Design Details

This week, we talk with Justin Stahl about visual design and craft, the impact of design systems and tools on the visual landscape, tactical tips for a stronger design interview, and much more. In The Sidebar, we ask Justin about the best advice he’s ever received, becoming a manager, and knowing when it’s time to switch teams.

• Matt Turpin
• Nushaine Ferdinand
• Paul Hernandez
• Chandni Luhadiya
• Justin Wagoner
• Altay
• Kira
• Aldrin Fernandez
• Anna Zhandarovich
• Paweł Ludwiczak
• Nikki
• Alex Harvey
• Jacob Johnson
• Joshua Beitler
• Kasper
• Andrew Kamau

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

• Sam Bernhardt tweeted a more technical name for the confidence gradient concept from two weeks ago: confidence code switching.
  • Cope Ahead Skill

This week, we talk with Justin Stahl about visual design and craft, the impact of design systems and our tools on the visual landscape, tactical tips for a stronger design interview, and much more.

Justin is currently a Director of Product Design at Cruise. Before this, he was a Chief of Staff at Facebook Reality Labs, the Head of Product Design for Portal, and spent years as a product designer working an a wide range of Facebook products.

• The tweet: It's been tough to recruit product designers with great visual design and an eye for detail. Did we atomic-design-system and product-manager-skills a generation out of having them?
• Justin’s website
• @justahl
• Typewar and The Font Game for iPhone
• Scenarios in which Tesla FSD Beta 9.0 will fail
• Not Boring Apps
• The Gap by Ira Glass
• Jasper Hauser
• The Chef’s table episode Brian references
• Jon Lax
• Facebook Reality Labs

• Brian shared Tiger on HBO, a two-part documentary about the rise and fall of Tiger Woods. Even if you’re not super into sports, it’s worth a watch.
• Marshall shared The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It’s grim-dark fantasy, a good pick for anyone who enjoyed Game of Thrones.
• Justin shared The Ideal City: Exploring Urban Futures, a book which chronicles the design of urban futures.
  • The Last Dance on Netflix.

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
• • 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes.

Byeee!

This week, we talk about the confidence gradient, how we’ve built confidence over time, and the funny circumstances that can take us out of our element. In The Sidebar, we share our first impressions of Windows 11 and talk about the growing convergence of operation system designs.

Around is a better way to video call. It’s designed specifically to make it easier to gather small groups together to collaborate in real time, without all the distracting and frustrating interfaces that comes with most video chat software. We love the small floating heads and emphasis on making it easy to work alongside the video call, rather than constantly having to app switch.

You can get started for free by signing up at Around.co!

• Wiggens
• Anca Dobrea
• Frannie Laks
• Yang You
• Henning Witzel
• Ritesh Mandaliya
• Jeffrey Ayigsi

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

• Shankar tweeted: Re: Brian’s question about creative Shortcuts. If you find yourself opening a particular tab or searching inside an app often, create a shortcut for that. Example: searching or viewing your podcast library.
• Sam Bernhardt approves of Marshall’s parenting hot takes. Also: Let’s bring back the spacer gif!

• Ritesh outlined some reasons why he enjoys the show. Thank you for the kind words!
• Moody asked: is there a way to support the podcast aside from Patreon? – just keep listening! Sharing with friends, tweeting at us, or rating the show on Apple Podcasts are also helpful.

This week, we talk about our experiences of being in high and low confidence situations, how we’ve dealt with confidence over time, and the funny circumstances that can take us out of our element.

• Brian shared Dreamland by Glass Animals. Very catchy, be warned.
• Marshall shared LEGO Masters Season 2, now from Australia and the UK! SO much LEGO, so little time.

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
• • 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes.

Byeee!

This week, we dig into the best way to think about margin and padding in your component system. In The Sidebar, we break down the basics of design advising and angel investing.

Around is a better way to video call. It’s designed specifically to make it easier to gather small groups together to collaborate in real time, without all the distracting and frustrating interfaces that comes with most video chat software. We love the small floating heads and emphasis on making it easy to work alongside the video call, rather than constantly having to app switch.

You can get started for free by signing up at Around.co!

