Design Details

This week, we cover all of the exciting new releases from Config 2022, and do a deep dive into the new version of Auto Layout. Supported by: Clay — Clay is the beautiful and private home for all your relationships. Populated from the ground up using your calendar and social history, Clay is the most stunning, powerful way to remember who you’ve met—and what matters to them. Get two months free Enj...

This week, we dissect Substack’s new podcast player design, talking about both the pixels and the strategic advantage of sharing craft-specific content on Twitter. In the Sidebar, we talk about the nature and risks of critiquing software as podcasters and design practitioners. Supported by: Zeplin recently shipped Flows! Flows are a fast/effortless way to create and outline user flows and journeys...

This week, we talk about methods to scale design critiques with a growing team. In the Sidebar, we dig into the...details...of Figma's latest UI changes which added file type icons to file tabs. Golden Ratio Supporters: Zeplin recently shipped Flows! Flows are a fast/effortless way to create and outline user flows and journeys. Designers can use flows to connect screens in seconds and map complete...

This week, we share our tips and strategies for reclaiming our focus to do deep design work. In the Sidebar, we revisit last week's conversation about the value of ideas and finding the right time to share an idea with the world. Golden Ratio Supporters: Vagaro is hiring designers to build the booking, payments, and marketing solutions for growing businesses in the beauty, wellness and fitness ind...

This week, we share the checklist that we use when launching new features to make sure we’re not missing certain states, flows, or edge cases. In the Sidebar, we talk about working in public and the risk of people stealing your ideas. Golden Ratio Supporters: Vagaro is hiring designers to build the booking, payments, and marketing solutions for growing businesses in the beauty, wellness and fitnes...

This week, we talk about enhancing the performance of design teams, a more efficient developer handoff process, and how to develop strong opinions. In the Sidebar, we talk about the tradeoffs of career progression and overall life happiness. At what point are you willing to pause or downgrade your career ambitions for a better life outside of work? Sponsor: BestPracticer helps you find the right d...

This week, we make the case for designing product icons and discuss what to do if your team doesn’t want to invest in great iconography. In the Sidebar, we talk about how to incorporate default typefaces into your design system. The Sidebar: The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! S...

This week, we spent more time exploring the traits of a good designer manager. In the Sidebar, we talk about the design details of Apple’s Studio Display and Mac Studio. The Sidebar: The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails . Latest VIP Patrons: S...

This week, we talk about transitioning industries and how to bridge the quality gap in a new field. In the Sidebar, we talk about storytelling and the surprising insights that can be found in engagement data. The Sidebar: The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.co...

This week, we talk about design file sources of truth, Snapchat's evolution, and the qualities of great managers. In the Sidebar, we talk about building a YouTube channel from scratch, the opportunity for designers on YouTube, and ways to de-risk a new creative exploration. Golden Ratio Supporters: Zeplin lets designers spend more time on design, and less time prepping design files for the team. E...

This week, we talk about the messy nature of remote onboarding and share our tips to make it suck just a little less. In the Sidebar, we talk about the visual design for the heads up display used in televised sports. Golden Ratio Supporters: Zeplin lets designers spend more time on design, and less time prepping design files for the team. Effortlessly build user journeys with native connectors, fl...

This week, we talk about teaching versus micromanaging, or how to give feedback as a manager in a productive and growth-oriented way. In the Sidebar, Marshall shares his tips and tricks for organizing icon systems in Figma. Golden Ratio Supporters: Zeplin lets designers spend more time on design, and less time prepping design files for the team. Effortlessly build user journeys with native connect...

This week, we sat down with Mark McGranaghan and Adam Wiggins to talk about building creative tools, designing across devices and platforms, creating career capital, starting design podcasts, and more. Golden Ratio Supporters: Zeplin lets designers spend more time on design, and less time prepping design files for the team. Effortlessly build user journeys with native connectors, flow groups, and...

This week, we share some (hopefully) non-obvious paths to level up at work and exceed the expectations for a senior++ product designer. In the Sidebar, we talk about the importance of giving blunt feedback, and share ways to do it tactfully and with kindness. Golden Ratio Supporters: Play — Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and col...

This week, we share tips for crafting component variants to avoid the dreaded variant-explosion problem. In the Sidebar, we talk about Tesla’s latest UI refresh, where we see auto interfaces going in the future, and share some of our favorite car dashboard design details. Golden Ratio Supporters: Play — Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, proto...

This week, we talk about the art of creating unsolicited redesigns at work — how to approach them, how to wrangle complexity and rabbit holes, and what to do when you have something worth sharing. In the Sidebar, we share our strategies to become a better storyteller and presentation builder. Golden Ratio Supporters: Play — Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile pr...

This week, we recap how we grew, and the things we learned, in 2021. In The Sidebar, we look forward to 2022 and talk about some of our personal and professional goals for the new year. Sponsor: Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City. Today, Patreon is at the heart of the creator economy. In the last 8 years, the product has grown to support more than 250k creators,...

This week, we were invited to have a rant session about the little things in modern software that drive us nuts. A complainisode! In the Sidebar, we share our strategies for having a successful design challenge interview loop. Sponsor: Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City. Today, Patreon is at the heart of the creator economy. In the last 8 years, the product has...

This week, we talk about the pros and cons of working on a remote design team, and what we think the future of design organizations will look like in a post-pandemic world. In The Sidebar, we talk about how to weigh compensation against your career trajectory. Sponsor: Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City. Today, Patreon is at the heart of the creator economy. In...

This week, we discuss the humble cursor and its role in affording interactivity in software design. In The Sidebar, we talk about the long term impact of the features we build, the importance of smart defaults, and the value of time well spent in our products. Sponsor: Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City. Today, Patreon is at the heart of the creator economy. In...

This week, we share our strategies and motivations for teaching design at work. In The Sidebar, we talk about the shape of software, how we visualize the tools we build, and what it means for software to feel like something physical. Golden Ratio Supporters: Sympli brings its modern design handoff and design version control tools to your secure environment. Upgrade your collaboration workflow with...

This week, we talk about the weird and beautiful world of fictional user interfaces: why do futuristic UIs look so cool? And why aren't they usable? Is the future really going to look like this? In The Sidebar, we share our must-have macOS apps that are always installed first on a new machine. Golden Ratio Supporters: Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products...

This week, we reflect on why it is that talking about building a side project can often reduce your motivation to actually finish the project. We dig into our latest side project progress and share tips for maintaining momentum. In The Sidebar, we recap Google’s Pixel 6 event and share our hot takes on the latest phones and software announcements. Golden Ratio Supporters: Play is the first native...

This week, we talk about our processes for reviewing UI and making sure that things are shipping as close to spec as possible. In The Sidebar, we recap Apple’s Unleashed event, sharing our favorite moments and spicy takes. Golden Ratio Supporters: Sympli builds design version control and developer handoff tools to help teams collaborate on screen designs. Check out their design-to-development plug...

This week, we talk about the new Stripe Press website, pasting behavior in Figma, the latest tvOS UI, and the importance of using fake data in placeholder copy. In The Sidebar, we share our tools and strategies for remembering the important things that come up in our day-to-day work. Golden Ratio Supporters: Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of ad...