Koos Looijesteijn
How to get good at anything creative
29th Dec 2024
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...
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...
Christopher Butler
Organization – Office – 2024
After the kitchen, the office is still the most used room in our home. This is how we have optimized...
21st Dec 2024
After the kitchen, the office is still the most used room in our home. This is how we have optimized it this year.
About a year and a half ago, I wrote a long entry to this blog about how we keep this office space organized. While much of it is still as it was then, it is...
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...
How to get the best design feedback from your team
In 2015, I wrote out my thoughts on creative feedback. Here’s that article in list format:
Feedback...
13th Apr 2017
In 2015, I wrote out my thoughts on creative feedback. Here’s that article in list format:
Feedback should be concise
Feedback should be action-oriented
Feedback should have a consistent format
At the time, the Planetary design team was growing. We were grappling with one of the...
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....
Product Identity
I'm writing a zine
Will I become an author now?
2nd Dec 2024
Will I become an author now?
Oykun Yilmaz
The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stainer
My recommendation: 7/10
More details and reviews on Amazon
Focusing on the good you can do for...
1st Feb 2023
My recommendation: 7/10
More details and reviews on Amazon
Focusing on the good you can do for others than yourself was an interesting perspective to build habits. I found the practical tips about how to phrase some questions useful such as using "What..." instead of "Why.
Ryan Mulligan
The Pixel Canvas Shimmer Effect
I recently stumbled on a super cool, well-executed hover effect from the clerk.com website where a...
3rd Dec 2024
I recently stumbled on a super cool, well-executed hover effect from the clerk.com website where a bloom of tiny pixels light up, their glow staggering from the center to the edges of its container. With some available free time over this Thanksgiving break, I hacked together my...
Fatih Arslan
Plotter Notebook System
Taking notes, in my opinion, is the best thing one can do for themselves. Writing is a form of...
24th Feb 2025
Taking notes, in my opinion, is the best thing one can do for themselves. Writing is a form of thinking, and writing manually, in an analog manner, elevates the process. It has a positive impact on your well-being. It’s akin to working out for hours and then returning
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 personal website...
Design better data tables
Poor tables. Where did they go wrong?
Table tetris
After being the bread and butter of the web for...
3rd Aug 2016
Poor tables. Where did they go wrong?
Table tetris
After being the bread and butter of the web for most of its early history, tables were cast aside by many designers for newer, trendier layouts. But while they might be making fewer appearances on the web these days, data tables...
Scott Jenson
Sotto Voce
“AI” and “The Cloud” are both hot topics, but couldn’t be more different. AI is new, unproven, and...
26th Mar 2024
“AI” and “The Cloud” are both hot topics, but couldn’t be more different. AI is new, unproven, and surrounded by hyperbole, whereas “The Cloud” is older, established, and broadly accepted. But online, criticism is mounting against both, not so much for the technology itself but...
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Who else would use a shared Electron library to create and deploy Netlify sites?
5th Mar 2026
Koos Looijesteijn -...
The most important question in design: who’s gonna pay me?
Have you ever worried about the real impact of your work? Done a project in an exploitive industry?...
9th Nov 2023
Have you ever worried about the real impact of your work? Done a project in an exploitive industry? Or worked...
Ryan Mulligan
Blog Questions Challenge
Hey there.
It has been a minute since my last post. I was semi-recently tagged by Zach Leatherman to...
25th Mar 2025
Hey there.
It has been a minute since my last post. I was semi-recently tagged by Zach Leatherman to (optionally) participate in this year's Blog Questions Challenge. I had planned on doing it then. But life really hit hard as we entered this year and it has not let up. Energy...
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...
Christopher Butler
Designing for (Realistic) Attention
The average person is capable of reading 250 words per minute.
When I advise that a...
5th May 2023
The average person is capable of reading 250 words per minute.
When I advise that a webpage — like a service detail page — have a maximum main body word-count of 150 words, I’m really recommending that it ask a reader to commit to 30 seconds. To put that in perspective, a...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Citroën Ami and the Future of Urban Transportation
Is the Citroën Ami a clever new transportation method or standing in the way of progress?
1st Oct 2020
Is the Citroën Ami a clever new transportation method or standing in the way of progress?
Retail Design Blog
Junshanye x Gugo Brand – The national tea aesthetics of Valley Creation
Walking in secret places, talking to mountains and seas Transcribing the original power of nature...
2nd Jan 2025
Walking in secret places, talking to mountains and seas Transcribing the original power of nature Starting the journey of seeking...
Alex Baldwin
One line of CSS to add hanging quotes
The hanging-punctuation property aims at giving web web designers a finer grained control over...
10th Nov 2016
The hanging-punctuation property aims at giving web web designers a finer grained control over typography on the web.
The idea behind hanging punctuation is to put some punctuation characters from start (or to a lesser extend at the end) of text elements “outside” of the box in...
The personal website...
Pictures of websites
A scene from the 2001 movie Zoolander1:
INT. THE PALATIAL OFFICE OF FASHION MOGUL JACOBIM MUGATU...
