PinnedA comprehensive, well considered list of things designers simply can’t do.A weird question came across the Dear Design Student desk recently: “What are some things (if any) that designers are incapable of?” My immediate reaction was, “nothing?!” Why would anyone seek to define limitations to someone’s capabilities? I grew up in a community that assumed anyone from fifty miles out…Treat3 min readTreat3 min read
Jan 4Member-onlyThe machines will destroy us with personalized generated content to amplify distrust.I’m not a fan of artificial intelligence. It’s not that I don’t see the positive impact of these technologies. I’ve worked on AI based projects at IBM that were designed to perform tedious bureaucratic work quickly. My concern is that we’re making very powerful yet easy-to-use tools to generate deceptive…3 min read3 min read
Oct 1, 2021Member-onlyScience proves that if you want to succeed in your work or art, you need to always be evolving.For anyone looking for success, a new scientific study may have unlocked the secret or, at the very least, validated what some folks already know. Researchers have found a pattern in how people achieve their full potential. …Careers3 min readCareers3 min read
Apr 21, 2021Member-onlyDesigner vs. GoliathI’m currently taking Seth Godin’s class on podcasts. As part of the class, I have come up with a few ideas for a program called Designer vs Goliath, a podcast for designers who are seriously outnumbered by developers and engineers. In the last five years, I have discovered lone designers…Design1 min readDesign1 min read
Apr 7, 2021Member-onlyMedium brings back the blog roll.File this under: Well it’s about damn time. The upcoming redesign for the next version Airbag features a blog roll. And I’ve added a blog roll to the next new…1 min read1 min read
Mar 19, 2021Member-onlyHow to avoid bad decisions.This afternoon I bring you required reading from the intelligent minds of Farnam Street (a smart group of people everyone should be reading). It’s in the form of a list of the biggest reasons they make bad decisions. In my years as a leader in digital, I’ve come to know…Mistakes2 min readMistakes2 min read
Mar 14, 2021Member-onlyA typeface created to support local languages.Charis SIL is a Unicode-based font family that supports the wide range of languages that use the Latin and Cyrillic scripts. It is specially designed to make long texts pleasant…Typography1 min readTypography1 min read
Mar 10, 2021Member-onlyMake accessibility a feature, not a fix.Please share this story far and wide because it’s important, and the digital industry needs to see this. All-Star designer Stephanie Hagadorn shares a unique and super smart project her team created at Indeed to help build better products through accessibility requirements. Over the past year, accessibility has become one…Design2 min readDesign2 min read
Mar 6, 2021Member-onlyMIT Press offers open access to Design Issues.I’ve known about Design Issues, but I have to admit that my interest wasn’t strong enough to buy a copy. I don’t think I have ever seen a copy on the newsstand. My design education has been primarily through self-discovery, so I avoided the cerebral study of my vocation that…Design3 min readDesign3 min read
Mar 6, 2021Member-onlyBusiness is not a sport.I’m glad we still have Jason Fried around to provide a healthy alternate perspective to the mindset of the rest of the tech industry. Businesses love to compete. To beat, to win, to go 1–0. We don’t. I have no interest in competing with anyone. And we don’t frame internal…Business1 min readBusiness1 min read
