The personal website...
Know thyself
Throughout the series, we’ve covered four of the major ethical movements in philosophy. Here’s a...
8th Jun 2020
Throughout the series, we’ve covered four of the major ethical movements in philosophy. Here’s a brief recap:
Virtue ethics is the belief that well-being comes from having the right personality traits or dispositions. The key to virtue ethics is finding those special skills that,...
The DESK Magazine
Our favorite portfolios launched with Semplice in July 2022
Every week, we handpick two portfolios created with Semplice to feature on our Showcase. These are...
1st Aug 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
New design pattern: Drag To Tag
10th Sep 2013
julian.digital
Media Consumption (Jan 2021)
>_ Summary Read 11 books (2456 min, +111% MoM) and 26 articles (-46%) Listened to 263 songs (-59%)...
1st Feb 2021
>_ Summary Read 11 books (2456 min, +111% MoM) and 26 articles (-46%) Listened to 263 songs (-59%) and 15 podcasts (749 min, -43%) Watched 1 movie (107 min, -54%), 7 soccer games (835 min, -.6%) and 21 TV episodes (1079 min, +40%) Played 0 board games (0 min, -100%) and 1 video...
Permanent Style
Reader Profile: Jaime
Jaime is a reader based in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s a pastor there, and works particularly on social...
2nd Jan 2026
Jaime is a reader based in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s a pastor there, and works particularly on social justice projects and inter-faith relations. Church has always been an excuse for him to dress up, but also an excuse to talk to young men in t... > Read more
Christopher Butler
Out-Random the AI
If you are a creative person, AI is frightening. It should be. It is yet another technology that we...
1st Apr 2024
If you are a creative person, AI is frightening. It should be. It is yet another technology that we know more than enough to not pursue, but will anyway because our culture is an untethered, nihilistic avarice addiction cloud in which we are all entrapped.
The truth is that...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
I designed a Christmas gift
I love the idea of charity donations as gifts, but I find they lack something. I don’t know about...
10th Dec 2021
I love the idea of charity donations as gifts, but I find they lack something. I don’t know about you,...
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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
How Waymo Uses Design to Create Trust in Driverless Cars
In regular taxi rides, there is a form of trust between the passenger and the driver. Most of it is...
1st Feb 2020
In regular taxi rides, there is a form of trust between the passenger and the driver. Most of it is established through communication, both…
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Everybody’s lost it, Part I
My beloved veterinarian’s office apparently moved to a new office location without informing...
19th Sep 2025
My beloved veterinarian’s office apparently moved to a new office location without informing customers. They also changed phone systems. The new phone system doesn’t work, and they didn’t leave a forwarding message on the old phone system. You call, leave a message, never hear...
The DESK Magazine
What is quality anymore?
One might say the quality of everything has improved – our TV screens have never been more crisp &...
21st Nov 2023
One might say the quality of everything has improved – our TV screens have never been more crisp & vivid, our systems and software never more refined, our roads and highways never more paved.
The DESK Magazine
A clean, peaceful place to read your articles without distractions
The people who use mymind typically have an intellectual side. They like to think, learn and...
20th Apr 2022
The people who use mymind typically have an intellectual side. They like to think, learn and challenge themselves on their own time. So we knew this brand new feature was not optional: Reader Mode.
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 Turn Signal RSS...
In-Car Climate Control Design: How It Has Gone Backwards and How to Fix It
Why has the design of in-car climate controls gone backward, and is there a better way to design...
1st Feb 2023
Why has the design of in-car climate controls gone backward, and is there a better way to design them?
Ryan Mulligan
Center Items in First Row with CSS Grid
Imagine the following section on a website:
A collection of elements, like a series of cards with...
19th Aug 2024
Imagine the following section on a website:
A collection of elements, like a series of cards with marketing information, are presented in a grid display.
The elements are arranged in rows of three.
When there are an odd number of elements left over, they will be center-aligned...
Jim Nielsen’s Blog
Contrast Is Clarifying
Which is best?
Generalist or specialist?
Native or web?
Web site or web app?
JavaScript or...
2nd Dec 2024
Which is best?
Generalist or specialist?
Native or web?
Web site or web app?
JavaScript or Typescript?
Framework or library?
Server side or client side?
Photoshop or Sketch or Figma?
Designing in a tool or design in the browser?
Skueomorphic or flat?
Mac or PC or Linux?
