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.
Fatih Arslan
Tesla Model Y: My 6 months impressions
I have the Model Y now for 6 months. Here is what I think about it after six months of daily drive.
8th Jan 2024
I have the Model Y now for 6 months. Here is what I think about it after six months of daily drive.
Christopher Butler
Discernment in the Digital Age
How elimination, curation, and optimization can help us see through the technological...
8th Apr 2025
How elimination, curation, and optimization can help us see through the technological mirror.
Technology functions as both mirror and lens — reflecting our self-image while simultaneously shaping how we see everything else. This metaphor of recursion, while perhaps obvious...
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.
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...
Retail Design Blog
Sunrise Garden Restaurant by M9 Design Studio
Located within an industrial suburb of Bangalore, Sunrise Garden Restaurant emerges as a quiet...
7th Apr 2026
Located within an industrial suburb of Bangalore, Sunrise Garden Restaurant emerges as a quiet counterpoint to its context — transforming...
Oykun Yilmaz
Introvert Designer
I’m an introvert. Unfortunately, I have discovered this term and its true meaning quite late in my...
1st Sep 2020
I’m an introvert. Unfortunately, I have discovered this term and its true meaning quite late in my life. I have always been the person who talks less in a large group. I've always preferred to be either by myself or with a small number of people
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
CleanO2
Designed by Ordinary Things, San Francisco.
2nd Aug 2022
Designed by Ordinary Things, San Francisco.
ramsés cabello
summer & new inspector panels @ sketch
hi everyone 〜 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )
it’s been a few months since i sat down to write an update on the...
22nd Aug 2025
hi everyone 〜 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )
it’s been a few months since i sat down to write an update on the journal.
we’re almost at the end of august and all my memories of the last few months include really high temperatures. most days i escaped the heat by going to a cafe and ordering a...
Identity Designed
The Grand Press
Designed by Dixon Baxi, London.
12th May 2023
Designed by Dixon Baxi, London.
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.
Jeffrey Zeldman...
Who turned off the juice?
Beloved reader, I spent 90 minutes on hold with Con Edison yesterday, getting my power turned back...
1st Apr 2025
Beloved reader, I spent 90 minutes on hold with Con Edison yesterday, getting my power turned back on after a billing contretemps.
The whole 90 minutes, my brain’s shrieking, “You’re having a panic attack!”
And maybe I was.
I could rattle off my diagnoses, but the simplest way...
Product Identity
Beautiful ugly websites
Form is cheap, function is everything(?)
7th Mar 2024
Form is cheap, function is everything(?)
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Who is responsible for the impact of innovative products?
How can it be that a) all products are designed, b) designers want to create something good for the...
7th Dec 2023
How can it be that a) all products are designed, b) designers want to create something good for the world...
julian.digital
Media Consumption (Mar 2021)
>_ Summary Read 6 books (1664 min, -24% MoM) and 43 articles (+95%) Listened to 596 songs (+64%) and...
2nd Apr 2021
>_ Summary Read 6 books (1664 min, -24% MoM) and 43 articles (+95%) Listened to 596 songs (+64%) and 17 podcasts (747 min, -.3%) Watched 2 movies (251 min, -72%), 5 soccer games (680 min, -30%) and 15 TV episodes (944 min, +133%) Played 0 board games (0 min, same) and 0 video...
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...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
John & Paul & Ringo & George / &&& T-shirt
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: walkerart.org License: All Rights Reserved.
Experimental...
14th Dec 2019
Contributed by Nick Sherman
Source: walkerart.org License: All Rights Reserved.
Experimental Jetset designed the original John & Paul & Ringo & George T-shirt (referencing the names of the Beatles) in 2001 for Yoshi Kawasaki at the Japanese apparel company 2K/Gingham. The...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
I designed a Christmas gift
I love the idea of charity donations as gifts, but I find they lack something. I don’t know about...
10th Dec 2021
I love the idea of charity donations as gifts, but I find they lack something. I don’t know about you,...
Koos Looijesteijn
How I repaired our oven with a piece of Lego
1st Aug 2026
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...
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 personal website...
Why the web will win
197 billion apps were downloaded in 20171: that’s almost 26 per human being on the planet Earth. 6...
6th Jan 2018
197 billion apps were downloaded in 20171: that’s almost 26 per human being on the planet Earth. 6 apps per second. In the 10 years since Apple opened the App Store, app downloads have doubled, on average, every two years.2
Given the numbers, it’s not surprising that many...
