Ideas are now commodity. Building is now commodity. Craft is a scarcity.
The barrier to building has evaporated. Anyone can generate an app, a logo, a brand. Most of it is slop, functional and forgettable.
I'm an advocate for AI. It's a superpower on the tool belt. But a tool amplifies the hands that hold it. In the hands of a craftsman, someone who understands the thousands of decisions that set a product apart, it's a force multiplier. In hands that rush past those decisions, it ships slop, fast.
And as AI amplifies what we can make, something else needs equal amplification. The human behind the work. People sniff out the synthetic. We're designed for community, to feel seen and dignified, and we can tell when something was made with care and when it wasn't. Trust is built by people, for people. The brands that endure will hit that mark in every experience, online and off.
That's the work I make, and I make it as a player-coach: hands in the file, leading from the design itself. I've been surrounded by great people my entire career, many hands on the clay, and some of the work I'm proudest of was made shoulder to shoulder with them. I seek out people who care this much. Always have.
I'm a founding designer and Design Director at National Design Studio, where we're rebuilding how digital public services serve millions of Americans. I recently led product design for Trump Accounts in partnership with Robinhood, working alongside their VP of Product and leadership team, who carried the vision through with more than a hundred people bringing it to life. It reached #1 free app in the App Store. I designed the icon myself, and Robinhood's team executed the vision beautifully.
Before that, I designed ecommerce for Apple, from the storytelling that pulls on heartstrings to the buy flows for the MacBook Pro and Apple Watch. I led interactive design at Adobe and Frame.io through new product launches, winning Webby Awards for interactive work and video storytelling, and was lead designer on the Sonos ecommerce redesign that swept the design internet. Along the way: Netflix, Microsoft, Dropbox, Stumptown Coffee, LinkedIn, Enphase Energy.
Making things this way takes conviction. It means saying no when yes would ship faster, and holding the bar when nobody's checking.
Slop is a choice. So is craft.
Ideas are now commodity. Building is now commodity. Craft is a scarcity.
The barrier to building has evaporated. Anyone can generate an app, a logo, a brand. Most of it is slop, functional and forgettable.
I'm an advocate for AI. It's a superpower on the tool belt. But a tool amplifies the hands that hold it. In the hands of a craftsman, someone who understands the thousands of decisions that set a product apart, it's a force multiplier. In hands that rush past those decisions, it ships slop, fast.
And as AI amplifies what we can make, something else needs equal amplification. The human behind the work. People sniff out the synthetic. We're designed for community, to feel seen and dignified, and we can tell when something was made with care and when it wasn't. Trust is built by people, for people. The brands that endure will hit that mark in every experience, online and off.
That's the work I make, and I make it as a player-coach: hands in the file, leading from the design itself. I've been surrounded by great people my entire career, many hands on the clay, and some of the work I'm proudest of was made shoulder to shoulder with them. I seek out people who care this much. Always have.
I'm a founding designer and Design Director at National Design Studio, where we're rebuilding how digital public services serve millions of Americans. I recently led product design for Trump Accounts in partnership with Robinhood, working alongside their VP of Product and leadership team, who carried the vision through with more than a hundred people bringing it to life. It reached #1 free app in the App Store. I designed the icon myself, and Robinhood's team executed the vision beautifully.
Before that, I designed ecommerce for Apple, from the storytelling that pulls on heartstrings to the buy flows for the MacBook Pro and Apple Watch. I led interactive design at Adobe and Frame.io through new product launches, winning Webby Awards for interactive work and video storytelling, and was lead designer on the Sonos ecommerce redesign that swept the design internet. Along the way: Netflix, Microsoft, Dropbox, Stumptown Coffee, LinkedIn, Enphase Energy.
Making things this way takes conviction. It means saying no when yes would ship faster, and holding the bar when nobody's checking.
Slop is a choice. So is craft.