Dive Club 🤿 Geoffrey Litt - The Future of Malleable Software
Nov 14, 2025
Geoffrey Litt, a design engineer at Notion and former researcher at MIT, shares insights on malleable software and AI's role in design. He discusses effective system design and the importance of version control for building user-centric tools. Geoffrey highlights his work on 'Embark,' a document-centric travel planner, and contrasts malleable software with disposable options. He advocates for teaching users to create tailored dashboards and emphasizes the need for intuitive design that promotes mastery without complexity. A fascinating glimpse into the future of user-driven technology!
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From EdTech To Malleable Software
- Geoffrey Litt started in edtech and saw teachers export data to spreadsheets to get exactly what they needed.
- That sparked his lifelong focus on enabling people to build custom tools for their local context.
Documents As Active Tool Hubs
- Embark explored document-centric computing where notes become active hubs with embedded tools.
- Combining context and pull-in functions reduces app-hopping and tailors software to each trip's needs.
AI Forces A Platform Shift
- AI is triggering a platform shift that makes malleable, platform-level design more achievable.
- Notion is well-positioned as a platform to enable user-driven customization across contexts.
