5 things they did more than everyone else — Our VP of engineering recently asked me how we could level up the design skills of our engineers. It made me think about the question “how do great designers become great?” My answer to him? 5 hours of daily meditation and fasting. He didn’t buy it, so here was my…

This quick mental exercise will save you from a failed project — You’re designing, doing the whole 9-yards — researching, sketching, validating ideas, and so on. You hand things off to the engineering team, dust off your hands and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. You ship, and crickets! …

Come up with great, productive feedback. — Every designer recognizes the importance of good critique for his/her own work. Good critique (and user testing) can dramatically increase the quality of the solution, give it significantly more impact, make you look like a genius to your boss, etc. But — we don’t often talk about how to properly…

Ask yourself these 4 questions during each project — After designing hundreds of features and products, I always find myself running a bit on autopilot. Not that that’s bad — often a great way to increase the efficiency of your process is to systemize it! Find yourself always designing new toggles? …

And how to prepare for it — I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates for product & ux design positions, and by far my favorite question to ask is: “How would you improve your favorite product?” It seems like a simple enough question. But beneath the surface it reveals an incredible amount about the candidate’s critical thinking skills, how…

They’re subtle, but important — People love their messaging apps like their hometown sports teams. You’ll find die hard fans of iMessage, Messenger, Telegram, Signal, etc. defending their platforms with a ferocity found more in sports bars than on internet forums. Oh and I forgot Kik. But nobody uses Kik. To fan the flame and…

The prescription vs. the platform approach. — Picture Jon. Jon is a first adopter (early consumer) of a startup that’s trying to design a better way to roast salmon using a toaster oven. He’s smart, 35, and a working professional. He spends his evenings answering work emails and watching Dora the Explorer with his two young daughters. …

And How to Prepare for it — I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates for product & ux design positions, and by far my favorite question to ask is: “How would you improve your favorite product?” It seems like a simple enough question. But beneath the surface it reveals an incredible amount about the candidate’s critical thinking skills, how…

How to decide what to learn — The designers who accelerate their abilities the quickest are the ones who will, given the same amount of time, become the most skilled designers. And following that, to accelerate growth, you have to optimize for learning. Breaking it down even further, there are only two ways to learn — from…