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
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...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
The eye of God
My doctor sends me to Brooklyn for an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening. As instructed, I fast for...
11th Jul 2025
My doctor sends me to Brooklyn for an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening. As instructed, I fast for six hours beforehand. I don’t even brush my teeth, for fear of swallowing toothpaste and screwing up the test. I wear a Covid-era face mask to avoid breathing on anyone.
The...
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 |...
The fundamental shift
Like David I think
it’s going to be a long time before the interfaces I sometimes daydream...
13th Jun 2023
Like David I think
it’s going to be a long time before the interfaces I sometimes daydream about
will get close to reality, for me the Vision Pro
is the first view into the future, which surprised me.
That shift is fundamental. The interface for Vision Pro felt like it...
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...
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...
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.
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Staying relevant
Or not.
My fears melted away. And in their place came acceptance. All this vast majesty of...
5th Aug 2025
Or not.
My fears melted away. And in their place came acceptance. All this vast majesty of creation. It had to mean something. And then I meant something, too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something too. To God, there is no zero. I still exist. —
The Incredible...
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
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...
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....
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Ramones presidential seal logo
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: sinistersaladmusikal.wordpress.com License: All Rights...
4th Nov 2020
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: sinistersaladmusikal.wordpress.com License: All Rights Reserved.
Source: i-d.vice.com License: All Rights Reserved.
Arturo Vega had the logo tattooed on his back with his own name incorporated and a type style that is less stylized...
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...
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…
Product Identity
The Venn of my process
A last minute event
15th Apr 2026
Melissa Penfold
THE 23 MOST DEFINING PIECES OF FURNITURE FROM THE LAST 100 YEARS
How do we define furniture? It might seem like a silly question, but it’s one that kept coming up in...
20th Jan 2025
How do we define furniture? It might seem like a silly question, but it’s one that kept coming up in October of last year, when, in a conference room on the 15th floor of The New York Times building, six experts — the architects and interior designers Rafael de...
Kat Snyder
No, I don’t want to sign up for your newsletter — horrible uses of exit overlays
When a user moves their mouse from the middle of the page toward the navigation bar — presumably...
23rd Oct 2018
When a user moves their mouse from the middle of the page toward the navigation bar — presumably to abandon the page — there are...
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
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
Retail Design Blog
Vedalia Salon by Nysa
On a busy street in Ampelokipoi, Vedalia Beauty Salon is conceived as a space of pause and retreat...
3rd Nov 2025
On a busy street in Ampelokipoi, Vedalia Beauty Salon is conceived as a space of pause and retreat from the...
Christopher Butler
From the Desk Of
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could actually peer over another designer’s shoulder once in a while and...
27th Aug 2021
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could actually peer over another designer’s shoulder once in a while and see what they actually do?
design means different things to different people, as does the title Designer. As much as I prefer the simplicity of Designer to, say, Interaction...
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
Permanent Style
MTO open for donegals, liner and cashmere knits
The seasonal made-to-order (MTO) offer that we do every spring - for delivery in early autumn - is...
1st Apr 2026
The seasonal made-to-order (MTO) offer that we do every spring - for delivery in early autumn - is now open and will close on April 26th, after the PS Pop-Up . The big new things this year are a quilted liner for the donegal coats, a small ... > Read more
The Turn Signal RSS...
An in-depth look at the UX Design of the Porsche Taycan
An in-depth look at the UX Design of the Porsche Taycan
1st Nov 2019
An in-depth look at the UX Design of the Porsche Taycan
Ryan Mulligan
Sticky Page Header Shadow on Scroll
We've seen it plenty of times around the web where a website's page header follows us as we scroll...
2nd Apr 2023
We've seen it plenty of times around the web where a website's page header follows us as we scroll down the page. CSS makes doing this a breeze with sticky positioning:
.page-header {
position: sticky;
top: 0;
}
What if we desired something a little bit extra, like applying a...