Permanent Style
How to dress like Luciano Barbera
Luciano Barbera is a menswear icon for many reasons. For me, however, the most important is that he...
1st May 2026
Luciano Barbera is a menswear icon for many reasons. For me, however, the most important is that he always emphasised dressing comfortably, appropriately and in an understated manner. Dressing comfortably means eschewing the uber-tight suit... > Read more
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.
"
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...
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
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 personal website...
Who are design systems for?
I’ve spent the past few days feeling an immense amount of FOMO. A major design conference called...
14th Dec 2018
I’ve spent the past few days feeling an immense amount of FOMO. A major design conference called Clarity happened here in New York, and my twitter feed has been full of pictures and quotes from the very talented and articulate speakers. Lesson learned: go to more conferences. To...
The DESK Magazine
5 hard truths for young designers
Stop reading right now if you’re looking for feel-good advice. This is not going to be that kind of...
4th Jun 2024
Stop reading right now if you’re looking for feel-good advice. This is not going to be that kind of article.
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。
🌈
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
My favorite type of designers
There are many types of GREAT designers I've had the pleasure of working with over the past two...
16th Dec 2025
There are many types of GREAT designers I've had the pleasure of working with over the past two decades and what I learned is that they are all not measured equally. Below are some of my favorites for the various circumstances.
(FYI: very rarely does a designer inherit
The 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 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 personal website...
The history of album art
Album art didn’t always exist.
In the early 1900s, recorded music was still a novelty, overshadowed...
2nd May 2025
Album art didn’t always exist.
In the early 1900s, recorded music was still a novelty, overshadowed by sales of sheet music. Early vinyl records were vastly different from what we think of today: discs were sold individually and could only hold up to four minutes of music per...
The 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...
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:...
Christopher Butler
Periodical – 1
This is a semi-daily check-in. Experimental; likely to not actually be daily. Regular and...
11th Nov 2023
This is a semi-daily check-in. Experimental; likely to not actually be daily. Regular and short.
The kids are in the bath, listening to the Yoto Daily, which aptly describes itself as a “morsel.” The host offers stray thoughts, short learnings, words of the day, fascinating...
Oykun Yilmaz
Hustle Culture for Designers
We all have our aspirations and goals in life and career.
For me, it goes from having an impact on...
23rd Sep 2023
We all have our aspirations and goals in life and career.
For me, it goes from having an impact on my full-time work to helping designers via my blog, email newsletter, and other educational content.
I need to work damn hard to achieve these goals! Making the most of every...
abdz.do - Have you...
Bold art direction, UX and web design for GV
Bold art direction, UX and web design for GV
abduzeedo0501—23
...
1st May 2023
Bold art direction, UX and web design for GV
abduzeedo0501—23
GV, previously known as Google Ventures, recently underwent a rebranding and relaunch of their corporate website with a simpler UX. The new strategy and branding was created by the...
The DESK Magazine
A digital tool built like a physical product?
Does it seem like there's more bad TV these days?
More mediocre writing?
More low quality...
8th May 2023
Does it seem like there's more bad TV these days?
More mediocre writing?
More low quality clothing?
Christopher Butler
The Last Time
Life has as many ends as it has beginnings. What can an end teach us about making our...
15th Oct 2021
Life has as many ends as it has beginnings. What can an end teach us about making our world?
Bye, Chris” were the last words a friend said to me. We had been talking on the phone for about an hour, catching up as we did back then, a few times each year. He said his goodbye as...
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
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...
Product Identity
#1: Are.na – The social network antithesis
In this world of distraction, Are.na presence is a bliss
21st Aug 2023
In this world of distraction, Are.na presence is a bliss
Nela Dunato Art &...
5 things you need before raising your prices
Many freelancers feel like they “deserve” more money, but are confused about how to make that...
11th Jul 2023
Many freelancers feel like they “deserve” more money, but are confused about how to make that happen. The hard truth is, you may not be able to raise your prices overnight. But in this article I'll tell you exactly what you need to do in order to become appealing to higher-paying...
Nela Dunato Art &...
Why people avoid social media detox (let’s bust those excuses)
I truly believe everyone would benefit from taking a long break from social media at least once a...
30th Oct 2023
I truly believe everyone would benefit from taking a long break from social media at least once a year. In my many articles on this topic I gushed about the benefits of digital media sabbaticals, and my own experiences with increased mindfulness, focus, and productivity. So let’s...
