The DESK Magazine
How to make a copywriting portfolio
Talk to any creative person about building their portfolio and they’ll tell you: copy is the hardest...
1st May 2022
Talk to any creative person about building their portfolio and they’ll tell you: copy is the hardest part.
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.
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...
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
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...
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,
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...
Ryan Mulligan
Horizontal Scrolling in a Centered Max-Width Container
The layout challenge
When I had first assembled a gallery of CodePen projects to include on my...
11th Mar 2022
The layout challenge
When I had first assembled a gallery of CodePen projects to include on my personal site redesign in the summer of 2021, I imagined the following layout and interaction:
The page's main content container is centered on the page with a max-width set.
The first...
The 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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Bringing the Coolest Car of the Carrera Panamericana to Life
I recently came across the work of Ralph Morse, a photographer who worked for Life Magazine. Many of...
1st Sep 2019
I recently came across the work of Ralph Morse, a photographer who worked for Life Magazine. Many of his photos are made available by Google…
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...
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...
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.
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...
The personal website...
Beyond 10×
In the January 1968 issue of computer science trade magazine Communications of the ACM, a paper...
1st Nov 2021
In the January 1968 issue of computer science trade magazine Communications of the ACM, a paper appeared under the unassuming title “Exploratory experimental studies comparing online and offline programming performance.” “Programming is a multibillion dollar industry,” the paper...
Christopher Butler
Persuasion
Good design requires persuasion.
might be persuasive on its own; the notion that a thing “just...
15th Apr 2023
Good design requires persuasion.
might be persuasive on its own; the notion that a thing “just works” implies that its function, however novel, is an intuitive leap from its form. This is what Apple is known for. Apple products are renowned for their simplicity, which is what...
The Turn Signal RSS...
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?
Identity Designed
Atypical
Designed by Behalf, Saigon.
23rd Sep 2022
Designed by Behalf, Saigon.
Fatih Arslan
A month in Munich
We stayed with the family (two kids and my wife) for several weeks in Munich. I took hundreds of...
31st Aug 2024
We stayed with the family (two kids and my wife) for several weeks in Munich. I took hundreds of photos. Here is how it went.
Fonts In Use – Blog...
As We Are Now book jacket
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.abebooks.com Between the Covers (edited). License:...
13th Aug 2024
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.abebooks.com Between the Covers (edited). License: All Rights Reserved.
One advantage that lettering has over typeset text is that the artist can always alter letterforms ad hoc, depending on the context. This allows her to make...
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...
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...
Ryan Mulligan
Animating with the Flip Plugin for GSAP
What the flip is it?
Every time a new GSAP plugin is introduced, I'm close to bursting from...
7th Jan 2022
What the flip is it?
Every time a new GSAP plugin is introduced, I'm close to bursting from excitement. The simplicity of the GreenSock API makes learning and applying these tools in projects such a dream. I had the pleasure of beta testing the ScrollTrigger plugin and was blown...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
A morning’s tale
Editor’s Note || Our New York apartment is home to three humans and three cats: Snow White, Mango,...
10th May 2025
Editor’s Note || Our New York apartment is home to three humans and three cats: Snow White, Mango, and young Jasper.
Woke to pee 2:00 am. Entered bathroom. Narrowly avoided slipping on a small lake of Snow White’s urine. Beheld a giant fat shit she’d left on the stone bath...
Oykun Yilmaz
Designers, charge more $$$ to help yourself and your clients.
By charging more $$$, you are lifting up the quality of the outcome and satisfaction.
25th Mar 2024
By charging more $$$, you are lifting up the quality of the outcome and satisfaction.
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...
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...
Ryan Mulligan
CSS Custom Property Fallbacks in Shorthand Values
CSS Custom Properties are incredibly versatile and have become especially useful as customizable...
14th Jul 2023
CSS Custom Properties are incredibly versatile and have become especially useful as customizable props in common layout and component style patterns. Here's an example derived from the SmolCSS site:
.grid {
--min: 15ch;
--gap: 1rem;
display: grid;
gap: var(--gap);
...
The 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.