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...
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...
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
2025 Web Origami year-end report
22nd Dec 2025
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 Turn Signal RSS...
The 8 Guidelines for Good Automotive UX Design
The primary goal of a designer is to ensure the safety of the driver. Non-driving-related...
1st Dec 2023
The primary goal of a designer is to ensure the safety of the driver. Non-driving-related activities, like interacting with an…
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 Turn Signal RSS...
The Subtle Art of Designing Physical Controls for Cars
Two years ago, I explored how to rethink climate controls in cars. I was frustrated by carmakers...
1st Feb 2025
Two years ago, I explored how to rethink climate controls in cars. I was frustrated by carmakers relying too heavily on touch screens and…
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...
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...
Sarah Parmenter
Blushbar is 4 this year–here’s what I’ve learned.
. The Salon Business is Hard It’s been four long years, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve...
25th Jul 2017
. The Salon Business is Hard It’s been four long years, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve learned so much about business during these last four years; I can’t even begin to start writing it all down. The salon business is a complicated business to make work. It runs on...
Permanent Style
How to dress like Luciano Barbera
Luciano Barbera is a menswear icon for many reasons. For me, however, the most important is that he...
1st May 2026
Luciano Barbera is a menswear icon for many reasons. For me, however, the most important is that he always emphasised dressing comfortably, appropriately and in an understated manner. Dressing comfortably means eschewing the uber-tight suit... > Read more
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 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.…
Fonts In Use – Blog...
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: www.worthpoint.com License: All Rights Reserved.
On...
5th Jul 2020
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: www.worthpoint.com License: All Rights Reserved.
On July 5th, 1852 (168 years ago today) Frederick Douglass delivered a speech to 500–600 people in the Corinthian Hall of Rochester, New York. The speech, preceded by a reading of the...
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...
Ryan Mulligan
Starting Exploration of Scroll-driven Animations in CSS
CSS Scroll-driven Animations has recently made its debut on the main stage in the latest versions of...
21st Aug 2023
CSS Scroll-driven Animations has recently made its debut on the main stage in the latest versions of Chrome and Edge. Before this module became available, linking an element's animation to a scroll position was only possible through JavaScript. I've been (and still am) a huge fan...
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,...
Product Identity
Why Niche design
A few updates + a manifesto?
12th Nov 2025
A few updates + a manifesto?
Product Identity
Building as gardening
Although I've never had a garden
9th Apr 2025
Although I've never had a garden
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Writing a VS Code extension in ES modules in early 2025
17th Mar 2025
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...
Joshua Smith
Globe Slicers
Scratchbuilt miniature of the Globe Slicers Building, The Bowery District, NYC. Scratchbuilt...
7th Apr 2019
Scratchbuilt miniature of the Globe Slicers Building, The Bowery District, NYC. Scratchbuilt miniature using MDF, Wood, Cardboard, Paper, Spraypaint, Acrylic Paint, Styrene, Wire, Chain, Weathering pigments. Private Collection Featuring the work of Sory, Staino, Seedr, Sefu,...
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...
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 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
The personal website...
The product design talent crisis
Airbnb, the paragon of a “design-led” company, is only hiring a single designer. The job requires...
31st Jul 2025
Airbnb, the paragon of a “design-led” company, is only hiring a single designer. The job requires more than a decade of experience. There are probably hundreds (possibly thousands) of applicants. The fact that a company known for its design culture is investing only at the top of...
Product Identity
We should seek communities anew
Notes for the aspiring designer
29th Dec 2025
Notes for the aspiring designer
The personal website...
Goldilocks your graphs
Data visualization is everywhere. From analytics platforms to infographics, across newsrooms and...
11th Nov 2015
Data visualization is everywhere. From analytics platforms to infographics, across newsrooms and social media channels, there are vast swaths of the internet devoted to delivering data in non-tabular format. There are entire blogs devoted to the subject, such as the ubiquitous...
