Soleio ​

O-M-G. Learn how to craft some seriously refined 3D letters using Affinity in the next Creative Session. Especially for those Designers that have recently downloaded Affinity and still running it through it's paces. You'll pick up essential Affinity illustration skills and tricks in seconds. https://lnkd.in/gYvsrdme #affinity #illustrators #canva

41

Hello fellow designers and creatives. I’ve decided to jump back into writing. Find me on Substack where my musings will focus on industrial design, design, strategy, sustainability, and systems thinking. Thanks for the sub. :) https://lnkd.in/e4Wpfbrp #industrialdesign #designstrategy #systemsthinking #sustainability

3

Good things happen when top-down + bottom-up workflows come together. Some planning + some improv. Some sequencing + some exploration. Some structure + some playfulness. Optimality resides somewhere in the middle. Plan, but also leave room for surprise. And this, I think, is true with both online experimentation as well as music: https://lnkd.in/g88BWreK Cheers. :) #experimentation #music #optimality

1

For anyone wanting to learn more about how we're working on AI as a design team here at Klaviyo, have a listen to this interview with Alexandra Holness

14

Had to share this thoughtful article about the conflicting feelings we have as designers with new AI tools.... made me consider the threat of too much standardization over innovation, or letting your own creative instincts atrophy. Check it out and lmk your thoughts

6

I've worked with enough engineer-designed interfaces to value design highly at even early stage startups ... but, man, they can be a pain in the ass sometimes. I mean that in a truly affectionate way, because I've realized over the years the context many of my favorite design-minded folks are coming from - a demanding world of perfection-seeking where critique is a core competency. While most of my engineering colleagues are coming from a world where nothing is finished, nothing is perfect, and everything is slightly broken everywhere. Shipped can be better than perfect. Until you get both sides aligned to the same goal, you'll find these two world views butting into each other in fun and exciting ways ... But once aligned, it's off to the races. https://lnkd.in/gVzDZaaY

8

2 Comments

Worthy Read: Biases in Design: Hiding in Plain Sight in a World Full of Visuals by Ida Persson Many of the so-called “best practices” and “universal truths” of good design actually exclude many perspectives (especially those from women and people outside the West). This thought-provoking article by Ida Persson challenges you to expand your view of design concepts like typography, color, and symbols. Check it out here: https://buff.ly/3sEoZQx ❓ How can product teams actively work to identify and overcome hidden biases in areas like typography, color, and symbols, to ensure more inclusive outcomes? Add your thoughts in the comments below.

18

1 Comment

What matters are the few people you trust to challenge you, push you, and help you grow. I believe we're entering a new era of career navigation and growth. It can be: → Accessible, not out of reach → Intimate, not crowded → Valuable, not just noise Or it can stay: → Expensive and out of touch → Generic and uninspiring → Overwhelming and loud Thanks to Tom Scott for the space to share why designers need this more than ever. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/dEkwzn5W

10

Models evolved, from mental models, to mental + digital models. This was mischaracterized as evolution from drawings to models. That’s off the mark because those are completely different things. A set of drawings is to a model as a telescope is to the universe. One doesn’t replace the other. What’s needed is evolution of the telescope. Why should we be stuck using the old one we used when models were mental only, not digital? The basic functions of the lens are here: https://lnkd.in/dBXniCHF (near the top, the functions are in a numbered list, 1 through 4) The proposed NEW lens we’re building open source for use in ALL modelers is specified here: https://lnkd.in/dnWfgaU9 https://lnkd.in/dc2MMnkx Message me if you want to help develop, implement, or use TGN OPEN CODE in your favorite model-based app, platform, or format.

5

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of chatting with Nesrine Changuel, PhD about the often-overlooked yet vital role of delight in tech products. Too often, this concept is dismissed as mere eye candy—a superficial layer tacked onto the core functionality of an app or website. But if we look closer, creating an emotional connection with users and customers might just be the key to true success. Borrowing her brilliant neologism, it’s not about B2C or B2B anymore—it’s all about B2H: Business-to-Humans. There’s so much more to explore on this topic! #emotionaldesign #delight #whatpeoplelove

4

2 Comments

Way back in March I ran a workshop for designers to discuss the potential impact of AI on our roles, and on the people who run and use the services we design. I finally, FINALLY wrote it up here: https://lnkd.in/eHfr-gCD

105

6 Comments

Just crossed 1,000 minutes of design mentorship on adplist.org! ✨🚀 Life (and work) has been busy and chaotic and wild, but I'm always glad to set aside time to mentor and grow designers! Book my time: https://lnkd.in/g8Ua2ffv #UXDesign #Mentorship #ProductDesign

3

The full episode has officially dropped 🎧 #InezTalksUX -- Inez Sayer and I had the chance to dive deep into the evolving world of design — including responsible AI, inclusive and sustainable design, and the future of AI and UX. We unpacked how to build resilient design systems, lead teams with empathy at scale, and create experiences that truly matter in people’s lives. This conversation was a great opportunity to reflect on designing for good and what’s at the heart of impactful design: staying adaptable, making thoughtful, purposeful choices, and pushing boundaries to drive meaningful change. Give it a watch — I’d love to hear what resonates with you! #ResponsibleDesign #ResponsibleAI #DesignForGood #HumanCenteredDesign #Inclusivity #Empathy #Transparency #RemovingBias #Accessibility #AI #multipotentiality #Future #DesigntheFuture #Design #AX

