A blank canvas. Infinite possibilities. Now… start creating. This feeling of creating something from nothing is probably familiar to anyone starting a new project. The pressure to create the best work yet (and fast!) can get in the way of just exploring some ideas. When I’m seeking inspiration, I look for threads to pull; to […]

While working on a design system for a client, a colleague and I were building out our components in Sketch. It was important to utilize symbols for nearly everything so we could maintain consistency throughout our designs. It was also important that we could make global changes quickly when needed.

I keep a running list of blog post ideas. As I find myself facing interesting design, project management, or interpersonal problems to solve, I jot them down. The hope is that one day, I will craft a nice blog post out of each of them. For over two years, I have had an item on […]

If you were to google how to facilitate a remote workshop, you’d find a lot of articles on which tools to use and even some opinions that you shouldn’t host a remote workshop at all. How can you bring your superstar facilitation skills to the table and create a remote workshop experience that’s both enjoyable […]

There are hundreds of methods for planning workshop activities. In fact, one of my favorite resources is Vijay Kumar’s 101 Design Methods. By combining these methods, designers can create engaging workshops that bring people together to solve problems in just a couple of hours or over a few days. Regardless of how long the workshop […]

Being a software designer has many perks. I get to work with cool new technology each day. I get to build tools that make people’s lives better. The compensation and benefits certainly are not bad either—it’s nice to not worry about how I’ll pay the bills, and you’ll never hear me complain about dogs being […]

Engaging a product’s users early in the process enables the team to gather information about user needs and make user-driven decisions out of the gate. But some software developers might worry, “What if users ask for features that we can’t deliver right away, or worse, can’t deliver at all?”

Ever wondered how Steve Jobs might tackle a problem? What if Angela Merkel were leading your project? How would Judge Judy get to the bottom of it? What would Trevor Noah say about that approach? This activity, Alter Egos, helps explore different ideas through the lens of others and provides new perspectives.