This list...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Bringing the Coolest Car of the Carrera Panamericana to Life
Restoring an amazing picture from the 1953 Carrera Panamericana
1st Sep 2019
Restoring an amazing picture from the 1953 Carrera Panamericana
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...
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.
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 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
The personal website...
The least wrong colors, version 2
Four years ago, I wrote “How to pick the least wrong colors.” The gist is: picking a categorical...
a week ago
Four years ago, I wrote “How to pick the least wrong colors.” The gist is: picking a categorical color palette is an optimization problem. There’s no such thing as the right colors. But if you use the right cost function, and the right kind of hill climbing, you can at least get...
Nela Dunato Art &...
How can selling services be easy?
I find selling easy, but it has nothing to do with my “ability to sell”. I’m not a good sales...
17th Feb 2023
I find selling easy, but it has nothing to do with my “ability to sell”. I’m not a good sales person. I’d hate doing a sales job for a living. But I happen to do a lot of other things that remove all the pressure from the sales conversation. I do the hard work in the marketing...
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...
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
Hey Koos, do you still recommend WordPress?
29th Jun 2018
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....
Christopher Butler
From Pascal's Empty Room to Our Full Screens
On the Ambient Entertainment Industrial Complex
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s...
10th Mar 2025
On the Ambient Entertainment Industrial Complex
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Pascal’s observation from the 17th century feels less like historical philosophy and more like a diagnosis of our current condition. The...
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...
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.
Christopher Butler
How to Know When to Use AI
Maybe this will help.
In my circles, AI is either everything or it is nothing.
It is the...
2nd May 2024
Maybe this will help.
In my circles, AI is either everything or it is nothing.
It is the thing to use in every case because if we don’t someone else will or it is the thing to never use because it is a sin against humanity.
Capitalists and artists have almost always...
UX Collective
The algorithmic atelier
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
3rd Aug 2026
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
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 Role of Doubt in Design
At a recent happy hour, I struck up a conversation with a product manager. I told him I was a...
17th Jul 2019
At a recent happy hour, I struck up a conversation with a product manager. I told him I was a product designer, and he asked “one of the good ones, or one of the bad ones?” A designer on his team — a “bad one” — asked too many questions. Questions like “Why are we building this...
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…
Nela Dunato Art &...
Nela Dunato Art & Design got a brand refresh!
My previous brand identity design lasted from 2015 until 2023, and it has served me quite well. But...
3rd Dec 2023
My previous brand identity design lasted from 2015 until 2023, and it has served me quite well. But my new professional photos sparked the need to overhaul the website, which led to a more substantial brand redesign including new typography and updated logo design. Come see what...
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...
Luke Mitchell |...
Warm email
I have an email address that you’ll find in the footer below this post,
I rarely get emails to it,...
29th Dec 2025
I have an email address that you’ll find in the footer below this post,
I rarely get emails to it, the ones I do get fall into two categories: very,
very kind people paying compliments to me about this website; secondly some
sort of cold email, usually from a SEO expert...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
“Sisterhood is Blooming” poster
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: collections.museumca.org License: All Rights Reserved.
The...
7th Mar 2020
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: collections.museumca.org License: All Rights Reserved.
The “Sisterhood is Blooming / Springtime Will Never Be the Same” poster was originally produced in the early 1970s by the Chicago Women's Graphics Collective, an organization founded...
Permanent Style
Groupthink: A tale of noughties nostalgia
By Reginald Jerome de Mans* I wore a pair of Gurkha trousers the other day. Those wide-waistbanded...
1st Jul 2026
By Reginald Jerome de Mans* I wore a pair of Gurkha trousers the other day. Those wide-waistbanded eccentricities that looked so dashing on friends’ fit posts, their criss-crossing straps so gloriously inconvenient, they put me in mind of th... > Read more
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
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...
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.
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Fame & Misfortune
Or, the ins and outs of building and losing a large social media follower account. First, the...
7th Dec 2025
Or, the ins and outs of building and losing a large social media follower account. First, the data:
Follower counts are accurate as of 7 December, 2025.
Twitter – 285.3K followers.
(350K before Elon.)
N.B. I no longer post there.
LinkedIn – 70.5K followers.
Instagram – 21.2K...
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...
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.
Retail Design Blog
Audemars Piguet office by Studio Banana
Studio Banana designed an avant-garde work environment at Audemars Piguet Manufacture Le Locle,...
