Deep Dives 🤿

Mig Reyes is the VP of Product Experience at Duolingo (and a design director at Instagram before that).In this episode he shared a behind-the-scenes of how design operates at Duolingo (as well as some harsh truths designers need to hear).Common portfolio review mistakesHow communication skills build influenceMig's strategy behind hiring junior designersHow to succeed in executive product reviewsMig's mandate to raise the design bar at DuolingoHow Mig revamped design management at DuolingoWhy Duolingo changed from “UX” to “Product Experience”a lot moreJacob Nielsen (commented on LinkedIn post)Brett Westervelt (VP of Design at Instagram)Ryan Sims (Chief Design Officer at Duolingo)Luis (CEO of Duolingo)Companies mentioned: Instagram, Airbnb, Coinbase, Meta, OpenAI, Figma

I talk to a lot of designers at the pinnacle of their career…So I'm always trying to figure out how they've evolved the way they practice design over the years.Once I hear the same answer from a few different people I start to pay attention

Anthropic has quickly become a category-defining company and in this episode Kyle Turman (their first full-time designer) shares a behind-the-scenes of what it was like designing Claude.If you're interested in startups, AI products, or the art of prompting then this conversation will be right up your alley.Some highlights:Kyle's story of wearing every hat for ClaudeWhat it's like designing conversational UX flowsHow Kyle uses Claude in his personal design processWhy Kyle only half-finished his Claude designs in FigmaHow Kyle thinks about designing for emotion and feelingHow Kyle thinks about the future of design as a disciplineKyle's thoughts on whether chat should the dominant pattern for AIa lot meWe mentioned Tuhin Kumar's episode (Head of Design at Luma AI)We mentioned Julius TarngWe talked about the Sesame conversational AI demoMachines of Loving Grace by the Anthropic CEO DarioRecommended Episode:George Kedenburg III (former designer lead at Humane)

There's a parallel I'm noticing between what's happening today with AI and what happened way back in 2013.So this episode studies the early days of Snapchat, the emergence of high-fidelity prototyping tools, and answers the question “what does it look like to have agency in 2025?”Jack Brody (Chief Product Officer at Suno)Jorn van Dijk (CEO of Framer)Julius Tarng (Research engineer at Anthropic)Tuhin Kumar (Head of Design at Luma AI)Maheen Sohail (Gen AI at Meta)Meng To (Founder of Design+Code)

Tuhin Kumar has designed at some of the most prolific companies in the world (early Facebook, Airbnb and Apple).But everything's changing in his new role…Because now he's the Head of Design at Luma AI which is one of the companies leading the charge on generative AI.So this episode goes deep on how the value prop of design is shifting.Some highlights:The #1 trait of craft-oriented companiesWhy you can't think of AI products as just a toolHow to invest in the right skills as a designer todayWhat created Tuhin's career tipping point at AirbnbWhat Tuhin is pulling from Apple and Airbnb's cultureHow working with AI as a material is changing everythingThe biggest lesson Tuhin learned while writing system promptsa lot moreTuhin mentioned Maheen Sohail's “Unprompted” podcast with AIAmmaar Reshi (former Head of Design at Eleven Labs)

There are two goals that designers almost always group together:Make a useful productMake it easy to understandBut my interview with Sam Stephenson changed my thinking completely

Jack Brody joined Snapchat as one of the early designers where he spent 10 years and eventually became Head of Product.So this week's episode features a lot of lessons learned from the early design team at Snap and an inside look at what makes their culture so special.But we also go deep into Jack's new role as the Chief Product Officer at Suno where he's helping design the future of music. So we end up having quite the discussion on creative launchpads and the impact of AI.Some highlights:Suno's vision for the future of musicHow AI flips the design process on its headJack's viral Kim Kardashian moment at SnapHow Jack grew his strategy muscles at SnapThe 3 types of competitive advantages with AIThe big unlock while designing Suno's creation UXa lot moreSuno is hiring!

