A must read

The Question Episode 061 with this week's co host @natalyathree.bsky.social is LIVE! Answer here bit.ly/answerTheQue... and join us on Thursday at Noon Eastern for the deep dive into how our skills as #designsystems practitioners are evolving. See you Thursday!

Well done, Viagra Boys

Can you imagine a mint that doesn’t produce pennies? It just doesn’t make cents.

I got a new PC for my birthday!

The OA

So fucking excited for next Saturday @shivalryyy.bsky.social

this article is so dense with compelling data that I struggled to find a quote to share > when we reclaim space from idle cars, we create more room for people, for community, and for a more resilient city schoolofcities.github.io/who-are-stre...

I'm growing tired of people blaming accessibility guidelines, for stripping away the creativity from the web. Most websites are not accessible. Many designers don't know (yet I hope), or don't care about accessibility. Or care in a performative way. So, stop blaming accessibility for this. Thanks.

"The pre-mortem was exactly what the [design system] team needed to move forward. It allowed them to voice their concerns in a psychologically safe and supportive environment." I invited @guysegal.com to share a simple yet powerful tool to plan for success: zeroheight.com/blog/the-pre...

A wee reminder that I am looking for my next client. I’m a design systems and content design consultant, specialising in design systems management, documentation, general content design, and consultancy. I’ve worked with the BBC, GOV.UK, Springer Nature, NHS, The Wellcome Trust, BT and more 1/2

Let the birthday month celebrations commence

This week’s newsletter was difficult to write, so I imagine it’ll be difficult to read. “I know deep down in my bones that it is hard to lose a child, because as a parent looking at another parent you recognize that parent is going through the thing you fear most in the world.”

It's getting harder and harder to deny that AGI is a near certainty. This kind of rapid expansion, this level of investment and infrastructural shift, this amount of *risk* - it doesn't happen without astronomical reward. The other day I saw a big barn, which can only mean one thing: giant horses

I wrote an article for @zeroheight.com! It's about the pre-mortem, a simple yet powerful tool to proactively plan for success by surfacing what failed in the past. It’s part of my upcoming Converge talk, where I will share how understanding humans helps address core problems, rather than symptoms.

“At least the president mentioned the importance of design” is definitely the wrong take. I thought designers are supposed to understand context.

LinkedIn design influencers are sure showing their ass this week

Hello new followers! I'm a design director from Toronto, working on design systems. I also host a podcast called Design Downtime, where I talk to design professionals about a hobby or interest of theirs that has nothing to do with work, because it's ok to not be about productivity 24/7!

Introduce yourself with the last five concerts you attended: The Bug Club Pom Poko Mclusky Kraftwerk Guided by Voices

🚀 Excited to announce my first book: Mise en Mode — an approach to adding creative expression into design systems! 🎉 First debuted at Clarity 2023, the strong interest led me to expand it into a full book. 📖 Be the first to know when it’s available: mode.place

Sonic Adults

Featuring your favourite “problem” “designer” @spavel.bsky.social

My teenagers just referred to our family as “an ingredient household”.

Friends! I’m going to be looking for new clients from 1 October. If you know of any projects or teams that need (outside IR35) contract support with any of the following, please get in touch: - Content Design - Content Strategy - Design systems management - Design systems strategy - Documentation

Slightly diminish a band: Damp Leg

Hey lazyweb, who are the Canadian/Torontonian experts in AI harms? A pal asked me recently and I realized while I could rattle off half a dozen names in the US I didn’t know of anyone local.

You see this, post a title screen that is iconic to you

The worst thing people choose to automate with AI is their personality.

I had a great time chatting with @jmillspaysbills.bsky.social about all the “messy” stuff that goes into working with people and managing design teams.

Good video. Please watch and share. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpPc...

AI was supposed to make us more efficient. Instead, it’s fragmenting our workflows, bloating our calendars, and burning out high performers. I wrote about the false promise of AI productivity and why we’re actually working harder than ever: afterburnout.co/p/ai-promise...

Now that I’m about to be home, I’m excited to record the content for my new Tough Conversations course this upcoming week! You can still get preorder pricing here: course.modernleader.is/courses/toug...

Unsurprising goal post shift from AI boosters: GenAI didn’t fail, you’re using it wrong; don’t just think of it as a tool, you need to rearchitect your entire workflows.

If you try to make everyone happy, you might end up making the most important person miserable - yourself.

This is Arabella. She’s 8 and for the past year has been struggling with diabetes, and doesn’t seem to get better. We’ve made the tough decision and today we’re saying goodbye to this little fuzzy ball of mischief.

I'm happy to announce that our studio is back at work on season 4 of the Design Downtime podcast! designdowntime.com

SOS. I have never used this word before: as a researcher, I am in Siberia. I have no idea what else to do, I don’t know what is next, I don’t know what my backup plan is, and I am wondering what the hell is next. It’s been 18 months. I can’t eat. I’m fucking scared in UX. Everything else right now.

New trailer just dropped for my podcast - in addition to core topics, many of the episodes touch on themes of artificial intelligence usage that are beyond the scope of the book (The Game Development Strategy Guide). Tune in to get all of the nuance on these most timely of #gamedev conversations.

Amabel had me at “new video essay”.

What perfect albums came out when you were 16?* * No retroactive cool, please. Albums that were in the house that you actively purchased and listened to.

Rula Daood, our national co-director, is a Palestinian who lives under the same system that dehumanizes and kills her people, and still, she stood tall in Tel Aviv and said what all of us need to be brave enough to say. Listen to her:

Natural General Unintelligence

Cannot wait

Happy 33rd birthday to Sonic Youth‘s Dirty

Right timing, wrong planet

Good morning! Sunday means swim class. The scaries are working their way back in as we approach August. 😅 So if any of y’all have any leads on tech or tech adjacent roles, hit me up. Ya girl’s not trying to stay in her increasingly toxic work environment. 🫠 #careerswitcher

🧠 Lost your job? You're not alone. Join @tdesseyn.bsky.social , @jasontorres.bsky.social , and @guysegal.bsky.social l (Design Director @ Thomson Reuters) for a real convo about rebuilding confidence, and landing that next role. 🗓️ July 17 | 12 PM EST 📍 Only on Discord 🔗 torc.community

Someone said on here “what a sad thing for people to dislike another human for their opinions” unironically.