email, its now on my blog. Last week I shared my big bucket list "Designs of my Dreams" with you. Feel free to forward this article to friends or colleagues if you like, its now open to everyone to read.
Designs
Luke Mitchell |...
Good Case Studies
I’m currently thinking about writing case studies for my work, I didn’t know
where to start, so I...
25th Jul 2021
I’m currently thinking about writing case studies for my work, I didn’t know
where to start, so I did what I do when starting any project, some research; I
needed to define what I think makes a good case study.
Here are my thoughts so far.
Structure
I am a fan of detailed...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Advice for job seekers
I recently heard from an accomplished former colleague who had failed to impress the recruiter...
2nd Mar 2026
I recently heard from an accomplished former colleague who had failed to impress the recruiter evaluating their initial application for an open position. It was a position for which they were more than qualified. So why hadn’t they scored so much as an initial interview?
Turned...
Product Identity
It started as a blog post; now it's a magazine
Niche design is finally available
18th Sep 2025
Niche design is finally available
Ryan Mulligan
Horizontal Scrolling in a Centered Max-Width Container
The layout challenge
When I had first assembled a gallery of CodePen projects to include on my...
11th Mar 2022
The layout challenge
When I had first assembled a gallery of CodePen projects to include on my personal site redesign in the summer of 2021, I imagined the following layout and interaction:
The page's main content container is centered on the page with a max-width set.
The first...
The personal website...
The legacy of NFTs
A new trend is sending shock waves through the world of art, collecting, finance, and...
29th Dec 2021
A new trend is sending shock waves through the world of art, collecting, finance, and investing.
It’s the result of a perfect storm: one part scientific breakthrough, one part new financial paradigm, one part reflection of world events. Some people attribute it entirely to the...
UX Collective
The secret of good metaphors
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
7th Jul 2025
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
Luke Mitchell |...
Markdown is really good
I was reading Manu’s post about ‘old tech’ and suddenly thought, markdown is really, really...
4th Feb 2025
I was reading Manu’s post about ‘old tech’ and suddenly thought, markdown is really, really good.
What is it?
Markdown is a markup (get it?) language which aims to make formatting text as easy as possible, while still being easy to read. Markdown can be processed into HTML, which...
Retail Design Blog
Pavilion TEUM by one-aftr
Today, people are constantly exposed to strong stimuli in their daily lives, which has led our...
2nd Mar 2026
Today, people are constantly exposed to strong stimuli in their daily lives, which has led our brains to become ‘popcorn...
The personal website...
Stop brainstorming
“Brainstorming” — the problem-solving technique of coming up with as many ideas as possible in a...
18th Jan 2022
“Brainstorming” — the problem-solving technique of coming up with as many ideas as possible in a short period of time — has been showing up on a lot of my leadership meeting agendas lately. Many of my peers are employing brainstorming in the belief that, as thought-leading...
Fatih Arslan
Vitsoe vs USM shelving
I have an extensive Vitsoe 606 shelving setup but plan to extend certain places with USM cabinets....
23rd Jun 2024
I have an extensive Vitsoe 606 shelving setup but plan to extend certain places with USM cabinets. What are the main differences?
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Origami Projector: a Glitch-like app for site editing
3 weeks ago
Product Identity
What’s the future of AI hardware?
I don't have answers
17th Jun 2024
The Turn Signal RSS...
In-Car Climate Control Design: How It Has Gone Backwards and How to Fix It
Why has the design of in-car climate controls gone backward, and is there a better way to design...
1st Feb 2023
Why has the design of in-car climate controls gone backward, and is there a better way to design them?
Retail Design Blog
CELINE store
For any luxury brand, it’s a prerequisite to have a retail presence in Hong Kong, and that has...
2nd Sep 2024
For any luxury brand, it’s a prerequisite to have a retail presence in Hong Kong, and that has certainly been...
The DESK Magazine
People are talking about me, and I started it
People talk about you the way you talk about yourself.
12th Jul 2023
People talk about you the way you talk about yourself.
Koos Looijesteijn -...
The future of blogging
I still frequently post things on social media, even if I prefer blogging. Publishing a blog post...
10th Nov 2022
I still frequently post things on social media, even if I prefer blogging. Publishing a blog post with preview images,...
Retail Design Blog
Acacia Coffee & Wine Bar by A-Malysheva Studio
Acacia is a small café and wine bar designed by A-Malysheva studio, situated in a quiet residential...
1st Sep 2025
Acacia is a small café and wine bar designed by A-Malysheva studio, situated in a quiet residential neighborhood of Odesa,...