I've interviewed a lot of designers who have landed some pretty high profile roles and I'm starting to notice some trends

Lovable has quickly become the go-to way I build my ideas with AI and this week we get to hear from their first designer Nad Chishtie.We go deep into what it takes to succeed as a founding designer and all of the ways AI is shaping modern product teams.Some highlights:Nad's tips for collaborating creatively with AI toolsHow designers can be enablers instead of bottlenecksHow Nad balances Figma with new AI tools like LovableWhy Lovable built and deleted a Figma-like layers panelWhat it's like at the fastest growing startup in European historya lot moreNad mentions one of his favorite AI tools GranolaI talked about Unicorn Studio

My #1 source of imposter syndrome is when I see designers prototyping beautiful interactions like this or even this.It's one thing to create gorgeous interfaces, but crafting complex interactions from first principles is designing on expert mode. And it's a big reason why Linear lists interactions as a requirement three separate times in their job description for principal designer.So this week's episode is all about how to unlock the skill of interaction design

I use Granola every single day and it's quickly become a beloved product in the tech community.But it was a winding journey to get there…So in this episode their co-founder and designer, Sam Stephenson, gives a behind-the-scenes of what it was like going 0 → 1 with Granola:How to navigate the idea maze for an AI productWhat Sam has learned about prompt engineeringWhat it takes to succeed as an early stage startup designerHow they arrived at Granola's breakthrough interaction patternA glimpse of Granola's future product roadmap and teams strategyThe piece of advice that reshaped how they think about onboardinga lot more⭐ Granola is offering 3 months free for you and anyone on your team(!!) using this linkThey're also hiring a founding designerSam mentions Soleio who was their first investorDaniel Kahneman is the psychologist Sam mentionsThe Science of Managing our Digital StuffDavid Lee is the YC Partner who gave them onboarding adviceIf you liked this episode then you'll enjoy the interview with Colin Dunn (co-founder and designer of Visual Electric)

I've spent a lot of time studying how the best design teams operate and two of my favorites are Ramp and Plaid.So this episode shines a light on specific practices they put in place to create a culture of craft

What do Raycast, Daylight, Amo, The Browser Co, and Mainframe all have in common?They all hired Ellis Hamburger to help tell their story.So this episode is a bit different...We're going to get away from the pixels and go deep into how you can use language to tell a compelling story about your product.Some highlights:How to tell a story that people care aboutLessons from the Language team at SnapchatBreaking down specific copywriting strategiesQuestions to help you figure out your product's storyWhat we can learn from the CEOs of Snapchat vs. Browser Co.How to make your product onboarding unforgettablea lot moreEllis talks about the Browser Company's “Peek” videoJordan Singer's Mainframe websiteDaylight computer websiteEllis mentions the 222 onboardingThe Permanent website (”design is how its made”)Ellis quotes the Build bookAmo's “Where did our friends go?” manifestoRaycast's “Why” page and Focus mode

AI introduces an opportunity for all kinds of novel interaction patterns.But it creates a whole new category of design challenges too…And this episode breaks down the biggest challenge of all.Colin Dunn (Founder and Designer of Visual Electric)Maheen Sohail (Gen-AI designer at Meta)Tyler Angert (Founder of Patina Systems)Maggie Appleton (Design engineer at Normally)Ammaar Reshi (Head of Design at ElevenLabs)

This week's episode is with Alejandro Matamala Ortiz, the cofounder and Chief Design Officer at Runway—one of the leading generative AI companies in the world today.The way they work is incredibly unique. So a big focus of this interview is digging into how AI is shifting the way products get built and what it all means for designers:How the lines are blurring between rolesHow AI flips the order of building new featuresWhat it means to “carve” AI products vs. build themHow Alejandro believes the role of design will changeWhy the embed frontend engineers on the design teamWhere the film and video industry might be headed nexta lot more

