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Writing

Thoughts on UX strategy, design systems, the role of AI in design, and building a long career in this field.

14 posts

UX5-part seriesFeatured

Product Design Concepts Explained

Generative research, evaluative testing, jobs to be done, mental models, and affinity mapping, explained through the specific decisions they changed, not just their textbook definitions.

July 3, 202610 min readStart with Part 1

AI in Design

Where AI Actually Fits in the Product Design Process

A phase-by-phase look at where AI tools and coding agents genuinely speed up product design inside the Double Diamond process, and where human judgment still has to lead.

Aug 10, 20269 min read

AI UX Design

Beyond the Chatbot: The AI UX Design Patterns That Actually Work

Most AI features are a sparkle icon bolted onto a sidebar, and most of them go unused. The interfaces that actually change how people work follow a different set of patterns: pre-fill over first-fill, visible confidence, graceful failure, and trust earned in stages.

Aug 10, 20268 min read

AI in Design

Scaling Product Design With AI and Just Enough Technical Skills

Too much to build, limited dev bandwidth, and a business that needs to move faster than either can keep up with. Here's the five-part system I use, AI tools plus just enough technical skill, to close that gap myself.

Aug 10, 20267 min read

AI in Design

The New Handoff: From AI-Generated UI to Production-Ready UI

AI shortened the path from idea to interface, but the handoff between design and development didn't disappear. It moved downstream, into code review. Here's where it actually lives now.

Jul 10, 20265 min read

AI in Design

Forget AI Tools. Master These 7 AI Concepts Instead

Tool debates burn out fast. The mental models underneath don't. Seven concepts that separate designers who work well with AI from designers who just use it, drawn from a year of shipping real decisions with it.

Jul 7, 20269 min read

9 Simple UX Fixes That Boost Conversion

No redesign needed. Nine small, specific UX changes — permission timing, inline errors, a shorter signup form, skeleton screens — that quietly cost you signups and sales until someone fixes them.

Jul 7, 20268 min read

Design Systems

Icons Are the Most Underestimated Part of Your Design System

Choosing an icon style isn't an aesthetic decision. It's a commitment to a visual language that has to hold up at 20 icons, 200 icons, and 2,000 icons across every product and platform you ship.

Jul 3, 20267 min read

Career

What 'Senior' Actually Means in Product Design

The title says senior. The job description hasn't caught up. Here's what actually changes, in output, conversation, judgment, and mentoring, after fifteen years holding the title.

Sep 10, 20247 min read

Design Systems

What I Learned Building a Design System From Scratch

Lessons from building three design systems from scratch, in healthcare, eCommerce, and SaaS: start with tokens, ship incomplete, and decide governance before the first conflict.

Mar 15, 20249 min read