Interface Café

Staying Creative with Design Systems • Doubleshot Staying creative with a design system means knowing when and how to break it.

Staying creative with a design system means knowing when and how to break it.

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#DesignSystems

Unpacking “Craft” in the Software Interface The more I see craft mentioned as a power of design, the more I feel that a working definition is urgently needed.

“Taste” and “craft” are often discussed as a shield (or a strawman) in conversations about AI.

But debates on taste vs. automation are meaningless until we actually define our terms.

Here is the definition we need:
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#designsky

A Meditation on Gardening, Design, and Information It’s very hard to replicate the aesthetic pleasure of a moonvine on-screen. The composition suffers from a lack of texture. There’s no wind or rain inside a smartphone.

"Nature can only be fenced in so much." Can the same be said for design?

A meditation on gardening, the limits of information, and why knowing facts about an object might feel unfulfilling.

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#designsky

Design Space and the Generative Spectrum • Doubleshot Untangling some of the abstract and ambiguous possibilities of designing with AI.

Untangling some of the abstract and ambiguous possibilities of designing with AI.

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#AI #Design #FutureOfDesign

The State of Buttons The button's complexity is a result of how flexible the concept of a button really is. It's just a region of space on screen that triggers some action.

Should an expand arrow point up or down?

Components often struggle with the distinction between state and function.

Find out why the answer might actually be in the button's shape. 👇

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#designsky

🔓 True is Better Than New • Doubleshot I’ve always been a big believer in actively cultivating the individual perspective as a part of good design rationale, and it’s even more on my mind now.

In a world obsessed with novelty, David Reinfurt reminds us that in design, 'it's more important to be true than new.'

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#Design

Predict the Present • Doubleshot Is there something more behind the desire to know the future (or speak it into existence)?

“The goal of foreseeing an unknowable future leads to misunderstandings of the present.” A quote from Tom Boellstorff that feels more relevant than ever.

Let’s Talk About Tools • Doubleshot The assemblage of tools not only implies something about which tasks should be possible, but also how they should be carried out.

The features in our design tools imply something about which tasks should be possible and how they should be carried out.

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#DesignTools #CreativeProcess #Design

Humanity will always be the reference • Doubleshot

In a 🆕 Doubleshot newsletter, I break down my recent @design-notes.show conversation with Rachel Been, SVP of Design for Expedia Group.

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#designsky

Letting Go of Geometry (Again) • Doubleshot How type design made me see all the “fixed” logos on social media in a new, dimmer light.

How type design made me see all the “fixed” logos on social media in a new, dimmer light.

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#GraphicDesign #Logos #Typography

New Design Notes and Doubleshot coming this week :)

Material Design Gets Expressive: Aneesha Kommineni, Andy Stewart, and Michael Gilbert The latest evolution of Google’s design system: Material 3 Expressive.

A special ep with PM Aneesha Kommineni, UX Researcher Michael Gilbert, and Creative Director Andy Stewart, going over the M3 Expressive updates.

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#MaterialDesign #DesignSystems #Podcast

📣 Calling all Design Notes listeners:

What other design or creative podcasts do you listen to regularly?

Let me know in the replies!

#designsky

📚 Read This: Jarrett Fuller on Simple Tools The irony of recommending this essay on Interface Café, which is hosted on Ghost, a CMS platform, is not lost on me.

It’s freeing to think about returning to a site built in Notepad as a more direct expression.

Jarrett Fuller unpacks simple tools in this essay.

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#WebDesign #IndieWeb #Simplicity

📚 Read This: What Does Your UI Say To Your Users? New on the Material Blog: a post from Nico Thornley, Brenton Simpson, Julia Feldman, and Michael Gilbert about research the team did to determine how users perceive Material 3 against Material 2.

A post from Nico Thornley, Brenton Simpson, Julia Feldman, and Michael Gilbert about research the team did to determine how users perceive Material 3.

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#MaterialDesign #UserResearch #UIUX

Levels of Abstraction • Doubleshot The aesthetic effect of mystery in design.