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.
UX Collective
The algorithmic atelier
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
3rd Aug 2026
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
The personal website...
Flight crews don't decide where to fly
Airbus A320 - Photo from Wikimedia
When an Airbus A320 takes off, there are typically 10 people who...
11th Feb 2018
Airbus A320 - Photo from Wikimedia
When an Airbus A320 takes off, there are typically 10 people who are operating it. Between the pilots and cabin crew, their responsibilities include:
Understanding how the plane works
Monitoring the flight’s progress
Evaluating the weather...
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 Turn Signal RSS...
The State of UX Design of Chinese Car Brands
The Market Potential Today, the sales numbers from Chinese car manufacturers don't seem threatening...
1st Jul 2020
The Market Potential Today, the sales numbers from Chinese car manufacturers don't seem threatening to established car companies but they…
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...
Identity Designed
Ashton
Designed by LG2, Quebec.
11th Jul 2024
Scott Jenson
Design can be free
As consumer devices get ‘smart’, they tend to sprout a large number push buttons. It’s almost cliche...
15th Jan 2023
As consumer devices get ‘smart’, they tend to sprout a large number push buttons. It’s almost cliche at this point to complain about them. The tiny buttons, hidden modes, and Konami Code interaction encourages mistakes and forces frequent trips to the user manual. Of course, they...
Retail Design Blog
Ophie Lip Oil by Apoorva Ghule
Ophie is a clean beauty lip oil designed to feel as good as it looks. Vegan, cruelty-free, and...
2nd Jan 2026
Ophie is a clean beauty lip oil designed to feel as good as it looks. Vegan, cruelty-free, and infused with...
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...
Christopher Butler
What We Do When We See
What does it even mean to design when perception is reality? Do we all ever see the same...
5th Nov 2021
What does it even mean to design when perception is reality? Do we all ever see the same thing?
Visual Intelligence, a wonderful book about seeing and clarity, Amy Herman begins with the story of Derreck Kayongo.
Kayongo had just stepped into the shower in his hotel room...
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...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Reclaiming the City, Reclaiming Words: Póli Gynaikón – City of Women
Contributed by Maria Paganopoulou
Photo: Maria Paganopoulou. Delfys Feminist Archive,...
6th Oct 2022
Contributed by Maria Paganopoulou
Photo: Maria Paganopoulou. Delfys Feminist Archive, Athens. License: All Rights Reserved.
Covers of the magazine Póli Ginaikón
Marsha Rowe, editor of the groundbreaking feminist magazine Spare Rib, famously recalled: “Suddenly, words...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
How to make digital business cards and share them via QR codes
A previous employer found it important that the whole team had business cards. I had to wait a few...
11th Jun 2023
A previous employer found it important that the whole team had business cards. I had to wait a few months...
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.
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...
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...
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...
Identity Designed
Donut Shop
Designed by TwoPoints.Net, Hamburg, Barcelona.
11th Mar 2024
Designed by TwoPoints.Net, Hamburg, Barcelona.
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...
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
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
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....
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.
Identity Designed
The Bond
Designed by Common Curiosity, Birmingham, London.
1st Sep 2023
Designed by Common Curiosity, Birmingham, London.
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...
The personal website...
Making an audio waveform visualizer with vanilla java script
You can read this article on UX Booth.
12th Nov 2019
You can read this article on UX Booth.
Alex Baldwin
Product Design Sprints - QCon 2014
When I started at thoughtbot a year and a half ago, my first project was given to me within an hour...
11th Jun 2014
When I started at thoughtbot a year and a half ago, my first project was given to me within an hour of getting my laptop’s dev environment set up. We kicked off a green field project for a non-profit in the education space. They wanted to raise funds digitally for public schools....
Identity Designed
Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku
Designed by Tofu, Gdańsk.
1st Aug 2023
Designed by Tofu, Gdańsk.
