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Filling the empty wells, reducing Apple Watch notifications, helpful meeting notes, designer modes, Freeform wishlist

Despite a crazy week on a personal level, I had a lot of fun with the small moments where I was able to get in writing. First, I want to say thank you to everyone who reads these posts. It means so much, and as always any feedback is welcome;

Freeform wishlist for WWDC 2025

It’s almost WWDC, and time to ask the Cupertino gods for a boon. Though I’m very excited about the rumored diamorphic design, my desires are for something much simpler. Sketching is my life. I can’t imagine a way of working without it. It’s how I think

Lo-fi and hi-fi modes as a designer

It can be hard to stay focused throughout the work day. My brain, long trained by social media and distractions from the shiny blue screens, wants to take every detour available. So I have to wrestle it back into place. And this is coming from someone who works from home,

Running in whole numbers

If I’m headed out on a 3 mile run I can’t stop at 2.81 miles. Even if I’m back home I’ll loop around the neighborhood a bit. Not all runners do this. And it really doesn’t matter. But in my brain I find it

Dark Noise is still the best app for noise cancelling

I love the Dark Noise app. Recently I tried switching away from it. I wanted to try out Apple’s Background Sounds. The quality of the sounds is just as good. I’ve been happy with them, and I can quickly trigger the dark noise to start from the control

Muybridge and Thunderbolts

Two fun design bits of inspiration happened this week while I was decidedly not working. In the evenings I’ve been reading through the excellent Muybridge graphic novel. Earlier this week I also went and watched Thunderbolts in theatres. At the end of the movie the main-on-end credits

Where meeting notes can help

Inspired by this post from Baty, I’ve been thinking about meeting notes and their value. I take notes in most meetings I attend. I can’t imagine being part of a group of people talking and not capturing what’s being said. At this point it’s a habit.

iOS 26 rumors for AirPods

New head gestures - Apple could add new head gestures, such as a gesture for adjusting the volume of Conversation Awareness. Last year, Apple added a nod and a head shake to answer or decline calls. I’m not a fan of Double Tap on the Apple Watch. It’s a

Reducing Apple Watch notifications to get our lives back

Somewhere between the first time I tapped my wrist to skip a song and the three hundredth time I anxiously checked my resting heart rate, I started to hate my Apple Watch. I get it. Joan’s journey isn't unique. When we first saw the Apple Watch unveiled

Filling the empty wells

I recently got into a discussion with colleagues about inspiration, and where we find it. As a designer it’s my job to try and create things, and absent that at least remix enough until the solution works. Our jobs as product designers require matching up against metrics that we