13th Mar 2021
A scene from the 2001 movie Zoolander1:
INT. THE PALATIAL OFFICE OF FASHION MOGUL JACOBIM MUGATU (PLAYED BY WILL FERRELL)
MUGATU
Without much further ado, I give you...
MUGATU
The Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good!
ZOOLANDER
(suddenly enraged)
What is...
Product Identity
head on the cloud, feet on the ground
A conversation with Sari Azout of Sublime
17th Jul 2025
A conversation with Sari Azout of Sublime
The DESK Magazine
mymind keeps getting better
We've been hard at work making every aspect of the mymind.com experience better, smoother, faster...
10th Sep 2024
We've been hard at work making every aspect of the mymind.com experience better, smoother, faster and lovelier.
The personal website...
Towards better creative feedback
Creative work — be it designing, writing, coding, or managing — is a collaborative practice. At...
7th Jan 2015
Creative work — be it designing, writing, coding, or managing — is a collaborative practice. At least two parties are always involved: The maker (a designer, developer, or manager) on one end, and the audience on the other.1 Feedback between the maker and the audience is...
The DESK Magazine
Addicted to ideas
Having an idea is like taking a hit of a fine drug.
10th Oct 2023
Having an idea is like taking a hit of a fine drug.
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...
Fatih Arslan
Managing friction
I thought lately about what has changed in my life over the years. People change (even if they don't...
8th Apr 2025
I thought lately about what has changed in my life over the years. People change (even if they don't admit it). And there are always some sort of triggers that cause these changes. Some people start a habit of running, maybe; some start hanging out with friends who
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 Turn Signal RSS...
Mercedes vs Lucid: Different Views on Luxury UI Design
Exploring the UI design of two different luxury car brands
1st Nov 2020
Exploring the UI design of two different luxury car brands
The personal website...
Research, empathy, simplicity, speed
photo by Toa Heftiba
Earlier today, I read a thought-provoking tweet from John Maeda:
"Salt Fat Acid...
17th Oct 2018
photo by Toa Heftiba
Earlier today, I read a thought-provoking tweet from John Maeda:
"Salt Fat Acid Heat" as the perfect set of ingredients for a meal makes me wonder what a similar set of essential ingredients might be for digital products. https://t.co/z1w1PUyQsD
— John Maeda...
Christopher Butler
Doing (and Directing) Great Design Requires Detail Obsession
Every great design has one organizing detail that unlocks everything else, and the best design...
15th Aug 2025
Every great design has one organizing detail that unlocks everything else, and the best design leaders never stop looking for it.
Every good piece of design has at least one detail that is the “key” to unlocking an understanding of how it works. Good designers will notice that...
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...
Melissa Penfold
SEASON’S TREE-TINGS! THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CHRISTMAS, 2023
The past few years have been rocky for Christmas. In 2020 it was cancelled. In 2021, it felt a...
5th Dec 2023
The past few years have been rocky for Christmas. In 2020 it was cancelled. In 2021, it felt a little more appealing. Things began to feel more normal in 2022, but having been homebodies for so long we were still flexing our dormant social muscles. In 2023 the weight of current...
Permanent Style
Our favourite restaurants in London
By Lucas Nicholson. When tailors and other artisans visit us in London, they nearly always ask about...
1st Dec 2025
By Lucas Nicholson. When tailors and other artisans visit us in London, they nearly always ask about the best places to eat. Their hotel is already booked after all, and they know what they’re doing all day. But local restaurant recommendati... > Read more
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...
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...
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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Apple's Risky Bet on CarPlay
Drivers love CarPlay. Apple's WWDC 22 keynote revealed that And it's easy to see why. Even compared...
1st Apr 2024
Drivers love CarPlay. Apple's WWDC 22 keynote revealed that And it's easy to see why. Even compared to the best native infotainment…
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
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...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
“A streamlined newspaper for a streamlined era”
Posted today for no particular reason:
“A streamlined newspaper for a streamlined era” is the slogan...
4th Feb 2026
Posted today for no particular reason:
“A streamlined newspaper for a streamlined era” is the slogan that replaces “A free press means a free people” in Frank Capra and Robert Riskin’s 1941 classic film, “Meet John Doe.”
The threat in the film is incipient fascism led by a...
Sarah Parmenter
America, here is why I love you.
I am proud to call America my second home, and I’ve toyed with living there permanently more times...
9th Nov 2016
I am proud to call America my second home, and I’ve toyed with living there permanently more times than I can count. On this day when emotions are running high, and sadness, anxiety, and trepidation is in the air for so many, I wanted to note down why I love America and what, as...
Identity Designed
Donut Shop
Designed by TwoPoints.Net, Hamburg, Barcelona.
11th Mar 2024
Designed by TwoPoints.Net, Hamburg, Barcelona.
Jakob Nielsen on UX
UX Roundup: User Research Game | AI Photo Recommendations | AI Helps TA | Teaching Metacognition |...
User researchers as role-playing game classes | AI posture recommendation feature in Huawei Pura 90...
4th May 2026
User researchers as role-playing game classes | AI posture recommendation feature in Huawei Pura 90 phones | AI helps teaching assistants provide better feedback to students | AI as a metacognitive coach | Recommending an entertaining short AI film | SpaceX’s plan for 100 TW...
