• Interactive Tree Component in Figma

    Figma (much to my sadness) has no built in UI components like a tree or a table. These are UI elements I use every day. So I have been experimenting with how to make these in the most efficient manner using auto-layout, and interactive components. . I just published my…

  • Ink Master Review 2021

    What is Ink Master? Ink Master is a reality competition focused on the world of tattoos. (Top Chef for tattoos) Hosted by guitarist Dave Navarro, the show has 13 seasons although only 4 are available on Netflix. This review is only for seasons 1-4 I see Ink Master as an…

  • An Organization is a Garden

    To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. – Audrey Hepburn The Garden Every organization is like a garden and they come in all shapes and sizes. It might be a backyard garden meant to grow edible (useful) food. It might be a rose garden meant to experience and…

  • The Reward for Helping Someone

    When I meet with a person to help them, the truth is that I probably get more out of it than them. Glen Lipka, 2021 Is this how you feel? or is it just me? There is a plethora of information hanging out in my head. Experiences, metaphors, advice, information…

  • Designers: Master your tools

    I’ve been speaking with many junior designers trying to hire someone. One question I ask them is how good they are at their design tool. (Figma, Adobe XD, etc) The answer I have been getting is about 7/10. This is really shocking to me, especially considering they are graduating from…

  • How to Speak in Metaphor

    One thing people who know me say is that I use more metaphors than the average person. It has become the way I speak, especially at work. Someone recently asked me how that works and how the metaphors come to me. The technique starts with an understanding of how your…

  • Rules for a Good Figma Design System

    The Design System or Library in Figma is a critical tool in scaling your operation beyond a single designer and project. Like everything, it can be done well or poorly. It’s all about the details. My best version of this was at Treasure Data where it was the backbone of…

  • Applicant Tracking Systems

    I’ve used three systems (that I can remember) for applicant tracking. This is a brief summary of each. Lever.co I used Lever at two different companies. It was not a perfect system, but after using others, I think it’s the best I have experienced. My summary: The chrome extension for…

  • Hiring: Falkonry 2021

    UPDATE: (Jan 6, 2022) the position has been filled. Ill post more as they open. Thanks! Falkonry is growing and has several positions open! Product Designer Right now, I am designing alone, but the workload is too much. I need a full time design partner to work with me. Remote…

  • Product Prioritization Framework

    Often an organization argues about what the feature priorities should be. There is a simple framework that you can use to sort features in a backlog. This works best when you have a large backlog of features and limited engineering bandwidth. (So basically everyone) Backlog items A backlog item is…

  • Drag and Drop Order UX Pattern

    This has been covered pretty extensively, but I often find myself wanting to have some stuff compiled for easy access. Drag and drop patterns are different depending on what you are doing, but I generally put them into two camps. Grid drag-drop The two most obvious examples are a spreadsheet…

  • Restaurant Marketing

    Marketing should not include shenanigans. Marketing should give you value, not trick you. When you read this promotion, it makes you think “Oh good, half off my order!” No, read the last part. It’s only up to $10. Keep in mind that Doordash is not free. It costs alot to…

  • The Logic of Differentiation

    I’ve covered differentiation in detail before. There is one thing about it that I didn’t cover. I talk to design candidates about this all of the time. Premise: 100 people are looking at your product or site or portfolio. Case 1: It’s the same If everything you have is the…

  • Career Pivot 2021

    Life is funny. You make your decisions, but your predictions end up moving down a different path than you expected. I wish I had that magic crystal ball I’ve been asking for. TL;DR I’m stepping down as Head of Design at Warmly and will be a part time executive coach…