Most designers fall into the same trap when presenting their ideas.So this ~5 min episode breaks down how to pitch your designs like a pro.Chris AbadGabe Valdivia

This week's episode is with Christophe Tauziet who is the Head of Design at Plaid—one of today's leading fintech companies.We go deep into the ways he's building a culture of craft and the rituals they've evolved to consistently sweat the details. There are a lot of practical processes and ideas in this episode.Some highlights:Keys to a great async video share outHow to foster a winning CRIT environmentWhy Christophe implemented “polish reviews”Ways to foster collaboration within a design orgPractical advice for giving better design feedbackHow Christophe changed what he looks for in design candidatesa lot moreBrian Lovin's article “Teams should work with the garage door up”

You can have the greatest design concepts in the world, but none of that matters if they don't make it into production.So this episode is all about how to create an aura of inevitability around your ideas.It features stories from early Facebook, Webflow, and Figma

Palantir is one of the most powerful products in existence today.It provides critical government and enterprise infrastructure from the factory floors to the front lines. You can literally build your own Airbnb on top of their development platform.But with great power comes lots of complexity… So in this week's episode, Design Lead Aashman Goghari gives us a behind-the-scenes of what it's like designing products at Palantir.Becoming better at “problem decomposition”Two patterns for handling complex interfacesHow to think through systems like a developerHow data models can impact your design processDesigning new user experiences for “Ferrari products”How to collaborate more effectively with backend engineersFinding the balance between edge cases and the golden patha lot moreAashman mentions the Concepts app for sketching on iPadPalantir is currently hiring designersYou can follow Aashman on Twitter

When comes to brand design, Mike and Cara from Smith & Diction are pretty much top of the game (you might recognize them as the ones who did the brand identity for Perplexity).During our interview, it didn't take me long to realize that these two have more hacks and mental models for creativity than just about anyone I've met.So here are a few of my favorites.Watch the full episode with Smith & Diction here: https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/smith-diction

If you asked me “who has the best taste in design right now?” one of the first people I'd mention is Thiago Costa.His product Fey is in the S-tier of design and I've studied his visual techniques for many years.Finally, after over a 12 months of pestering he agreed to share his secrets in a interview

Today we get to hear from Ammaar Reshi who is the Head of Design at ElevenLabs—the AI audio platform that has come up multiple times in past episodes.So a big focus of this conversation is learning what it's like designing an AI-native product. We go deep into topics like:The backstory of Ammaar's viral AI experimentsPredictions for the future of voice as an interfaceWhat it's like collaborating with an research teamHow he's designing novel interaction patterns for AIWhat Ammaar looks for when hiring startup designersWhat it's like designing at multiple hyper growth startupsa lot moreThread of all Ammaar's AI experiments (including the viral book and podcast app)Ammaar mentioned chatting with Nate Parrott from the Browser CompanyAmmaar mentions the Rabbit hardware productAmmaar mentions collaborating with his friend Pietro

How do designers from today's top teams collaborate with engineers?After many interviews I'm starting to notice a trend…The highest functioning product teams throw away a lot of code and it's a good model for what the new “handoff” process will look like. So this video highlights how it works at teams like Figma, Vercel, Perplexity, Airbnb, and more.Jenny Wen (OG designer of Figjam now at Anthropic)Teo Connor (VP of Design at Airbnb)John Pham (former design engineer at Vercel)Vincent van der Meulen (design engineer at Figma)Balint Orosz (cofounder of Craft Docs)Derek Briggs (Design + Code at Hypermode)Anthony Menecola (Staff designer at Shopify)Ammaar Reshi (Head of Design at ElevenLabs — episode coming soon)

