Mar 16Dear designers, it is about the toolsI’ve read a number of articles talking about how design isn’t about the tools. “Tools come and go…” they’ll say, acting like a wise battle-hardened sage. But I’m here to tell you, it’s kind of about the tools. Let me start by clarifying, I think the intention behind these comments…Design2 min read
Feb 9case_study/rhino: Breaking down a mega-form into manageable chunksAt Rhino, we have internal tooling that allows property managers to complete many different tasks for our enterprise partners. Rhino has invested well in making sure this internal tool is built out and designed as well as many of our public-facing tools. Recently, the responsibility for a specific set of…User Experience9 min read
Feb 3habitat design system at RhinoIn April of 2021, I was brought on to the design team at Rhino to help turn their fledgling component library into a design system. This article is intended to share the ups and downs, failures and learnings, and the ultimate result of my work (in collaboration with others). An initial audit Often…Design7 min read
Feb 3Building a design system at GrubhubHow a design system changed the business model — Once upon a time, there was a company in Boston called LevelUp — and before that SCVNGR. LevelUp built custom apps for restaurants that enabled a suite of functionality — including rewards campaigns, order ahead, loyalty and status campaigns, and more. …Design Systems7 min read
Published in UX Collective·Jan 21Planned obsolescence in aestheticsMaking your product look bad on purpose. — Planned obsolescence is a business strategy in which the obsolescence (the process of becoming obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer usable) of a product is planned and built into it from its conception, by the manufacturer. This term is often thrown around when discussing physical hardware that malfunctions after…UX4 min read
Published in UX Collective·Jan 11Using spacer components to drive consistency (in Figma)There are many different ways to organize spacing — with the most popular (probably) being the use of auto-layout. My first big disclaimer — there is absolutely nothing wrong with this method. — Traditional auto-layout method With the traditional auto-layout method — content is framed from the inside out — similar to the traditional CSS box-model method. However, working quickly, and applying this method consistently, can be overwhelming for designers who aren’t super efficient with auto-layout.UX4 min read
Published in UX Collective·Sep 18, 2021There’s a place for “because it looks better”As product designers, we are told that every decision we make must be backed by research, data, or a hypothesis. This is mostly true! Especially when discussing drastic changes to things like navigation, structure, or how different components are used/interacted with. …User Experience3 min read
Published in Bootcamp·May 6, 2021Why you should remove tools and skills from your résuméThis is a somewhat debated topic in the design industry. I’ve heard good arguments for keeping and removing these two sections from your résumé, but I’ve concluded that it does more harm than good, and I’m here to explain why. Design isn’t about the tools First off, you are not a designer because you can…UX4 min read
Published in Bootcamp·Feb 23, 2021case_study/grubhub: Pay/ScanUsing logic to get what we want from unhelpful endpoints — Summary I was tasked with redesigning the Pay/Scan feature of our apps. The basic premise of this feature is that the user can scan their phone at the register and either: Pay, using a stored payment method, and earn loyalty Earn loyalty only (and pay with a separate payment method) What…UX8 min read
Published in Bootcamp·Feb 9, 2021case_study/grubhub: Payment preferences for digital walletMath and ethics influence design decisions — Summary A poorly designed payment preferences UI was resulting in accidental charges and left users at risk of repeat charges that could cause banks to lock their cards. In addition to addressing these pain points, we managed to maintain a level of possible customization unmatched by competitors. Collaborators Design Manager — Sloane…Design8 min read
