Dive Club 🤿

Nad Chishtie, Head of Design at Lovable, shares his insights on hiring multidimensional designers in a rapidly growing company. He emphasizes the importance of portfolios that showcase strong design elements and personal contributions. Nad values curiosity and side projects, alerting candidates to frame their experiences clearly. He critiques traditional hiring processes and promotes a lean structure while advising on how to excel in interviews, particularly during the trial phase, by demonstrating impactful, thoughtful design work.

Roman Tesliuk, a designer at Eleven Labs, shares his journey from side projects to leading web design at a top AI company. He dives into the challenges of designing without strict brand guidelines and how he embarks on playful pixel experiments. Roman discusses the intricate details of mobile design, including typography and interactive elements. Excitingly, he unveils his bitmap icon tool and how AI enhances prototypes. Ultimately, he emphasizes balancing fun with deadlines, showcasing how creativity fuels innovation in product design.

Matt Smith, known as MDS, is a designer and maker who shares fascinating insights into his creative process. He discusses the challenges of brand-driven design and balancing personal identity. Delving into his Figma explorations, Matt reveals his meticulous work on pixel icons and the emergence of the mosaic motif. He also covers the development of a bitmap icon builder and the integration of playful animations. Ultimately, Matt highlights the importance of curiosity, exploration, and thoughtful design choices in his work.

Steve Ruiz, founder of tldraw and expert in canvas tooling, dives into the future of AI collaboration through canvas-based UX. He shares his journey from fine art to tech, emphasizing the importance of tool design principles and the potential of canvases in workflows. Steve discusses fascinating concepts like integrating AI agents, playful metaphors like fairies to visualize collaboration, and the unique challenges of real-time AI interactions. His insights shed light on how visual tools can empower both humans and AIs to work together creatively.

Emily Campbell, VP of Design and creator of Shape of AI, dives into the future of AI interaction. She discusses building trust in AI experiences and essential design patterns for enhancing prompts. Emily emphasizes the importance of guiding users through AI with wayfinder patterns and tuners to improve interactivity. She also highlights the risks of deep personalization and the need for transparency in AI. Hiring designers with curiosity and developing hands-on experience is her strategy for cultivating great AI talent. This engaging conversation unpacks the evolving landscape of AI UX.

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!

Ryan Scott, a designer and product strategist with experience at Airbnb and DoorDash, shares invaluable insights on career advancement for designers. He stresses the importance of showing business impact over mere craft to captivate hiring leaders. Ryan discusses how to effectively pitch ideas, utilize data, and tell compelling portfolio stories that reflect business value. He also explores strategic opportunities and how designers can adapt to the evolving job market, particularly with AI's rise and changing team dynamics.

Kevin Twohy, a seasoned product designer and creative director, shares insights into his groundbreaking work on Board, the first-ever tabletop game console. He discusses the intricacies of hardware prototyping and OS design, revealing how early wireframes shaped the user experience. Kevin emphasizes the importance of making delightful interactions that can't be replicated on touchscreens, and explains how he leverages AI tools to enhance creativity. He reflects on the emotional impact of playtesting, showcasing the joy of bringing people together through innovative gaming.

In this discussion, Henry Modisette, VP of Design at Perplexity, shares insights on integrating design and code, highlighting how AI can streamline workflows. Pranati Perry, a product designer at V0, showcases dynamic prototyping tools that bridge the gap between designers and developers. Nick Pattison, a graphic designer, talks about creating scalable brand tools using AI. They all agree that AI is not just aiding design, but reshaping priorities and deliverables, urging designers to innovate and adapt to the evolving landscape.

Drew Wilson, a seasoned design-engineer and founder of Opacity, envisions a future where designers effortlessly transition to coding without handoffs. He discusses the evolution of design teams, emphasizing the need for a single source of truth that connects designs directly to code. Drew introduces Loop, an innovative IDE for AI-assisted development, and explains how AI is reshaping the roles of designers and engineers. He also offers insights on future skill sets, the importance of design systems, and strategic hiring in a tech-driven landscape.