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Fluency
From our very beginning, the idea of fluency has been a core value at my company, Sparkbox. Today, if you read our handbook you’ll see it listed under our entry-level values. Fluency is one of the...
View ArticleEarthly vs Unearthly
I’ve been reading the new Rick Rubin book (The Creative Act: A Way of Being). It’s so wonderful. I love how it’s structured (nice short chapters you can read in a couple minutes that are packed with...
View ArticleStep into the Stream
From page 56 of Rick Rubin’s “The Creative Act: A Way of Being:” You can’t step into the same stream twice because it’s always flowing. Everything is. The world is constantly changing, so no matter...
View ArticleDesign System Metrics Correlation
If you are on a design system team, it’s not your job to measure the success of your subscribers. Those teams should each have their own ways of tracking progress toward their unique goals. Your job...
View ArticleStay True
Section 26 of Stephen Mitchell’s translation of the Tao Te Ching ends with this: If you let yourself be blown to and fro, you lose touch with your root. If you let restlessness move you, you lose...
View ArticleDesign System Doc Site Findability
The most important feature of your design system documentation site is the content. The second most important feature of your design system documentation site is findability. Even if you have great...
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Observation
In Christopher Alexander’s “The Timeless Way of Building,” he has a section covering observation. It starts with this recognition of the doubt a lot of folks hold about whether we can actually capture...
View ArticleGood and Bad
Thus the Master is available to all people and doesn’t reject anyone. He is ready to use all situations and doesn’t waste anything. This is called embodying the light. What is a good man but a bad...
View ArticleIntent to Collaborate
So many teams choose to begin their work on design systems by identifying all the problems with their current digital products. I get it, it’s easy to do. Every organization has old button and link...
View ArticleThe Power of Your Language
Read this excerpt from pages 223 and 224 of Christopher Alexander’s “The Timeless Way of Building.” The source of life which you create lies in the power of the language which you have. If your...
View ArticleThe Middle Piece
I’ve had a surprising number of conversations with design system leads lately who all seem to be stuck on a specific task. Each of them felt they hadn’t been able to crack the solution to a problem...
View ArticlePortraits
Something you probably don’t know about me is that I’ve been a (mostly) hobby photographer for twenty-some years. My parents had a dark room in our basement when I was younger—they both loved...
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The Question: Episode 1 Wrap-up
Review the FigJam for the Episode 1 conversation Product Designer vs Systems Designer On Thursday, November 2 of 2023 we held the very first deep dive design system conversation as part of a series...
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The Question: Episode 2 Wrap-up
Review the FigJam file and the raw data from the Episode 2 deep dive. Inside Out, or Outside In? On Thursday, November 9 of 2023 we held the Episode 2 design system deep dive conversation as part of a...
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The Question: Episode 3 Wrap-up
Review the FigJam file and the raw data from the Episode 3 deep dive. Major thanks to my friend and strong design system advocate, Jarvis Moore, for cohosting this deep dive! Design Sytem Team Makeup...
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The Question: Episode 4 Wrap-up
Review the FigJam file and the raw data from the Episode 4 deep dive. Major thanks to my friend and brilliant design system leader, Molly Covert, for cohosting this deep dive! Design System...
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The Question: Episode 5 Wrap-up
Review the FigJam file and the raw data from the Episode 5 deep dive. Major thanks to my friend and design system leader, Dan Mall, for co hosting this deep dive! How Much of a Rule Breaker are You?...
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The Question: Episode 6 Wrap-up
Review the FigJam file, the raw data, and the opening tune (“Time” by Hans Zimmer) from the Episode 6 deep dive. Major thanks to my friend and design system leader, Ness Grixti, for co hosting this...
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The Question: Episode 7 Wrap-up
Review the FigJam file, the raw data, and the opening music (“Voyager” by Trent Walton) from the Episode 7 deep dive. Major thanks to my friend and design system leader, Jesse Gardner, for co hosting...
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Design System Tooling
The Question: Episode 8 Wrap-up On Thursday, January 18 of 2024 we held the Episode 8 design system deep dive conversation as part of a series called The Question. Thanks for being part of it. Jina...
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