Creative Block
I’ve written six posts in a row and erased them all before publishing. They just didn’t seem all that compelling to me after I wrote them. I think I am having some form of creative block right now. Things I deleted Why America is freaking me out right now Why we don’t need masks anymore […]
WordPress 5.9 (Day 1)
I’ve been using WordPress since 2005. I used Blogger in 2004 and hand crafted before that. That’s 17 years on the same product for this blog. It’s an absolute miracle that a single product could sustain itself, modernize, and innovate for that long. And frankly, they have dominated website hosting for small businesses. WordPress powers 455…
How to: Inbox Zero
Inbox Zero is a technique (coined by Merlin Mann) for managing your email account with ruthless efficiency. I have been maintaining this technique for about 5 years and can show you how to achieve it. Note: The technique is possible in other mail tools, but for the purposes of this post, we will only be…
Digital Dadaism
Dada: a movement in art and literature based on deliberate irrationality and negation of traditional artistic values Merriam Webster Key dates: 1916-1924 Key regions: Switzerland, Paris, New York Keywords: Chance, luck, nonsense, anti-art, readymade Key artists: Hugo Ball, Marcel Duchamp, Hans (Jean) Arp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Hannah Höch, Man Ray, Francois Picabia Key characteristics: Humoristic, tending towards the absurd, satirical attitude towards authority…
Adoption Marketing
Adoption Marketing is a concept I have been working on for over 10 years, but for some reason never blogged about it. Warning: This is a long post because it’s a big topic. Sorry. Adoption Marketing is the effort to influence existing users to adopt the new features you design and develop. Glen Background At…
2022 Predictions
I like doing this annually. It would be easier if I had a crystal ball, so if anyone has one, please let me borrow it. 2020 Prediction Score I skipped 2021 apparently. But how did I do with 2020 predictions? Joe Biden wins. Check. Tennis. Stuck at 4.5. Check. Winners of Opens: One exception, but…
Things 2021
Things I love My Tesla Model 3. It’s the only car I have ever loved. My iPad Pro. I use it 10x every day. It is light and fast. It’s a terrific device. No other tablet compares. Playing Tennis – Especially in the summer Figma – Especially when I can co-design with someone Fiber Internet…
#BoycottSamsung
I just had the worst experience with Samsung and vow never to buy anything from them ever again. #BoycottSamung SamsungSucks I had purchased a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 for my wife. Their website shows people swimming with it. On their website it talks about the water resistance. And I quote… The … Galaxy Watch4 ……
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 interactive tree component to the…
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 art competition. They call the…
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 delight. It could be a…
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 architecture, user interface, people I…
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 prestigious design colleges. What are…
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 mind works. Based on several…
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 all designs. Tiffany Trinh led…
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 LinkedIn is actually very useful.…
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 is OK, but Bay Area…
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 usually a story or epic…
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 and a Tree. GMail uses…
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 have it delivered. So this…