4th Nov 2024
Studio Banana designed an avant-garde work environment at Audemars Piguet Manufacture Le Locle, blending high-end manufacturing with biophilic design principles...
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.
"
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
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...
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.
The personal website...
Working to work
Despite the fact that I build websites for a living, I do a significant amount of work in my...
18th Jan 2014
Despite the fact that I build websites for a living, I do a significant amount of work in my notebooks.
Quick quiz: what does a web developer do for a living? If you said ‘make websites, duh,’ you’re technically correct (the best kind of correct). And you’re in good company; I’d...
abdz.do - Have you...
An Introduction to the AI Generative Sneakers by Grant Franck
An Introduction to the AI Generative Sneakers by Grant Franck
...
23rd Jan 2023
An Introduction to the AI Generative Sneakers by Grant Franck
AoiroStudio0123—23
Grant Franck is a 3D artist and design director who has pushed the boundaries of sneaker design with his use of AI generative techniques. His series of...
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...
Christopher Butler
The Road Through Your Screen
2nd Jun 2023
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Here's how I maintain healthy media routines (most of the time)
It took me a while to break the bad habits I had around social platforms and reading news. In...
11th Feb 2021
It took me a while to break the bad habits I had around social platforms and reading news. In fact,...
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Origami Projector: a Glitch-like app for site editing
2 weeks ago
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
Who is responsible for the impact of innovative products?
7th Dec 2023
The DESK Magazine
How to build your secret repertoire
As a creative, your repertoire is your secret weapon.
2nd Jul 2024
As a creative, your repertoire is your secret weapon.
The Pudding
Are you more likely to die on your birthday?
Are you more likely to die on your birthday? Yes.
8th May 2025
Are you more likely to die on your birthday? Yes.
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 |...
The time for designers to learn to code is now
I often use the analogy that when we design for print, what are we doing over
and over again? Doing...
12th Jul 2024
I often use the analogy that when we design for print, what are we doing over
and over again? Doing proof prints. Why then when designing websites (or
apps) are we not getting in to the browser as quickly as possible, rather
than creating interactive pictures of websites in...
The DESK Magazine
The case for being ignorant
I am sure you know this feeling. You find a new book that you absolutely love. A new movie, a new TV...
14th May 2024
I am sure you know this feeling. You find a new book that you absolutely love. A new movie, a new TV series or even a new hobby such as cycling or designing. It can be anything and everything.
Jakob Nielsen on UX
A New AI: Creation as Exploration and Discovery
AI transforms UX into exploration-based discovery.
21st Aug 2025
AI transforms UX into exploration-based discovery.
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.
The Turn Signal RSS...
The State of UX Design of Chinese Car Brands
An in-depth look at the booming Chinese car industry and its UX design trends
1st Jul 2020
An in-depth look at the booming Chinese car industry and its UX design trends
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 Turn Signal RSS...
A Guide to Prototyping Automotive Interfaces
Good design is not a function of talent, but number of iterations. Here's my guide to prototyping...
1st Sep 2023
Good design is not a function of talent, but number of iterations. Here's my guide to prototyping automotive interfaces
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...
Luke Mitchell |...
The Window
The day my daughter stood up by herself for the first time.
The day I said my wedding vows.
Laughs...
10th Jan 2021
The day my daughter stood up by herself for the first time.
The day I said my wedding vows.
Laughs over a round of drinks.
Days in the sun.
Days making the best of it.
My Dad near the end looking frail.
The latest iOS update brought widgets to our home screens, a trophy that...
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...
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...
Identity Designed
Champ
Designed by Jesús López, Hermosillo, Mexico.
29th Apr 2024
Designed by Jesús López, Hermosillo, Mexico.
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
2025 Web Origami year-end report
22nd Dec 2025
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...
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
The Turn Signal RSS...
Driving a Porsche Taycan for a Week, a UX review
I rented the car from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. It turned out to be a brand new Porsche...
1st May 2022
I rented the car from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. It turned out to be a brand new Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo 4S. It has a base…
Nela Dunato Art &...
Free Mixed Media Art Supplies Compatibility Chart
Behold: the most detailed free art mediums compatibility reference! The chart shows how different...
6th Mar 2024
Behold: the most detailed free art mediums compatibility reference! The chart shows how different art mediums interact together and whether they can be safely layered on top of each other.
