Product design · 2 min read
Designing a dashboard around decisions
A dashboard becomes useful when it helps someone choose a next action. More charts rarely solve a problem of unclear priorities.
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The studio journal
Notes on thoughtful design, clear content and the practical work of making digital things.
From the studio
Observations from
the work in progress.
Twelve considered articles on the decisions behind useful brands, websites and product experiences.
Brand systems · 2 min read
A brand guide that survives the handover
An identity system earns its place through consistent everyday use. A concise guide with real examples is often more useful than a large collection of abstract rules.
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Studio practice · 2 min read
What belongs in a useful project brief
A project brief should make decisions easier. It needs enough detail to expose constraints while leaving room to discover a better solution.
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Interaction design · 2 min read
Choosing motion that helps people orient
Motion can explain how an interface changes, but essential content should never depend on waiting for an animation to finish.
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Content design · 2 min read
Writing interfaces for moments of uncertainty
People need particularly clear language when something has failed, is still processing or requires a decision with consequences.
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Engineering · 2 min read
How we review a site before release
A successful build is one piece of release evidence. We also need to inspect the delivered pages, their data and the tasks people will perform.
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Content systems · 2 min read
A practical model for editorial collections
Content models work best when they describe a stable editorial idea. Repeated visual blocks are useful clues, but they are not the whole model.
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Applied AI · 2 min read
Finding the smallest useful AI feature
A bounded feature is easier to evaluate than a general promise of intelligence. Begin with a task that has a clear input and a reviewable result.
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Art direction · 2 min read
Photography with responsive layouts in mind
A photograph that works in a wide hero may fail in a narrow card. Planning the image system alongside the layout prevents awkward crops later.
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