• • Graham Connell
• Emily Kim
• Sjur Grønningsæter
• Vincent Salamanca-Gagnon
• Franck
• Dominic Kennedy
• Rohan Bondili
• Tomáš Trejdl
• James Goncalves
• Clay Crenshaw
• Jack Lo
• Liam Ferguson

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

• Manny tweeted: What is the official name for the “three dots”…? I’ve heard “three dots”, “more icon”, “ellipsis” and “overflow” from different people
  • We replied: Yeah, it’s a bit confusing, but to my understanding, Android is “Overflow” and iOS is “Ellipsis,” but the label is typically “More,” so we just went with “Three Dots” to keep it generic 😊
• Raffaele tweeted: Episodes like 401 would be great with video or images content! I got lost several times in the words explanation of visuals/patterns. Does this make sense? 😁
  • We agree, but since that’s not quite possible (easily) with our current setup, it’s become useful practice for us to have to describe visual concepts with crisp language.

This week, dluft asks on GitHub: Brian mentioned the article "Margin Considered Harmful" by Max Stoiber. I can't wrap my head around the takeaway. Could you explain how to use margins in Figma as instructed by Max, please?

• Max Stoiber’s original article, Margin Considered Harmful

• Brian shared OldOS by Zane, a faithful recreation of iOS 4 in pure SwiftUI.
• Marshall shared TikTok, a brand new app that is sweeping the nation. You probably haven’t heard of it yet, but you should check it out. Marshall is always on the cutting edge, y’all 😅
  • Byte, what could have been the spiritual successor to Vine.

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
• • 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes.

Byeee!

This week, we talk about a ubiquitous design crutch: the three dot menu. We examine the spread of this pattern and discuss potential solutions to avoid it. In The Sidebar, we recap WWDC 2021 and dive deep into our favorite announcements.

Around is a better way to video call. It’s designed specifically to make it easier to gather small groups together to collaborate in real time, without all the distracting and frustrating interfaces that comes with most video chat software. We love the small floating heads and emphasis on making it easy to work alongside the video call, rather than constantly having to app switch.

You can get started for free by signing up at Around.co!

• Trí Nguyễn
• Michael Wang
• Justin Watts
• Michael Goliver
• Baruch Pi
• Tara Urso

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

• Sean Sullivan tweeted: IMO Software can be finished. Think about software that ships on non Internet connected devices. We used to always ‘finish’ software products pre-SaaS. Big examples today would be secure embedded software systems.
• Charmie Kapoor mentioned us as one of her top 3 podcasts for design and product – thank you!

This week, we talk about three dot menus, the now-ubiquitous interface element that can be conveniently used to hide secondary and tertiary functions. We rant about the spread of the three dot virus and discuss potential alternatives to avoid it.

• Brian shared the Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop, a gorgeous, albeit expensive, band for your Apple Watch.
• Marshall shared Inside, a New Tragedy from Bo Burnham. It’s beautifully written and performed, but very sad and poignant. A masterpiece.

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
• • 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes.

Byeee!

This week, we try to answer a simple question: is software ever finished? In The Sidebar, we talk money: compounding, investing, negotiating, planning, and more.

Around

Around is a better way to video call. It’s designed specifically to make it easier to gather small groups together to collaborate in real time, without all the distracting and frustrating interfaces that comes with most video chat software. We love the small floating heads and emphasis on making it easy to work alongside the video call, rather than constantly having to app switch.

You can get started for free by signing up at Around.co!

• Uhl Albert
• Erol Mujak
• Carlos Salazar
• Tony He
• Linus
• Crys FM
• Christopher

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

This week, Graham Connell tweets: can software ever be finished? Most products these days get new features and keep evolving, but I can think of several examples where continual change isn’t always good/necessary. Curious to know your thoughts on this.

• iA Writer

• Brian shared Project Hail Mary, the latest sci-fi novel from Andy Weir, author of The Martian. We both read and finished this at the same time, and absolutely loved the story. The audio version is a strong recommendation!
• Marshall shared Homebridge on Raspberry Pi, powered by CanaKit Raspberry Pi and homebridge-raspbian-image.

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
•  
  • 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes.

Byeee!

