I heard this phrase on the news from a Kamala Harris advisor. I kind of love how it captures the feeling I often have, not just about the current political situation. Over the years, I have worked on many big projects. At least a half dozen times over the years, my project would be in…
Many PMs love to play the feature checklist game. It’s a strategy to win against the competition by having the highest number of features. Many salespeople convince themselves that they lost a deal solely because of a missing feature. In my opinion, this can sometimes work, but often omits more important efforts. There are other…
Im scheduled to be a speaker at the upcoming BeMore Festival. The festival is put on my ADPList. It’s a free service for designers to get mentorship. I have been an active mentor on that platform since Feb 2022. My talk is specifically for designers in the beginning of their career, but much of the…
I made a presentation recently of the evolution of software. From desktop applications (from way back like VisiCalc and XTreeGold) to modern web applications. The thing I find interesting was the split in designers who make applications look like “websites” (with a sitemap) and those that make the application look more like software in a…
I recently heard someone say that using a design system took all of the creativity away from the designer. I found this point of view troubling and ultimately think it leads to unhappy designers and poor software. Many designers get into design as a career because as children they liked to draw and be creative.…
I just watched Jim Henson, Idea Man on Disney+. I feel like he needs no introduction, but if don’t know who he is, you can certainly read about him or watch the documentary. To me, Jim Henson has been my Patron Saint and idol since I was a child. I first experienced Jim’s creations on…
I saw a post on LinkedIn that said, “Micromanaging is a sign of a lack of trust. If you don’t trust your team, you will never achieve great things.” This is exactly the kind of thing that gets tons of likes. Unfortunately, I think it’s highly misleading and taken literally will lead you to terrible…
I was just listening to Hold On a RadioLab podcast. There is a section where they ran an A/B test of the hold music for the national suicide hotline. Note: Suicide is a serious matter and I am sure there are trained professionals in charge of it making the experience as optimal as possible. If…
Everywhere I look, I see design. Design is just decisions, after all. The height of your ceiling, the shape of your shoes, the sound of your doorbell, the way the road bends around natural obstacles; every single thing around you was decided by human beings in the past. Sometimes, that decision may have roots hundreds…
Imagine a product designer portfolio that didn’t say “Hi! i’m <insert name>!” Imagine a portfolio that didn’t have long scrolling case studies and looked like everyone else’s. What if the Home Screen of the portfolio had two linked that said… What do you want to see? Let’s assume you use Hotjar or equivalent and get…
I am watching this anime called One Piece to bond with my kids. They love the manga, but I am watching the anime. (Over a thousand episodes!) I won’t do a full review, but there is this one character who really annoys me. Usopp. Most of the pirate crew are amazingly powerful characters, but Usopp…
“Disruptive technology is an innovation that significantly alters the way that consumers, industries, or businesses operate. A disruptive technology sweeps away the systems or habits it replaces because it has attributes that are recognizably superior.” – Source: Investopedia In my lifetime, I have seen many sea changes in the world. Computers, television, job Hunting, consumerism,…
About 90% of my ADPList mentees have the exact same question. “How do I get my first design job?” I figured it would be easiest for me to just write it all down here. This post is not for marketing design where you will mostly be making websites and brochures. Also it is not for…
I have noticed over the years how perfectionism can be a blight on both work and personal relationships. It is a cultural issue and often is the cause of poor user experience. You would think it would increase quality, but it does the exact opposite. The way I experience perfectionism in the world is when…