Grabbed a few pow laps this afternoon after a 2 foot dump. Brought the GoPro along to make a quick lil edit and because it has been a while since I strung some clips together to music. After a slow start, it’s turning out to be such a good season.

Really excited about all the design work we put into WordPress this past year. Both within the product itself as well as in our external communications, as seen in this video I worked on that highlights all the cool stuff we are about to release. Super proud of the team working on this with me. We’re really just getting started and I’m ready to keep going to make WordPress an intuitive, well-designed experience for all.

Big fan of Strava’s year in review design.

I use Strava record all my rides, runs, and snowboard adventures since 2016. The past couple years I’ve hovered around 2k miles on the bike, which feels pretty solid. My favorite times on the bike this year were bikepacking with friends and I hope to keep that up this year. I’d also like to add a lot more days on snow.

I listened to a bunch of books last year. On walks with the dog, on the way to and from mountain biking and snowboarding, and on countless road bike rides around town. These were my favorite:

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OVERALL, FICTION
Ealonor Olyphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
This book was hilarious but also wrecked me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and has stayed with me more than any other book has.

OVERALL, NONFICTION
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
I mean, who doesn’t want to know what therapists really think, how they work, and what they talk about with their own therapists? Also, it’s hilarious.

SAD
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
I need a good sad book every once in a while.

BIZ
Powerful by Patty McCord
Practical and no-nonsense. I listened to this twice and then re-listened to certain bits. I was going through a tough time at work and this book was one of the things that helped me through it.

ENTERTAINING
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Love the format, almost felt like you were listening to a music documentary. Read by a bunch of different actors. Made me start listening to Fleetwood Mac again.

LOVE STORY
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Who knew I needed a love story? A full life lived.

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Full list:

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Powerful by Patti McCord, Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb, Ealonor Olyphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, The Nix by Nathan Hill, Where’d you go Bernadette by Maria Semple, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami, The Windup Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami, In the Woods by Tana French, Normal People by Sally Rooney, Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney, There There by Tommy Orange, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout, Self Compassion by Kristin Neff, Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter.

I tend to think about things for a bit before sharing with others. I also really like to fix things. This combination can sometimes lead to jumping into solution mode really fast when I’m discussing with others. This happened yesterday when I realized the person I was having a conversation with didn’t even agree on the same problem I was coming to him with. And I was already talking about potential solutions! Our conversation didn’t get far and I had to back up and start again.

Since a big part of my job is coming up with solutions, I think it’s important to get it right. It’s also important to know when solutions are necessary. I jotted these notes down based on my conversation yesterday and others that I’ve learned from in the past:

When someone is coming to me with a problem:

1. Listen.
2. Give them a very quick high level overview of what they are saying so you know you have it right.
3. Ask if it’s something they want help with solving or if they are just venting. If they are just venting, move on to other topics.
4. If they want a solution: Agree on the problem(s) they would like to solve. Contribute additional info and suggestions if needed.
5. Ask them for their thoughts on how to solve. Add your suggestions and agree on a path forward.
6. Follow though and follow up.

When I’m going to someone with a problem I’m observing that directly effects me:

1. Clearly communicate the problem from my perspective.
2. Ask if they understand to get on the same page with them about problem I’m trying to solve.
3. See if they agree it’s a problem to solve. If it is, ask the other person for their thoughts on how to solve. Add your suggestions.
4. Agree on a path forward. Make it clear who will do what.
5. Follow though and follow up.

I was recently reviewing a design iteration that wasn’t intuitive and lacked attention to detail. I thought to myself, “You (the designer) did research and checked out how others solve a similar problem. Go back to your research, look at your inspiration, and compare it to yours.”

Research, competitor analysis, or anything that you choose to do as a designer as part of your process to ship amazing things isn’t something just to check off. Refer back to it after every iteration. Ask yourself: Is my design as good as or better than this?

When you’re heads-down designing, it’s easy to get caught up in technical requirements and a million other things. Referring back zooms you out a bit to help you recall the bigger picture.

I recently joined a team of designers to lead. One of the patterns I noticed was a lack of ownership over the product areas some of the designers were working in. This came about in a few ways, but the biggest and most common sign was how someone approached a problem. Some designers propose a solution and others ask how something should be solved.

“Should the settings be in a modal or the sidebar?”

“Where should I show the error message?”

When I see a question like this being asked without an accompanying design, I reach out to the designer to learn more. I go about it differently depending on the person, but overall I remind them that this is their project. They are the lead designer on it and they were put on it for a reason! I ask them to use their experience to first ask the question to themselves and start exploring possible solutions. Then, when they had a good grasp and handle on the problem and many designs that solve it, to propose the best solution (or two) instead of asking others how to.

This is a small shift but I’ve seen it have a big impact over time on my previous teams. It leads to more thought out designs, fruitful collaborations, and a sense of pride and ownership over the final design that gets shipped and used by millions of people.

Note to self:

You have expectations. Don’t make people guess what they are.

Write them down. Share them openly. Refer to them regularly. Put them in context of the work. Let everyone know where they stand on each. Alter the expectations as things change. Repeat.