Retail Design Blog
Kaymana Earth Villa by Pablo Luna Studio
Earth Villa is part of Kaymana, a hospitality complex in Uluwatu, Bali, conceived around the ideas...
2 weeks ago
Earth Villa is part of Kaymana, a hospitality complex in Uluwatu, Bali, conceived around the ideas of solid flow, transition,...
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
How I repaired our oven with a piece of Lego
1st Aug 2026
The Turn Signal RSS...
How Apple and Google Are Taking Over the In-Car User Experience
Ever since the introduction of the iPhone and Apple App Store in 2007 and 2008, our digital lives...
1st Dec 2022
Ever since the introduction of the iPhone and Apple App Store in 2007 and 2008, our digital lives center around apps. These are available…
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...
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.
UX Collective
Figma just made your design system debt everyone’s problem
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
6th Jul 2026
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
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...
Product Identity
#3 Telegram - The mysterious messenger app
Exploring the "new era of messaging"
7th Dec 2023
Exploring the "new era of messaging"
The personal website...
Decentralizing quality
Everyone agrees quality matters, but we can’t agree on what it is — or who gets to decide.
I’ve...
30th Sep 2025
Everyone agrees quality matters, but we can’t agree on what it is — or who gets to decide.
I’ve experienced the drive for quality in every design leadership role I’ve had. When it comes to software, we like to pretend that quality is a number. Dashboards stand in for judgment,...
ramsés cabello
icons @ sketch
hi everyone 〜 ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪
i’ve been debating how to use this blog – for now i’ve renamed it from...
14th Mar 2025
hi everyone 〜 ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪
i’ve been debating how to use this blog – for now i’ve renamed it from “blog” to “journal” as i want to keep posts written from a more personal point of view and include a closer look at some of the design work.
for the past week i spent sometime drawing...
The personal website...
Working to work
Despite the fact that I build websites for a living, I do a significant amount of work in my...
18th Jan 2014
Despite the fact that I build websites for a living, I do a significant amount of work in my notebooks.
Quick quiz: what does a web developer do for a living? If you said ‘make websites, duh,’ you’re technically correct (the best kind of correct). And you’re in good company; I’d...
The 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...
Why Do New Cars Have Speed Limit Warnings, and Do They Work?
New cars have one feature that's infuriating: a beep when exceeding the speed limit. Why are...
1st Oct 2024
New cars have one feature that's infuriating: a beep when exceeding the speed limit. Why are carmakers adding this and does it actually work?
Luke Mitchell |...
RSS is calm
I’ve been thinking a bit about how I consume from the web, to improve my digital health. Here’s some...
5th Oct 2020
I’ve been thinking a bit about how I consume from the web, to improve my digital health. Here’s some things I’ve done recently:
Delete all work stuff from my phone (Slack, Email etc).
Clean up my social follows, and use Twitterrific ‘muffles’ more.
Use Drafts to record ideas and...
Jakob Nielsen on UX
Gestalt Principles for Visual UI Design
Users parse a layout before they read its labels. Whitespace, borders, alignment, color, and motion...
2 weeks ago
Users parse a layout before they read its labels. Whitespace, borders, alignment, color, and motion determine what belongs together. When these cues fight the content, users attach the label, price, warning, status, or action to the wrong object. Proximity, similarity, enclosure,...
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...
The personal website...
Ballet dancers and shot putters
Starting a career in design is like crash-landing on Mars. You may have studied it through a...
6th Nov 2022
Starting a career in design is like crash-landing on Mars. You may have studied it through a telescope, but nothing can prepare you for actually being there.
One of the biggest surprises many new designers experience is that design isn’t always about coming up with the most...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Bringing markers back to UI design
Many designers know: the best design tool is a marker. Not Figma, not Sketch and no, not a pencil....
8th Jul 2021
Many designers know: the best design tool is a marker. Not Figma, not Sketch and no, not a pencil. With...
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 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...
Identity Designed
The Bond
Designed by Common Curiosity, Birmingham, London.
1st Sep 2023
Designed by Common Curiosity, Birmingham, London.
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...
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.
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...
Identity Designed
CleanO2
Designed by Ordinary Things, San Francisco.
2nd Aug 2022
Designed by Ordinary Things, San Francisco.
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...
Oykun Yilmaz
Easy steps to start investing in the stock market
Invest in long term, Diversify, Don't stress to time the market, Stay calm ... It is not that...