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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
How We Designed a White-Label In-Car Infotainment System
Infotainment systems are often overcomplicated and poorly built. Until recently, it was difficult to...
1st Aug 2024
Infotainment systems are often overcomplicated and poorly built. Until recently, it was difficult to change this because each carmaker had…
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...
Jakob Nielsen on UX
The Big Tough UX-AI Quiz
70 hard questions about the last year in UX and AI.
5th Jan 2026
70 hard questions about the last year in UX and AI.
The Turn Signal RSS...
Driving a Porsche Taycan for a Week, a UX review
My thoughts on the UX design after spending a week with the Taycan
1st May 2022
My thoughts on the UX design after spending a week with the Taycan
Identity Designed
Norfolk Coast
Designed by Lantern, London.
23rd Nov 2023
Designed by Lantern, London.
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...
The personal website...
Beyond 10×
In the January 1968 issue of computer science trade magazine Communications of the ACM, a paper...
1st Nov 2021
In the January 1968 issue of computer science trade magazine Communications of the ACM, a paper appeared under the unassuming title “Exploratory experimental studies comparing online and offline programming performance.” “Programming is a multibillion dollar industry,” the paper...
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...
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...
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 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.
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...
A website to call my own
Most of this site was built at my favorite coffee shop of late, Sump.
I make a living designing and...
2nd Dec 2013
Most of this site was built at my favorite coffee shop of late, Sump.
I make a living designing and developing, among many many other things, websites. So, for the past few years, I’ve had the embarrassing task of explaining something to all my clients and — worse, if you can...
The personal website...
Changing all the fonts on WSJ.com
“Change the fonts.” It’s a simple mission statement.
In reality, changing the fonts on wsj.com has...
11th Dec 2017
“Change the fonts.” It’s a simple mission statement.
In reality, changing the fonts on wsj.com has involved years of coordination and planning between nearly every team at the Wall Street Journal. In the past month, the last few coordinated steps were executed with an incredible...
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...
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,...
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...
Practice makes perfect
Professional baker/member of my band Jake at a band retreat recently, practicing.
Editor’s note: I...
9th Apr 2014
Professional baker/member of my band Jake at a band retreat recently, practicing.
Editor’s note: I think this falls under the heading of ‘conventional wisdom.’ In addition, I’m walking a fine line between ‘self-help’ and ‘beating a dead horse.’ Perhaps poorly. Bear with me.
I do...
Identity Designed
Ashton
Designed by LG2, Quebec.
11th Jul 2024
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Subtle Art of Designing Physical Controls for Cars
Prototyping a concept for simpler, physical climate controls
1st Feb 2025
Prototyping a concept for simpler, physical climate controls
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...
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.
The personal website...
What happens when things go wrong
The rise of the startup economy – and the abundance of millennial entrepreneurial wisdom it has...
6th May 2014
The rise of the startup economy – and the abundance of millennial entrepreneurial wisdom it has produced – means you can hardly go a day without seeing Samuel Becket’s words writ large:
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
In celebrating...
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...
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...
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
Joshua Smith
Quickstop Groceries
Based on the Quickstop Groceries and RST Video shopfronts from the 1994 Kevin Smith film Clerks....
9th Nov 2018
Based on the Quickstop Groceries and RST Video shopfronts from the 1994 Kevin Smith film Clerks. Created for the Culture 4 Cult Exhibition at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, December, 2018. Scratchbuilt 1:25 Scale Miniature created from MDF, Wood, cardboard, plastic card, chalk...
Luke Mitchell |...
Using a notebook as a task manager
I’m sometimes asked which app I use to manage my time, to-dos or plans. My
answer is none, for the...
2nd May 2021
I’m sometimes asked which app I use to manage my time, to-dos or plans. My
answer is none, for the most part. I use a notebook, a
real paper notebook.
Every morning I sit down at my desk, and turn my notebook to a fresh page. I’ll
then spend 10 minutes copying out calendar events...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Star Wars movie posters from Hungary
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: movieposters.ha.com Image: Heritage Auctions. License: All...
4th May 2025
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: movieposters.ha.com Image: Heritage Auctions. License: All Rights Reserved.
