Feeling especially grateful today to be working on a product that is in it for the long haul. Looking forward to the next 20+ years of making the web a better place. Celebrating 20 Years of WordPress.
🥂
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Love this by my co-worker, Shaun. It paints a great picture of what its like to be a designer at Automattic. If this was a page in a book, I’d highlight the entire thing. I strongly relate to this line today:
Communication is oxygen, but too much can kill you. Don’t ever feel guilty about missing a meeting, having unread emails, or turning off Slack. Find time to turn everything off and focus on the work.
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The End of the English Major
“When I first joined the English department, I felt seen, but I also felt, Maybe I don’t belong,” she said. She’d gone to a magnet public school in New Jersey and felt a step behind the sanguine private-school kids in knowing how to perform her interest in the classroom.
The End of the English MajorA really good article I’ll be thinking about for a while. Its about so many things, but this particular line stuck with me. On being performative about a topic or issue and how it relates to gaining a deep understanding, seeing multiple sides, acknowledging the gray areas, taking meaningful action.
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Reply with a design
Getting feedback on a design iteration is an important part of the job. Sometimes it can result in a spiraling, often unproductive discussion. Over time, this leads to more time talking and less time doing. The user will not benefit from these discussions – they will only see and interact with your design. Focus on the design. Next time, instead of replying to feedback with an explanation: take it in, thank the person, and then reply with a design.
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SotW 2022
This year’s State of the Word was stunning. Really proud of the design team’s work on this and was happy to have been present for the live event in our NY office space.
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Altitude
I’ve had this loose idea forming around what it takes to be a highly effective lead. It has to do with altitude. Specifically, the ability to quickly and consistently travel between the really high level to deep down in the details. Staying too long in either place causes you to be out of touch in some way – you can’t see the big picture, connect dots across areas, or ensure goals are carried through to quality output.
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Without context
Designers are often hesitant to receive feedback on their designs from someone who is not close to the project.
“But they don’t have the context!”
This has always confused me. When I present a design flow, I find the people who are furthest away from the project gave really valuable feedback. They see things I don’t. And if I find myself having to explain things in order to figure out how to interact with my prototype, something is up.
After all, when this ships, the user won’t have been part of any of the project meetings, be aware of the research, any technical constraints, or otherwise. The design and implementation of it will need to stand on its own.
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Reel design
A highlight reel showcasing some of the great work the design team at Automattic has been working on in the last year. ❤️
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Why write
Of course I stole the title for this talk from George Orwell. One reason I stole it was that I like the sound of the words: Why I Write. There you have three short unambiguous words that share a sound, and the sound they share is this:
I
I
I
In many ways, writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act. You can disguise its aggressiveness all you want with veils of subordinate clauses and qualifiers and tentative subjunctives, with ellipses and evasions—with the whole manner of intimating rather than claiming, of alluding rather than stating—but there’s no getting around the fact that setting words on paper is the tactic of a secret bully, an invasion, an imposition of the writer’s sensibility on the reader’s most private space.
–Joan Didion, Why I Write
hello.
I lead design at Automattic. I enjoy mountain biking, snowboarding up and down mountains, and eating good food.
I’ve had this site for 14+ years and update whenever the mood strikes. I treat it as sort of a playground. I write down thoughts about work, keep track of things I like, places I’ve been, and other random things.
Take a look around and say hi.