In a brand new issue of Doubleshot, I reflect on the importance of careful and intentional abstraction, and the aesthetic impact that can be created by mystery.

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#designsky

Other Than Expected: Fabian Bircher on Combining Art, Architecture, and Code Fabian discusses his unique creative process, where inspiration flows from both artistic concepts and the discovery of new technological possibilities.

Can technical expertise be a creative trap?

In a new Design Notes, Fabian Bircher explains how to break free of what's technically possible to make a greater creative impact.

A new issue of the Doubleshot is set to go out next Wednesday! Sign up now so you don't miss it, and catch up on previous design tips, tools, and theory.

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One Thing Google+ Got Right Decentralized platforms are picking up steam, and one reason I’m excited for that comes back to Google+

At the height of Google+, many Android dev, customization, and fan community members were hanging out there. Here’s what I think it got right:

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#GooglePlus #SocialMedia #TBT

Metaphor and Transformation in the Interface The way metaphor permeates the interface points to a continued struggle to live with the complexity introduced by the very media we’ve created to manage it.

The way metaphor permeates the interface points to a continued struggle with the complexity introduced by the things we’ve created.

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#Design #UX #Metaphor

Tension • Doubleshot The most interesting explorations are those that show something unexpected: a constellation of system features that creates a slight unbalance or a new focal point in the composition.

The most interesting explorations are those that show something unexpected: the importance of creating a slight unbalance or a new focal point in the composition.

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#DesignThinking #CreativeProcess #DesignSystems

View Counts and the Detotalization of Social Media On an infinitely scrolling, algorithmically generated list, scrolling past something is about the least intentional thing one could do.

On an infinitely scrolling, algorithmic list, scrolling past something is about the least intentional thing one could do.

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#SocialMedia #Design #UserExperience

The Future of Design is Still Personal Connecting historic conceptions of adaptable design with contemporary visions, looking toward a truly adaptive future.

Connecting historic conceptions of adaptable design with contemporary visions, looking toward a truly adaptive future.

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#AdaptiveDesign #FutureofDesign #SpeculativeDesign

How to Find Device Metrics and dp Resolution for Any Screen (Updated) If Googling doesn’t give you the numbers you need, or you just want to show off your math skills, here’s a relatively easy way to determine the relevant metrics for your designs.

If Googling doesn’t give you the numbers you need, or you just want to show off your math skills, here’s a relatively easy way to determine the relevant metrics for your designs.

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#Design #AndroidDev #UIUX

Doubleshot - Interface Café Enrich your practice with the Interface Café newsletter—one part curated practical tips, one part theoretical exploration, delivered to you bi-weekly.

Tomorrow, a new Doubleshot newsletter goes out, pondering the primacy of the “problem” in the design process.

Sign up to get it directly in your inbox 💌

Reshaping our expectations for generative design From Le Corbusier to Figma, “design is, at its core, a permanently subject-oriented discipline.”

From Le Corbusier to Figma, “design is, at its core, a permanently subject-oriented discipline.”

To realize the potential of this coming era of design, we must reconsider the nature of the objects we create.

A Reading List for Individualized and Adaptive Design It’s (still) summer, which is the perfect time for a reading list.

Adaptability to the individual is a persistent vision that’s engaged a long line of thinkers and practitioners in computing since day one.

Trace its history (and predict its future) in this summer reading list 📚

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#designsky

In a new Doubleshot, some thoughts (and resources) on the irreplaceable creativity of the mind and how individual subjectivity, on a fundamental level, can’t be generated. ☕️

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#designsky

Doubleshot - Interface Café Enrich your practice with the Interface Café newsletter—one part curated practical tips, one part theoretical exploration, delivered to you bi-weekly.

Tomorrow, a new Doubleshot newsletter will go out centered on what distinguishes generation and creation.

Sign up to get it directly to your inbox, or on Interface Café ☕️

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#designsky

The interface subtly evokes and communicates possibility. For an example, look no further than the chair you’re probably sitting on right now. 🪑

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