Csillagok háborúja (Star Wars), 1979. The custom acute accents are simple squares. The secondary typeface is ITC Avant Garde Gothic. More info on...
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...
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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
A New Concept for Usable Touch Interaction in Cars
A design concept exploring how to improve touch interfaces in cars
1st Apr 2020
A design concept exploring how to improve touch interfaces in cars
The DESK Magazine
Tutorial: How to make an illustration & animation portfolio with Carbonmade
Some portfolios look so good, you can't imagine how they did it. They must have hired a developer...
1st Jan 2023
Some portfolios look so good, you can't imagine how they did it. They must have hired a developer and worked for hours on the design.
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...
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...
Identity Designed
Imio
Designed by G—W Studios, Stockholm.
8th Mar 2023
Designed by G—W Studios, Stockholm.
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 Turn Signal RSS...
Mixed Reality: The Future of Automotive UX Prototyping
Can mixed reality make it easier to test and iterate on automotive user interfaces?
1st Mar 2024
Can mixed reality make it easier to test and iterate on automotive user interfaces?
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
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,...
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...
Product Identity
Annoucning Niche design: The Creative Practice
Inside the next issue + patronage
4th Aug 2026
Inside the next issue + patronage
Christopher Butler
Periodical 20 – Localized Computing
At a time of ubiquitous computing, there is still something to be gained from its...
16th Oct 2024
At a time of ubiquitous computing, there is still something to be gained from its opposite.
There was a time when computers were furniture. It’s easy to note all the reasons why it’s good that this is no longer so. After all, I remember how exciting it was to slide the first...
Jeffrey Zeldman...
My Glamorous Life: Bots, Books, and Betrayal
My father was an engineer who designed robots. When I first learned what he did, I imagined the...
18th Oct 2025
My father was an engineer who designed robots. When I first learned what he did, I imagined the Robot from “Lost in Space,” and asked him to make me one. When I turned 13, I realized that the pick-and-place robots he designed replaced assembly-line workers, and asked how he,...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Holograms, light-leaks and how to build CSS-only shaders.
"With mix-blend-mode finally gaining wide browser-support, we now have access to many of most common...
9th Jul 2022
"With mix-blend-mode finally gaining wide browser-support, we now have access to many of most common shading techniques in CSS. With some choice images and a bit of careful layering it’s possible to build some surprisingly high-quality effects without the need for introducing any...
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 personal website...
Research, empathy, simplicity, speed
photo by Toa Heftiba
Earlier today, I read a thought-provoking tweet from John Maeda:
"Salt Fat Acid...
17th Oct 2018
photo by Toa Heftiba
Earlier today, I read a thought-provoking tweet from John Maeda:
"Salt Fat Acid Heat" as the perfect set of ingredients for a meal makes me wonder what a similar set of essential ingredients might be for digital products. https://t.co/z1w1PUyQsD
— John Maeda...
The personal website...
Design and machine learning
Machine learning is a powerful tool that drives everything from curated content recommendations to...
30th Oct 2019
Machine learning is a powerful tool that drives everything from curated content recommendations to optimized user interfaces. With Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon leading the charge, machine learning is becoming deeply integrated into everyday product experiences. This means...
Christopher Butler
Know What You Need
Knowing what you need makes knowing what you want much easier.
It is often said about successful...
16th Nov 2024
Knowing what you need makes knowing what you want much easier.
It is often said about successful people that they “know exactly what they want.” I’m sure this is true, because in our modern culture, where we are constantly made aware of new choices and possibilities, knowing...
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...
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:...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Rise of Touch Screens in Cars Explained
Are touch screens in cars really that bad?
1st Mar 2021
Are touch screens in cars really that bad?
The 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...
Jakob Nielsen on UX
UX Roundup: Ecommerce Usability Fails | Social Media Less Social | Overseeing Agents | Your Team as...
Summary: The two most conversion-killing ecommerce usability fails | Social media use remains strong...
1st Jun 2026
Summary: The two most conversion-killing ecommerce usability fails | Social media use remains strong but the platforms are becoming less about connecting with other people | The usability of overseeing AI agents | Team-building image idea: design video game characters | Professor...