Jim Nielsen’s Blog
You Can Now Subscribe To My Blog via Email
I don’t think you should. I think you should use RSS.
But if you want posts delivered directly to...
4th Jan 2025
I don’t think you should. I think you should use RSS.
But if you want posts delivered directly to your email, you can do that now.
However, disclaimer: I don’t know if I’ll keep this feature.
It costs me money.
And I don’t monetize my blog.
So sending you an email costs me...
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...
Oykun Yilmaz
Stop charging hourly! Start charging for the Value!
Money has always been an uncomfortable topic to talk about, especially for us creatives. We value...
10th Aug 2022
Money has always been an uncomfortable topic to talk about, especially for us creatives. We value our creation, get satisfaction from the process and the result so much that we often do not really give the importance it deserves to this money topic.
I have been designing for many...
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...
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.
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
Identity Designed
Pilo
Designed by 5.5, Paris.
30th Jun 2023
UX Collective
The algorithmic atelier
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
3rd Aug 2026
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
The DESK Magazine
The best portfolios launched with Semplice in May 2022
Every week, we handpick two portfolios created with Semplice to feature on our Showcase. These are...
1st Jun 2022
Every week, we handpick two portfolios created with Semplice to feature on our Showcase. These are the best of the best, chosen by yours truly from hundreds of beautiful submissions.
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
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
Christopher Butler
The View from Here
There are many reasons to make things and share them, to write and publish, to speak and record. So...
10th Sep 2023
There are many reasons to make things and share them, to write and publish, to speak and record. So many reasons, most unknown; far be it from me to make assumptions about other peoples’ motivations.
But among them, amidst even the most altruistic, is the one that is most...
The personal website...
A design API in practice
Update 6/12/22: The links to the implmentation of the API are currently broken. I'm updating some...
6th Jul 2020
Update 6/12/22: The links to the implmentation of the API are currently broken. I'm updating some dependencies to make it work again.
A few months ago I wrote an essay titled “Design APIs: the evolution of design systems”. The API model for design systems resonated with design...
Identity Designed
Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku
Designed by Tofu, Gdańsk.
1st Aug 2023
Designed by Tofu, Gdańsk.
Luke Mitchell |...
Chicken accessories for chickens
This post originally appeared on thoughtbot.com
I was browsing an online marketplace the other day...
17th Jan 2025
This post originally appeared on thoughtbot.com
I was browsing an online marketplace the other day because I was a bit bored, and because I have a unique need to seek out dark patterns. Something caught my eye as I scrolled. Amongst all the other suspiciously cheap items, was a...
The personal website...
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.
Koos Looijesteijn
Things I learned from doing a side project
20th Mar 2018
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Citroën Ami and the Future of Urban Transportation
The Ami started life as the AMI ONE C Concept which was a study on new ways to overcome the...
1st Oct 2020
The Ami started life as the AMI ONE C Concept which was a study on new ways to overcome the challenges of designing a small, affordable…
Christopher Butler
From the Desk Of
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could actually peer over another designer’s shoulder once in a while and...
27th Aug 2021
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could actually peer over another designer’s shoulder once in a while and see what they actually do?
design means different things to different people, as does the title Designer. As much as I prefer the simplicity of Designer to, say, Interaction...
The 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...
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...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
The new heroes of design
I used to have several design heroes I looked up to. But when I changed from industrial design to...
21st Feb 2022
I used to have several design heroes I looked up to. But when I changed from industrial design to digital...
Christopher Butler
visual journal – 2024 June 17 - July 05
Make it bigger.
portals
birthday eve
exploring...
5th Jul 2024
Make it bigger.
portals
birthday eve
exploring velocity
Christopher Butler
If This, Then That, Except for When...
I’m not saying that “Agentic AI” will “never” replicate all tasks that workers are currently paid to...
3rd Jun 2025
I’m not saying that “Agentic AI” will “never” replicate all tasks that workers are currently paid to complete, but I strongly suspect that current agents have an extremely limited task scope.
As exhibit A, I submit this podcast episode, in which Agentic AI is sold on the basis...
The 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...
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…
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.
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...
Product Identity
Designing for a single purpose
What do a Dutch chocolate chip cookie and a thousand-year-old teahouse in Kyoto have in common?
7th May 2024
What do a Dutch chocolate chip cookie and a thousand-year-old teahouse in Kyoto have in common?
