ryannee

Product Manager + Principal Product Designer. Hellbent on visiting 100 countries before I die.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@jbraunstein914 @mattyglesias Enshittification is tricky to fight against.

My company was a market leader in 2020, and we avoided being smarmy, user-hostile, or aggressive for 4 years. Now we’re in ~5th place; on the path to being completely dead.

All the growth-hacking bullshit helps companies grow, sadly.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@MoragMitchell3 In my view, Trump has done precisely one funny thing ever:

When it wasn’t really landing with his blue-collar audiences, Trump changed his nickname for Ron DeSantis from the overly-academic “Ron DeSanctimonious” to the more plainspoken “Meatball Ron.”

[ryannee @ryannee]

@MerriamWebster Bureaucracy

I always think, "First I have to spell bureau, then I'll do the other half."

[ryannee @ryannee]

@timbrrr_ If a US-based social media company was purposefully blackmailing politicians at scale, the US could press charges and individual people could go to prison.

If China does it, all we can do is shrug.

That seems like a fairly big difference!

[ryannee @ryannee]

@CharlesPattson Typesetting was a job many people did from 1455 to the early 1990s. Now, nearly everyone on earth expertly sets type every day without thinking much about it.

Tasks designers get paid do at work today will be done absentmindedly by everyone tomorrow.

But we’ll adapt!

[ryannee @ryannee]

@joshuapekera That’s probably true for some people, but in my experience:

a) The more time you’ve sunk into organizing a file, the more likely you are to be in love with the design

b) Falling in love with your own design is a great way to make user-hostile garbage by accident

[ryannee @ryannee]

@joshuapekera 2.
Most designs ultimately belong in the trash. Designing while assuming the design will get built can cloud your judgement on that.

Designers should design more options and debate the tradeoffs between them. The faster and sloppier that generative work can get done the better.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@joshuapekera Organization is fine, but I disagree with this sentiment.

1.
Figma files are merely a vehicle to get you to the thing you’re actually making: human-centered digital experiences.

Behind-the-scenes craft only matters if it furthers that goal.

“Human-centered” ≠ your coworkers.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@3YearLetterman Rijksmuseums

[ryannee @ryannee]

@theoldbuilding In the US, the answer is tricky:

Many cities have gotten dramatically better in the last 30 years, but dramatically worse in the last 70.

Between 1953 and 1993, every city in the US was destroyed on purpose to build parking lots, highways, and single-use office towers. So sad.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@JackMorrissette I used to do the same thing until I realized I could just check out audiobooks for free with my library card and the Libby app.

Either way, reading + listening simultaneously is magical. It’s the only way to go.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@girdley Born in 1983, most of my cultural references are Gen X ones rather than Millennial ones.

For example, I think Guns N’ Roses are cool. People born 5 years later: “Who the hell are Guns N’ Roses?!”

(Also, pointing out legitimate differences ≠ an assertion that we are special)

[ryannee @ryannee]

@gray I got an Uplift desk and I like it and use it more than I expected. I stand for 2-3 hours per work day and sit the rest of the time. Having a great quality desk with built-in preset buttons is key.

My presets:
Sitting
Standing while keyboarding
Standing while in a video call

[ryannee @ryannee]

@jmspool I just had asked Chat GPT about how designers can help meet WCAG AA accessibility standards. I asked lots of follow-up questions & had it make me a checklist for some sections.

After 10+ years of hearing vague and cryptic accessibility talks, this was SO MUCH clearer, sadly.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@FredTaming Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota has two main sections, each about 30 minutes north/south of each other, but in different time zones. Planning a day in the park requires conjuring your inner Doc Brown.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@vanschneider @steveschoger This is the way.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@Amy_Hupe This is an unpopular opinion, but this is exactly why Design Systems should be a role done by very few people — akin to designing typefaces or creating large icon libraries.

Companies should alter or extend perfectly-made design systems they bought, not invent them from scratch.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@devonzuegel Tucson’s Mercado district is small and still a construction zone, but its architecture of small charming townhomes on pedestrian-oriented streets is a delight.

Also, the Highland Bridge development in St Paul, MN is already great despite being ~30% finished.

[ryannee @ryannee]

@the_transit_guy Zoom, unquestionably.

Easily solvable interface problems that frustrate millions daily:

• “Uh, sorry, you’re on mute!”
• “How do I share audio again?”
• Presenters can’t control what viewers experience much at all
• Presenters can’t easily see chat
• Many more issues

[ryannee @ryannee]

@CleverOscarDev @drmistercody @elonmusk @SRuhle Perhaps Elon could be more direct by apologizing directly to the person he's talking about. It's the most common way people apologize for things.