UX Collective
Figma and the cost of collaboration
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
5th Aug 2024
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
Christopher Butler
visual journal – 2024 May 20 - June 1
Faces
The last two weeks have been unusually busy and routine-disrupting. Half the input to the...
1st Jun 2024
Faces
The last two weeks have been unusually busy and routine-disrupting. Half the input to the book as usual, but still, something is better than nothing!
I intended to make the collage on the right only black and white. Couldn’t resist a bit of color.
Very...
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...
Identity Designed
Ashton
Designed by LG2, Quebec.
11th Jul 2024
The Turn Signal RSS...
The eHMI: How Autonomous Cars Will Communicate With the Outside World
A lot of communication happens between drivers and other road users. How will self-driving cars...
1st May 2021
A lot of communication happens between drivers and other road users. How will self-driving cars handle this?
Nela Dunato Art &...
Journaling technique: Polarity integration journal spread
Journaling is the most potent way to resolve inner challenges, find solutions to problems, and...
18th Jul 2024
Journaling is the most potent way to resolve inner challenges, find solutions to problems, and develop your own creative voice. Today I’m sharing one of my favorite journaling techniques that I use quite often when I want to explore two sides of a problem.
Christopher Butler
Signals #001: The Politics of Naming
Signals
Something new here—a weekly signal from noise, or at least I hope so. Connections drawn...
25th May 2026
Signals
Something new here—a weekly signal from noise, or at least I hope so. Connections drawn between things I have encountered…
Something strange happens when we put a name to things. The moment “cassette futurism” or “Corporate Memphis” enters circulation, it stops being...
Christopher Butler
Organization – Office
I am on a continual quest for organization.
After the kitchen, the office is the most used room in...
18th Aug 2023
I am on a continual quest for organization.
After the kitchen, the office is the most used room in our home.
My wife and I work here, Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. Our children play and create in here just as often. It’s where we maintain several workspaces, store supplies,...
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.
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Martyr! book jacket
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Source: lithub.com License: All Rights Reserved.
Martyr! is a...
11th Mar 2024
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Source: lithub.com License: All Rights Reserved.
Martyr! is a novel by Iranian-American writer Kaveh Akbar that combines modern situations with traditional imagery. For the jacket, prolific cover designer Linda Huang did what she does so...
Retail Design Blog
Sunrise Garden Restaurant by M9 Design Studio
Located within an industrial suburb of Bangalore, Sunrise Garden Restaurant emerges as a quiet...
7th Apr 2026
Located within an industrial suburb of Bangalore, Sunrise Garden Restaurant emerges as a quiet counterpoint to its context — transforming...
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
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
I like watercolor painting
3rd Jan 2024
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Fonts In Use is not active on Instagram
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Fonts In Use. License: CC BY-SA.
The Fonts In Use staff was never...
15th Jul 2025
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Fonts In Use. License: CC BY-SA.
The Fonts In Use staff was never especially enthusiastic about maintaining our account on Instagram. The platform is antithetical to so much of the what we love on the web: hyperlinks, web feeds (e.g., RSS),...
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...
Permanent Style
Ralph Lauren cap: How great things age
There have been a few companies popping up in recent years making higher-end baseball caps. Both the...
3rd Nov 2025
There have been a few companies popping up in recent years making higher-end baseball caps. Both the plain, dull, luxury ones that became a trend in the wake of Succession, and ones that look exactly like a traditional cap, just higher quali... > Read more
Luke Mitchell |...
Chicken accessories for chickens
This post originally appeared on thoughtbot.com
I was browsing an online marketplace the other day...
17th Jan 2025
This post originally appeared on thoughtbot.com
I was browsing an online marketplace the other day because I was a bit bored, and because I have a unique need to seek out dark patterns. Something caught my eye as I scrolled. Amongst all the other suspiciously cheap items, was a...
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...
The personal website...
The history of album art
Album art didn’t always exist.
In the early 1900s, recorded music was still a novelty, overshadowed...
2nd May 2025
Album art didn’t always exist.
In the early 1900s, recorded music was still a novelty, overshadowed by sales of sheet music. Early vinyl records were vastly different from what we think of today: discs were sold individually and could only hold up to four minutes of music per...
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.
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Contributed by Peiran Tan
Source: www.evangelion.co.jp ©カラー／Project Eva....
17th Oct 2019
Contributed by Peiran Tan
Source: www.evangelion.co.jp ©カラー／Project Eva. ©カラー／EVA製作委員会 ©カラー. License: All Rights Reserved.
Created and directed by Hideaki Anno, Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, often abbreviated as NGE or simply EVA) is a Japanese media...
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
The Turn Signal RSS...
A New Concept for Usable Touch Interaction in Cars
When looking around in traffic, the number of people being distracted by their phones and...
1st Apr 2020
When looking around in traffic, the number of people being distracted by their phones and infotainment systems is alarming. The latter is a…
Ryan Mulligan
Style Review
Donut dessert lollipop dragée pudding marzipan jelly
Danish icing cake sugar plum chocolate bar...
5th Nov 2021
Donut dessert lollipop dragée pudding marzipan jelly
Danish icing cake sugar plum chocolate bar candy canes macaroon pie.