Fatih Arslan
Braun Börse 2024
The Braun+Design Börse is an annual event and fair focusing on Braun products. Braun might not be...
5th May 2024
The Braun+Design Börse is an annual event and fair focusing on Braun products. Braun might not be the design icon it was 40 years ago, but starting in 1955, it profoundly impacted the design world, starting with its cooperation with the Ulm School of Design.
With Dieter
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...
Christopher Butler
Ten Books About AI Written Before the Year 2000
This by no means a definitive list, so don’t @ me!
AI is an inescapable subject. There’s obviously...
1st Feb 2025
This by no means a definitive list, so don’t @ me!
AI is an inescapable subject. There’s obviously an incredible headwind behind the computing progress of the last handful of years — not to mention the usual avarice — but there has also been nearly a century of thought put...
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...
Christopher Butler
The Empty Heading
For many years, I have maintained a text file called “A Rubric for Website Design Critique.” It is...
2 days ago
For many years, I have maintained a text file called “A Rubric for Website Design Critique.” It is relatively short, but used nonetheless; I’ve returned to it, off and on, for most of my career, referring back, adding things, removing things, adjusting. Its purpose is to...
Scott Jenson
Design for a Small Planet
Back in 1971, “Diet for a Small Planet” by Frances Moore Lappé made it clear the costs of eating...
18th Mar 2025
Back in 1971, “Diet for a Small Planet” by Frances Moore Lappé made it clear the costs of eating meat were far greater than we had assumed. If we wanted the planet to thrive, we needed to shift to a more resource-efficient way to eat. UX Design is going through its own “you cost...
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
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Fairway Market logos
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: nypost.com Christopher Sadowski. License: All Rights...
26th Jan 2020
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: nypost.com Christopher Sadowski. License: All Rights Reserved.
Dom Bold and Agenda.
Fairway Market is a chain of grocery stores in the New York metropolitan area. From Wikipedia:
Founded in 1933, it expanded in the New York area...
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…
Koos Looijesteijn
Hey Koos, do you still recommend WordPress?
29th Jun 2018
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...
Permanent Style
Our favourite restaurants in London
By Lucas Nicholson. When tailors and other artisans visit us in London, they nearly always ask about...
1st Dec 2025
By Lucas Nicholson. When tailors and other artisans visit us in London, they nearly always ask about the best places to eat. Their hotel is already booked after all, and they know what they’re doing all day. But local restaurant recommendati... > Read more
The 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…
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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The eHMI: How Autonomous Cars Will Communicate With the Outside World
A lot of communication happens between drivers and other road users. How will self-driving cars...
1st May 2021
A lot of communication happens between drivers and other road users. How will self-driving cars handle this?
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.…
The Pudding
The Middle Ages
Follow hundreds of kids as they navigate their trecherous middle school years.
3rd Mar 2025
Follow hundreds of kids as they navigate their trecherous middle school years.
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...
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...
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
Christopher Butler
Periodical – 10
It’s a grey afternoon here in Durham. I’m about to shut down for the evening, put on some music, mix...
1st Dec 2023
It’s a grey afternoon here in Durham. I’m about to shut down for the evening, put on some music, mix up a gin and tonic, and get dinner together for the family.
The kids are eager to open the first drawer of our advent calendar.
These evenings of the twilight of the year are...
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Creating a simple blog in Python with Origami concepts
7th Oct 2025
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...
ramsés cabello
web app inspector @ sketch
hi everyone 〜 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )
we just launched a new version of sketch including awaited features...
28th May 2025
hi everyone 〜 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )
we just launched a new version of sketch including awaited features such as stacks, frames, and graphics, along with a lot of other new features.
while we prepared the inspector on the web app to display the new properties that come with these...
The Turn Signal RSS...
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?
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,...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Gestaltungsprobleme des Grafikers by Josef Müller-Brockmann
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.theideaofthebook.com The Idea of the Book. License:...
28th Apr 2023
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: www.theideaofthebook.com The Idea of the Book. License: All Rights Reserved.
Book jacket (second edition by Niggli, Teufen, 1964)
Dan Reynolds, esteemed friend of the site, writes on Mastodon:
125 years ago today – at exactly...
