Notes and Reflections on Product Design

Notes and Reflections on Product Design

Here are my perspectives on Product Design, Development, AI, and Tech. These views are subject and expected to change.

Design Is Not Decoration

Design Is Not Decoration

Design decides what exists and what doesn’t. Decoration arrives after the hard decisions are made. If your design work can be removed without changing outcomes, it wasn’t design.

AI Gives Speed - UX Gives Precision

AI Gives Speed - UX Gives Precision

AI collapses time to output. UX preserves intent across that speed. Without UX, acceleration just gets you and the user lost faster.

Design Differentiation Is More Important Than Ever

Design Differentiation Is More Important Than Ever

Technology is cheap, patterns are shared, execution is commoditized. Design is one of the last durable advantages. It encodes judgment, not just aesthetics.

Design Is A Way of Thinking, Not an Artefact

Design Is A Way of Thinking, Not an Artefact

Design was never about Figma, Sketch, or Lovable. Design is a way of thinking, a way of thoughtfully elevating the world around us. It will never die, it will just move up in abstraction.

Teams Should Be Flexible

Teams Should Be Flexible

Rigid teams optimize for predictability, not progress. The best teams reconfigure around problems, not org charts. Structure should serve the work, not the other way around.

Don't Get Attached To Titles

Don't Get Attached To Titles

Focus more on the end-result and less about job descriptions. Be willing to transcend the boundaries of your role, welcome others stepping into the boundaries your role. That is where real collaboration thrives.

Design And Business Harmonize

Design And Business Harmonize

Design without business is art. Business without design is service. The best products happen when both speak fluently to each other.

It Always Depends

It Always Depends

Strong opinions are useful until context changes. Judgment is knowing when to hold the line and when to adapt. Absolutes are for people without responsibility.

The User Doesn't Care

The User Doesn't Care

The user doesn't care how hard it was to build. They don’t care about your roadmap or your org structure. They don't care if you used Claude Code. They care that it works, that it solves their problem, and that it leaves them with a lasting impression.