Identity Designed
Donut Shop
Designed by TwoPoints.Net, Hamburg, Barcelona.
11th Mar 2024
Designed by TwoPoints.Net, Hamburg, Barcelona.
Identity Designed
Freetree
Designed by How&How, Lisbon and London.
10th May 2022
Designed by How&How, Lisbon and London.
The Turn Signal RSS...
Why Car Companies Need More Interaction Designers
Why Car Companies Need More Interaction Designers
1st Apr 2019
Why Car Companies Need More Interaction Designers
Fatih Arslan
New homepage design
I changed my website’s design. I'm using the previous design since September 30, 2022 (when I moved...
4th Nov 2024
I changed my website’s design. I'm using the previous design since September 30, 2022 (when I moved to Ghost from Cloudflare Pages).
The previous design served me well for the past two years, but it was time for a change. Firstly, I wanted to create a
The Turn Signal RSS...
How Waymo Uses Design to Create Trust in Driverless Cars
How Waymo Uses Design to Create Trust in Driverless Cars
1st Feb 2020
How Waymo Uses Design to Create Trust in Driverless Cars
Melissa Penfold
YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO SHOPPING ANTIQUES
Whether you’re a collector or a new devotee, there’s a renewed energy in the industry and an...
8th Aug 2023
Whether you’re a collector or a new devotee, there’s a renewed energy in the industry and an explosion of interest as online auction shopping gives all the convenience of mass-produced decor without the environmental impact. The benefits of decorating with antiques are almost...
Retail Design Blog
ISA ENERGIA Offices by Casbro Spa
Casbro Spa designed the ISA ENERGIA offices in Santiago to embody sustainability and employee...
2nd Jun 2025
Casbro Spa designed the ISA ENERGIA offices in Santiago to embody sustainability and employee well-being through flexible spaces that maximize...
The personal website...
What is a brand?
A few weeks ago, I jumped into a new job as the head of a design team at a startup called...
4th Mar 2020
A few weeks ago, I jumped into a new job as the head of a design team at a startup called SimpleHealth. One of my first tasks is to kick off a big brand update. Full creative control, clear product/market fit, a long timeline — this is going to be a breeze. Right?
Only, I asked...
Christopher Butler
We Cannot Talk About AI Without Talking About Capitalism, Fascism, and Liberty
Let me begin with a disambiguation: I’m not talking about AI as some theoretical intelligence...
2nd May 2025
Let me begin with a disambiguation: I’m not talking about AI as some theoretical intelligence emerging from non-biological form — the sentient computer of science fiction. That, I suppose, can be thought about in an intellectual vacuum, to a point. I’m talking about AI, the...
The personal website...
The service-based design org
Last year, I joined SimpleHealth with the mission of building a design org from scratch. On my first...
23rd Jan 2021
Last year, I joined SimpleHealth with the mission of building a design org from scratch. On my first day, there were no in-house designers — just a rotating cast of freelance designers hired by various departments as they were needed.
A blank slate is a design leader’s dream....
Sarah Parmenter
British Summertime
Aha, the great British Summer. You really never know what you’re going to get and it makes planning...
3rd Aug 2017
Aha, the great British Summer. You really never know what you’re going to get and it makes planning weekends so darn difficult. Us Brits really do love to talk about the weather; as I write this post I started the day in shorts and a t-shirt and I’m about to go and fetch a...
Oykun Yilmaz
Why Visual Design Matters
Visual Design often doesn't receive the respect it deserves among other disciplines such as UX,...
24th Jul 2023
Visual Design often doesn't receive the respect it deserves among other disciplines such as UX, Development, and so on.
I have faced situations like:
Devs have already started the development based on UX. Just spend a few hours adding colours, please.
We do not need visual...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Design better by avoiding your cognitive biases
Good UI design is all about guiding attention to what’s important. When making the right thing for...
30th Sep 2020
Good UI design is all about guiding attention to what’s important. When making the right thing for the user the...
Product Identity
Mountains of work
This is part of a new experiment I started in an effort to document the process of making Niche...
a week ago
This is part of a new experiment I started in an effort to document the process of making Niche design.
The personal website...
Ballet dancers and shot putters
Starting a career in design is like crash-landing on Mars. You may have studied it through a...
6th Nov 2022
Starting a career in design is like crash-landing on Mars. You may have studied it through a telescope, but nothing can prepare you for actually being there.
One of the biggest surprises many new designers experience is that design isn’t always about coming up with the most...
The Turn Signal RSS...
How Apple and Google Are Taking Over the In-Car User Experience
Ever since the introduction of the iPhone and Apple App Store in 2007 and 2008, our digital lives...
