Brad Frost gave us the Atomic framework for humans building design systems. In order to extend this to agents, giving deterministic instructions only goes so far.
Using systems-level thinking, we can share human 'taste' in decisions we make that take a design from good to great. We can apply this (borrowing from the Atomic framework) to the following levels:
Atom : "how to build components"
Molecules: "how and when to use components together"
Organisms: "how many groups of components behave together"
Template: "how page level objects like sections come together"
Page: "how to determine which page level template to use"
I've boiled these into 4 layers of skills that log decisions to improve themselves as they are used.
Patterns: Structural decision trees and UI patterns that tell agents what to build before implementing it.
Components: A rubric on how to select common components based on appropriate context.
System: Applies design system rules on the token level so agents produce consistent UI, eliminating guesswork and redundancies.
UX Writing: Reviews AI generated UI copy or writes copy from scratch applying a defined set of best practices.
People most likely to cognitively surrender to AI, were likely already cognitively surrendering to something else. AI just took its place, but the behavioral pattern remained consistent.
This is the tough lesson that a lot of people are learning the hard way
AI might have made building apps a lot easier, but it also set the barrier to entry at zero
Because anyone can do it, there is no moat left
The only edge left in the future will be sales and marketing
Took some time today to write out a go-to-market positioning skill and I’m a little taken back by how well it works.
I’ve fed it 7 examples and with 2-3 back and forth revisions it produces something very tight.
Come join us! We're hiring a Designer Advocate at @figma HQ in SF.
Deep Figma chops. Design systems fluency. Comfortable in these new ways of working (with AI). Community cred. Presentation skills.
If that's you (or someone you know), link below. 👇
https://t.co/Ug8668cM43
This NBA finals offers so many wonderful narratives. One of my favorite however is Jalen Brunson proving that height isn’t everything in a game dominated by tall players.
Skill combined with unselfish teamwork wins over everything. And I think thats true outside of basketball too.
The internet is this thing that’s often advanced through the persistent effort of a handful of individuals behind the scenes.
@lochieaxon is one of those wonderful humans.
Please tell him thank you today for making animations on the web that much better and easier for all.
Hiring IC designers here at @NotionHQ
Must-haves:
- Based in SF or NYC (or willing to relocate — we'll cover it)
- Taste. You know it when you see it, and you sweat the details others miss
- Technical or at minimum, code-curious
- Enjoy being silly with your teammates
Design is the lifeblood of Notion. It's arguably one of our most important functions; our designers have real influence on the roadmap, the business, and what Notion becomes next.
Can you say that about your current company? 🙃
Generates an image in 30 seconds and a video within 2 mins.
$5 a generation.
Faster and cheaper than all the competitors by a lot. And better designed.. but I’m biased 😉
My friend who’s a dentist in Michigan wanted an app that would generate AI previews of dental implants for patients to see before making a decision.
Ended up creating my first app that leverages AI for image and video generation to produce precise smile design requirements.
Check Designs: Keep every file synced to your design system with
→ Variable & style suggestions
→ Color contrast suggestions
→ Library mismatch detection
→ Detached component detection