OrchardNest

This week, we talk about the real struggle of finding the time to do North Star design. It’s complicated! In The Sidebar, we try to find the digital equivalent of a Norman Door.Golden Ratio Supporter:A huge shoutout to Copilot, the best...

This week, we talk about “invisible design” – those products and experiences that go unnoticed when present, but would be immediately noticed if absent. In The Sidebar, we react to the new Tesla Model S refresh.Latest VIP Patrons:Ben...

This week, we talk about designing experiences that weave between meatspace and screens. In The Sidebar, Marshall gives a deep dive into using modifier keys to level up your Figma productivity.Latest VIP Patrons:SherriKevin...

This week, we dive into scope creep: how to deal with it, how to avoid it, and how to build its inevitability into our workflow. In The Sidebar, Marshall shares some Smart Office tips for working at home.Latest VIP Patrons:Kyle ConradJulia...

This week, we catch up with Priyanka Kodikal, a design manager leading consumer design at WhatsApp. We talk all about her journey as a designer, and what it's like building WhatsApp. In The Sidebar, we answer a simple question: should...

This week, we talk through our playbook for shipping personal projects. In The Sidebar, we weigh the tradeoffs of building an online persona. Should designers thought lead?Latest VIP Patrons:Adrian CorscaddenMartin MaričákPolina...

This week, we compiled all of our cold opens, stingers, and outtakes into a single 2020 Clipstravaganza! This is our final episode for 2020 – thank you everyone for listening and supporting us this year. We'll catch you in 2021!Design...

This week, we talk about the skills and tools that designers can learn to become future-proof. In The Sidebar, we share our impressions, tips, and best practices for using Figma Variants.Latest VIP Patrons:Jesper AndrellDavidNikita...

This week, we talk about tips and processes for shipping a high quality UI. In The Sidebar, we discuss the Silicon Valley trend of job hopping every few years.Latest VIP Patrons:Matt CrowleyYannickMegan LearnC. AndersonJohn TyrrellMatt...

This week, we talk about the tradeoffs and considerations of designing for consistency. In The Sidebar, we share tips and strategies for starting a podcast.Latest VIP Patrons:Ashish NegiAlyssa ZhangTiffany C YuAleksandra StrączekRichard...

This week, we discuss the future of designing on Macs. Are we moving to a PC-dominated future in the field? In The Sidebar we nit pick through the latest changes in Figma's Auto Layout v3.Latest VIP Patrons:Maxime DaraizeJamie RhodesVitaly...

This week, we discuss the career paths and tradeoffs for someone who wants to do both design and development. In The Sidebar, we recap the Mac event and share our first impressions of the new iPhones.Latest VIP Patrons:Jordan IsipMatej...

This week, we brainstorm design patterns that help save people from themselves. From stopping the spread of misinformation, to saving eardrums, to screening spoilers, these design ideas are often clever and non-obvious. In the Sidebar, we...

This week, we dig into practical steps for creating a culture of design excellence. In The Sidebar, we share strategies for designing adaptive interfaces that work well on any screen size.Golden Ratio Patrons:Float Float has been a...

This week, we discuss the tradeoffs and challenges of designing interfaces for one-handed use. In The Sidebar, we talk about strategies for collaborating effectively with brand and product design.Golden Ratio Patrons:Float Float has been a...

This week, we talk about the shallow parts of design culture, where superficial work tends to generate far more attention and praise. We dig into potential solutions for this, too. In The Sidebar, we recap and share our spicy takes on the...

This week, we discuss strategies for teaching design fundamentals and how to make the process engaging and fun for new designers. In The Sidebar, we discuss the pain of noticing problems right before you ship.Golden Ratio Patrons:Float...

This week, we talk about how to have effective brainstorms: what does good prep look like, and what should be done alone or with a group? In The Sidebar, we share our spicy takes about brutalism in interface design.Golden Ratio...

This week, we discuss options for designers to close the gap to becoming a senior. In The Sidebar we try to identify what is the duct tape of design.Golden Ratio Patrons:Float Float has been a lifeline for teams working remotely in 2020....

This week, we sat down with Danae Holmes, a UX researcher at YouTube Gaming to talk about everything UX research. We dig into research methodologies, effective collaboration with design, tips to get better at user research, the future of...

This week, we deep dive into tips and strategies for building a better settings experience in your product. In The Sidebar, we discuss the efficacy of paginating onboarding screens.Golden Ratio Patrons:Float Float has been a lifeline for...

This week, we dive into the details of having effective user research sessions, sharing tips and strategies to get more value out of customer conversations. In The Sidebar, Marshall explains his work journaling process to capture better...

This week, we try to answer one very simple question: what do designers even do all day? In The Sidebar, we discuss when and where to use system defaults versus creating a custom UI.Golden Ratio Patrons:Keep track of who's working on what...

This week, we weigh the pros and cons of working on a product that you love to use every day. Is it really so bad to be your own power user? In The Sidebar, we discuss steps to take when exploring vague problem areas.Golden Ratio...

This week, we answer two listener questions – bonus question in The Sidebar! In the first, we discuss text contrast, accessibility, and winning arguments. In the second, we work out what it means to measure success in interface...

This week, we discuss a listener question about the tension between design systems and creativity. Do design systems destroy creativity, or simply get the boring parts of our work out of the way? In The Sidebar, we discuss the challenges...

This week, we caught up with Bobby Goodlatte and Josh Williams, two designers-turned-investors who recently announced Form Capital, an early-stage venture fund. In this episode we talk about the path to starting a fund, whether founders...

This week, we talk about the recently-unveiled GPT-3 AI tool and the implications of AI for design. In The Sidebar, we discuss HUD design in video games, nerding out on diegesis, skeuomorphism, and more.Golden Ratio Patrons:Float is an...

This week, we caught up with Cemre Güngör to talk about transitioning from design to product management, the tension between the roles of PD and PM, why products fail, and so much more. In The Sidebar, we discuss the most over- and...

This week, we attempt to answer the age-old question every designer will someday face: should I be a product manager? In this week's Sidebar, we share our first impressions of macOS Big Sur, covering our favorite changes and what we hope...

This week, we caught up with Yitong Zhang to talk about what it's like to navigate the visa process in the US. We dig into the details of different work visas, the constraints they impose on designers, and what is changing in the current...

This week, we go deep down the WWDC rabbit hole to dissect the latest design details coming from Apple HQ. We also share our spicy takes on the new macOS icons in this week's sidebar.Golden Ratio Patrons:The world’s top creative teams use...