ai Featured

The last product design tool

Once you have a relatively established design system in code, the interface already inherits a set of visual rules. This creates a world in which an AI coding tool can relatively well read a sketch and build out an interface from it using the design system.

ai

The role of canvas in the AI-assisted design process

The longer I work with agentic AI code generation, the more I realize that the canvas/whiteboard based approach is still needed, except for designers, it’s no longer going to be the only medium they touch. The role of the canvas changed with the new processes and tools: it’

growth

"Not yet"

The knowledge isn't in your head right now, but it can be. Are you willing to risk trying?

ai Featured

AI tools, skills, and plugins that I actually still use in 2026

A 2026 list of AI design tools that survived with me in the trenches. No vaporware: just stuff that actually reduces friction.

ai

Web2.0 strikes back: Using MCP to make your life easier

In my previous post, I've mentioned briefly that I think that the place of a LLM in my design workflow slowly evolved into the thing that I can slowly, quietly, offloading the annoying parts to. Since then, that process has accelerated to something more structural: integrating AI tooling

ai Featured

Using LLMs as a product designer: A retrospective

Around December 2024 I wrote a post here about how I use LLMs in my daily work as a designer. This post now feels outdated, so I thought it's time for another retrospective – tools have evolved, and I have been trying to keep up, so my approach evolved

ux

"Experience Design" is better than "Product Design"

Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g), one of the most authoritative voices in the UX community, is proposing merging what we currently call "Service Design" and "Product Design" under another umbrella term - "Experience Design". While I'm not a fan of creating new

ai Featured

Designing with LLMs in the toolbox: 6 months later

🚧Disclaimer: This blog post has been edited and rewritten using Claude and Gemini. It's always good to be on a lookout for ways to improve your day-to-day workflows and be able to automate away at least some work that isn't very creative or interesting. Or when

ai Featured

How well can AI recognize AI, really?

Last night I spent some time experimenting with how well AI can *actually* detect AI-written content. I wrote an example cover letter without any LLM involvement and asked Claude and ChatGPT if it's AI. Then I regenerated one using the standard “generate with one, rewrite with another”, while

ux

Low- vs high-fidelity design: A balancing act

The tools don't matter. The methods don't matter. Outcomes do.

ai Featured

How I stopped worrying and learned to love robots

AI seems to be absolutely everywhere. As a designer, or a product manager, how do I use it effectively to provide value to my users?

Design Process: Expectations vs Reality

If you're a designer, you likely heard about Design Thinking, Design Sprints, Double Diamonds, maybe even Design Odysseys and other processes that people use to get things done. In my practice over the years, I noticed three very distinct phases in my design process, and I found it

design

Designing for absence of the interface

When designing a new product or feature, the most obvious things you'd think about are user experience - how things flow together, transition between states, and so on - and the user interface. The second part is why we spend time building elaborate design systems, create complicated prototypes

design

Four (non-obvious) books you should read as a Product Designer

I've been now mentoring, leading, and managing designers for a couple of years and one of the questions that come up often is "what are the non-obvious books that you should read to improve your design thinking?" I was thinking about this question for a while

design systems

Design Systems as a Shared Product Language

Creating a good design system is making sure you’re building a language that creates shared understanding and shared language for product teams.

design process

Minimum Viable Design Process: How I Approach Design Projects in 2019

A quick look into why my process in 2019 is going to be as little process as possible.

leadership

Lessons in Leadership: Observing Bosses, Managers & Client Over A Decade

A couple of lessons that I learned by observing good and bad managers, bosses & clients for just over a decade.

metrics

A Short Guide to Estabilishing Meaningful Metrics

It’s  been almost fifteen years since I started doing design. I’ve been  through all of it: from the job title being Webmaster and the job being  basically “do everything from design, through development, to managing  our server” all the way down to managing a design team at a

design systems

How Small Teams Can Benefit From Having A Design System

A couple of reasons why lean startups and small to medium product teams can benefit from building their design system from the very beginning.

productivity

How to Achieve Anything: My Method of Setting Goals

A short look at how I define my goals and create the environment that helps me achieve them.

loose thoughts

Why I Stopped Buying eBooks And Turned to Printed Books Instead

A while ago I stopped buying eBooks and turned to printed books. Here's why.

metrics

Personal OKRs: Your New Year's Resolutions Are Now Numbers

Why I replaced my traditional new year's resolutions with a method that tech companies use to measure success.

motivation

Why Do You Work?

A simple question: “Why do you do what you do?” can lead you to a whole lot of self-reflection and change in your life.

productivity

It's Okay to Take It Easy

A short personal story about productivity, passion, burnout, and how I learned the hard way that it's okay to take breaks.

productivity

Why I Keep A “Done” List

Using a “done” list outside your “to-do” list, any why it's good for your mental health.