Retail Design Blog
Roche Diagnostic Center Interior by Studio Alexander Fehre
The Roche Diagnostic Innovation Center in Penzberg, Bavaria, is a 35,500 m² research and workplace...
2nd Jul 2026
The Roche Diagnostic Innovation Center in Penzberg, Bavaria, is a 35,500 m² research and workplace complex realized for Roche Diagnostics...
The personal website...
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...
julian.digital
Thoughts on Clubhouse
Today marks the 77th day since I got onboarded to Clubhouse. Clubhouse, for those not familiar with...
21st Dec 2020
Today marks the 77th day since I got onboarded to Clubhouse. Clubhouse, for those not familiar with it, is essentially an audio-first social network. It’s kind of a mix between Reddit and a podcast. An interactive radio show. The app lets you jump into different chat rooms and...
Retail Design Blog
Pavilion TEUM by one-aftr
Today, people are constantly exposed to strong stimuli in their daily lives, which has led our...
2nd Mar 2026
Today, people are constantly exposed to strong stimuli in their daily lives, which has led our brains to become ‘popcorn...
The personal website...
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...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Blogging or posting on social media—what's better?
I wrote about the benefits of blogging before. That was four years ago. Now I have some things to...
30th Oct 2022
I wrote about the benefits of blogging before. That was four years ago. Now I have some things to add...
Fonts In Use – Blog...
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie titles
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: annyas.com License: All Rights Reserved....
26th Dec 2022
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Source: annyas.com License: All Rights Reserved.
“Rankin/Bass present” is lettering based on Weiß-Initialen Serie II, or Weiss Initials Series II, with the alternate forms for A and E, rendered bolder, with rough contours and a bouncing...
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...
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Home science and engineering projects that my kids and I enjoyed
2nd Apr 2025
Product Identity
What’s the future of AI hardware?
I don't have answers
17th Jun 2024
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,...
Koos Looijesteijn
Vue is a great JavaScript framework for designers
25th Sep 2017
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 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...
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...
Retail Design Blog
ISA ENERGIA Offices by Casbro Spa
Casbro Spa designed the ISA ENERGIA offices in Santiago to embody sustainability and employee...
2nd Jun 2025
Casbro Spa designed the ISA ENERGIA offices in Santiago to embody sustainability and employee well-being through flexible spaces that maximize...
The Turn Signal RSS...
A UX Review of Peugeot’s New Interior: When Design Ambition Meets Software Reality
The Panorama i-Cockpit is the latest iteration of the i-Cockpit that debuted in the 2012 Peugeot...
1st Jun 2025
The Panorama i-Cockpit is the latest iteration of the i-Cockpit that debuted in the 2012 Peugeot 208. The i-Cockpit's main innovation is…
Identity Designed
The Bond
Designed by Common Curiosity, Birmingham, London.
1st Sep 2023
Designed by Common Curiosity, Birmingham, London.
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 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
Product Identity
Growth pains
On scale: against the pursuit of unicorns
12th May 2026
On scale: against the pursuit of unicorns
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,...
UX Collective
When design stops asking why and starts asking: Can AI do it?
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
2nd Feb 2026
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
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...
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...
Ryan Mulligan
CSS Grid Gap Behavior with Hidden Elements
I was recently prototyping a component layout that included a way to toggle the visibility of...
14th Feb 2023
I was recently prototyping a component layout that included a way to toggle the visibility of sibling elements inside a grid display. What tripped me up was, while these elements were hidden, all of the container's gap gutters remained, leaving undesired extra visual spacing. I...
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 -...
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 DESK Magazine
My anti-New Year’s resolutions
I suck at New Year's Resolutions. Most of them are boring which is one reason we don't really stick...
30th Jan 2024
I suck at New Year's Resolutions. Most of them are boring which is one reason we don't really stick with them.
Koos Looijesteijn
Who is responsible for the impact of innovative products?
7th Dec 2023
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....
abdz.do - Have you...
3D & motion design spotlight: Abacus - Pathways
3D & motion design spotlight: Abacus - Pathways
abduzeedo0421—23
...
21st Apr 2023
3D & motion design spotlight: Abacus - Pathways
abduzeedo0421—23
Abacus, Switzerland's leading software development company, is embarking on a new chapter in its journey by collaborating with Hup.Studio to revamp its visual identity. This bold...