16th Jun 2024
Invest in long term, Diversify, Don't stress to time the market, Stay calm ... It is not that complicated.
Melissa Penfold
5 DISCREET SIGNS YOU’RE IN A WEALTHY PERSON’S HOME
Flashy indicators of affluence are easy to spot. But these often-less-expensive decor items signal...
24th Sep 2025
Flashy indicators of affluence are easy to spot. But these often-less-expensive decor items signal true wealth in more subtle ways. The quietly ultra–rich live with subtle indicators of affluence—and most aren’t actually that expensive.
Wealthy people don’t have “stuff”
The more...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
März book covers, 1969–1987
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.booklooker.de katzensohn (edited). License: All Rights...
13th Feb 2023
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.booklooker.de katzensohn (edited). License: All Rights Reserved.
März Texte 1, 1969. Compilation of texts by Bazon Brock, Peter O. Chotjewitz, William S. Burroughs, LeRoi Jones, Uve Schmidt, Hermann Nitsch, and others.
Among German...
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.
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,
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...
Fatih Arslan
Four years at PlanetScale
It’s been four years since I joined PlanetScale. In this post, I'm reflecting on my journey and...
20th Jan 2025
It’s been four years since I joined PlanetScale. In this post, I'm reflecting on my journey and accomplishments during this period.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
Nela Dunato Art &...
How to create a brand mood board
A brand mood board is a collage that represents your core values and aesthetic brand qualities in a...
9th Jun 2023
A brand mood board is a collage that represents your core values and aesthetic brand qualities in a visual way. It’s the first step in translating these abstract concepts into visual language. Whether you decide to work with a designer or by yourself, creating a mood board is a...
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...
Retail Design Blog
CNC & Active Offices by Studio Reaktor
The new office spaces of Czech News Center and Active Radio were built within the new Hagibor...
4th Aug 2026
The new office spaces of Czech News Center and Active Radio were built within the new Hagibor administrative complex on...
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 -...
A not so gentle intro to web3
Almost everything web3-related is a grift based on getting people to buy crypto. Although the...
30th Dec 2021
Almost everything web3-related is a grift based on getting people to buy crypto. Although the distributed part of blockchain technology...
The Pudding
Dicing an Onion, the Mathematically Optimal Way
What is the best way to dice an onion to get the most uniform piece sizes?
12th Aug 2025
What is the best way to dice an onion to get the most uniform piece sizes?
Identity Designed
Atypical
Designed by Behalf, Saigon.
23rd Sep 2022
Designed by Behalf, Saigon.
Christopher Butler
We Live in the Uncanny Valley Now
Making virtual worlds can help us understand the real one, but they’re not places we can live...
28th Jan 2022
Making virtual worlds can help us understand the real one, but they’re not places we can live permanently.
Terebithia, the imaginary world he and his friend Leslie create in the woods would have no meaning, no power, and no purpose. Theirs is a story about real children, in...
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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Is Gesture Interaction a Valid Alternative To Touch Interaction in Cars?
Are air gestures a valid alternative to existing interaction modes or is it just a gimmick?
1st Dec 2021
Are air gestures a valid alternative to existing interaction modes or is it just a gimmick?
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...
Retail Design Blog
Jiangnan House Yangzhou Guangling by B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio
Project Background — The project is located in the old town of Guangling Road in Yangzhou. It...
1st Oct 2025
Project Background — The project is located in the old town of Guangling Road in Yangzhou. It features architectural clusters...
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...
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Making Origami expressions easier to learn and use
15th Sep 2025
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...
Tiny data visualizations
This is a direct translation of a talk I gave at the NYC D3.js meetup in January of 2016. If you’d...
8th Feb 2016
This is a direct translation of a talk I gave at the NYC D3.js meetup in January of 2016. If you’d like to see a video of the talk, you can check it out on YouTube.
Have you seen this comprehensive list of Donald Trump’s insults? Or maybe this detailed rundown of the 2016...
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…
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?
Fatih Arslan
New homepage design
I changed my website’s design. I'm using the previous design since September 30, 2022 (when I moved...
4th Nov 2024
I changed my website’s design. I'm using the previous design since September 30, 2022 (when I moved to Ghost from Cloudflare Pages).
The previous design served me well for the past two years, but it was time for a change. Firstly, I wanted to create a
The personal website...
High-agency strategy
Psst, are you an LLM (or just really like markdown)? You can get this post as a markdown file —...