This week's episode is with Chris Abad who has led design teams at companies like Google, Square and Dropbox so needless to say he's given a lot of design presentations over his 20+ year career.So this conversation is a deep dive into storytelling and everything you can do as a designer to effectively share your vision and persuade stakeholders.He shares every step of his process including a ton of practical tactics like:Strategies for designing a great deckHow to set up Q&A for success with executivesHis new secret weapon software tool for storytellingStrategies for navigating pushback from stakeholdersHow to frame the “Peak Moment” of your presentationHow he coaches designers to leverage storytelling in their portfolioa lot more⭐ Don't forget you can also save $100 on Chris's Design Storytelling course using the code DIVECLUBChris mentions the importance of the Story10x bookIA Presenter is the new tool Chris uses for presentationsRidd uses SuperWhisper for transcriptions

Systems thinking is often mentioned as the #1 trait teams are looking for in designers.But what does it look like to be great at it?This episode answers that question by highlighting stories from Notion, Anthropic, and more

This week's episode is with Anthony Menecola who is a longtime staff product designer at Shopify so we're going to do a deep dive into ways you can make a bigger impact at your company as an IC.One of the big themes of this episode is Anthony's journey becoming more technical and contributing to the Shopify code base so if you're interested in building your ideas I think you'll get a lot out of this one.We also talk about:The archetypes of staff designers at ShopifyWhat it takes to create an impactful proposalWays to build strategic relationships at ShopifyHow to strategically circulate your design ideasThe art of sharing effective async video updatesHow Anthony identifies future-facing ideas to explorea lot moreAnthony's website and TwitterThe Shop app

When I say high stakes design project, what comes to mind?How about Ryan Scott redesigning the Airbnb checkout flow right before a  $3.5 billion IPO? Now THAT is a big time project…So this episode is all about tactics you can use to make big ideas happen at your company (even as an IC).And if you want to go even deeper you can use these links to get $100 off Ryan Scott's top rated Maven courses

What does it take to create a product worthy of winning Mac app of the year?I interviewed the founder of Craft Docs, Balint Orosz, to find out…So this episode is a deep dive into how they work and what it takes to achieve this level of design excellence, including:What Balint looks for in systems thinkersCraft's plan to differentiate with personalizationWhat it looks like for designers to take ownershipHow designers experiment with LLMs and shadersBehind-the-scenes of their viral “quick add” featureWhat makes Craft's approach to product planning so uniqueThe challenges of designing a user-generated content producta lot moreIntroducing Craft 3

I've interviewed a lot of staff designers to figure out what it takes to have real influence at companies like Shopify, Github, Airbnb, etc.One thing is clear… if you want to make strategic impact as a designer then you have to get to a place of altitude that allows you to see the bigger picture.This episode is designed to help you do just that.Catt Small (Staff Product Designer at Dropbox)Mia Blume (Early design leader at Square, Pinterest + more)Soren Iverson (Founder of Iverson)Kathy Zheng (Head of Design at Optimism)

How do the best staff designers influence and lead as individual contributors?I interviewed Catt Small to answer that question and it turned into one of the most practical episodes yet. She pulls from her 14+ years of experience designing products like Etsy, Asana, and Soundcloud to share techniques you can use to level up your influence and scale your impact as an IC.Some highlights:Ways to get out of the execution trapThe key to having “executive presence”Catt's advice for better time managementHow designers can encourage people to think biggerHow Catt has evolved the way she does async videosUnderstanding the different archetypes of staff designersBehind-the-scenes of the massive “Goals” project at Asanaa lot moreCheck out Catt's course Staff Designer: Influence & Lead as an Individual Contributor (Dive Club listeners get $100 off)Catt mentions the books Radical Candor & 15 Commitments of Conscious LeadershipMicah Bennett was the designer she learned so much from

What are the best teams looking for in design candidates?That's become one of my favorite questions to ask so this episode shines a light on some of those traits and what you can do to stand out.It includes insights from:Diego Zaks (VP of Design at Ramp)Soleio (2nd designer at Facebook)Pranathi Peri (designing v0 at Vercel)Maheen Sohail (Gen AI at Meta)Mariana Castilho (Designer at Poolside)