Bear claw bear claw biscuit fruitcake icing brownie. Jelly-o pudding tart cake ice cream jelly-o. Danish sugar plum chocolate cake wafer cake pudding sweet...
Identity Designed
Mountainview Brewing
Designed by Memory, Salt Spring Island.
4th Nov 2024
Designed by Memory, Salt Spring Island.
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,…
Koos Looijesteijn
Hey Koos, do you still recommend WordPress?
29th Jun 2018
The personal website...
Just-in-time design
photo by Tools for motivation
There is a disconnect between product design and product...
12th Nov 2018
photo by Tools for motivation
There is a disconnect between product design and product engineering.
Three factors contribute to this disconnect:
Products get shipped faster every day. DevOps teams automate huge amounts of the delivery process, enabling engineering teams to ship...
Sarah Parmenter
Celebrating the Power of Female Friendships with Adobe XD
This quarter I got to work on a really exciting project in collaboration with Adobe XD. The brief...
24th May 2018
This quarter I got to work on a really exciting project in collaboration with Adobe XD. The brief was slightly open to interpretation and one of the themes put forward back in February was “Celebrating the good in the world” by creating content that speaks to a cultural trend or...
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...
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.
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Role of Cognitive Load in Automotive UX Design
What is cognitive load and how does it impact driving safety and automotive UX design?
1st May 2023
What is cognitive load and how does it impact driving safety and automotive UX design?
The Turn Signal RSS...
Overcoming Automotive Overconsumption Through Design
Is it really necessary to buy a new car every couple of years or do car companies make us believe...
1st May 2019
Is it really necessary to buy a new car every couple of years or do car companies make us believe that?
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?
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...
The personal website...
The micromanager's dilemma
Here’s a riddle: Nobody I’ve ever worked with likes micromanagement. Yet, on every team I’ve been...
13th Dec 2022
Here’s a riddle: Nobody I’ve ever worked with likes micromanagement. Yet, on every team I’ve been on, there is at least one micromanager. How is this possible?
Harvard Business Review says, “Micromanage at Your Peril.” Forbes says “Micromanaging is one of the most damaging habits...
Retail Design Blog
Avizva Solutions Offices by Designforth Interiors
Designforth Interiors created a functional and flexible office space in Indore for Avizva, focusing...
3rd Mar 2025
Designforth Interiors created a functional and flexible office space in Indore for Avizva, focusing on spatial optimization, collaboration, and cultural...
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
I wrote a screenplay for a programming language introduction, then wrote a program to turn that into...
22nd Jan 2025
Retail Design Blog
HAVV by Widarto Impact
OVERVIEW Soy milk commands 37.4% of the $23.8 billion plant-based milk market, holding the largest...
5th May 2026
OVERVIEW Soy milk commands 37.4% of the $23.8 billion plant-based milk market, holding the largest share of any plant milk...
The Turn Signal RSS...
A UX Review of Peugeot’s New Interior: When Design Ambition Meets Software Reality
The Panorama i-Cockpit is the latest iteration of the i-Cockpit that debuted in the 2012 Peugeot...
1st Jun 2025
The Panorama i-Cockpit is the latest iteration of the i-Cockpit that debuted in the 2012 Peugeot 208. The i-Cockpit's main innovation is…
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,...
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....
Ryan Mulligan
The Fifty-Fifty Split and Overflow
The fifty-fifty split—or 50/50 for a dash of brevity—is a classic layout pattern where two elements...
19th Feb 2024
The fifty-fifty split—or 50/50 for a dash of brevity—is a classic layout pattern where two elements occupy the same amount of inline space inside a row. These two elements will stack once it becomes too narrow to properly display them side by side. Both flexbox and CSS grid can...
The Pudding
How the Words We Teach English Language Learners Changed
How the words we teach English language learners changed
25th Jul 2026
How the words we teach English language learners changed
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...
Joshua Smith
General Laundry Building
Scratchbuilt miniature based on the Abandoned General Laundry building in New Orleans, United...
7th Jun 2019
Scratchbuilt miniature based on the Abandoned General Laundry building in New Orleans, United States. Created for the Urban Art Fair in Paris showing with Galerie 42b in Paris, April, 2019. Scratchbuilt 1:24 Scale Miniature created from MDF, Wood, cardboard, plastic card, chalk...
Jakob Nielsen on UX
UX Roundup: Email UX | Sora 2 | AI New Business Capabilities | AI Consumer Surplus | Latent...
Email user experience | New video model Sora 2 compared with older models | AI offering new business...
6th Oct 2025
Email user experience | New video model Sora 2 compared with older models | AI offering new business capabilities instead of just replacing old jobs | Most of AI’s economic value is consumer surplus | Latent affordances for AI feature discovery | Simple ambient AI scribes help...
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!
"
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.
Koos Looijesteijn -...
The new heroes of design
I used to have several design heroes I looked up to. But when I changed from industrial design to...
21st Feb 2022
I used to have several design heroes I looked up to. But when I changed from industrial design to digital...
The Pudding
What it’s like to walk across Massachusetts
A visually-aided journal of a very long walk home.
20th Oct 2025
A visually-aided journal of a very long walk home.