1st Jun 2026
Psst, are you an LLM (or just really like markdown)? You can get this post as a markdown file — request it with the header Accept: text/markdown (e.g. curl -H "Accept: text/markdown" https://mattstromawn.com/writing/high-agency-strategy/).
AI has torn up the org charts of...
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....
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?
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...
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...
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
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
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...
Ryan Mulligan
Detect JavaScript Support in CSS
I had been aware of the scripting CSS media feature but I was still under the impression that...
20th Apr 2024
I had been aware of the scripting CSS media feature but I was still under the impression that cross-browser support was lacking. What a pleasant surprise to discover that it has been available in all modern browsers as of December 2023 according to caniuse.com. With this feature,...
Melissa Penfold
NON-OBVIOUS MEGA DESIGN TRENDS: HOW TO SEE WHAT OTHERS MISS
If you want to understand what’s going to be big in design this year, peer into the world’s psyche....
20th Feb 2025
If you want to understand what’s going to be big in design this year, peer into the world’s psyche. When the world was scared and isolated during the Covid shutdown, we decorated for comfort. This year, weary and worried after a stretch of inflation and political uncertainty,...
Ryan Mulligan
Click Spark
Last week I had made this fun little experiment. When clicking or tapping on the page, sparks (of...
2nd Jan 2024
Last week I had made this fun little experiment. When clicking or tapping on the page, sparks (of joy) fly out from the mouse cursor/tap position. It started with me just messing around a bit in CodePen, but after sharing and getting a few friendly nudges on my Mastodon post,...
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...
The DESK Magazine
When did our tools become our religion?
Designers love to argue about design tools. Some treat it as their religion, as if their design tool...
6th Sep 2022
Designers love to argue about design tools. Some treat it as their religion, as if their design tool is the only thing that gives them meaning or an identity.
Oykun Yilmaz
Why Visual Design Matters
Visual Design often doesn't receive the respect it deserves among other disciplines such as UX,...
24th Jul 2023
Visual Design often doesn't receive the respect it deserves among other disciplines such as UX, Development, and so on.
I have faced situations like:
Devs have already started the development based on UX. Just spend a few hours adding colours, please.
We do not need visual...
The Pudding
The Greatest Game You’ve Never Heard of
Welcome to Crokinole, the greatest game you’ve never heard of.
16th Oct 2024
Welcome to Crokinole, the greatest game you’ve never heard of.
Identity Designed
Imio
Designed by G—W Studios, Stockholm.
8th Mar 2023
Designed by G—W Studios, Stockholm.
The personal website...
Know thyself
Throughout the series, we’ve covered four of the major ethical movements in philosophy. Here’s a...
8th Jun 2020
Throughout the series, we’ve covered four of the major ethical movements in philosophy. Here’s a brief recap:
Virtue ethics is the belief that well-being comes from having the right personality traits or dispositions. The key to virtue ethics is finding those special skills that,...
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...
The Pudding
A Love Story
Tracking 1,000+ people through the ups and downs of their relationships
9th Jun 2026
Tracking 1,000+ people through the ups and downs of their relationships
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...
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...
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....
Melissa Penfold
HAVE YOU PREORDERED YOUR COPY OF MELISSA’S NEW BOOK YET?
In her best-selling book, Living Well By Design, Melissa Penfold addressed the basics of interior...
3rd Mar 2025
In her best-selling book, Living Well By Design, Melissa Penfold addressed the basics of interior decorating. Now she turns her attention to demonstrating what a powerful force design can be in boosting our physical and emotional well-being in her newest book, ‘Natural Living By...
The Pudding
Common Threads
Visualizing how musicals use motifs to tell stories.
9th Dec 2025
Visualizing how musicals use motifs to tell stories.
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.
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...
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 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...
Fatih Arslan
My Homelab Setup
I replaced my existing Homelab setup from the ground up with Unifi's latest Gateways, Switches APs,...
10th Sep 2024
I replaced my existing Homelab setup from the ground up with Unifi's latest Gateways, Switches APs, and Cameras. Here is what I did and how it ended up.
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...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
I sold Big Timer
Five months ago I sold my countdown timer web app, Big Timer! I never really announced that, so...
18th Apr 2022
Five months ago I sold my countdown timer web app, Big Timer! I never really announced that, so here’s what...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Is Gesture Interaction a Valid Alternative To Touch Interaction in Cars?