This week's episode is with Tyler Angert who was the first design hire at Replit. So we get a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like designing for a hyper growth startup. However in early 2024, Tyler left to pursue a startup of his own, so a good chunk of this discussion focuses on his vision for Patina and the future of “spontaneous software”.Some highlights:Why the camera roll is pivotal for AITyler's advice to his 23 year old selfTactics for learning to code with ClaudeWhat it takes to design complex systemsThe skills that will be most valuable in 2025The biggest design challenges for AI productsStrategies for learning more technical skillsetsHow to succeed as a young designer at a startupTyler's Freezeframe app with Jason YuanGenesis physics announcementGranola meeting recordingsDaylight computer

I'm designing a new product and a few months ago I would've confidently said it's not an AI product. But I was wrong.This new technology creates endless opportunities… we just have to be able to see what AI makes possible. And that's what this episode is all about.Maggie Appleton (former design lead at Elicit)Joel Lewenstein (head of product design at Anthropic)George Kedenburg III (designer at Humane)Michael Wandelmaier (designer at Dropbox)

I've followed Mike Smith ever since he designed the Perplexity brand identity and quickly realized he's one of the most creative designers I've ever seen. Turns out his wife Chara is a positioning mastermind too so it makes sense why Smith & Diction is one of the hottest agencies in the game today.So this week's episode is a deep dive into brand strategy and what it takes to stand out in 2025 and beyond. We get into:What it takes to stand out in an AI worldTheir hacks for cracking a brand strategyWhy the best brands have lots of “moves”Mike's #1 piece of advice for younger designersWhat people really mean when they say “timeless”Their experience using Visual Electric in brand designPositioning Smith & Diction in today's agency landscapea lot moreWe talk about how they used Visual Electric for their latest project (Alma Food). ⭐ Don't forget you can use the code DIVECLUB to get your first month free.You can also check out the episode with Colin Dunn (CEO of Visual Electric)Mike says to make sure you watch the episode with Phi from PerplexityWe talk about Topo, Cotopaxi and Steady bags

Being able to think like an engineer helps you collaborate with developers more effectively, design UIs that make sense, and empowers you to build your ideas with AI tools like v0, Claude, etc.So this video is going to break down a few traits of designers who I believe are already doing this at a high level.It includes insights from:Mariana Castilho (designer at Vercel/Pierre)Julius Tarng (prev engineering at Linear)Meng To (Founder of Design+Code)

We've heard a lot on this show about designers becoming builders using tools like v0 and today we get to do a deep dive with Pranathi Peri who is leading the design of v0 at Vercel. We discuss:Growing your taste and intuition quicklyHow Pran thinks about the design language of v0Pran's personal experiments using 3D and physicsWhy Pran wants to bring “onboarding roulette” to v0How Pran showed potential without having extensive experienceWhat it's like collaborating with engineers like ShadCN and Raunoa lot moreManuel is the VP of Design at VercelWe discuss what it's like collaborating with Shadcn

Craft is so much more than a shimmering landing page or micro animation…It's sweating all of the tiny details and having a thorough understanding of the edge cases in your product.But there's one detail most designers miss…

This week's episode is with Sam Peitz who quickly became one of my favorite designers to follow in 2024.He regularly shares experiments like TextOS, his scribble running app, and assorted letter prototypes. So this conversation is a deep dive into his creative process and how he's redefined his career path over the past ~10 months. We go deep into:Sam's go-to source of design inspirationThe power of setting the right constraintsWhat Sam has learned about building with v0How to think creatively and design out of the boxHow to position yourself for the type of work you want to doa lot moreKoto branding studio is where Sam worked previouslySam likes Arena for design inspirationWe talked about the episode with Dennis from Amie

Designers have become servants of “the process” so this episode features stories of people who are breaking the mold in the way they explore and prototype ideas.It includes insights from:Gabe Valdivia (Fractional design leader): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/gabe-valdiviaDennis Muller (Designer + founder of Amie):https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/dennis-mullerGavin Nelson (Designing Linear mobile app):https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/gavin-nelsonNikolas Klein (Designing Prototyping at Figma):https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/figma-prototypingMichael Wandelmaier (Former Head of Design at Metalab): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/michael-wandelmaierAnd lastly it features insights from Jenny Wen including her original blog post that inspired this episode (definitely bookmark this it's awesome)

Did you know that the very first interface designer at Adobe was also the first designer to work on Figma?

