Published in Sprint Stories·Jul 15Member-onlyThis startup used design to make industrial A.I. trustworthy to humansThis is the story of a startup called Phaidra, who makes an advanced A.I. that helps industrial plants save huge amounts on their energy bills. Last year my VC firm Character invested in Phaidra, then ran Design Sprints to help them find product-market fit. Today, Phaidra is announcing a $25M…Design10 min read
Apr 7, 2021Member-onlyWhat a Design Researcher Can Teach You About the Art of Effective ListeningAn interview with Ximena Vengoechea, author of ‘Listen Like You Mean It’ — Not long ago, I received an advance copy of a new book called Listen Like You Mean It. I quickly judged it by its cover (intriguing, fun), flipped through a few random pages (amazing illustrations, witty writing), then decided to actually read it. It was great, and also not what…Design8 min read
Jun 29, 2020Member-onlyThe Remote Design Sprint Cheat Sheet33 tricks for facilitation and teamwork over video — Hey there! This post is a cheat sheet version of The Remote Design Sprint Guide which I created with John Zeratsky, Jackie Colburn, and the input, advice, and smart ideas of over one hundred Design Sprint experts from around the world (see below). This cheat sheet is pretty good, but…Design Sprint10 min read
Published in Modus·Aug 26, 2019Member-onlyAdvice for New DesignersA quick pep talk for those feeling lost or discouraged — I just moved back to Seattle after eight years in San Francisco. It feels really great to be home. And it reminds me that I’ve been a designer for a while. In Seattle, phantoms of my earlier life are everywhere. The University of Washington campus, where I stubbornly majored in…Design3 min read
May 29, 2019Member-onlyHow a designer builds a startupAn interview with Range co-founder Braden Kowitz — When I joined Google in 2007, everybody said, “If you want to learn how to get things done, watch Braden Kowitz.” Braden was a designer who’d worked on the first versions of Google Sheets, Google Trends, and Google for Business (which is now G Suite). Over the years, I learned…Design8 min read
Published in Make Time·Nov 27, 2018Member-onlySix Years With a Distraction-Free iPhone(and how to try your own low-stress experiment) — In 2012, I realized I had a problem. My iPhone made me twitchy. It called to me from my pocket, the way the Ring called Bilbo Baggins. My moment of clarity happened in my living room. I was sitting on the floor one evening, building train tracks with my kids…Technology11 min read
Nov 23, 2018Books are cheapMy friend Stefan once said “Books are cheap” and I asked him what he meant. He said that even if you only get one idea or mental model from a book, it’s a great return on investment, and it’s pretty easy to get one idea from most books. And I…Books3 min read
Published in Forge·Sep 19, 2018Member-onlyHow to Make Time for In-Between Sized ProjectsThe small stuff needs to get done now. The big stuff is overwhelming. Here’s how to tackle the stuff in the middle. — Co-authored with John Zeratsky If you want to make time for things that matter, the Busy Bandwagon will tell you the answer is to do more. Get more done. Be more efficient. Set more goals and make more plans. It’s the only way to fit those important moments into your…Productivity6 min read
Published in NYT Open·Aug 30, 2018How to Run 13 Design Sprints at Once: Inside Maker Week at The New York TimesThis summer I got to do a super fun project, and I thought I’d write it up. It started several months ago, when I got an email from Laura Prah, who leads culture and engagement at The New York Times. Among other things, Laura is in charge of an event…Design Sprint9 min read
Mar 26, 2018Build your design portfolio around one awesome storyThere’s plenty of great advice out there for making a design portfolio, much of it written by excellent designers who hire other excellent designers. If you’re a designer, you should do what they say. Me? You should be skeptical of my advice—I’m a solid designer, but not amazing, and I’ve…Design6 min read