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);
...
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...
Ryan Mulligan
The Infinite Marquee
The deprecated tag
The HTML <marquee> element had blessed (cursed?) the early days of the internet...
6th Aug 2022
The deprecated tag
The HTML <marquee> element had blessed (cursed?) the early days of the internet with the ability to insert scrolling text onto a webpage. It even included options to control text behavior once it reached the end of its container with a handful of attributes....
The personal website...
What makes a good design principle?
Like many design teams, the Wall Street Journal team has been thinking through our design...
14th Nov 2017
Like many design teams, the Wall Street Journal team has been thinking through our design principles. Writing design principles comes pretty naturally (especially if you read this excellent list by Jeremy Keith). As we collaborate, we end up with a lot of candidates. However,...
Nela Dunato Art &...
My policy on the use of generative AI in creative work
I have never used generative AI software to produce original written content, images, code, audio,...
10th Jun 2024
I have never used generative AI software to produce original written content, images, code, audio, or video, and do not intend to in the future. All of the art, design, photography, writing, video, and audio material published on NelaDunato.com and other websites I own have been...
Identity Designed
WHEN
Designed by Universal Favourite, Sydney.
16th Dec 2024
Designed by Universal Favourite, Sydney.
The Turn Signal RSS...
A New Concept for Usable Touch Interaction in Cars
A design concept exploring how to improve touch interfaces in cars
1st Apr 2020
A design concept exploring how to improve touch interfaces in cars
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...
The DESK Magazine
How much YOU is in YOUR work?
I started my design career by accident and never enjoyed a classical educational foundation in...
29th Apr 2024
I started my design career by accident and never enjoyed a classical educational foundation in anything I'm doing professionally. As a result, my approach always had a bit more of a "punk" approach.
The Pudding
The Generational Legacy of Samples in Music
We trace musical DNA from the classical "Hall of the Mountain King" to 2pac's "Hit Em Up."
1st Apr 2025
We trace musical DNA from the classical "Hall of the Mountain King" to 2pac's "Hit Em Up."
Retail Design Blog
RIDET office by RooMoo Design Studio
Shanghai RIDET Technology is a pioneering company specializing in developing life sciences...
23rd Apr 2024
Shanghai RIDET Technology is a pioneering company specializing in developing life sciences instruments. RIDET’s office space on the first floor...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Sega logo (1976–present)
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Source: segaretro.org License: All Rights Reserved.
The Sega logo...
17th Aug 2021
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Source: segaretro.org License: All Rights Reserved.
The Sega logo used since 1976, in its official color for the Japanese market.
Source: segaretro.org Image: Scarred Sun. License: All Rights Reserved.
Sega logo used from the late 1950s to...
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...
Ryan Mulligan
Layout Breakouts with CSS Grid
A post about the layout you're looking at right now
The previous structure of this page layout was...
7th Oct 2022
A post about the layout you're looking at right now
The previous structure of this page layout was virtually the same, the foundation of it expertly defined in the article Full-Bleed Layout Using CSS Grid by Josh Comeau. It's a technique I've used on many projects. I've even...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
For students who make websites
WordPress.com maker Automattic is expanding into education with a new, free product designed for...
4 weeks ago
WordPress.com maker Automattic is expanding into education with a new, free product designed for teachers and their classes called WordPress.com Education. The suite for classrooms includes a full WordPress.com domain for each student, plus free domain names (on the .blog or .art...
The personal website...
Expansion artifacts
The information age has been defined by bandwidth. The internet is limited by how much data we can...
20th Apr 2026
The information age has been defined by bandwidth. The internet is limited by how much data we can squeeze into the narrow pipes of transmission infrastructure. So we invented compression, ways of representing the same object — a website, a picture, a song, a movie — within ever...
The personal website...
Breaking looms
Let’s talk about Luddites. The actual, real, historical Luddites.
“Luddite” was the label given to a...
4th Feb 2020
Let’s talk about Luddites. The actual, real, historical Luddites.
“Luddite” was the label given to a group of English workers’ rights activists in the early 19th century. They owe their name to a man who may never have existed — Ned Ludd. The Luddites were working-class people...
Oykun Yilmaz
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
More details and reviews on Amazon
Interesting take on creative minds and struggles. It is almost...
17th Mar 2023
More details and reviews on Amazon
Interesting take on creative minds and struggles. It is almost like a religious book, the author talks about Muses, Angels, how God has created us for a specific purpose equipped with genes/soul to achieve that purpose and how we are destined to...
Christopher Butler
If This, Then That, Except for When...
I’m not saying that “Agentic AI” will “never” replicate all tasks that workers are currently paid to...
3rd Jun 2025
I’m not saying that “Agentic AI” will “never” replicate all tasks that workers are currently paid to complete, but I strongly suspect that current agents have an extremely limited task scope.
As exhibit A, I submit this podcast episode, in which Agentic AI is sold on the basis...
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...
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...
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...
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...
ramsés cabello
web app inspector @ sketch
hi everyone 〜 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )
we just launched a new version of sketch including awaited features...
