We've both fought against needless promotional content before and lamented that frontier AI platforms are falling into the same pattern. As designers and users, we've learned that "free" usually means putting up with interruptive, slightly creepy ads that feel more like a tax than a benefit - a frustration tax that now colors how we approach free‑tier services and now AI tools.
The most powerful tools a product designer wields have nothing to do with Figma. They are not software, but a way of seeing. They are the facets of the unique lens through which a designer perceives the complex, human reality of their work. A designer's true value lies not in the polish of their pixels, but in the clarity of their lens.
Do you remember when mobile phones took over? I'm not just talking about the device, but the mindset. Suddenly, user experience wasn't optional. UX became the centre of product design because mobile changed how everyone, and I literally mean everyone, interacted with the internet. Companies that once treated UX as an afterthought scrambled to build responsive design teams. Entire methodologies were rewritten to serve the new frontier.
I dream of a future where everyone has what they need and where design supports human and planetary flourishing. This vision fills me with hope while also making me acutely aware of the reality many designers face today. Our work is done within the dominant capitalist framework that prioritizes financial growth above all else, often at the expense of true flourishing.
I dream of a future where everyone has what they need and where design supports human and planetary flourishing. This vision fills me with hope while also making me acutely aware of the reality many designers face today. Our work is done within the dominant capitalist framework that prioritizes financial growth above all else, often at the expense of true flourishing.
Restorative justice is a social science practice that focuses less on punitive punishment and more on communal healing. So it is asking questions about who's been harmed, what their needs are, whose responsibility it is to meet those needs, and how can relationships and trust be built and repaired in order to move forward. It also believes that punitive measures actually perpetuate harm rather than resolve the issue at hand.