Identity Designed
Mountainview Brewing
Designed by Memory, Salt Spring Island.
4th Nov 2024
Designed by Memory, Salt Spring Island.
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
2023 Letter with 10 Lessons
Write
I've been writing for years, however, I gave the focus it deserved in 2023 as I felt the urge...
30th Dec 2023
Write
I've been writing for years, however, I gave the focus it deserved in 2023 as I felt the urge to express my ideas more in words than colours and shapes. I didn’t resist the urge and I have seen amazing benefits.
Articulating my ideas, feelings,
Joshua Smith
135 Cedar Street
1:20 Scratchbuilt miniature based off 135 Cedar Street, San Francisco. Wood, MDF, Plastruct,...
27th Mar 2017
1:20 Scratchbuilt miniature based off 135 Cedar Street, San Francisco. Wood, MDF, Plastruct, Cardboard, Paper, Plastic Card, Wire, Acrylic paint, Spraypaint, Chalk pastels. February 2016 SOLD. Photo Credit: Andrew Beveridge/ASB Creative
The post 135 Cedar Street appeared first on...
The DESK Magazine
How do you know what you like anymore?
"Did you see Turtle Boss yet?" Tim asked over brunch.
"I saw it," said Katie over a mouthful of...
27th Sep 2023
"Did you see Turtle Boss yet?" Tim asked over brunch.
"I saw it," said Katie over a mouthful of hash browns. "It was so freaking good."
"Good?" said Sam. "You actually thought it was good?"
"Yeah, it was incredible.
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
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...
Jim Nielsen’s Blog
UI Pace Layers
Jeremy Keith, Chris Coyier, and others (see Jeremy’s post) have written about the idea of “pace...
2nd Feb 2025
Jeremy Keith, Chris Coyier, and others (see Jeremy’s post) have written about the idea of “pace layers” and now I’m going to take a stab at applying it to user interface primitives.
First, let’s start with a line of reasoning:
Common user interface controls — such as checkboxes...
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 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...
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
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
Hamlet Remixed: Using AI to Convert Content into Alternative Formats
AI can translate a single source across media, styles, and audience frames. That makes it possible...
2nd Apr 2026
AI can translate a single source across media, styles, and audience frames. That makes it possible to reuse core material in formats better suited to different platforms and audiences. Shakespeare’s Hamlet serves here as a case study in a wide range of AI media transformations.
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 DESK Magazine
How to make a minimalist portfolio with Carbonmade
You don't need anything too fancy. You don't want to work for hours on your site.
9th Mar 2023
You don't need anything too fancy. You don't want to work for hours on your site.
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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The eHMI: How Autonomous Cars Will Communicate With the Outside World
Even if you may not be aware of it, a lot of non-verbal communication takes place when you walk down...
1st May 2021
Even if you may not be aware of it, a lot of non-verbal communication takes place when you walk down the street. You observe the behavior…
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...
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?
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
Things I learned from doing a side project
20th Mar 2018
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...
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...
UX Collective
Designing for AI means designing like it’s 1999
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
1st Jun 2026
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
Scott Jenson
Boring is good
The initial, feverish enthusiasm for large language models (LLMs) is beginning to cool, and for good...
15th Sep 2025
The initial, feverish enthusiasm for large language models (LLMs) is beginning to cool, and for good reason. It’s time to trade the out-of-control hype for a more pragmatic, even “boring,” approach. A recent MIT report shows that 95% of companies implementing this technology have...
Christopher Butler
Less Doesn't Have to Be More. It Can Just Be Less.
How much is enough? So much of what we design assumes that either the question has not been answered...
3rd Sep 2021
How much is enough? So much of what we design assumes that either the question has not been answered or has no answer at all. This must change.
we can do more with less, but not so when our audience does less with our more.
Yes, it’s impressive when we can create something...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
The Black Panther: Black Community News Service
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Wide Elite Victoria (Sample unavailable)
Bold Face No. 2 (IBM)...