Identity Designed
Pets at Home
Designed by Nomad, London.
24th Apr 2023
Designed by Nomad, London.
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...
ramsés cabello
web iterations @ sketch
hi everyone 〜 ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪
just wanted to share a few bits of work i’ve been recently doing at Sketch 〜...
24th Apr 2025
hi everyone 〜 ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪
just wanted to share a few bits of work i’ve been recently doing at Sketch 〜 together with the team we updated the typeface on the web app and adjusted all the icons to match the look & feel of the mac app.
i wrote a little bit more about icons...
The personal website...
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 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...
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...
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.
Identity Designed
September Café & Cake
Designed by Chochoi Creative, Ho Chi Minh City.
13th Feb 2023
Designed by Chochoi Creative, Ho Chi Minh City.
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...
Koos Looijesteijn
The most important question in design: who’s gonna pay me?
9th Nov 2023
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...
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
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Fixing the under-appreciated JavaScript Map class and using it to construct a build system
17th Nov 2025
Retail Design Blog
FOGO E ÁGUA at ALEA RESORT
FOGO E ÁGUA was built in Bad Orb, near Frankfurt, a place where salt was traditionally extracted...
1st Oct 2024
FOGO E ÁGUA was built in Bad Orb, near Frankfurt, a place where salt was traditionally extracted from a brine...
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.
Ryan Mulligan
The Fifty-Fifty Split and Overflow
The fifty-fifty split—or 50/50 for a dash of brevity—is a classic layout pattern where two elements...
19th Feb 2024
The fifty-fifty split—or 50/50 for a dash of brevity—is a classic layout pattern where two elements occupy the same amount of inline space inside a row. These two elements will stack once it becomes too narrow to properly display them side by side. Both flexbox and CSS grid can...
The Pudding
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.
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...
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...
Christopher Butler
Link – Linsey Rendell's personal website
linseyrendell.com is a really nice website.
I just love the overall look and simplicity of what...
1st Jan 2024
linseyrendell.com is a really nice website.
I just love the overall look and simplicity of what Linsey has created!
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...
Expansion artifacts
The information age has been defined by bandwidth. The internet is limited by how much data we can...
20th Apr 2026
The information age has been defined by bandwidth. The internet is limited by how much data we can squeeze into the narrow pipes of transmission infrastructure. So we invented compression, ways of representing the same object — a website, a picture, a song, a movie — within ever...
Christopher Butler
Doing (and Directing) Great Design Requires Detail Obsession
Every great design has one organizing detail that unlocks everything else, and the best design...
15th Aug 2025
Every great design has one organizing detail that unlocks everything else, and the best design leaders never stop looking for it.
Every good piece of design has at least one detail that is the “key” to unlocking an understanding of how it works. Good designers will notice that...
Christopher Butler
The Empty Heading
For many years, I have maintained a text file called “A Rubric for Website Design Critique.” It is...
3 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...
Koos Looijesteijn -...
The most important question in design: who’s gonna pay me?
Have you ever worried about the real impact of your work? Done a project in an exploitive industry?...
9th Nov 2023
Have you ever worried about the real impact of your work? Done a project in an exploitive industry? Or worked...
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.
Ryan Mulligan
Scrollspy Navigation Web Component
Just here for the code and demos? Check out the scrollspy-nav repository on GitHub and its...
7th Oct 2023
Just here for the code and demos? Check out the scrollspy-nav repository on GitHub and its corresponding demo page.
The backstory
A "scrollspy" is a method of tracking which link in a menu is active based on a relevant section of information being visible in the viewport....
Koos Looijesteijn -...
I like watercolor painting
Yep, that’s it: I like painting with watercolors. As a hobby. As a student, I thought hobbies were...
3rd Jan 2024
Yep, that’s it: I like painting with watercolors. As a hobby. As a student, I thought hobbies were lame. Because:...
Retail Design Blog
Purple Garden Restaurant
Located near Hangzhou’s famed West Lake, the project takes inspiration from Ming Dynasty gardens and...
3rd Jun 2024
Located near Hangzhou’s famed West Lake, the project takes inspiration from Ming Dynasty gardens and fuses them with a contemporary...
Ryan Mulligan
Site Rebuild, Here We Go!
There are still a few bits to work out, but why wait any longer? The latest version of my site is...
22nd Nov 2023
There are still a few bits to work out, but why wait any longer? The latest version of my site is here and it has been rebuilt from the ground up. I'm feeling pretty good about it and invite you all to celebrate the magic with me! ✨
Inspiration
While playing Super Mario Wonder, I...
