I’m a fan of obsessive curiosity. Walter Isaacson’s book on Leonardo da Vinci lays out the story of this incredible thinker and tinkerer. Though Leonardo is not likely a person we can all emulate (although if there is a Duke out there willing to pay my bills for
The challenge for designers isn’t to eliminate all friction, but to find the right balance — enough resistance to create value and meaning, but not so much as to become genuinely obstructive. This “golden ratio” of friction might be different for each experience, but the principle remains: some friction isn’
It’s great to have a place to share your thoughts. A place you can go back to when you want to remember something you had written or thought about before. A place you can refer people to when they have questions you’ve answered in the past. A place
For years my local church has put on an Easter drama. It’s been such a gift to be involved and help as part of the cast. Every year, about this time, I’m reminded of the joy of spending time with people in person; especially people I might not
This week I wrote something different. It’s not going on the blog. It’s for a more personal audience. It was both harder and easier than normal for me to write. On the one hand I knew the faces that’d be reading it. On the other it was
Multitasking doesn’t really exist. While many have figured out how to move quickly between tasks, it’s always one thing at a time. It’s a skillset to learn; moving quickly between things without becoming a perfectionist, but it also creates opportunities to do many things poorly because of
Right now is a crazy time in the world. There’s incredible uncertainty, things are changing by the hour, and real damage is and may happen. It’s important to be aware of these changes—to an extent—as decisions need to be made. But, we only have a limited
I have not used Dribbble in ages, but I got an email today advising me that I must remove all my contact details — like my social media handles and website — from my profile and any posted work, or Dribbble would do it for me beginning in April. I must say,
Companies have meetings. It’s a thing they do. Most have many, some have few. Some are large, some are small. But within the world of tech meetings are a recurrent need. Many meetings are unnecessary, but some are essential. Some are intended to proclaim information, while others are needed
In most roles there exists a range between brand new up to the point of extremely senior. These are not based on age, but rather experience and ability to solve a problem. With design roles, and more specifically product design, seniority means a number of things. First, you’re expected
Everyone fails at things they try. No-one is immune. Because failure is associated with embarassement, it’s far too easy to cover up the mistakes and smooth out the rough patches. Resumes, LinkedIn, the stories told to peers, reflect the polished version of the past, leading to hopeful rosy
Ideas are precious. While they’re floating in our heads they are perfect. But capture that idea, wrestle it to reality, and suddenly it’s warts and wrinkles appear. Taking that messy thing and converting it into something viable requires an immense amount of work. Most ideas never get off