Inventing the future, working with developers, what we share
What happens when your industry is done inventing the future, at least for now? That can be okay, right?
Everybody has a tiny computer in their pockets that can summon cars, get objects in two days, connect us to a distended social graph, and radicalize us. Maybe we’re in a position, societally, where we need to figure out what that all means and how we can all deal with it before we go off inventing anything else? The future is already here. We exist in this moment, reckoning with the messy human side of everything. It’s only been 16 years since the first smartphone came out. We don’t know what to do with any of this yet.
And yet all people want to do is invent another future, capture another pot of gold, be the next person onstage holding up a product that will change all of us. Tech has become obsessed with that idea. Optimism (which is problematic in its own ways!) has given way to unchecked greed.
Design is bound up in consciously envisioning the future of technology. “Future,” in this case, can simply mean what happens next. Because there’s going to be a tomorrow, that tomorrow is probably going to involve a glowy screen, and we should probably take responsibility for what shows up on it. Mercifully, there is another way forward.
This week, for paid members
- This week’s paid lesson will teach you how to coordinate with developers on value-based design work. What does project management look like? What does a positive dev-design relationship look like?
- Our design of the week talks about what happens when a brand releases a special collection and duplicates a bunch of PDPs. Good idea for focus, or less-great idea for maintainability?
- And finally, our fortnightly teardown is for carry brand Evergoods. What is the role of cognitive load when understanding the overall vibe of a brand?
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Links
- Jan Chipchase is updating his previously-linked piece on identity & sharing with more valuable insight into professional identity & hinge moments, so I’m linking it again. That was all part of his plan, right? Related.
- Say, do, say as design process. Ultimately, design is a process of listening, reflection, and communication. Nice distillation from Dan Mall.
- Baymard’s latest is on filters & sorts, which most stores don’t do well. What can we learn from this?
- This universally correct piece on the toxicity of the growth imperative is an essential read for any value-based designers who are wondering how to swim correctly – as well as anyone buying design who might need their expectations rebalanced. (Archive link.)
- Firing institutional expertise is the “fuck around & find out” moment of late capitalist hegemony, Nike edition. Hire an outsider as CEO, get rid of the people who make the company great, and what do you expect, precisely?
- When considering machine learning, what is the “minimum viable model” that will yield the results you need? It’s probably a lot less than you think.
- Design that’s “working”, for some definition of “working”.
- Notes on celebrity coffee, from one of the best to do it.