24th Aug 2020
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Wide Elite Victoria (Sample unavailable)
Bold Face No. 2 (IBM) (Sample unavailable)
Source: letterformarchive.org License: All Rights Reserved.
The Black Panther, published weekly by the Black Panther Party, shone a light on...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
The Mystery of the Dune Font
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.worthpoint.com License: All Rights Reserved....
26th Jan 2023
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.worthpoint.com License: All Rights Reserved.
In the six decades since the publication of the original Dune novel in 1965, the science fiction franchise has gone through many different typographic identities. Notable examples...
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 personal website...
The hand and the brain
Prescriptive feedback limits creative collaboration. I’ve seen it time and time again, but I’ve...
18th Nov 2020
Prescriptive feedback limits creative collaboration. I’ve seen it time and time again, but I’ve struggled to articulate the exact reasons and their remedies. Recently, though, I got some insight from an unusual source: a game of chess.
Even though it wasn’t the last move, pawn...
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?
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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Struggle to Find Out How Cars Manage Your Personal Data
The incredible difficulty of finding out what happens with your data
1st Jun 2021
The incredible difficulty of finding out what happens with your data
Scott Jenson
Thinking with your hands
UX is less about technique and more about teamwork. Getting everyone to agree on a common goal is...
24th Aug 2021
UX is less about technique and more about teamwork. Getting everyone to agree on a common goal is where the real magic lives. But too often UX designers inadvertently sabotage that teamwork. Not intentionally, it’s just that, as a group, we UX designers have strong opinions that...
julian.digital
Multi-layered calendars
Traveling through time in three dimensions 01 Intro Time is a curious thing. It’s a constantly...
6th Jul 2023
Traveling through time in three dimensions 01 Intro Time is a curious thing. It’s a constantly flowing stream that can’t be paused, stopped, or repeated. We experience it, but we can’t control it. We can’t even touch or feel it. To get a better grasp of this weird, intangible...
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...
For students who make websites
WordPress.com maker Automattic is expanding into education with a new, free product designed for...
17th Aug 2026
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
Will I regret buying a new Mac?
19th Jan 2026
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...
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...
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....
The DESK Magazine
A digital tool built like a physical product?
Does it seem like there's more bad TV these days?
More mediocre writing?
More low quality...
8th May 2023
Does it seem like there's more bad TV these days?
More mediocre writing?
More low quality clothing?
The DESK Magazine
What makes me a designer?
This question crossed my mind enough times recently that I went into the DESK archives to find my...
29th Nov 2022
This question crossed my mind enough times recently that I went into the DESK archives to find my own answer. To my surprise, there wasn’t one. I’ve never written about it, not until today.
The Turn Signal RSS...
An in-depth look at the UX Design of the Porsche Taycan
Last month, Porsche unveiled the Taycan. It is the first electric car from an established car...
1st Nov 2019
Last month, Porsche unveiled the Taycan. It is the first electric car from an established car company with specs that challenge Tesla's…
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...
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...
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....
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...
Luke Mitchell |...
A future of design work with AI
Like a almost everyone I work with I’m thinking a lot about how all this new fangled AI stuff will...
4th Mar 2023
Like a almost everyone I work with I’m thinking a lot about how all this new fangled AI stuff will change my work. Matthew offers the most level-headed metaphor I’ve found so far:
Just as fly-by-wire systems have made pilots more efficient (not redundant), AI and automation will...
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
Identity Designed
CleanO2
Designed by Ordinary Things, San Francisco.
2nd Aug 2022
Designed by Ordinary Things, San Francisco.
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...
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
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 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...
Mercedes vs Lucid: Different Views on Luxury UI Design
With each launch of a Mercedes S-Class, the whole automotive world watches. It is a prelude to the...
