And why didn’t we learn about it in design school? For the entire first half of my career, I listened to designers complain that they didn’t have “a seat at the table.” Then suddenly, about a decade ago, they got one. And promptly broke it. This has become especially apparent over the past year, as one company after another trims…

When designers talk about progressing their abilities, they often mean the ability to direct design, present a vision, or manage ambiguous client needs. The ability to “manage down” and direct a team is critical, but it’s also table stakes. To be really effective as a senior designer or design manager…

Generative AI is a fact now. Over the past year, it’s transitioned from an interesting emerging technology, to a competitive advantage for a few, to something that’s going to fundamentally disrupt an unknown range of industries. …

Encouraging eager young designers is everyone’s job. What can you do with 30 minutes of time? A hurried lunch? Maybe send out a couple emails or messages on Teams? If you’re on top of it, half an hour might be enough for a productive meeting. …

For over a decade, social media companies have forced us to have one identity and presentation of self on their services. Mostly this culminates with a profile photo, blurb of text, and if we’re lucky, a few key elements of interest. …

Since early 2020 when COVID left us unable to explore and travel, books became a key way for me to explore and expand my imagination. Even now that most of the world has returned to normal I’ve kept my goal of covering 50 books each year. …

Younger creators are expressing more creativity, in more ways, with less hesitation. We should be learning from them. — A short time ago I was introduced to Matt Ox, an online creator who started producing hiphop music and videos when he was 11, and has continually released music ever since, growing his audience all the while. …

Unlocking new employee learning experiences — Over the summer I wrote several articles about the future of online work, based on discussions I’ve had with individuals at companies around the world. In these discussions, there’s a particular response I often hear: “as work moves online and goes remote, we’re lacking a crucial in-person connection”. I fully…

What happens when you get the meeting? — Previously I’ve covered how to develop a broad Business Development Plan for a design studio, or any type of consulting company, and why account management is critical once you land a client. But what happens when you get that first call after doing an outreach? …