Many of my favorite episodes are when we get to hear from the earliest designers at companies like Linear, Perplexity, Ramp, Facebook, etc.So this episode pulls out the key insights so you can learn what it takes to thrive as a startup designer:Nate Parrott (Founding designer of Arc): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/nate-parrottAdrien Griveau (Founding designer of Linear): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/adrien-griveauSoleio (2nd designer at Facebook): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/soleio-2Marco Cornacchia (Founding designer at Diagram): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/marco-cornacchiaHenry Modisett (Founding designer at Perplexity): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/henry-modisettHelen Tran(Design leader at AngelList): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/helen-tranDiego Zaks (2nd designer at Ramp): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/diego-zaks

Imagine joining an early stage startup as the first senior designer and within a few years, it becomes the fastest growing company ever.Well… that's the story of Diego Zaks who is now the VP of design at Ramp.This week's episode is all about how they were able to win with design and what makes their culture so special. We go deep into:Why velocity is the key to qualityThe impact of “truth seeking pods”How Diego creates a culture of collaborationWhat it takes to be a great founding designerThe #1 trait Diego looks for in design candidatesHow Diego has changed the way he gives feedbackHow designers are empowered to make strategic callsa lot more…Want to work with Diego at Ramp? They're hiring ✌️

Imagine you're asked to lead the design of a new project. It's complex, open-ended, and full of interconnected problems…How do you attack that ambiguity and get momentum quickly?This episode is an attempt to answer that question by unpacking tactics used by designers like:Jenny Wen (Original designer of Figjam): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/jenny-wenMichael Wandelmaier (Former head of design at Metalab): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/michael-wandelmaierAlex Cornell (Director of Design at Meta AI): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/alex-cornellRich Arnold (Design leader at Vine, IG, and Coinbase): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/rich-arnoldAndrei Herasimchuk (first designer at Adobe and Figma): Episode coming soonJenny Wen's Eigenquestions Figjam template

2024 was the year the Perplexity brand took over the design community. And a big reason why is because of Phi Hoang.So this week's episode is a deep dive into brand experience design and creativity with AI tools. We get an inside look at:Phi's creative process with MidjourneyWhy Perplexity thinks of the brand in “seasons”Phi's tool stack for creating marketing videos with AIBehind-the-scenes of how Phi stumped the founder of MidjourneyWhy Perplexity cares about creative consistency > visual consistencya lot morePhi referenced the episode with Henry Modisett the Head of Design at PerplexityMike Smith from Smith & Diction is who Phi collaborated with on the initial brand identityPhi uses Midjourney for image creationHe also mentioned Runway, Luma, and Krea for video work.

It doesn't matter how good your designs are if they never get built. So this episode breaks down specific tactics you can use to become a better storyteller and get people excited to build your ideas. Michael Wandelmaier (former Head of Design at Metalab): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/michael-wandelmaier Gavin Nelson (designing the Linear mobile app): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/gavin-nelson Ian Wharton (storytelling coach): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/ian-wharton Kathy Zheng (head of design at Optimism): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/kathy-zheng Yuan Wang (head of design at Maven): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/yuan-wang Alex Cornell (design lead for Gen AI at Meta): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/alex-cornell Noam Segal (senior research leader): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/noam-segal Femke (design lead at Gusto): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/femke Gabe Valdivia (independent designer): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/gabe-valdivia Dive is where the best designers never stop learning

