lil update: grateful to be joining the best @tryramp 💳 💛

putting together a guide on design eng hiring and just dropped part 1 - how to define the role! hope this is a helpful read for anyone interested in design eng or considering bringing one onto their team :)

there is a simple reason for this:

I encountered authority of a different kind than I had ever encountered before, and I did not like it. and they really almost got me. they came close to really beating any curiosity out of me - Steve Jobs

换个视角体验体验学中文

bleeding watercolor gradients inspired by nature

"WHERE'S MY FUCKING MONEY"

WHERE MY CANADIANS AT 🇨🇦

life is good! i love life!

today, my apple notes doodles premiered in shibuya tokyo

How to Ask for Help If you're a junior designer, I want to share a few things that will help you ask for help more effectively, be it wanting a portfolio review, introductions, advice, or anything really. 1. Be direct. Most of the people you want help from are busy people. It is *greatly* preferred when you are upfront and direct about what you want. There are only so many hours in the day, and I'd rather know exactly what you want and how I can help. 2. Be specific There are very few people in the world who ever want to 'catch up' or 'get their brain picked' when you don't know someone and it's ambiguous what they want. If you want feedback on your portfolio, ask for that. If you want ideas on how to reposition yourself, ask for that. If you aren't specific, you'll either get no response, or get generic response. My general feedback on every portfolio will always be: show your work upfront; remove half the words then remove more again, and spend 10x the time refining the work shown vs the design of the portfolio itself. 3. Be concise Everyone is busy, so be respectful of their time and be as concise as possible with your ask. 4. Follow up If you don't hear back from someone, the most likely answer is they either missed your message or forgot. Platforms like X have, somehow still, terrible DM's that always seem to be buggy, so just follow up respectfully. I don't find it annoying; rather I appreciate the persistence and reminder. 5. Follow through If someone takes the time to help you, and gives you advice or suggestions, you should follow through on them. I love hearing about how things went or the updates someone made, but I'd guess less than 3% of the time I hear back from someone. Want to know an easy way to start to build a relationship? Follow through. Those who follow up I am more likely to want to continue helping and building into. So what does this look like in practice? Instead of "Here's my portfolio, let me know if you have thoughts!" say "I'm updating my portfolio as I look for a full time role at a startup. Would you mind letting me know 1) if this would pass your first 5 second screen, and 2) do you think the work examples I have selected seem credible to an early stage founder?" Instead of "I'd love to meet if you're ever down", say "I have a few first round interviews coming up in a few weeks. Would you be open to doing a 30m practice portfolio presentation with me? I'll show up at any time that works for you this week or next." I have generally found our industry is full of people who want to help others, so I hope this is helps you better ask for help!

as a father of a newborn, im begging you to read this

life experience begets embodied opinions. strong opinions change us: we no longer tolerate the inappropriate soft personal boundaries demand the sacrifice of excellence, virtue, and beauty—chaos ensues strong boundaries require hard things, but ultimately cultivate order

idk if this is a hot take but i don’t want to be just a glob of flesh that dreams. there is fulfillment in having worked hard for something, even if it’s as banal as sending emails. it’s great that i don’t need to do that now, but if i was never willing to do something as simple as send some emails, perhaps i never deserved the awards in the first place

If you can't nail the top of the pyramid, perhaps look into the lower rungs?