Words
Things I've learned, mostly the hard way. UX, strategy, facilitation and games.
Cheap to build, costly to remember
When AI makes building cheap, remembering gets expensive. Here is how I keep global, local and ambient context apart.
Should you say AI was involved? Five questions before you decide
Five questions for when to say AI was involved, and a little doodad to try them on five real situations.
Rebuilding this portfolio, one pixel at a time
My old site was from 2022, and it showed. Here's how the new one came together: the goals, the steps, the decisions and lots of Easter Eggs.
Building a game with a team of AI agents
I'm making a game on the side, with a team of me and eight AI agents. Here's how the work gets planned, built, tested and remembered.
Facilitation is design work
A workshop is a product with a short lifespan and a demanding user group. Here's how I design them, with a little help from psychology.
Strategy is a diagnosis
Most strategies are goal lists in a nice font. Rumelt's kernel is a better place to start, and it turns out problem framing is design work.
What games teach us about onboarding
I've beaten over a thousand games. They've spent decades learning to teach people without boring them. Products should steal more.
The problem with designer portfolios
Portfolios are great at selling stories and bad at showing the hard parts of design. A slightly ranty post from 2022, tidied up, still true.
Why you need a map
Maps put what's in our heads on the wall, where a team can point at it. A practical guide to choosing, making and using experience maps.