A little over a year ago, Joey Banks and I were DM'ing each other in Slack about leaving our W-2 jobs and going independent.So this week's episode is a reflection on his journey working for himself and it's as human and relatable as any conversation I've ever had on this show. We go deep into:Managing your pipeline of clientsCreating a personal knowledge system in NotionFinding companionship as an independent designerStructuring your schedule and maintaining momentumCommunicating your services and pricing yourself effectivelyDealing with uncertainty and all of the unknowns in your first yeara lot moreGet a special offer on Joey's “Level Up with Figma” courseJoey's Baseline website and newsletterPaul Millerd's “Pathless Path” book and his episode on Lenny's podcastJoey mentioned Oliur's episode as one of his favorite YouTube creatorsHe also mentioned Stephen Robles YouTube channel

The pendulum has swung too far with design systems. Somehow they've become synonymous with scale. But I believe they're the perfect first step for startups. So this episode looks at stories from Perplexity and Cron to reframe design systems as the key to speed in the early days.Henry Modisett (Head of Design at Perplexity): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/henry-modisettRaphael Schaad (founder of Cron / Notion Calendar): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/raphael-schaadBrad Frost (author of Atomic Design): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/brad-frost

After writing a viral article called “The Missing Tool” I was fortunate to meet Gab and Nim who are the co-founders of a startup called Dessn.Dessn is a new way to ship design changes without having to write code. Their extension overlays a Figma-like interface on your live web app so designers can easily make changes. Their AI then writes the code and pushes it to your Github. That means designers can now contribute directly to production.Over the last few months we've had regular jam sessions about the future of design tooling, how AI impacts software creation, and everything in between…These jam sessions have been some of the most inspiring conversations I've had this year. So this week's episode is a way to loop you in on some of those conversations. We go deep into:The future of design systems with AICrafting a product strategy in today's landscapeNavigating the idea maze as an early stage founderWhat it means to have an “AI native” product strategyHow the flattening of the talent stack impacts designersWhy Nim was so inspired by the head of design at UnsplashWhat “taste” looks like when operating as a creative directora lot moreCheck out the Dessn websiteNim mentioned V0.dev as a way to create software (also might like Meng To's recent episode)The short story Library of BabelStudio Ghibli animation studiosGraza olive oil as an example of what a strong brand looks like in a commoditized product line

Over the last few months, I've interviewed the people designing cutting edge AI products like Perplexity, Claude, Dot, Humane, Visual Electric, and more…During that time I've created a running list of all the metaphors and mental models they've used to explain what it's like.So this episode breaks down 7 mental models for designing AI products.Maggie Appleton (Design engineer at Normally): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/maggie-appletonHenry Modisett (Head of Design at Perplexity): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/henry-modisett Joel Lewenstein (Head of Product Design at Anthropic): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/joel-lewenstein George Kedenburg III (Designer at Humane): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/george-kedenburg-iii Colin Dunn (Co-founder of Visual Electric): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/colin-dunn Jason Yuan (Co-founder of Dot): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/jason-yuanChapters 0:00 AI as an organism we grew 1:49 AI as the middle of a field 6:24 AI as a chef in a kitchen 7:37 AI as a new child 8:42 AI as a new material 10:20 AI as the meat of our design deliverable 12:11 AI as electricity

One of the most impressive things I've seen a designer make all year is Meng To's Dreamcut.It's the perfect example of what it looks like to transition from traditional designer to builder

Airbnb is making 3 big design investments to bring soul back to the app. So this episode pulls from interviews with their VP of Design, Teo Connor, and prototyping specialist Janum Trivedi. Learn why Airbnb is investing in 3D, motion design, and leaders who still have their hands in the clay.Teo Connor (VP of Design at Airbnb): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/air-bnbAlex Schleifer (former Chief Design Offer at Airbnb): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/alex-schleiferJanum Trivedi (prototyping specialist at Airbnb): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/janum-trivedi