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.
UX Collective
Something big “might” be happening
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
2nd Mar 2026
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
The personal website...
Responsive roadmaps
Shane Parrish’s essay The Map is Not the Territory begins:
The map of reality is not reality. Even...
8th May 2019
Shane Parrish’s essay The Map is Not the Territory begins:
The map of reality is not reality. Even the best maps are imperfect. That’s because they are reductions of what they represent.
The same is true for product roadmaps. Understanding and applying Parrish’s mental model is...
The personal website...
The paradox at the heart of A/B testing
A/B testing began with beer.
At the turn of the 20th century, William Sealy Gosset was exploring new...
9th Jan 2020
A/B testing began with beer.
At the turn of the 20th century, William Sealy Gosset was exploring new ways of running experiments on his production line. Gosset was trying to improve the quality of Guinness’s signature stout but couldn’t afford to run large-scale experiments on...
The personal website...
My management philosophy
After reading Lara Hogan’s post and getting some inspiration from my own manager, I thought it’d be...
10th Jun 2018
After reading Lara Hogan’s post and getting some inspiration from my own manager, I thought it’d be good to write up my management philosophy. This reflects my approach at this moment in time — I’m still pretty new to management, and will be revisiting this over time.
My...
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 DESK Magazine
The illusion of productivity
"Productivity" is dead.
6th Feb 2023
Permanent Style
Reader Profile: Jaime
Jaime is a reader based in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s a pastor there, and works particularly on social...
2nd Jan 2026
Jaime is a reader based in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s a pastor there, and works particularly on social justice projects and inter-faith relations. Church has always been an excuse for him to dress up, but also an excuse to talk to young men in t... > Read more
The 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?
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...
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 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?
Sarah Parmenter
Geek Mental Health Week
This has been written as part of the Geek Mental Health Week – starting on Monday October 3rd 2016. ...
29th Sep 2016
This has been written as part of the Geek Mental Health Week – starting on Monday October 3rd 2016. You can hear me read this as an audioblog – 8 minutes. T his time of year is a strange one…
Product Identity
#3 Telegram - The mysterious messenger app
Exploring the "new era of messaging"
7th Dec 2023
Exploring the "new era of messaging"
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...
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...
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...
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....
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
Identity Designed
Apex
Designed by Gold Front, San Francisco.
26th May 2024
Designed by Gold Front, San Francisco.
Identity Designed
Krayna
Designed by Heyholm, Basel.
5th Jul 2023
Designed by Heyholm, Basel.
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....
Scott Jenson
A UX designer walks into a Tesla Bar
I borrowed a friend’s Tesla 3 yesterday. About 5 minutes into the ride, the windshield started...
29th Dec 2021
I borrowed a friend’s Tesla 3 yesterday. About 5 minutes into the ride, the windshield started fogging up. I couldn’t find the defroster on the large control screen Teslas are so famous for. In desperation, I tapped the CAR icon but that took me to the settings screen which ended...
Oykun Yilmaz
2023 Letter with 10 Lessons
I’ve been writing my 2023 reflections for myself and I thought I’d share them with you. This is a...
18th Jan 2024
I’ve been writing my 2023 reflections for myself and I thought I’d share them with you. This is a bit of a long and personal one. Feel free to skip it if you like.
OK, let’s get to it!
Write
I've been
julian.digital
The power of defaults
Are network effects overrated? 01 Intro The world’s most successful companies all exhibit some form...
20th Dec 2021
Are network effects overrated? 01 Intro The world’s most successful companies all exhibit some form of structural competitive advantage: A defensibility mechanism that protects their margins and profits from competitors over long periods of time. Business strategy books like to...
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...
Retail Design Blog
Tan Mok Won Mixed Use Spaceby USER + NAUxLab
Tan-Mok-Won is located on the site of a 2013 fire in Ulsan, South Korea. Such history defines the...
3rd Feb 2025
Tan-Mok-Won is located on the site of a 2013 fire in Ulsan, South Korea. Such history defines the site’s locality,...
The Turn Signal RSS...