1st Dec 2022
Ever since the introduction of the iPhone and Apple App Store in 2007 and 2008, our digital lives center around apps. These are available…
The Turn Signal RSS...
Apple's Risky Bet on CarPlay
What is Apple's strategy with CarPlay?
1st Apr 2024
What is Apple's strategy with CarPlay?
The Turn Signal RSS...
Designing A New UX Concept to Reduce Driver Distraction
is it possible to create a modern interaction model that allows the flexibility of touch screens but...
1st Jun 2019
is it possible to create a modern interaction model that allows the flexibility of touch screens but does not cause driver distraction?
Koos Looijesteijn -...
You're making me buy a new phone
My iPhone SE 2016 is a good one. It’s easy to handle with one hand. The screen is more than...
6th Feb 2023
My iPhone SE 2016 is a good one. It’s easy to handle with one hand. The screen is more than...
The DESK Magazine
Tutorial: How to make an illustration & animation portfolio with Carbonmade
Some portfolios look so good, you can't imagine how they did it. They must have hired a developer...
1st Jan 2023
Some portfolios look so good, you can't imagine how they did it. They must have hired a developer and worked for hours on the design.
Jeffrey Zeldman...
The Human Story of the Open Web
STOP ME if you’ve heard this one: The members of an extended family spend years curating a shared...
2nd Jul 2026
STOP ME if you’ve heard this one: The members of an extended family spend years curating a shared online photo album. Then the website they posted on vanishes, flushing their collective memories away forever.
Or this: A Queer kid growing up isolated in Nebraska discovers a...
The DESK Magazine
The case for being ignorant
I am sure you know this feeling. You find a new book that you absolutely love. A new movie, a new TV...
14th May 2024
I am sure you know this feeling. You find a new book that you absolutely love. A new movie, a new TV series or even a new hobby such as cycling or designing. It can be anything and everything.
The personal website...
Responsive roadmaps
Shane Parrish’s essay The Map is Not the Territory begins:
The map of reality is not reality. Even...
8th May 2019
Shane Parrish’s essay The Map is Not the Territory begins:
The map of reality is not reality. Even the best maps are imperfect. That’s because they are reductions of what they represent.
The same is true for product roadmaps. Understanding and applying Parrish’s mental model is...
Fatih Arslan
Braun Börse 2024
The Braun+Design Börse is an annual event and fair focusing on Braun products. Braun might not be...
5th May 2024
The Braun+Design Börse is an annual event and fair focusing on Braun products. Braun might not be the design icon it was 40 years ago, but starting in 1955, it profoundly impacted the design world, starting with its cooperation with the Ulm School of Design.
With Dieter
The Turn Signal RSS...
How We Designed a White-Label In-Car Infotainment System
Over the past two years, we created an infotainment system as a product, here is a look inside our...
1st Aug 2024
Over the past two years, we created an infotainment system as a product, here is a look inside our design process.
Koos Looijesteijn -...
100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying
"1 Exercise on a Monday night (nothing fun happens on a Monday night).2 On the fence about a...
12th Jan 2023
"1 Exercise on a Monday night (nothing fun happens on a Monday night).2 On the fence about a purchase? Wait 72 hours before you buy it.3 Tip: the quickest supermarket queue is always behind the fullest trolley (greeting, paying and packing take longer than you think).4 Bring...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Blogging or posting on social media—what's better?
I wrote about the benefits of blogging before. That was four years ago. Now I have some things to...
30th Oct 2022
I wrote about the benefits of blogging before. That was four years ago. Now I have some things to add...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Do you really need to set a theme color to color Safari's UI?
When it was announced that websites can change the color of Safari’s UI, I was eager to try it...
11th Oct 2021
When it was announced that websites can change the color of Safari’s UI, I was eager to try it out....
Oykun Yilmaz
Video Gamer skills that make a Great Designer
Enjoy your time with video games, do not see it as a waste of time as society thinks. This is YOUR...
8th Apr 2022
Enjoy your time with video games, do not see it as a waste of time as society thinks. This is YOUR time, use it as you like it. It will make you a better designer.
Product Identity
Annoucning Niche design: The Creative Practice
Inside the next issue + patronage
4th Aug 2026
Inside the next issue + patronage
Oykun Yilmaz
The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
My recommendation: 9/10
More details and reviews on Amazon
The advice in this book is timeless! No...
21st Mar 2022
My recommendation: 9/10
More details and reviews on Amazon
The advice in this book is timeless! No wonder why this book has taken its well-deserved place in the best-ever investment books.
The main premise is investing in the companies we know of and believe its value at. Not...
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