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The You Design System
Helping businesses & individuals apply their UX skills to how they’re experienced by other people. Mike Curtis, Sr. UX Designer and author of The You Design System, has 21 years of experience in design, UX, marketing, e-commerce & sales.
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Latest from The You Design System
The Overlooked Trick to Becoming a Genuinely Interested Person
The Overlooked Trick to Becoming a Genuinely Interested Person
How to be less boring by borrowing from a journalist’s toolkit.
Mike Curtis
Apr 22
To Those Using AI: Hold on to Your Wonder Anyway
To Those Using AI: Hold on to Your Wonder Anyway
Perfection is not the point. Possibility is.
Mike Curtis
Apr 17
Go There — Work Needs More Humanity
Go There — Work Needs More Humanity
And I think we’re starving because of it.
Mike Curtis
Apr 8
The Doubt About Your Doubt About Your Doubt
The Doubt About Your Doubt About Your Doubt
Welcome to recursive doubt phenomenon and the mess inside our heads.
Mike Curtis
Apr 2
5 Strategies for Upleveling Your Design Career in this Crazy AI World
5 Strategies for Upleveling Your Design Career in this Crazy AI World
Your job isn’t ending. It’s evolving.
Mike Curtis
Mar 31
The Distance Between Us: Confronting the Gap Between Family Expectations and Reality
The Distance Between Us: Confronting the Gap Between Family Expectations and Reality
Open doors, empty driveways.
Mike Curtis
Mar 19
Let Them Paint the Walls
Let Them Paint the Walls
The hidden costs of suppressing natural talents.
Mike Curtis
Mar 16
Bearing Witness to the Pain of Others
Bearing Witness to the Pain of Others
Extracting career lessons from my mom’s darkest hour.
Mike Curtis
Mar 13
Your Professional Superpowers Are Gathering Dust
Your Professional Superpowers Are Gathering Dust
Converting the buried treasures you already possess.
Mike Curtis
Mar 11
It Took 8+ Years for Medium to Notice My Writing
It Took 8+ Years for Medium to Notice My Writing
Keep going. You’re having more of an impact than you know.
Mike Curtis
Mar 7
Why An Experience-Driven Mindset Could Be Your Best Career Move Yet
Why An Experience-Driven Mindset Could Be Your Best Career Move Yet
This short read might change everything for you.
Mike Curtis
Mar 5
The Invisible Switch: Parenting, Working, and Somehow Staying Afloat
The Invisible Switch: Parenting, Working, and Somehow Staying Afloat
Our amazing strength to continue when we have nothing left.
Mike Curtis
Mar 3
What My Son’s Broken Toe Taught Me About Life’s Natural Feedback Loop
What My Son’s Broken Toe Taught Me About Life’s Natural Feedback Loop
Resisting the urge for an immediate fix.
Mike Curtis
Feb 26
The Unexpected Souvenir: What a Samurai Game Taught Me About Creating Meaningful UX
The Unexpected Souvenir: What a Samurai Game Taught Me About Creating Meaningful UX
Becoming artists of experience.
Mike Curtis
Feb 24
You Never Know Who Knows Someone
You Never Know Who Knows Someone
And how integrity can 10x your career.
Mike Curtis
Feb 5
Nobody Believed Me Until I Threw Up In Front of Them
Nobody Believed Me Until I Threw Up In Front of Them
Why does our pain only matter once it becomes a spectacle?
Mike Curtis
Feb 2
These Lesser-Value Questions Might Be Harming Your Career
These Lesser-Value Questions Might Be Harming Your Career
And how to ask higher-value questions instead.
Mike Curtis
Jan 26
The Human-Factor 50: Design with the Human in Mind
The Human-Factor 50: Design with the Human in Mind
A cheat sheet of foundational product psychology.
Mike Curtis
Jan 16
How to Deal with the Performative, Draining People in Your Life
How to Deal with the Performative, Draining People in Your Life
You get to decide what shapes your peace.
Mike Curtis
Jan 13
Home: Where Memory Meets Meaning
Home: Where Memory Meets Meaning
We can always return to ourselves.
Mike Curtis
Jan 10
The Person and the AI: Your Soft Skills Are Your Superpower in 2025
The Person and the AI: Your Soft Skills Are Your Superpower in 2025
Human skills are the new currency of workplace success.
Mike Curtis
Jan 8
How to Spark Creativity in 2025 and Solve Any Kind of Problem
How to Spark Creativity in 2025 and Solve Any Kind of Problem
With the quadrant method, innovation is inevitable.
Mike Curtis
Jan 1
Nobody Cares About You, Your Career, or Your Job Search
Nobody Cares About You, Your Career, or Your Job Search
I know what you’re thinking.
Mike Curtis
Nov 25, 2024
UX and the Psychology of Belonging
UX and the Psychology of Belonging
The most meaningful engagement metric is when someone finally feels at home in your product.
Mike Curtis
Nov 20, 2024
Write Yourself This Prescription for 2025 Goals and Career Success
Write Yourself This Prescription for 2025 Goals and Career Success
The doctor is in — and that person is YOU!
Mike Curtis
Nov 18, 2024
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