How Apple and Google Are Taking Over the In-Car User Experience
Ever since the introduction of the iPhone and Apple App Store in 2007 and 2008, our digital lives...
1st Dec 2022
Ever since the introduction of the iPhone and Apple App Store in 2007 and 2008, our digital lives center around apps. These are available…
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Rise of Touch Screens in Cars Explained
Touch screens in cars are not new. In fact, the first production car fitted with a touch screen was...
1st Mar 2021
Touch screens in cars are not new. In fact, the first production car fitted with a touch screen was the 1986 Buick Riviera. The CRT…
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.
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 Turn Signal RSS...
Mercedes vs Lucid: Different Views on Luxury UI Design
Exploring the UI design of two different luxury car brands
1st Nov 2020
Exploring the UI design of two different luxury car brands
The personal website...
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...
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
Luke Mitchell |...
Markdown is really good
I was reading Manu’s post about ‘old tech’ and suddenly thought, markdown is really, really...
4th Feb 2025
I was reading Manu’s post about ‘old tech’ and suddenly thought, markdown is really, really good.
What is it?
Markdown is a markup (get it?) language which aims to make formatting text as easy as possible, while still being easy to read. Markdown can be processed into HTML, which...
Luke Mitchell |...
How I collect & create bookmarks
I have been collecting bookmarks for
quite a while, as you read this there are 1052
of them, which...
15th Jun 2024
I have been collecting bookmarks for
quite a while, as you read this there are 1052
of them, which shocks me, they really build up fast. What
I haven’t done yet is explain how I collect them and how they end up on this
site.
Ethos
Describing my ethos properly is probably another...
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...
Melissa Penfold
WHERE TO FIND EXCEPTIONAL FLOWERS IN FIVE DIFFERENT CITIES
Not only do fresh flowers bring joy and delight into a home, they’re also a symbol of important...
3rd Oct 2025
Not only do fresh flowers bring joy and delight into a home, they’re also a symbol of important moments in life: they are the decoration of choice at weddings and funerals, and also the ultimate gift of love on Valentine’s Day. Their delicate nature, however, can make it tricky...
The 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...
The DESK Magazine
How much YOU is in YOUR work?
I started my design career by accident and never enjoyed a classical educational foundation in...
29th Apr 2024
I started my design career by accident and never enjoyed a classical educational foundation in anything I'm doing professionally. As a result, my approach always had a bit more of a "punk" approach.
The 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 Turn Signal RSS...
How to Become an Automotive UX Designer
A comprehensive guide to building a career in automotive UX design, from getting started to landing...
4th Apr 2026
A comprehensive guide to building a career in automotive UX design, from getting started to landing your first role.
julian.digital
Media Consumption (Apr 2021)
>_ Summary Read 4 books (671 min, -60% MoM) and 33 articles (-23%) Listened to 613 songs (+3%) and...
3rd May 2021
>_ Summary Read 4 books (671 min, -60% MoM) and 33 articles (-23%) Listened to 613 songs (+3%) and 11 podcasts (704 min, -6%) Watched 6 movies (752 min, +199%), 12 soccer games (1395 min, +105%) and 0 TV episodes (0 min, -100%) Played 1 board game (50 min, + ∞) and 0 video games...
Ryan Mulligan
CSS @property and the New Style
The @property at-rule recently gained support across all modern browsers, unlocking the ability to...
2nd Sep 2024
The @property at-rule recently gained support across all modern browsers, unlocking the ability to explicitly define a syntax, initial value, and inheritance for CSS custom properties. It seems like forever ago that CSS Houdini and its CSS Properties and Values API were initially...
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
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.
The personal website...
The paradox at the heart of A/B testing
A/B testing began with beer.
At the turn of the 20th century, William Sealy Gosset was exploring new...
9th Jan 2020
A/B testing began with beer.
At the turn of the 20th century, William Sealy Gosset was exploring new ways of running experiments on his production line. Gosset was trying to improve the quality of Guinness’s signature stout but couldn’t afford to run large-scale experiments on...
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...
Oykun Yilmaz
Video Gamer skills that make a Great Designer
Enjoy your time with video games, do not see it as a waste of time as society thinks. This is YOUR...
