Design Details

This week, we dissect the newest iPad Pro and its new adaptive cursor, speculating on the future of cursor-touch hybrid interactions. Marshall also shares early feedback on a new prototyping tool and we find escapism in our cool things. Sponsor: Fathom Analytics – we love it, we use it, we can't recommend it enough. Fathom is a privacy-first analytics tool that provides all the right information a...

This week, we catch up with Meg Lewis, a designer, coach, writer, speaker, business-owner, podcaster, and all-around fun human being. We talk about building passive income streams, how to give advice, having strong opinions, and facing public criticism – among many other things. And as always, we share our cool things of the week included a very timely hygiene product, new mobile apps, and a YouTu...

This week, we discuss the metagame of product design, thinking out loud about the skills we do in between the craft work that help us to be more effective, have more impact, and grow faster in our careers. As always, we dig into followup, talk about some fleet ing news, and share our cool things of the week! Sponsor: Fathom Analytics – we love it, we use it, we can't recommend it enough. Fathom is...

This week, we discuss practical tips to level up your visual interface design skills, including tracing and focusing on a "learning by doing" mindset. And as always, we share our cool finds of the week including a new notes application and a creative TV show. Golden Ratio Patrons: We're looking for partners to work with. If your team is hiring, launching a new product, or wants us to get...

This week, we discuss strategies for giving better upward feedback to senior designers. We also share our thoughts on how to name your spacing components, list our favorite design podcasts, and as always, share this week's cool things for your eyes and computer. Golden Ratio Patrons: Sisu is looking for a thoughtful and data-savvy designer to help build the next generation of analytics software. Y...

This week, we discuss key lines, design tokens, and how to make your designs look consistent across all devices. We also discuss a compelling new design tool, add some listener follow-up to last week's discussion on self reviews, and discuss the pros and cons of using Sign in with Apple. As always, we share our cool things of the week, this time featuring a retroactive cooking show and a delightfu...

This week, we discuss the ins-and-outs of writing an effective self review: What should you talk about? How important is it? What does a bad self review look like? As always, we share our cool things of the week, this time including a new provider for Marshall's favorite esport, and a movie that is "cool" or...something. Golden Ratio Patrons: Sisu is looking for a thoughtful and data-sav...

This week, we get deep into the weeds on creating layouts with Sketch's Smart Layout and Figma's Auto Layout, and compare the experience with implementing layouts in CSS and SwiftUI. This is a detailed exploration at the pros and cons of each toolset, and we try to find takeaways that can help us reconcile the wildly different mental models for each. As always, we share our cool things of this wee...

This week, we answer two listener questions about designer-developer handoff. We dig into questions like: What does a good developer handoff look like? What information should it contain? What are systems to make the handoff more efficient for everyone involved? As always, we share our cool finds of the week, this time including a return of the 6-second video format and a useful language learning...

This week, we talk about how to be meaningfully involved with the design community on Twitter. We share tips for finding people to follow, what to tweet about, and we dig into the value of building online connections with other designers. As always, we share our cool things for the week, including some futuristic-yet-spooky technology emerging in China, and a top-notch film production company. Gol...

This week, we dig into a three-part listener question about the difference between web and product design, collaborating with print designers, and what it takes to become a unicorn in 2020. As always, we share our cool things of the week, like a subreddit that will make you cry and a website that lets you edit its design. Golden Ratio Patrons: Flywheel is a delightfully designed managed WordPress...

In this first episode of the new decade, we look ahead to 2020 and enumerate some personal and professional goals for the year to come. And as always, we share some cool things (this week, with the help of a listener!), including an IRL magazine, a couple grumpy websites, and the final season of a show. Golden Ratio Patrons: Flywheel is a delightfully designed managed WordPress hosting platform, t...

In this week's episode, we follow up on a bunch of your tweets, and then we get super semantic about naming conventions and component organization. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a vehicle upgrade and a feed reader. Golden Ratio Patrons: Flywheel is a delightfully designed managed WordPress hosting platform, thoughtfully built for busy creatives. Streamline your workflow with th...

In this week's episode, we discuss the state of our industry's current design tools—especially in comparison to the tools available to other disciplines—and we speculate about what those tools could look like in the years to come. In News, we compare notes on Figma's newly released Auto Layout feature. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a flashcard app and a peek behind the park. Go...

In this week's episode, we go to our patrons for a couple listener questions: one about adapting to shifting roles as a company rapidly grows, and one about the balance between creativity and meeting business needs. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a Star Wars series and privacy-based analytics. Golden Ratio Patrons: Sisu is looking for a thoughtful and data-savvy designer to help...

In this week's episode, we riff on a listener question about the influence of the physical world on digital interfaces, and we end up covering everything from video game controllers to sliders and shiny buttons. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a fun dramedy and another sci-fi novel. Golden Ratio Patrons: Sisu is looking for a thoughtful and data-savvy designer to help build the n...

In this week's episode we dive into the murky waters of designing social proof in social networks. From upvotes to view counts, reputation to badges, there are a wide array of tools and patterns at a designer's disposal to communicate quality and popularity. But these patterns each have their own drawbacks, tradeoffs, and vectors for abuse. We dig into these, and more. Plus, as always, we share ou...

This week, we dive deep into the perils and triumphs of designing an onboarding experience for mobile. Strap in for a big brain dump as we discuss everything from App Store screenshots to sign-in methods to device permissions to user education. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a privacy-minded daily read and a post-post-apocalyptic streaming series. Sponsor: Flatiron School: Learn...

This week, we're joined by Meg Robichaud and Ryan Putnam—incredible illustrators working at Lyft and Messenger, respectively—to follow up on a topic from last week's episode. Meg and Ryan share some of their experiences working as illustrators on product teams, and they shed a little light on how free resources can sometimes have a negative impact on illustration as a valued discipline. And as alw...

This week, the prolific Pablo Stanley joins us to talk about his path following a wide range of interests (including but not limited to architecture, music, fashion, comics, illustration, and design), and he shares his thoughts about the controversy surrounding his Open Doodles project and Design Twitter's reaction to it. And as always, we share some cool things, like a new video game, a creative...

In today's episode we sat down with Jonathon Colman, a Senior Design Manager at Intercom, to talk about all things content. We dig into Jonathon's background and path into design, the role of content in user experience design, how content strategy and product design should work together, the future of AI and machine learning in content strategy, and so much more. That, plus our cool things of the...

In this week's episode, we answer a listener question about why product teams aren't comprised of more "unicorns," and we discuss a Twitter thread that questions whether being a hands-off design leader makes you less of a designer. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including a strangely amazing band and an ultimate guide. Golden Microphone Patron: Sisu is looking for a though...

In this week's episode, we dive deep into the murky depths of Dark Mode, discussing everything from OLED smearing and halation to tinting and elevation. Plus we read the results of the Twitter poll in which we asked you about your preferred dark background color. And as always, we share a some cool things like a crazy creative talk, a painting app for iPad, and a ridiculous illustrator. Golden Mic...

In this week's episode, we dive deep on Android 10's new gestural navigation and how it compares to iOS, finally get around to talking a bit about the September Apple Event, and answer a listener question about what it means to be more proactive. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a new reality TV and some ever-comfy t-shirts. Follow-up: FoR LeSs tHaN ThE pRiCe oF aN ArTiSaNaL pOuR-...

In this week's episode, we discuss the next evolution of Design Details towards becoming a fully listener-supported podcast. We share some background on the decision, our goals, and what's in it for you dear listener, if you are able to support this podcast. All this, plus follow up, a bit of news, and our weekly cool things as always. Follow-up: We'll be digging into the Apple event + Android 10...