1st Nov 2020
With each launch of a Mercedes S-Class, the whole automotive world watches. It is a prelude to the technologies that will be the industry…
Melissa Penfold
THE MOST THOUGHTFUL GIFTS THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL GIVE
We’re always here to help you find gifts that elicit “you really know me!” enthusiasm, even from the...
2nd Dec 2024
We’re always here to help you find gifts that elicit “you really know me!” enthusiasm, even from the normally taciturn. This year, we aimed higher, aspiring to choose items with such eternal appeal, and of such high quality, that some might become heirlooms—used and loved by both...
Koos Looijesteijn
Who is responsible for the impact of innovative products?
7th Dec 2023
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...
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...
The DESK Magazine
mymind updates you might have missed
We've released so many improvements and updates for mymind recently, these are old news by now.
1st Nov 2024
We've released so many improvements and updates for mymind recently, these are old news by now.
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Tales o’ Tech: Suffering Fools
I.
In the early 2000s, an old friend with a new business wanted me to design his website, but his...
2 weeks ago
I.
In the early 2000s, an old friend with a new business wanted me to design his website, but his partner balked:
“I can get two websites made in India for half the price,” the partner said.
“Sounds like you should do that,” I replied, ending the negotiation.
Rude fools were...
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
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...
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...
Christopher Butler
The Fundamentals Problem
Anyone can make something that looks designed, but that doesn’t mean that design has happened.
A...
3rd Nov 2025
Anyone can make something that looks designed, but that doesn’t mean that design has happened.
A few months ago, a client was reviewing a landing page design with my team. They had created it themselves using a page builder tool — one of those platforms that integrate content...
Product Identity
Beautiful ugly websites
Form is cheap, function is everything(?)
7th Mar 2024
Form is cheap, function is everything(?)
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....
Joshua Smith
Brooklyn Bodega
Based on 127 Albany Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NYC. Scratchbuilt 1:20 Scale Miniature...
1st Oct 2018
Based on 127 Albany Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NYC. Scratchbuilt 1:20 Scale Miniature created from MDF, Wood, cardboard, plastic card, chalk pastels, spraypaint, wire, plastruct. Created for Urban Art Fair, Paris, 2018. Photo Credit: Ben Neale
The post Brooklyn Bodega...
julian.digital
The case against conversational interfaces
01 Intro Conversational interfaces are a bit of a meme. Every couple of years a shiny new AI...
27th Mar 2025
01 Intro Conversational interfaces are a bit of a meme. Every couple of years a shiny new AI development emerges and people in tech go “This is it! The next computing paradigm is here! We’ll only use natural language going forward!”. But then nothing actually changes and we...
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...
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
Koos Looijesteijn -...
The Climate Game — Can you reach net zero?
I lost my position as global minister for future generations because I spent my effort points to...
5th May 2022
I lost my position as global minister for future generations because I spent my effort points to fast to reach net zero.
Christopher Butler
Fifteen Clocks
On clocks as interfaces to time, and a decade measured in rotations of a single hand.
For our...
31st Jan 2026
On clocks as interfaces to time, and a decade measured in rotations of a single hand.
For our first wedding anniversary, I gave my wife a clock that measures years. It’s called The Present, created by Scott Thrift, a designer whose work I’d followed for some time. I’d invested...
The Pudding
Common Threads
Visualizing how musicals use motifs to tell stories.
9th Dec 2025
Visualizing how musicals use motifs to tell stories.
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...
Product Identity
In awe of InVision
An aftermath promo for the nerdy designer
21st Aug 2024
An aftermath promo for the nerdy designer
Product Identity
The Dumbification of our smart screens
Re: Enshittification: How screens might become dumber
3rd Jul 2024
Re: Enshittification: How screens might become dumber
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
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...
The 1-hour design principles workshop
Design principles are a valuable tool for any team that works together towards a shared outcome....
19th Aug 2018
Design principles are a valuable tool for any team that works together towards a shared outcome. Written well, design principles can create alignment, speed up decision-making, and increase the quality of the team’s output.
