Author: Joshua

I’ve been exploring a number of writing methods for fiction over the past year. My learning has been part doing, and part knowledge input. This has included diving into a number of non-fiction books, tons of great podcasts, articles, courses, and more. In addition, I’ve continued to read works of fiction. All of this input…

Since September 2019 I’ve been engaged in the process of daily writing. This writing has been for offline projects, which someday will see the light online. It’s been long enough, so this is an update on a few fronts. Work – 2020 was a crazy year for many of us, and despite all the chaos…

A few pictures from my journey down to Lewiston with a friend. It’s such a beautiful city; thankful to call Idaho home!

Writing for me has become a creative outflow to process my thoughts. Sometimes it means taking the time to write something out in order to better understand a thing and process it. At other times it means spending that time to write out the thing I wish I could read, that I wish someone else…

My process for buying a new product is, from an outsider’s perspective, rather slow and uncertain. I often spend months thinking about a product and trying to figure out the best way to incorporate it into my personal or work life. My new office chair was no exception. For six months I researched chair options,…

TL;DR: My top recommendation for a sketching and drawing app is Linea Sketch. You can stop right now and download it, it’s worth every dollar. If you’re curious about my reasoning, or know that you have specific needs for the type of work you do, then read on and you can learn a bit more…

I believe inside all of us exists a desire to create. Most of the time we’re merely consumers, passively or actively. For those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to make time and space, we have an opportunity to use our abilities to add something to the world. The more I slow…

I shared some brief thoughts on buying a GORUCK GR2 previously. Having just taking a week long trip with it, I have a bit more to share. For my trip I spent 2 days traveling, and six days in the hotel. Because I knew I could wash my clothes, I packed pretty lightly in that…

With the recent news about Automattic acquiring Tumblr, it’s got me thinking again on where and how I like sharing my thoughts online. On Twitter I am happy to retweet, share links, and write short thoughts. In times past I used Facebook for personal messages to friends and for posting pictures. I’ve mostly stopped now…

Amidst all the chaos of life, it’s important to remember that kids really do grow up incredibly fast. My son is six, and my daughter is two. I love watching them interact together as they hang. Even with the age difference they love being around each other. I’m reminded that they have an opportunity to…

I’ve been trying to figure out how to consume data that’s more ephemeral in nature. Headlines and social media sites are one of the worst ways to do this. My ideal would be a weekly cycle with a brush if articles that inform me on things that are happening around the world. The challenge is…

Some random thoughts on my experiences working remotely recently. Most of the time I work from home, in an actual office room. We built this house a year ago, and I made sure to have a room set aside for work. Recently though I’ve been having a hard time just being in my office. I…

Backpack After much debate I finally settled on buying the GORUCK GR2 34L in black. My goal has been to find one bag I could travel with, one that would fit my electronic gear, clothes, and other travel stuff. I sold my GR1 21L and swapped up for the GR2. So far I’m not quite…

Earlier today I was following up on a ticket from a colleague. He asked some clarifying questions on what was needed for the design. At first I thought of responding directly to the question with a written answer. However, experience has taught me that a sketch often helps me with understanding the question better, helping…

Earlier today I was following up on a design related task. After writing up the paragraph response, I decided to take five minutes and sketch up a drawing of what I wrote. I then included that. In the work I’ve done with design and development teams over the years I’ve found that a sketch will…

I’ve started a new project. It’s called Leading to Design, a site where I share my learnings as a product designer, and the journey I’m taking to support and lead a design vision within my company. Check it out! The first few posts are up, and you can subscribe to my something-weekly newsletter. 😀

A few weeks ago I shared why I write. The heart of it is sometimes I write what I wish I could read. So many of us have a thirst to learn, an undying curiosity. While you may find that starts to take the edge off of your curiosity, more often then not you can…