The Mindset You Need for Design Collaboration
During my time at Microsoft, one of the most valuable lessons I learned was the power of a growth mindset. Early on, I sometimes saw collaboration as a test of defending my idea...
The Practice That Helps Designers Work Smarter
Every designer has faced it: a ticket lands in your backlog with little context. No PRD, no clear scope - just a line like, “Update this flow” or “Try this variation.” Early in my...
Why the Design Ladder Isn’t Just Titles
When I first started in design, I thought career growth was all about climbing titles. Junior to mid, mid to senior, senior to lead - it looked like a neat ladder. But the reality...
Design Execution: Where Ideas Meet Reality
Design ideas are exciting, but they only matter when they make it into the hands of users. Early in my career, I thought the hardest part was wireframing and UI polish. But I qu...
What Users Taught Me That Prototypes Didn’t
Every design feels solid on paper until real users interact with it. Early in my career, I sometimes skipped deep testing because I believed the flows were clear enough. Inevita...
The Step Designers Skip That Costs Time
Early on, I believed good design came from inspiration - that spark of an idea you sketch out and polish until it feels right. But experience showed me otherwise. Without a proces...
How Data and Users Guide Better Design
Early in my career, I sometimes jumped straight into designing without doing enough research. The result looked polished, but too often it didn’t solve the real problems users w...
Why Every UX Project Needs Clear Goals
When I look back at projects that felt messy or dragged on, there’s a common thread: we didn’t start with clear goals. The team was eager to design, code, and ship, but we hadn’...
The Overlooked Detail That Frustrates Users
User experience (UX) design is at the heart of creating intuitive products, but even the best-intentioned designs sometimes trip users up. One paradox I’ve come across is when t...
Conversations Save Time in Design
Early in my career, I once spent three full days polishing wireframes during a sprint. Every flow, every edge case, every detail was carefully mapped out. I walked into the revi...