Lately, I’ve worked with two of my teams to write design...
Retail Design Blog
FENDI store
FENDI has upgraded its presence in Osaka‘s downtown Shinsaibashi area by relocating to new and...
1st Jul 2024
FENDI has upgraded its presence in Osaka‘s downtown Shinsaibashi area by relocating to new and bigger premises a few blocks...
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 Turn Signal RSS...
Take-Over Moments: The Hardest Design Problem of Semi-Autonomous Cars
Diving into the research behind the hardest design problem in autonomous cars
1st Jan 2021
Diving into the research behind the hardest design problem in autonomous cars
Scott Jenson
The invisible problem
Whenever I explain my research at Google into mobile text editing, I’m usually met with blank stares...
22nd Sep 2023
Whenever I explain my research at Google into mobile text editing, I’m usually met with blank stares or a slightly hostile “Everyone can edit text on their phones, right? What’s the problem?” Text editing on mobile isn’t ok. It’s actually much worse than you think, an invisible...
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.
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.
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Who turned off the juice?
Beloved reader, I spent 90 minutes on hold with Con Edison yesterday, getting my power turned back...
1st Apr 2025
Beloved reader, I spent 90 minutes on hold with Con Edison yesterday, getting my power turned back on after a billing contretemps.
The whole 90 minutes, my brain’s shrieking, “You’re having a panic attack!”
And maybe I was.
I could rattle off my diagnoses, but the simplest way...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
John & Paul & Ringo & George / &&& T-shirt
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: walkerart.org License: All Rights Reserved.
Experimental...
14th Dec 2019
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: walkerart.org License: All Rights Reserved.
Experimental Jetset designed the original John & Paul & Ringo & George T-shirt (referencing the names of the Beatles) in 2001 for Yoshi Kawasaki at the Japanese apparel company 2K/Gingham. The...
Permanent Style
Introducing: The PS Guayabera
We love a guayabera shirt at Permanent Style. On my 2022 trip to Mexico I picked up two lovely...
3rd Aug 2026
We love a guayabera shirt at Permanent Style. On my 2022 trip to Mexico I picked up two lovely shirts which sadly, like the Cadbury’s Freddo , appear to have suffered from some form of sartorial shrinkflation. It can’t possibly be me that’s ... > Read more
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...
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...
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
New design pattern: Drag To Tag
10th Sep 2013
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...
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
Oykun Yilmaz
"Thank You" letter to Designers for 2022
Dear Designer,
You have done an amazing job this year!
Maybe you didn’t achieve everything you...
1st Jan 2023
Dear Designer,
You have done an amazing job this year!
Maybe you didn’t achieve everything you wanted.
Go easy on yourself.
Design is hard!
You are expected to touch everything from stating business problems to communicating your solutions to developers, stakeholders. You work...
Identity Designed
Bát Tràng Museum
Designed by M — N Associates, Ho Chi Minh City.
4th Feb 2024
Designed by M — N Associates, Ho Chi Minh City.
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...
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...
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...
Jakob Nielsen on UX
UX Roundup: Long-Running AI | Consistency | What AI to Use | AI Anxiety | AI Helps Blind Users | NPS
UX for long-running AI tasks | Consistent user interface design | What are the best AI models to use...
3rd Nov 2025
UX for long-running AI tasks | Consistent user interface design | What are the best AI models to use now | AI anxiety in the workplace | AI helps blind users, but a study found that accessibility challenges remain in current AI UI | NPS scored
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
Product Identity
#5 Kubera: What's my net worth?
Respect master spreadsheet
8th Feb 2024
Respect master spreadsheet
Product Identity
Detach from your work to make it work
This is my first essay from a series about the creative process, which will be published in the...
31st Jul 2026
This is my first essay from a series about the creative process, which will be published in the upcoming Niche design issue.
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