28th May 2025
hi everyone 〜 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )
we just launched a new version of sketch including awaited features such as stacks, frames, and graphics, along with a lot of other new features.
while we prepared the inspector on the web app to display the new properties that come with these...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Struggle to Find Out How Cars Manage Your Personal Data
Cars today collect more than 200 different data points. Most of these data points are not only...
1st Jun 2021
Cars today collect more than 200 different data points. Most of these data points are not only interesting to car manufacturers themselves.…
Joshua Smith
Discolandia
Based on the old Discolandia Record Shop, Mission District, San Francisco. Scratchbuilt 1:20 Scale...
17th Apr 2018
Based on the old Discolandia Record Shop, Mission District, San Francisco. Scratchbuilt 1:20 Scale Miniature created from MDF, Wood, cardboard, plastic card, chalk pastels, spraypaint, wire, plastruct. Created for Through That Which is Seen Exhibition at the Palo Alto Art Centre,...
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...
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.
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....
The Turn Signal RSS...
In-Car Climate Control Design: How It Has Gone Backwards and How to Fix It
To illustrate how climate controls have evolved, I'll compare two generations of Mercedes S-Class:...
1st Feb 2023
To illustrate how climate controls have evolved, I'll compare two generations of Mercedes S-Class: the W140 from 1991, and the newest…
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...
Christopher Butler
visual journal – 2024 June 17 - July 05
Make it bigger.
portals
birthday eve
exploring...
5th Jul 2024
Make it bigger.
portals
birthday eve
exploring velocity
Retail Design Blog
Monarch by OPEN Strategy & Design
MONARCH – A ROYAL WELCOME CRAFTING A LEGACY For forty years, Mansion House has stood for ‘A Warm...
1st Apr 2025
MONARCH – A ROYAL WELCOME CRAFTING A LEGACY For forty years, Mansion House has stood for ‘A Warm Welcome’, a...
Christopher Butler
Replication Is Not Innovation
AI’s efficiency gains don’t justify trillion-dollar valuations.
The economy is both thriving and...
2nd Feb 2026
AI’s efficiency gains don’t justify trillion-dollar valuations.
The economy is both thriving and failing, depending on where you’re standing. The stock market remains strong, driven almost entirely by the valuations of seven companies. Meanwhile, most people experience a daily...
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.
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Rise of Touch Screens in Cars Explained
Are touch screens in cars really that bad?
1st Mar 2021
Are touch screens in cars really that bad?
The Pudding
Common Threads
Visualizing how musicals use motifs to tell stories.
9th Dec 2025
Visualizing how musicals use motifs to tell stories.
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...
ramsés cabello
嵐
2020年に嵐の音楽に出会いました。それから嬉しい時も悲しい時も、嵐の素敵な曲がずっと僕のそばにいてくれました。心から感謝しています。...
3rd Mar 2026
2020年に嵐の音楽に出会いました。それから嬉しい時も悲しい時も、嵐の素敵な曲がずっと僕のそばにいてくれました。心から感謝しています。 嵐の皆さん、スタッフの皆さん、本当にお疲れ様でした。
“忘れないでいよ”
これからも、ずっと。
🌈
Product Identity
Building as gardening
Although I've never had a garden
9th Apr 2025
Although I've never had a garden
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…
Christopher Butler
Know What You Need
Knowing what you need makes knowing what you want much easier.
It is often said about successful...
16th Nov 2024
Knowing what you need makes knowing what you want much easier.
It is often said about successful people that they “know exactly what they want.” I’m sure this is true, because in our modern culture, where we are constantly made aware of new choices and possibilities, knowing...
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...
Using Netlify to build an email sign-up widget
You can read this article on CSS Tricks.
2nd Aug 2019
You can read this article on CSS Tricks.
Ryan Mulligan
Inverted Media Queries and Breakpoints
The occasional breakpoint
Nowadays I lean on modern CSS solutions, fluid layout patterns, and...
5th Jul 2022
The occasional breakpoint
Nowadays I lean on modern CSS solutions, fluid layout patterns, and intrinsic sizing over viewport dimension-based media queries – typically referred to as breakpoints – that adapt a design at particular screen sizes. Let's not forget that container...
The Pudding
In pursuit of democracy
Every time someone said 'democracy' in Congress.
3rd Nov 2025
Every time someone said 'democracy' in Congress.
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...
The personal website...
Design and machine learning
Machine learning is a powerful tool that drives everything from curated content recommendations to...
30th Oct 2019
Machine learning is a powerful tool that drives everything from curated content recommendations to optimized user interfaces. With Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon leading the charge, machine learning is becoming deeply integrated into everyday product experiences. This means...
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...
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…
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Cold Storage
I furnished my last design studio with bespoke Danish shelving, three Eames desk units, nine glass...
2nd Jan 2026
I furnished my last design studio with bespoke Danish shelving, three Eames desk units, nine glass tables, 12 chairs, etc. When I closed the studio I moved the furnishings plus a few hundred design books—including books I’d written, foreign translations of my work, books by other...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
UXers and Product Managers Both Say Others Intrude on Their Work
"Summary: A survey of 372 UX and PM professionals shows that duplicative work is frequent and...
2nd Feb 2023
"Summary: A survey of 372 UX and PM professionals shows that duplicative work is frequent and generates confusion and inefficiency. The first four questions are discussed in this article. A companion article covers the last two.
