Sometimes the best way to solve a design problem is to take a step back and start over. — Early in my design career I’d spent countless hours trying to solve some obscure usability problem. I would come up with various gimmicky ways to squeeze an extra button or cram another text field into an already crowded screen. But no matter how hard I tried, or how many ideas…

Designing user interfaces is not so much like completing a jigsaw puzzle, but more like solving a Rubik’s Cube. — I used to think that designing user interfaces is like completing a jigsaw puzzle: you start off with a bunch of disconnected ideas and try out various ways of putting them together until everything fits in place. It’s actually more complicated than that. Unlike a jigsaw puzzle, where each piece…

You don’t have to wear the same outfit every day. But you can wear the same color set. — I love the idea of wearing the same outfit every day. You get to wear something you really like and you don’t have to ever think about what clothes you are going to put on in the morning. And you never know, one day your outfit might become iconic, a…

A style guide for naming calendar events is just what I needed. — I like to have a system for everything: how I organize the files on my computer, how I pack my bags when I travel, how I get ready to go to bed, or what day of the week I do the laundry. Not that you can have a system for…

You don’t have to live like a monk, but it sure does help. — I’ve been going back and forth between San Francisco and Amsterdam for the last 7 years. For those of you not keeping track, there is a massive 9-hour time difference between the two cities. The jet lag is no joke. While it didn’t bother me at first, over the years…

Microsoft’s product line and track-record make it a natural fit for Figma. — Figma was always going to be acquired. Despite its outsized impact on the design world, it’s no Airbnb or Uber: a well known brand with a broad appeal. Instead, it’s a niche product with limited growth potential beyond its current user base. Going public has never been a viable option…

Computers will, and should, become better writers than humans. — If you told me 12 months ago that by the end of the year computers would write better prose than most adults I’d think you are out of your mind. In 2050 for sure, but today? No way. And yet here we are: OpenAI’s GPT-3 already writes so well that…

Partnering with Silicon Valley isn’t ideal but it might be the best choice for now. — Cars have changed a great deal over the last decade. Touchscreens, wireless connectivity, electric engines, cameras, and AI continue to transform every aspect of driving. Despite all the progress, though, the way we interact with our cars still leaves a lot to be desired. Voice commands are a hit-and-miss, touchscreen…

In order to succeed in social media you need more than mathematical equations. — It should not come as a surprise that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a pioneer of space and motor industries, would think that he could run a social media company. It is not rocket science after all. Rocket science it is not, indeed. But that doesn’t mean social…