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For years we’ve had access to tools that help improve writing, going back to Microsoft Word and its spell checker. Around 2019, I started writing fiction and tested tools like Grammarly and ProWritingAid. I finally landed on ProWritingAid and bought a lifetime license. I then started to write out

As part of my career I’ve spent a lot of time on both sides of the interview process. Sometimes it’s in the hiring position—helping to find great designers to join my teams. Other times it’s looking for a role—finding if my skills will be a

On a recent episode of Async my friend Saadia talked about the value of finding time for thinking. It’s easy to fill life with thoughts from others—movies, tv, podcasts, audiobooks, meetings—days can go by without really sitting and being. That’s not to say we should disregard

As a result, my first rule I’m adopting for myself in this initial redesign is that I will 100% follow the system guidance and use all default system behaviors. ... That didn’t stop me from trying to see if I could do it anyway. So a bit of hacking

Each connection with another human is an opportunity to hear their story. It’s easy to group people into buckets. Assign labels. Assume that someone fits into the average of what you expect from a person like them. But the average person doesn’t exist. Everyone we meet has with

When developers regularly use their own products (dogfooding), they naturally identify and address pain points. Without this practice, teams must rely solely on empathy for users’ challenges. In our increasingly individualistic society - partly influenced by current social media dynamics - genuine empathy is becoming less common. This is part

It’s a fine thing to say. Admit we’re not sure, we don’t have all the answers, we don’t know. This can feel like weakness, but in reality it suggests strength. You’re confident enough to admit when you’re missing some pieces. The followup, then, is

Hire long enough for product designers and trends emerge. Most designers at some point feel compelled to share a converging and diverging diagram, indicating their ability to go broad and narrow when needed. This is a good thing. And I agree with it. But when designers say they have a