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Unintuitive Things I’ve Learned about Management

Unintuitive Things I’ve Learned about Management

I first started managing people seven years ago, three years after I graduated and got my first design job. At the time, I was woefully…
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Julie ZhuoMar 30
Unintuitive Lessons on Being a Designer

Unintuitive Lessons on Being a Designer

I sometimes joke that everything I have ever learned about design, I learned from my first job. Nowadays, this first job has extended to…
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Julie ZhuoMar 15
Creative Confidence

Creative Confidence

Recently, someone I was interviewing asked me what I looked for in the perfect maker.
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Julie ZhuoFeb 9
Write in 2016

Write in 2016

Three years ago, sitting on the beach over empty champagne glasses and the smoldering remains of late-night firecrackers, I made a New Year…
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Julie ZhuoJan 12
Good Design

Good Design

My first design job was an internship on Microsoft OneNote in 2007. Our intrepid leader was the product founder Chris Pratley, who…
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Julie ZhuoDec 4, 2015
A New Mother’s Identity Crisis

A New Mother’s Identity Crisis

Four months after I had my first baby, I sunk into a real low.
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Julie ZhuoNov 3, 2015
What Kind of Design Work Should I do?

What Kind of Design Work Should I do?

A Flow Chart for Designers
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Julie ZhuoOct 13, 2015
The First Step in Hard Conversations

The First Step in Hard Conversations

I felt my blood pressure shoot up like a Fourth of July firework in a meeting the other day.
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Julie ZhuoSep 22, 2015
Design the Beginning

Design the Beginning

Pretty much any time we design something new, we start at the middle.
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Julie ZhuoSep 1, 2015
Average Manager vs. Great Manager

Average Manager vs. Great Manager

Explained in 10 sketches
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Julie ZhuoAug 11, 2015
The Best and Worst of Silicon Valley

The Best and Worst of Silicon Valley

“Why don’t you grow up and become a doctor?” asked my mother. This is a conversation we’ve had hundreds of times before. For her, there is…
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Julie ZhuoJul 22, 2015
A Matter of Principle

A Matter of Principle

Surfacing the core truths in every design
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Julie ZhuoJun 23, 2015
Tending the Spark

Tending the Spark

Protect fragile ideas from an early death
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Julie ZhuoJun 2, 2015
The Future of Design in Technology

The Future of Design in Technology

10 predictions for the next 10 years
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Julie ZhuoMay 12, 2015
The Idea Person

The Idea Person

Many people in a creative profession, myself included, have succumbed to the fantasy of the Idea Person.
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Julie ZhuoMar 10, 2015
All the Things that Don’t Matter

All the Things that Don’t Matter

And the one thing that does, when you build a product
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Julie ZhuoFeb 17, 2015
The Imposter Syndrome

The Imposter Syndrome

I kicked ass at Mario games, made my first website in seventh grade, and got a 5 on my computer science AP test. I thought I was set.
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Julie ZhuoJan 27, 2015
How to Be That Designer

How to Be That Designer

You know, the one that everyone *loves* to work with
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Julie ZhuoJan 6, 2015
The Most Influential Things I Read This Year

The Most Influential Things I Read This Year

Each of these changed my thinking or behavior in some manner.
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Julie ZhuoDec 18, 2014
Things Learned in the First Month of Having a Baby

Things Learned in the First Month of Having a Baby

I always wondered how I’d occupy the time during parental leave, since it seems like you have so much of it.
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Julie ZhuoNov 18, 2014
About
The Year of the Looking Glass
The Year of the Looking Glass

A collection of essays by Julie Zhuo on design, building products, and observing life.

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