This week, we talk about how the framework Strong Opinions, Weakly Held can be used to effectively critique visual design. In The Sidebar, we recap Google I/O 2021, discussing our favorite announcements, Material You, and the wild future of computers.

• Javier Alaves
• Ash Oliver
• “Easily pronounceable”
• Michael Wilkins
• Mark Lee
• Zlatan Hajrudinovic
• Derek
• Betty Lau
• Ke Sun
• Alex Miller

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

• Sam Chang tweeted: Curious how y’all feel about design folks who are curious and interested in non-design side projects. Would that also stand out to you?
  • It depends! But it’s also your life, your website – certain things will just be more relevant than others in a job context.
• Apple previews AssistiveTouch, an awesome new set of accessibility tools for the Apple Watch.

This week, Yu Zhao asks on GitHub: How to develop "strong opinion weakly held" for visual design critique?

• Here’s a good starting point on the this: Strong Opinions, Weakly Held — a framework for thinking
• Discord recently evolved their brand colors

• Brian shared The West Wing (available on HBO Max), a political drama created by Aaron Sorkin. It holds up!
• Marshall shared the Belkin 3-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe – it works great as an all-in-one stand for iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods Pro. Looks great, too!

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
• • 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes.

Byeee!

This week, we dig into two frameworks for leveling up at work: Proof of Curiosity and The Helpful Hierarchy. Whether you’re looking for more accountability, want to stand out in a job interview, or just want to be more intentional with your professional growth, we think these frameworks will help.

Around is a better way to video call. It’s designed specifically to make it easier to gather small groups together to collaborate in real time, without all the distracting and frustrating interfaces that comes with most video chat software. We love the small floating heads and emphasis on making it easy to work alongside the video call, rather than constantly having to app switch.

You can get started for free by signing up at Around.co!

• Mark Huser
• Stephanie
• Francis Cortez
• Frederik Rømming
• Ethan Machado
• Ludens Tran

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

• Online workout trainer alternatives:
  • growingannanas
  • 8fit
• Uhl Albert tweeted: TIL: "Elephant paths" is another term for desire paths or desire lines.
  • See more on 99% Invisibe
• Maximillian Piras tweeted: Although the mature product distinction does bring to my mind the Innovator’s Dilemma of being held hostage by your users’ feedback & what have you.

This week we talk about how to stand out as a designer, centering on a WIP idea we’re calling proof of curiosity.

• Neil Sardesai is a great example of demonstrating a proof of curiosity on Twitter.
• Learn more about learning in public from Shawn Wang.

• Brian shared Paddington, just a wholesome, lovely movie that we finally watched together this past week. Part 2 to follow, we hear great things.
• Marshall shared Fist to Five, a technique for quickly getting feedback or gauging consensus during a meeting.

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
• 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes

Byeee!

This week, we talk about the tension between building what customers explicitly ask for versus building towards a team’s internal vision. In The Sidebar, we talk about the lack of public software critique: Why isn’t there an MKBHD equivalent for software design?

Around is a better way to video call. It’s designed specifically to make it easier to gather small groups together to collaborate in real time, without all the distracting and frustrating interfaces that comes with most video chat software. We love the small floating heads and emphasis on making it easy to work alongside the video call, rather than constantly having to app switch.

You can get started for free by signing up at Around.co!

• Olga S
• Noah C
• Temi
• Renato Mandić
• Andrew Kim
• Phoebe Goldenberg
• Zé Marques
• Cindy C
• Giulio Fagiolini
• Matthew
• Chris Jeong
• Brian Leach
• Rachel Davis
• Radek Berka

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

• Bran Hills tweeted: the bit about not being a thought leader, but being more open about what I'm learning personally really hit home. This will help whittle away at imposter syndrome if I frame what I share in this way. Thanks fellas!
  • Read more from Shawn @swyx Wang about learning in public.
• Michael Knepprath tweeted: Favorite newsletters rn:
  • rendezvous with @cassidoo https://cassidoo.co/newsletter/
  • @jbouie’s NYT newsletter (currently taking a break for paternity leave) https://nytimes.com/newsletters/jamellebouie
• JB Design joined Twitter for the show! Welcome to Design Twitter 😊

Victor Kernes asks on GitHub:

Curious to hear both of your thoughts on the decision making process of building features that you’re users explicitly ask for (i.e. edit button on Twitter) versus features that your team, whether it’s Design, Product, Engineering, feels are the right things to build based on the company’s priorities.