37

5 Comments

Hey everyone, After almost 2 years of hard work with incredibly talented teams of illustrators, developers, and designers, we’re finally launching our new startup: Bookimagic! 🎉 Bookimagic empowers anyone to create complete children’s books from scratch in just minutes—editable story, interactive illustrations, book layout, cover design, and print-ready files, all in one platform. Before, creating a children’s book meant: 1️⃣ Writing the story. 2️⃣ Hiring a design agency for illustrations. 3️⃣ Paying for book layout and cover design. 4️⃣ Preparing print-ready files to publish. This process often costs over $3,000 and takes months. With Bookimagic, you can do all this in just a few minutes. The platform generates a magical children’s story, professional illustrations, and a fully designed book—almost instantly. ✨ Fun fact: Our image generation isn’t AI-based. We built a new image generation technology from scratch to ensure the consistency and quality required for professional children’s book illustrations. The best part? You can purchase the book files for just $19 and publish them on Amazon with no upfront costs for printing or delivery—Amazon handles that for a fixed fee. 📹 Check out the video below and visit www.bookimagic.com to give it a try. And of course—DM me for a 100% discount on your first book! 😊 https://lnkd.in/eYYYq92m

9

2 Comments

Another week, another handful of conversations about pace layers and design systems: https://lnkd.in/d7BVsrAy This article by Big Medium's own Josh Clark continues to be one of the most-important concepts that we apply in our work. Product teams need to be able to move fast and innovate, and it's important to not put crap in the design system: https://lnkd.in/epK_X95r One of my favorite things about coaching design system teams is helping them establish clearer boundaries, transition from pattern police to helpful sherpas, and navigate the architecture, people, and process of everything. #designsystems #uidesign #uxdesign #frontenddevelopment

69

4 Comments

Check out this awesome article written by Jess Sattell, Lynn Hao, and Angelie Herreria- Tagle with help from Sue G. on lessons learned from bringing Spectrum 2 from idea to reality.

111

1 Comment

I love thinking through how things work, and I love games. For fun, I've written an article documenting my lightweight process for thinking through how an existing application is defined and built, and I've done it with one of my favorite NYT daily games – Connections! I tear down the UI, think through scope, and then build it! It's a quick exercise to flex my background as designer, PM, and engineer. Admittedly, it took me longer to create the write-up than it did to build the app 😅. I used Figjam for my initial heuristic, built the app using React and deployed it on Vercel, and used Notion to document the process and share it here. I gotta say, the integrations between all these services really made it fun and easy. You can check out my write-up here: https://lnkd.in/grW446uE What should I build next? Happy Friday!

42

8 Comments

Consistent Creators is back with another episode ✦ Cédric Moore is a designer & entrepreneur from Switzerland. His design studio TrueForm has worked with clients like Miro & Morning Brew. He's also a Framer expert and has built numerous side projects like Dark Design, Canvas Supply, etc. over the years. In this episode, we discuss the ins & outs of running a Framer templates business. Cédric gets utterly transparent about his process and strategies for selling over $60K in templates. Link to the video in comments ↓

25

4 Comments

When Dropbox shifted to #VirtualFirst, my Design team helped lead the efforts to create the new model in a way that actually reimagined modern work. By applying a human centered design approach to build Virtual First—understand what users need, develop hypotheses, design and pilot solutions, observe results and iterate— what we saw as a result was true cultural transformation. This way of working is intentionally designed to make space for creativity, tinkering and deep work, while also reserving time for synchronous collaboration and IRL time when we need it. Through this process, we quickly realized there was a need for more conversation around the unique challenges of working in distributed ways. That’s how we came up with the idea for Remotely Curious—a podcast where we dive deep into the world of remote work and the struggles that come with it. One of my favorite episodes is on the topic of setting boundaries, an art that can take practice while working remotely. It’s something we’re laser focused on here at Dropbox—83% of employees feel successful in designing their own work schedules, but we know our employees want continued support around boundary setting between their work and personal lives as we continue in our Virtual First journey. Psychologist, professor, and best-selling author Andrea Bonior joined Remotely Curious to guide us through the specifics of setting boundaries in the workplace. One lesson that really stuck with me from the conversation was the idea that "clarity is kindness." It’s easy to fall into the trap of people-pleasing, where we start equating saying “yes” as being nice and saying “no” as being “difficult” or creating an uncomfortable environment. But clarity—being clear about your limits and expectations—is actually one of the kindest things you can do for yourself and your team. As leaders in a distributed environment, this is incredibly important to maintaining balance and remaining in control of our work. Creating healthy boundaries in my life enables me to be both a better leader for my team, and a better father and equal contributor at home. By being intentional in supporting myself as well as having a support system, or a “Team Alastair” around me, I can maintain better balance so that I can be the best version of myself, maintain peak-level performance and continue to scale both professionally and personally. I highly recommend giving this one a listen, and would love to hear your thoughts. https://lnkd.in/dn8As9zG #productivity #innovation #futureofwork

95

1 Comment