Scott Jenson
Tactile Controls In A Digital World
This article was written by Scott Jenson and Michael DiTullo and published at Core77 in April 2024 A...
31st May 2024
This article was written by Scott Jenson and Michael DiTullo and published at Core77 in April 2024 A few recent tech writers have leaked that the new AirPods case will likely have a touch screen. Other earbud makers have tried this as well but it’s Apple, so people will naturally...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Subtle Art of Designing Physical Controls for Cars
Two years ago, I explored how to rethink climate controls in cars. I was frustrated by carmakers...
1st Feb 2025
Two years ago, I explored how to rethink climate controls in cars. I was frustrated by carmakers relying too heavily on touch screens and…
The personal website...
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...
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 Pudding
Bears Will Be Boys
How and why do we gender animals in stories?
7th Jul 2025
How and why do we gender animals in stories?
Permanent Style
The silks of Como: A reminder of the value of craft
I miss this. Visiting a mill is such an enjoyable, often inspiring experience, yet I don’t do it as...
2 weeks ago
I miss this. Visiting a mill is such an enjoyable, often inspiring experience, yet I don’t do it as much as I used to. Perhaps because once you’d done one worsted weaver it’s hard to justify more. But we’ve never done silk. I did go to Vann... > Read more
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 DESK Magazine
Addicted to ideas
Having an idea is like taking a hit of a fine drug.
10th Oct 2023
Having an idea is like taking a hit of a fine drug.
Product Identity
Looking for humanness in the world wide social
This is the first part of a series on the identity of social networks.
15th Jan 2025
This is the first part of a series on the identity of social networks.
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 Turn Signal RSS...
Mercedes vs Lucid: Different Views on Luxury UI Design
With each launch of a Mercedes S-Class, the whole automotive world watches. It is a prelude to the...
1st Nov 2020
With each launch of a Mercedes S-Class, the whole automotive world watches. It is a prelude to the technologies that will be the industry…
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...
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...
The Turn Signal RSS...
The Citroën Ami and the Future of Urban Transportation
Is the Citroën Ami a clever new transportation method or standing in the way of progress?
1st Oct 2020
Is the Citroën Ami a clever new transportation method or standing in the way of progress?
Jan Miksovsky’s blog
Write a very concise static site generator with Origami expressions
2nd May 2025
Joshua Smith
Globe Slicers
Scratchbuilt miniature of the Globe Slicers Building, The Bowery District, NYC. Scratchbuilt...
7th Apr 2019
Scratchbuilt miniature of the Globe Slicers Building, The Bowery District, NYC. Scratchbuilt miniature using MDF, Wood, Cardboard, Paper, Spraypaint, Acrylic Paint, Styrene, Wire, Chain, Weathering pigments. Private Collection Featuring the work of Sory, Staino, Seedr, Sefu,...
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 -...
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...
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...
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 Turn Signal RSS...
The State of UX Design of Chinese Car Brands
The Market Potential Today, the sales numbers from Chinese car manufacturers don't seem threatening...
1st Jul 2020
The Market Potential Today, the sales numbers from Chinese car manufacturers don't seem threatening to established car companies but they…
Jakob Nielsen on UX
UX Roundup: User Research Game | AI Photo Recommendations | AI Helps TA | Teaching Metacognition |...
User researchers as role-playing game classes | AI posture recommendation feature in Huawei Pura 90...
4th May 2026
User researchers as role-playing game classes | AI posture recommendation feature in Huawei Pura 90 phones | AI helps teaching assistants provide better feedback to students | AI as a metacognitive coach | Recommending an entertaining short AI film | SpaceX’s plan for 100 TW...
The personal website...
How to generate color palettes for design systems
It used to be easy to pick colors for design systems. Years ago, you could pick a handful of colors...
20th Apr 2024
It used to be easy to pick colors for design systems. Years ago, you could pick a handful of colors to match your brand’s ethos, or start with an off-the-shelf palette (remember flatuicolors.com?). Each hue and shade served a purpose, and usually had a quirky name like “idea...
Product Identity
Building as gardening
Although I've never had a garden
9th Apr 2025
Although I've never had a garden
Nela Dunato Art &...
Quest for the best black paint: Gouache, acrylic, india ink, pastel & more compared
I love adding black backgrounds, borders, or other large areas of black to my artwork! In the past I...
