Whether you’re directing your AI or working alongside it, Layers walks you both through all seven layers of product design — so the decisions underneath the screen actually get made.
We’re definitely in it, an AI-assisted world where skills packs like this are being created to help build products. This does look cool, though, and the site design is noice. I’m a sucker for scribbled/hand-drawn-esque artwork.
I don’t think I fully believed in AI building software until fooling around with ChatGPT. Maybe it won’t affect software development like it feels like it might, but I don’t think it can be ignored any longer.
I like to imagine that all of us in software development, as it looks today, are busy making beautiful kerosene lamps in all shapes and sizes. We’re improving the burn efficiency. We’re finding ever clearer forms of glass to let the light through. We’re tinkering with a formula that’s been around for a long time. But as we do, Edison and Tesla are busy inventing electricity in the other room.
This is something I’ve argued at length throughout my career, and the last paragraph sums my feelings up nicely:
Users win when we prioritize building exceptional experiences that look great and function great; that solve real problems with finesse, grace, and delight. The more we fracture all this, the more we fall short of exceptional.
I’m infatuated with Iceland, but I mean… how can you not be. If you’re into photography, I’m sure you understand. Peter McKinnon recently took a trip there and put together a short video primarily from his drone footage, but it’s so well done.
Oh, and Matti Haapoja was on the trip, too, and has an equally impressive video (bringing back his “travel feels” series):
While I’m not into creating video content myself, I’m glad there are talented people who are.
I’ve never been to Yosemite, yet it feels like one of my favorite places on Earth. Whatever sense that makes, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the countless photography, books, videos, documentaries that have made me feel (or at least be made aware of) the experiences.
Here’s something. If I were forced to come up with a 20 year photography project, it would be based around Yosemite. I would take seasonal trips every year for 20 years, and at the end of that span, I would choose the best of the best from my collected photos and make a book. Ansel Adams has already been crowned the “King of Yosemite” (not officially, but c’mon). And Alex Honnold will forever be known as the crazy dude who free solo’d El Capitan. But this 20 year project wouldn’t be about competition, or making a name. It would be about experiencing nature in its finest form, at its finest place.
Now, a 20 year photography project isn’t super realistic. But, I’ll visit Yosemite at some point, and multiple times at that.
Until then, enjoy this little video I stumbled across showcasing why Yosemite stands out in the crowd as one of the world’s most amazing places. I can’t wait to go.
Amazing footage/short film from Peter McKinnon (as always). Worth watching if you’re into photography (or just the general beauty of landscapes). Hard to believe places like this actually exist.
Also, all photos in the film were shot with an iPhone 11 Pro! Pretty incredible, honestly.
The subtitle says it all… Excellent article, and very timely, as our team is currently focusing purely on performance right now.
Having a consistent icon set is a big deal in product design. I stumbled upon this one, which offers close to 900 free vector icons.
Yet another good talk from Cameron Moll.
I’ve only been using this app briefly, but if you like noise while working that’s not always music, this might be exactly the app. It stays out of the way, great little UI, and does what it says very well (although, keyboard shortcuts would be a welcome addition).
Maybe one of the best articles I’ve read in 2015.
This post pretty much summarizes my thoughts on design, as well. I’ve long felt that to become a great “designer”, I had to get much better at Photoshop and other graphic-related technologies. “That’s what designers do!” Some do, yes.
But to me, design, at least in the context in which I make a living, is the experience. The look sure does play a huge role in that, but mostly, it’s what the design affords the user in the end. And, while I’m certainly welcoming of better graphic-related “chops” (they will come with time), I no longer see that as a mandatory piece to the puzzle. That’s a very exciting realization.
The end stuck with me:
Thinking about the details, wandering around an unknown space trying to invent the right solution, is expensive.
So very true.
Creativity and (I’m guessing) a lot of time. I love the art direction of these short little videos, too.
This is a fun site to browse through. A nice change of pace from the “traditional” user experiences I’m used to looking at.
Design is not principally measured by a product’s visual appeal; its aesthetic qualities.
It’s also measured by how it was planned and articulated, how it was built, how it functions. It’s about the design’s ability to improve upon the current reality.
Agreed. Good design involves both the form and the function.
Truly. Well done.
They are road signs for your daily rituals — the instantly recognized symbols and icons you press, click and ogle countless times a day when you interact with your computer. But how much do you know about their origins?
Back in the late 1970s, Dieter Rams was becoming increasingly concerned by the state of the world around him — ”an impenetrable confusion of forms, colours, and noises.” Aware that he was a significant contributor to that world, he asked himself an important question: is my design good design?
I’m a fan of responsive design where it makes sense. This is the best and most simplistic guide I’ve seen related to the topic.
Quite honestly this video blew my mind on a number of levels. As he states in the very beginning, the gist of it is:
Creators need an immediate connection to what they’re creating.
Scorekeeper is a minimalistic scorekeeping app. It has a very thoughtful UI that uses icons, color, sound, and just the right amount of animation. I love how the reordering happens a few seconds after you update the score so you can change a few at a time. Even if you don’t have a user for it, watch the video.
What’s next for camera design? Hopefully this. WVIL: Wireless Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens.
I recently purchased a very well-done (letter pressed) piece of artwork in remembrance of Apple’s core philosophy: Think Different. This refers to the infamous 1997 marketing campaign that started Apple’s march back to the top, led by Steve Jobs.
I often come across sites and interfaces that make me question why something works the way it does, and I’ve often thought it’d be a fun experiment to try and improve that interface myself. But having not been there from the beginning, designing under the same constraints as the original designer(s), I rarely view it as fair or constructive. That doesn’t mean it still can’t be fun, though.
Like the last part of the article states, perhaps doing unsolicited redesigns is okay as long as you remind yourself that all of the original constraints have magically been lifted for your version of the design, rendering it much easier and free-willed.
An interview that gives some insight into Steve Jobs’ greatness. This is what’s possible when design comes first!