8th Apr 2022
Enjoy your time with video games, do not see it as a waste of time as society thinks. This is YOUR time, use it as you like it. It will make you a better designer.
The 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,...
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...
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 personal website...
What happens when things go wrong
The rise of the startup economy – and the abundance of millennial entrepreneurial wisdom it has...
6th May 2014
The rise of the startup economy – and the abundance of millennial entrepreneurial wisdom it has produced – means you can hardly go a day without seeing Samuel Becket’s words writ large:
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
In celebrating...
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...
Fatih Arslan
Plotter Notebook System
Taking notes, in my opinion, is the best thing one can do for themselves. Writing is a form of...
24th Feb 2025
Taking notes, in my opinion, is the best thing one can do for themselves. Writing is a form of thinking, and writing manually, in an analog manner, elevates the process. It has a positive impact on your well-being. It’s akin to working out for hours and then returning
Koos Looijesteijn -...
10 Reasons why bicycles can't replace cars
I live in Germany. The land of automakers. The land of auto lobbyists and auto marketeers. They’re...
28th Dec 2020
I live in Germany. The land of automakers. The land of auto lobbyists and auto marketeers. They’re doing well convincing...
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.
The personal website...
Consequentialism
Consequentialism became the most popular approach to ethics following the Age of Enlightenment....
10th May 2020
Consequentialism became the most popular approach to ethics following the Age of Enlightenment. Writers in the late 18th and early 19th century saw how strict, rule-based, duty-bound theories of ethics resulted in contradictory and often destructive behavior. After Napoleon’s...
The personal website...
Design-by-wire
There’s a lot of fear in the air. As AI gets better at design, it’s natural for designers to be...
2nd Mar 2023
There’s a lot of fear in the air. As AI gets better at design, it’s natural for designers to be worried about their jobs. But I think the question — will AI replace designers? — is a waste of time. Humans have always invented technology to do their work for them and will continue...
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
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.
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...
UX Collective
When the canvas starts acting, who’s really in control?
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
a week ago
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
The Turn Signal RSS...
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…
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.
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...
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...
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 personal website...
Breaking looms
Let’s talk about Luddites. The actual, real, historical Luddites.
“Luddite” was the label given to a...
4th Feb 2020
Let’s talk about Luddites. The actual, real, historical Luddites.
“Luddite” was the label given to a group of English workers’ rights activists in the early 19th century. They owe their name to a man who may never have existed — Ned Ludd. The Luddites were working-class people...
Oykun Yilmaz
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
Why some people mow a lawn better than others.
Why some people mow a lawn better than others.
4th Aug 2026
Why some people mow a lawn better than others.
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....
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...
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 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.
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...
abdz.do - Have you...
Branding for Ecuador, Pilsener World Edition Qatar 2022
Branding for Ecuador, Pilsener World Edition Qatar 2022
abduzeedo0201—23
...
1st Feb 2023
Branding for Ecuador, Pilsener World Edition Qatar 2022
abduzeedo0201—23
The leading beer brand in Ecuador, Pilsener, has a history of over 110 years and is a significant part of the AB InBev portfolio in the region. Known for its association...
The Pudding
How the Words We Teach English Language Learners Changed
How the words we teach English language learners changed
25th Jul 2026
How the words we teach English language learners changed
The 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
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Handwritten notes in the time of AI note takers
“Here is the thing people get wrong about AI in meetings. The transcript captures what was said. It...
9th Apr 2026
“Here is the thing people get wrong about AI in meetings. The transcript captures what was said. It does not capture what mattered.”—Lucas Radke
The best project management tool is still a pen, plus the discipline to notice what the machine cannot.
The post Handwritten notes in...
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...
Scott Jenson
Assertive Instincts
Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light...
6th Jan 2020
Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in. Isaac Asimov It all started while on vacation with my wife. We were driving a rental car to a remote location in Washington state. The car had a safety feature that...
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...
The Pudding
Comparisons as Predictable as the Sunrise
An analysis of 200,000 similes from popular fiction.
4th May 2026
An analysis of 200,000 similes from popular fiction.
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