Something I've been thinking about: empty states are one of the most underdesigned parts of any product.
It's the first thing a new user sees. and most apps treat it like an afterthought.
your empty state IS your onboarding. design it like it matters.
UI trends move fast. but the designers who age well aren't the ones who follow them — they're the ones who understand why a trend works and apply the principle, not the aesthetic.
Dark mode isn't a trend. reducing eye strain is a principle. know the difference.
What's a resource you discovered late that changed how you work?
(asking because I'm always convinced everyone else has a secret stack I don't know about)
"make it pop" is not a brief.
but also — if a client says that, it usually means the hierarchy isn't doing its job. so. they're not wrong, just inarticulate.
designers — what's a UI pattern you lowkey hate but keep using because clients expect it?
I'll go first: hero sections with a big headline, subtext, and a CTA button. works every time, somehow.
the five stages of receiving feedback on a design:
1. denial ("they didn't understand the concept")
2. anger (internal)
3. bargaining ("what if we just change the color")
4. depression (open figma, stare)
5. acceptance (rebuild from scratch, looks better anyway)
My career advice to graphic designers:
Learn Creative Director thinking IMMEDIATELY.
Basic graphic design is gonna get eaten alive by AI. It’s the graphical people who can think conceptually + in campaigns who won’t just stay employed, but become more important than ever.