I’m an independent design generalist helping people create human-centered systems and services.
Neurodivergent, introvert, anti‑disciplinary, meta thinker, word nerd, compelled to make things work better.
I write and I do projects.
Use SBAR to facilitate decision-making June 2
How I capture thoughts and ideas in the moment April 11
Photos from India April 2
Your first reader March 21
Shopping carts March 4
Monoculture of UX March 3
Photos from Little Island February 25
Photos from the American Museum of Natural History February 25
Ephemera February 6
The Love-At Symbol February 3
View–Talk–Edit January 27
Philadelphia January 26
Kiefer Lettuce Showbox January 22
Neon January 16
On home December 22
Grand scale foot-shooting November 28
Family photos September 1
Meta vision August 15
Plain project management August 9
Permission to make mistakes August 9
Navigating change August 1
Custom domains for iCloud Mail July 14
Leaving a good impression July 14
Attention management July 14
Dial-up days July 11
Conflict vs. confusion July 1
Be curious, not judgmental July 1
The paradox of focus June 18
Scales and pendulums June 15
Art department rules May 25
Nero days May 15
Be meticulous May 11
TMI re T1D May 1
Write it down April 15
Shaping conversations April 3
Behind the pixels March 12
Memento Maybe December 31
Important problems November 1
Whiteboard.docx October 1
Leaders stop for pedestrians October 1
Blog food April 22
Slow down and write better emails February 19
Consulting as craft February 16
Avoid the clown suit February 13
Where’s the crease? February 9
System thinking for designers January 31
The Rise and fall of Getting Things Done January 31
Useful and overlooked skills January 20
No such thing as a fresh start January 17
The problem with 'pretty' January 13
Voltron of Luck December 3
Quit trying to attract a crowd and just help people November 7
Give yourself permission to be creative October 12
While you’re at it, make it sing October 12
Electric cars and perpetual motion machines October 11
Want to leave a legacy? Be a mentor October 8
Email charter October 1
The benevolent dictator of the internet September 27
Bring out your blogs September 11
Selflessness is overrated September 10
Perspective September 7
On making hard decisions August 28
Sticking to it July 30
First, be kind. July 30
Make your own Bible July 29
How to be a better friend July 29
Ambiverts, problem-finders, and the surprising psychology of making your ideas happen July 24
How could the TDC be a racist organization? June 29
Get to work June 17
68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice June 17
Don’t confuse legibility with communication March 25
On criticism versus trolling, fragmentation of design, and joining Pentagram March 6
Missing the bus February 7
Dieter Rams January 20
Guide to internal communication January 12
7 leadership lessons over 2.5 years December 6
The three qualities leaders need in an uncertain future December 6
The human skills we need in an unpredictable world November 13
How Thom Yorke learned to stop worrying and (mostly) love rock stardom. November 8
Being a leader means giving up control November 7
Why cynicism matters when you’re making change November 3
Be an elegant simplifier October 26
A not-quite-textbook definition of systems design October 20
Vignelli Center for Design Studies October 16
Running in circles July 10
IDEO and a story of design April 13
Soderbergh on creativity March 4
Ten measures of leadership February 21
The XY Problem February 3
Construction vs. destruction February 3
How to get the most out of a conference November 12
Writing sensible email messages November 9
The color of money November 8
Meta-thinking October 8
Nothing sensible April 27
Keep the tough rules February 3
Direct function of beauty January 24
Advice is not difficult October 20
Born done September 9
Mike Birbiglia’s 6 tips for making it small in Hollywood. Or anywhere. September 2
If you dropped your notebook in a lake September 1
What are questions? August 26
A 200-year transformation: How the Mall became what it is today August 24
The writing class I'd like to teach August 24
Upton Sinclair September 7
It makes no sense that word processors are still designed for the printed page August 23
Long and short August 23
World's biggest indie ad agency Wieden+Kennedy have mastered office culture, too, NBD August 16
CreativeMornings Seattle with Electric Coffin August 15
Street Smart August 14
The opposite view of landmarks August 14
The absurd primacy of the automobile in American life August 14
9 basic principles of responsive web design August 11
A visual history of which countries have dominated the Summer Olympics August 11
Rethinking how business schools teach design August 11
Why it pays to be grumpy and bad-tempered August 11
By means of one August 11
Silver Spring has the 'sorriest bus stop in America' August 11
Jiro Ono and René Redzepi have a cup of tea August 5
A brilliant chef August 4
23 buildings that resemble the things they sell August 2
The big sort: an insider's tour of a recycling plant August 2
So loud July 29
A guide to the fine art of refrigerator aging July 29
The rectangularness of countries July 20
Bark July 18
Introducing Office Fonts from H&Co July 15
No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down July 15
New logo and identity system for Mastercard by Pentagram July 14
How to win friends and influence people—online July 12
Definition of a designer July 12
People first, designers second July 8
Border control July 8
With an updated Nutrition Facts label, the FDA settles an eternal question: Why Helvetica? July 7
Google charmed by grandma's polite searches June 20
Christo's newest project: walking on water June 20
A ship in a harbor June 2
I'm a fucking webmaster May 13
U.S.G.S. topographical maps May 12
To vote is to exist May 12
Judging a diving competition May 11
How NYC gets its drinking water May 9
Typeface Mechanics: 001 April 15
An aerial view of Europe's carbon footprint April 4
Big questions before little ones March 29
Why I like the new Met logo (and why you should give it a chance) March 15
Overthinking and redesigning a fragmented date format February 11
New Design Council website April 22
Auteur theory March 14
My friend needs a website August 1
First-rate intelligence July 26
TLC for your URLs June 20
Collaborative design May 1
System:Touch April 1
Franklin Gothic by Morris Fuller Benton February 23
Nature August 27
Personification August 26
On Virginia Woolf’s The Death of the Moth August 22
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