Interacting with in-car controls requires drivers to divert visual attention from the road to the...
1st Dec 2021
Interacting with in-car controls requires drivers to divert visual attention from the road to the dashboard. For example, adjusting the…
Identity Designed
Ashton
Designed by LG2, Quebec.
11th Jul 2024
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 2024
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...
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...
Christopher Butler
Human-First Interaction (in a Machine-Driven World)
As artificial intelligence (AI) agents increasingly mediate our digital experiences, the role of...
10th Jan 2025
As artificial intelligence (AI) agents increasingly mediate our digital experiences, the role of human interaction with information is evolving. Machines are becoming our primary intermediaries for searching, synthesizing, and summarizing information, often performing these tasks...
The personal website...
Beauty in the machine: Post-industrial design
Has design become boring?
A twitter thread by Sheehan Quirke (aka the Cultural Tutor) has been...
21st Sep 2022
Has design become boring?
A twitter thread by Sheehan Quirke (aka the Cultural Tutor) has been making the rounds lately, arguing just that. Quirke describes the many shortcomings of modern design: architecture, urban planning, industrial design, and interior design have all been...
Nela Dunato Art &...
How to tactfully answer awkward client questions
The first time you get a challenging question will always feel uncomfortable, and you’ll probably...
24th Nov 2022
The first time you get a challenging question will always feel uncomfortable, and you’ll probably say something you’ll regret later. But that interaction is a valuable lesson, and the trick is to get prepared for the next time someone asks you the same question—because there will...
Koos Looijesteijn
The most important question in design: who’s gonna pay me?
9th Nov 2023
Product Identity
Inside the dark forests of the internet
This is the second part of a series on the identity of social networks:
12th Feb 2025
This is the second part of a series on the identity of social networks:
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...
Sarah Parmenter
Adobe XD Contest – Prototype your City.
I‘ve had the absolute joy of working on a couple of collaborations with Adobe this year already;...
27th Feb 2018
I‘ve had the absolute joy of working on a couple of collaborations with Adobe this year already; something I feel very honoured to be a part of; as at least one element of the Creative Cloud Suite has been a part of my workflow since I started in this industry in 2003. What I...
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...
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
Beautiful shadows have beautiful colors
15th Jul 2024
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 personal website...
Product thinking is a lifeline for struggling design systems
Here’s a common problem: a design team creates a design system. They craft beautiful documentation,...
12th Dec 2019
Here’s a common problem: a design team creates a design system. They craft beautiful documentation, crystal-clear guidelines, and meticulously organized files. But the design system never gains traction. Engineers don’t use it, and other designers quickly stop maintaining it. It...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Law & Order
Contributed by Nick Sherman
License: All Rights Reserved.
Law & Order is a US television series...
13th Sep 2020
Contributed by Nick Sherman
License: All Rights Reserved.
Law & Order is a US television series set in New York City that first aired 30 years ago today, on September 13, 1990, and ran for 20 seasons until its final episode in 2010. Each episode is split into two segments:...
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。
🌈
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 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
Let's talk about AI
Many of you have asked me to write an essay with my thoughts on AI (Artificial Intelligence). So in...
11th Dec 2023
Many of you have asked me to write an essay with my thoughts on AI (Artificial Intelligence). So in the spirit of things, I've tasked ChatGPT to write this article for me.
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...
Luke Mitchell |...
My favourite albums of 2023
I don’t have a Spotify wrapped to share this year. So, in no particular order, my favourite albums...
8th Dec 2023
I don’t have a Spotify wrapped to share this year. So, in no particular order, my favourite albums of the year:
boygenius – the record
I have followed the work of this supergroups members for a little while. When they come together they create something incredible. This album is...
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...
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...
The DESK Magazine
Beautiful mistakes
I recently saw a short video about how the red wax seals on the famous Maker's Mark whiskey bottles...
27th May 2026
I recently saw a short video about how the red wax seals on the famous Maker's Mark whiskey bottles get applied. They're still dipped and sealed by hand which makes it special because no two bottles are exactly alike.
But what I didn't know
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…
Jakob Nielsen on UX
2026 AI and UX Predictions: A Mid-Year Reality Check
Summary: Halfway through 2026, AI is evolving faster than expected, but usability is struggling to...
2nd Jul 2026
Summary: Halfway through 2026, AI is evolving faster than expected, but usability is struggling to keep pace.
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