User research plays a large part, however, it’s something I’ve been struggling with lately. Especially as I’m working on new features that the company’s prioritizing, which is another process I’ve been removed from so far.

• Learn more about elephant paths: Elephant path is a name for a path that is formed in space by people making their own paths and shortcuts; it is an unofficial route.
• This talk by Adam Mosseri, Data Informed, Not Data Driven, is a good one.

• Brian shared Invincible on Amazon Prime Video. Quick synopsis: Mark Grayson is a normal teenager, except for the fact that his father, Nolan, is the most powerful superhero on the planet. Shortly after his seventeenth birthday, Mark begins to develop powers of his own and enters into his father's tutelage.
• Marshall shared Returnal, a PS5 exclusive: After crash-landing on this shape-shifting world, Selene must search through the barren landscape of an ancient civilization for her escape. Isolated and alone, she finds herself fighting tooth and nail for survival. Again and again, she’s defeated – forced to restart her journey every time she dies.

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
• 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes

Byeee!

This week, we discuss the things we’ve done in our design careers that have had an outsized impact on our professional growth. In The Sidebar, we talk about the anatomy of icons and how that anatomy affects user interfaces.

Around

Around is a better way to video call. It’s designed specifically to make it easier to gather small groups together to collaborate in real time, without all the distracting and frustrating interfaces that comes with most video chat software. We love the small floating heads and emphasis on making it easy to work alongside the video call, rather than constantly having to app switch.

You can get started for free by signing up at Around.co!

• Patrik Lau
• Barton Smith
• Andy Knight
• Mancini Tan
• greg leibowitz
• Cindy Z
• Achille Perrin (French pronunciation)
• Yuna Akazawa
• Aaron von Kreisler
• Justin Haldane

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

• Walter Kimaro tweeted a mini music video on top our theme music. This is the kind of content we’re here for! Thank you, Walter 😊

This week, we talk about “career cheat codes” — or: things we’ve done in our time as designers that have had outsized impact on our growth.

• Become “the person” for “a thing”
• Become a central “connector node” in your organization’s graph
• Learn in public by writing, tweeting, podcast, or anything else that puts your ideas out into the world in real time.

• Brian shared Money Stuff, the best weekday newsletter in finance by Matt Levine. It’s fantastic, funny, and will help you learn about the world of money.
• Marshall shared the HomePod mini. Turns out, it’s pretty great – when it works!

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
  • 📬 Don't have Twitter? Email us at [email protected]
• 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes

Byeee!

It’s event recap week! In this week’s episode we share our reactions to everything announced at Figma’s Config 2021. In The Sidebar, we dig into our favorite updates and the confusing head-scratchers announced at Apple’s Spring Loaded event.

Around is a better way to video call. It’s designed specifically to make it easier to gather small groups together to collaborate in real time, without all the distracting and frustrating interfaces that comes with most video chat software. We love the small floating heads and emphasis on making it easy to work alongside the video call, rather than constantly having to app switch.

You can get started for free by signing up at Around.co!

• lookiyam
• Charlie
• Blake Lam
• D G

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

This week, we dig into everything announced at Figma’s Config 2021. We share our thoughts on FigJam, file branching, audio spaces, and the updated Figma mobile app.

• Config
• What’s new in Figma

• Brian shared Nike Run Club, a lovely little app from Nike to help you run. I was surprised at how much I liked the guided runs – they’re worth a try!
• Marshall shared TOPK magnetic charging cables, a nice quality of life improvement for all you designers out there overrun with low-battery test devices.

• 📻 We are @designdetailsfm
  • 🎙 Brian is @brian_lovin
  • 🎙 Marshall is @marshallbock
  • 📬 Don't have Twitter? Email us at [email protected]
• 🙌 Support us on Patreon - your support literally makes this show possible. Thank you ❤️
• ❓ Got a question? Ask it on our Listener Questions Hub, and we'll do our best to answer it on the show :)
• ⭐️ Enjoying the show? Leave us a review on iTunes

Byeee!