30th Dec 2022
I love adding black backgrounds, borders, or other large areas of black to my artwork! In the past I mostly used India ink because it’s affordable, easy to use, and easy to find in stores. But now I'm curious if I can find something better.
I tested and compared 14 different...
Ryan Mulligan
Transition to the Other Side with Container Query Units
Managing the position of an element as it travels across the length of its parent container can be...
11th Oct 2025
Managing the position of an element as it travels across the length of its parent container can be tricky. Assuming they both have dynamic, responsive dimensions, we might rely on JS to check the width and/or height of each element and do some calculations for a proper end...
Retail Design Blog
RIDET office by RooMoo Design Studio
Shanghai RIDET Technology is a pioneering company specializing in developing life sciences...
23rd Apr 2024
Shanghai RIDET Technology is a pioneering company specializing in developing life sciences instruments. RIDET’s office space on the first floor...
The Turn Signal RSS...
Is Voice Interaction a Solution to Driver Distraction?
In the '90s, the average new car came with simple climate controls, a radio, and a CD player. That...
1st Aug 2022
In the '90s, the average new car came with simple climate controls, a radio, and a CD player. That is very different from a new car today…
The 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 personal website...
Design better data tables
Poor tables. Where did they go wrong?
Table tetris
After being the bread and butter of the web for...
3rd Aug 2016
Poor tables. Where did they go wrong?
Table tetris
After being the bread and butter of the web for most of its early history, tables were cast aside by many designers for newer, trendier layouts. But while they might be making fewer appearances on the web these days, data tables...
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
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...
The DESK Magazine
The case for being ignorant
I am sure you know this feeling. You find a new book that you absolutely love. A new movie, a new TV...
14th May 2024
I am sure you know this feeling. You find a new book that you absolutely love. A new movie, a new TV series or even a new hobby such as cycling or designing. It can be anything and everything.
The Pudding
In pursuit of democracy
Every time someone said 'democracy' in Congress.
3rd Nov 2025
Every time someone said 'democracy' in Congress.
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
The Turn Signal RSS...
Guidelines for Designing an In-Car Voice Assistant
I turned all the research that I did for my previous article, about the impact of voice interaction...
1st Sep 2022
I turned all the research that I did for my previous article, about the impact of voice interaction on driver distraction, into concrete…
Koos Looijesteijn -...
Making semantic sidenotes without JavaScript
One of the first things I learned about professional writing is that it’s best to remove all...
12th Oct 2020
One of the first things I learned about professional writing is that it’s best to remove all unnecessary words. Problem...
The Turn Signal RSS...
A Guide to Prototyping Automotive Interfaces
First, it's important to clarify that this article is about the first stages of the design process....
1st Sep 2023
First, it's important to clarify that this article is about the first stages of the design process. There are many processes for…
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
Towards better creative feedback
Creative work — be it designing, writing, coding, or managing — is a collaborative practice. At...
7th Jan 2015
Creative work — be it designing, writing, coding, or managing — is a collaborative practice. At least two parties are always involved: The maker (a designer, developer, or manager) on one end, and the audience on the other.1 Feedback between the maker and the audience is...
The 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...
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...
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....
UX Collective
How Estonia, AI gardens, and plywood make designers prolific
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
3rd Nov 2025
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.
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
Product Identity
#5 Kubera: What's my net worth?
Respect master spreadsheet
8th Feb 2024
Respect master spreadsheet
Product Identity
Why Niche design
A few updates + a manifesto?
12th Nov 2025
A few updates + a manifesto?
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...
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...
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...
Scott Jenson
Sotto Voce
“AI” and “The Cloud” are both hot topics, but couldn’t be more different. AI is new, unproven, and...
26th Mar 2024
“AI” and “The Cloud” are both hot topics, but couldn’t be more different. AI is new, unproven, and surrounded by hyperbole, whereas “The Cloud” is older, established, and broadly accepted. But online, criticism is mounting against both, not so much for the technology itself but...
Fatih Arslan
Vitsoe vs USM shelving
I have an extensive Vitsoe 606 shelving setup but plan to extend certain places with USM cabinets....
23rd Jun 2024
I have an extensive Vitsoe 606 shelving setup but plan to extend certain places with USM cabinets. What are the main differences?
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...
Full Width 
Shortcuts 
Sign Up 
Log In 
Articles 
Reading List 