"
julian.digital
Media Consumption (Feb 2021)
>_ Summary Read 3 books (2202 min, -10% MoM) and 22 articles (-15%) Listened to 364 songs (+38%) and...
4th Mar 2021
>_ Summary Read 3 books (2202 min, -10% MoM) and 22 articles (-15%) Listened to 364 songs (+38%) and 15 podcasts (749 min, same) Watched 8 movies (885 min, +727%), 7 soccer games (965 min, +16%) and 7 TV episodes (405 min, -62%) Played 0 board games (0 min, same) and 1 video game...
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...
The personal website...
Mind the gap: designing graphs with missing data
Data-driven interfaces are on the rise. Financial District CEOs want to see a birds-eye view of...
12th Dec 2015
Data-driven interfaces are on the rise. Financial District CEOs want to see a birds-eye view of their bottom line as much as Silicon Valley Co-founders want to watch their growth hackers hack. Each user has their own hopes and fears about data, but there’s one thing nobody wants...
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...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Call for Entries: Finding Forte
Contributed by Fonts In Use Staff
Source: www.tomkoch.net Tom Koch. License: All Rights Reserved....
12th May 2022
Contributed by Fonts In Use Staff
Source: www.tomkoch.net Tom Koch. License: All Rights Reserved.
The call for entries is now open! Forte in use for a shop sign, spotted by Tom Koch in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Source: www.tomkoch.net Tom Koch. License: All Rights Reserved....
Alex Baldwin
Waking up, ready for creativity
This post is part of Startup Edition 21. Sign up to the weekly newsletter to get the response to a...
1st Oct 2013
This post is part of Startup Edition 21. Sign up to the weekly newsletter to get the response to a single question each week from a curated gathering of bloggers in the startup community.
Since January, when I joined thoughtbot as a designer, I’ve shipped a new product every 6-8...
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...
Nela Dunato Art &...
Quest for the best black paint: Gouache, acrylic, india ink, pastel & more compared
I love adding black backgrounds, borders, or other large areas of black to my artwork! In the past I...
30th Dec 2022
I love adding black backgrounds, borders, or other large areas of black to my artwork! In the past I mostly used India ink because it’s affordable, easy to use, and easy to find in stores. But now I'm curious if I can find something better.
I tested and compared 14 different...
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…
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.
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Organizations are ant colonies
After I had played Universal Paperclips for a couple of hours, I thought I understood the game’s...
7th Oct 2023
After I had played Universal Paperclips for a couple of hours, I thought I understood the game’s message. I put...
The Turn Signal RSS...
How We Designed a White-Label In-Car Infotainment System
Infotainment systems are often overcomplicated and poorly built. Until recently, it was difficult to...
1st Aug 2024
Infotainment systems are often overcomplicated and poorly built. Until recently, it was difficult to change this because each carmaker had…
Oykun Yilmaz
Communicate Value over Long Hours of Work as a Designer
The tagline for my newsletter goes as below:
Grow As Designer | Helping Designers Grow...
22nd Apr 2023
The tagline for my newsletter goes as below:
Grow As Designer | Helping Designers Grow Their Value and Income.
It's a bit unclear, right?
What the heck is "Value" anyway? How can you grow it?
Well, there are many meanings to
Melissa Penfold
WHERE TO FIND EXCEPTIONAL FLOWERS IN FIVE DIFFERENT CITIES
Not only do fresh flowers bring joy and delight into a home, they’re also a symbol of important...
3rd Oct 2025
Not only do fresh flowers bring joy and delight into a home, they’re also a symbol of important moments in life: they are the decoration of choice at weddings and funerals, and also the ultimate gift of love on Valentine’s Day. Their delicate nature, however, can make it tricky...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Overcoming Automotive Overconsumption Through Design
The average car consists of around 30,000 parts. They are built up from many different resources...
1st May 2019
The average car consists of around 30,000 parts. They are built up from many different resources that come from all over the world. These…
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
How I repaired our oven with a piece of Lego
1st Aug 2026
Alex Baldwin
IAM FINE Mix
While in Korea, I used Shazam to record all the songs played in coffee shops.
Here’s a mix I put...
18th Sep 2015
While in Korea, I used Shazam to record all the songs played in coffee shops.
Here’s a mix I put together of all the discovered tracks.
Identity Designed
CleanO2
Designed by Ordinary Things, San Francisco.
2nd Aug 2022
Designed by Ordinary Things, San Francisco.
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...
The personal website...
How to generate color palettes for design systems
It used to be easy to pick colors for design systems. Years ago, you could pick a handful of colors...
20th Apr 2024
It used to be easy to pick colors for design systems. Years ago, you could pick a handful of colors to match your brand’s ethos, or start with an off-the-shelf palette (remember flatuicolors.com?). Each hue and shade served a purpose, and usually had a quirky name like “idea...
Melissa Penfold
IF YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR HOUSE, FIGURE OUT WHAT TO RENOVATE FIRST
You want to sell your home, but the kids have scuffed up the floors and chipped the paint. The...
