Happy Prometheus Eve to those who celebrate. I'm off the rest of the year and looking forward to a quiet week to relax and reflect; a great time to reflect on another year of Proof of Concept. I curated some of the top issues from this year. There is no magic formula or algorithm to do this; just personal curation based on feedback and what the data tells me.

Honorable mentions

Always start with the honorable mentions. I picked five that were fun to write but not necessarily at the top of the list:

• Weekly prep

• Galaxy brain, gravity brain, and ecosystem brain

• Burning the ships

• Football's monster man as staff-level IC

• Have conversations

The Top 10

This year I introduced a paid subscription for the archives, so I’ll summarize each one instead of only linking them. If you stumbled upon this newsletter, consider signing up for free so you’ll always have the archive in your inbox!

Dynamic Interfaces

May 28 | Link to Part Un | Link to Part Deux | Link to Part Trois

The most popular post by a long shot, Dynamic Interfaces became a three-part series about how I see how we build, interact, and interface with software. Computation continues to get more powerful, and with the learning cycle being accelerated with AI, I believe there is a world where interfaces will not only present themselves in precise use cases, but the application will re-design the interface itself based on feedback.

• The iteration cycle for digital products will reduce significantly, making feedback feel "on the fly" and update faster.

• There will be more configurable elements. Bring Your Own Abstraction (BYOA)¹ and LLM.

• Dynamic interfaces are important for XR to be successful.

• The new Model/View/Controller are LLMs, multi-app interfaces, and user feedback.

• Abstractions in software become a spectrum of choice vs. a rigid decision by who builds them.

The role of taste (and what it means)

February 12, 2023 | Link to post

While in Brooklyn, I wrote about Rick Ruben's then-new book, "The Creative Act: A Way of Being" while in Brooklyn, New York. There was a 60 Minutes interview clip that made the rounds on Twitter. In the interview, Ruben admitted he doesn’t know how to play any instruments. How could one of the most renowned producers of all time be credible if he can’t make music? It’s because Ruben has taste, and it’s an important skill.

Notes:

• Taste without credibility doesn't go far. People in the craft have to respect it.

• Just because you have taste doesn't mean you're skilled. The inverse is also true.

• Taste can be developed, but you have to work on it.

• Taste builds an objective standard for very subjective topics.

• In a world where creation is more automated with AI, taste is the most human factor to hang on to.

Tech is going through a factory reset moment

April 30, 2023 | Link to post

With layoffs, a recession, and a technological paradigm shift with AI, 2023 started feeling like 2013 again. I wrote about what the factory reset moment entails, and why it's not about if it's "good or bad."

Notes:

• Tech factory reset moments have occurred in the past, and this isn't the first .com bubble burst.

• As of today on layoffs.fyi, there have been 1,178 companies that've laid off over a quarter million people. This shouldn't be an official source but you can sense the magnitude of this.

• We got too focused on perceived growth (company size, amount of money raised) vs. actual growth.

• AI is changing the landscape in how we view the workforce, resulting in many companies reducing staff and augmenting with these emerging technologies.

• It's hard to see now, but a new era will bloom from those laid-off starting companies.

The rise of the Design Founder

June 25 | Link to post

It’s been incredible to see more designers take the plunge and start companies. When I started in my career, there were very few design founders and now we see incredible company leaders like Karri Saarinen from Linear show what it’s like to be design-led as a CEO.

Notes:

• The notion of job stability has changed and designers are willing to take more "risks" in starting their own companies.

• Not everyone wants to become a Chief Design Officer.

• To have more design founders, we need more design investors.

• Founding designers are building the table vs. looking for a seat.

The four types of software in the future

July 16 | Link to post

As I thought about the landscape of AI and more accessible software creation, I wrote about what types of software might emerge due to it. It's one of the reasons I joined Replit and I am very excited about this new world.

Notes:

• Commercial: The classic software as a service.

• Boutique: High-craft software that (some) people will pay for the incredible experience and design.

• Personal: Something you hack together to build for yourself.

• Disposable: The sourdough clam chowder bowl of software—only need it for a specific need.

• Software is the new everyday object.

Why brand designers make great product designers

February 26 | Link to post

I've never liked having Brand and Product Design separate. Most companies split it into S&M and R&D. It makes sense to operate as a business, but a huge mistake for design outcomes.

Notes:

• Brand designers have a depth of skills in visual design and storytelling that often exceeds that of product designers.

• To gain skills, brand designers should consider skill swapping with a product designer and go deeper into software systems.

Waiting for AI's pull to refresh moment

September | Link to post

Linus Lee sums it well on his Latent Space podcast, saying: "In the aftermath of new foundational technology emerging, there is often a period of a few years of the winners in the market get to decide what the interface paradigm for the technology is." It's the race to the interface.

• The new paradigm often comes from 3rd party builders, such as Loren Brichter or the Path Redesign.

• We are still early in how we interface with AI, and it’s a great time for designers to go deep and explore.

Technique

August 27 | Link to post

In the same week I started writing about this topic, Sera Tajima shared a wonderful quote from her dance instructor: Today the teacher said something along the lines of how "technique can be your prison or it can be your key to freedom."

The formula for technique is: Intention + Deliberate Practice = Outcomes (high quality + effective)

Notes:

• "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." —Bruce Lee

• Technique is consistency leading to mastery.

• Saying designers just make rectangles de-legitimize our craft.

The future of Design is PLG

October 15 | Link to post

According to Frontegg, 77% percent of people will only use a SaaS product if it's self-serve. Some of the key pillars of self service include signup, onboarding, documentation, support, subscriptions, and security. Product-led growth (PLG) is placing the product at the center of your company's growth strategy. The core pillars of PLG are Acquisition, Expansion, Conversion, and Retention. The key is overseeing the entire end-to-end customer experience. You might be wondering, "Wait, isn't this experience design in the first place?"

Notes:

• Design became too vertical with embedded designers. It's time to look across the entire experience more intentionally again.

• The practice of growth design sparked a renewed focus on PLG.

• Design de-silo organizations by working laterally.

Choosing a company

November 5 | Link to post

I left Webflow and joined Replit this year. In this post, I shared my framework for how I decide on choosing a company. For me, it comes down to: purpose, product, and people.

Notes:

• What are you optimizing for?

• Decide what you're running towards vs. away.

• Don't spend all your time career planning. Focus on the foundations and they'll find themselves in you.

Thank you for reading

2023 marks the third full year of writing Proof of Concept. I’m motivated and inspired to keep this going because of your readership and feedback. Next week I’ll do a personal lookback on the year and my intention for 2024.

P.S. A note on Substack

This newsletter is powered by Substack; a platform I owe a lot to in fueling my writing practices and the reason I’ve been able to connect with many of you. This article on The Verge has been making the rounds and I’m aware of it.

The beauty of the open internet is the choice of what platforms you want to be affiliated with, and the stance by Substack in this particular case is disappointing. I’m not going to tell people what to do, but will tell you what I’ll do; switch to a different platform after the holidays. For paid subscribers, please note I’ll reach out about migrating you over.

It also aligns with one of my 2024 goals of building more of a personal stack on the internet.