30th Jan 2023
You want to sell your home, but the kids have scuffed up the floors and chipped the paint. The kitchen could use a face-lift and the lawn has seen better days. Every seller has to decide whether to sink money into their home before listing it, and how much. Lately, the stakes...
The personal website...
Design-by-wire
There’s a lot of fear in the air. As AI gets better at design, it’s natural for designers to be...
2nd Mar 2023
There’s a lot of fear in the air. As AI gets better at design, it’s natural for designers to be worried about their jobs. But I think the question — will AI replace designers? — is a waste of time. Humans have always invented technology to do their work for them and will continue...
Nela Dunato Art &...
Why people avoid social media detox (let’s bust those excuses)
I truly believe everyone would benefit from taking a long break from social media at least once a...
30th Oct 2023
I truly believe everyone would benefit from taking a long break from social media at least once a year. In my many articles on this topic I gushed about the benefits of digital media sabbaticals, and my own experiences with increased mindfulness, focus, and productivity. So let’s...
ramsés cabello
festive season + site updates
hola 〜 ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა ❄️
hope you’re having a nice december, wherever (and whenever) you’re reading...
11th Dec 2025
hola 〜 ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა ❄️
hope you’re having a nice december, wherever (and whenever) you’re reading this! hopefully not too cold nor warm 〜
christmas tree · november 2025 · iphone
this year i listened to a lot of music and bought a handful of CDs some of...
Koos Looijesteijn
Learnings from years of technological progress wasted
26th Mar 2024
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...
Identity Designed
Pets at Home
Designed by Nomad, London.
24th Apr 2023
Designed by Nomad, London.
Christopher Butler
Link – Linsey Rendell's personal website
linseyrendell.com is a really nice website.
I just love the overall look and simplicity of what...
1st Jan 2024
linseyrendell.com is a really nice website.
I just love the overall look and simplicity of what Linsey has created!
Ryan Mulligan
Animating with the Flip Plugin for GSAP
What the flip is it?
Every time a new GSAP plugin is introduced, I'm close to bursting from...
7th Jan 2022
What the flip is it?
Every time a new GSAP plugin is introduced, I'm close to bursting from excitement. The simplicity of the GreenSock API makes learning and applying these tools in projects such a dream. I had the pleasure of beta testing the ScrollTrigger plugin and was blown...
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...
Christopher Butler
Persuasion
Good design requires persuasion.
might be persuasive on its own; the notion that a thing “just...
15th Apr 2023
Good design requires persuasion.
might be persuasive on its own; the notion that a thing “just works” implies that its function, however novel, is an intuitive leap from its form. This is what Apple is known for. Apple products are renowned for their simplicity, which is what...
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…
Retail Design Blog
Good Job Games Offices by Jeyan Ülkü Architects
Good Job Games is a mobile gaming technology company characterized by a predominantly youthful...
2nd Dec 2024
Good Job Games is a mobile gaming technology company characterized by a predominantly youthful workforce. Right from the beginning we...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Who is responsible for the impact of innovative products?
How can it be that a) all products are designed, b) designers want to create something good for the...
7th Dec 2023
How can it be that a) all products are designed, b) designers want to create something good for the world...
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...
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...
a week 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,...
Retail Design Blog
FOGO E ÁGUA at ALEA RESORT
FOGO E ÁGUA was built in Bad Orb, near Frankfurt, a place where salt was traditionally extracted...
1st Oct 2024
FOGO E ÁGUA was built in Bad Orb, near Frankfurt, a place where salt was traditionally extracted from a brine...
Fatih Arslan
I was wrong about AI Coding
I'm mostly anti-AI person since the AI hype started years ago. However with time I realized that I...
26th Mar 2025
I'm mostly anti-AI person since the AI hype started years ago. However with time I realized that I misjudged AI Coding — Here’s Why.
The Turn Signal RSS...
Why Do New Cars Have Speed Limit Warnings, and Do They Work?
The speed limit warnings are part of a system called Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA). Any system...
1st Oct 2024
The speed limit warnings are part of a system called Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA). Any system inside a vehicle that ensures that a…
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.
The DESK Magazine
My favorite type of designers
There are many types of GREAT designers I've had the pleasure of working with over the past two...
16th Dec 2025
There are many types of GREAT designers I've had the pleasure of working with over the past two decades and what I learned is that they are all not measured equally. Below are some of my favorites for the various circumstances.
(FYI: very rarely does a designer inherit
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 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...
Melissa Penfold
AT-HOME ENTERTAINING TRENDS FOR 2026, SERVED!
What we want now: listening bars, hidden wet bars, Argentine grills, and spaces where every room...
12th Nov 2025
What we want now: listening bars, hidden wet bars, Argentine grills, and spaces where every room pulls double duty for the party
Every generation has its own way of gathering at home—the conversion pits and buffets of the ’70s, the formal dinner parties of the ’90s, the open-plan...
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.
Christopher Butler
visual journal – 2024 July 05 - September 30
Relative Dormancy
Star Trek: TNG will always be my measure of a tablet. We’re still not...
30th Sep 2024
Relative Dormancy
Star Trek: TNG will always be my measure of a tablet. We’re still not there yet.
Paid a visit to the Field Museum in Chicago.
Vibe.
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
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