376: Shipping Quality UI

376: Shipping Quality UI

Author: Brian Lovin, Marshall Bock December 9, 2020 Duration: 21:07

This week, we talk about tips and processes for shipping a high quality UI. In The Sidebar, we discuss the Silicon Valley trend of job hopping every few years.


Latest VIP Patrons:

  • Matt Crowley
  • Yannick
  • Megan Learn
  • C. Anderson
  • John Tyrrell
  • Matt Makaran
  • John-George Sample
  • James Bartlett
  • Kramer Canfield
  • James Smet
  • Katu Muadinohamba
  • Sophie Bond
  • Graham Bushell
  • Renata Venturini
  • Alex Binder
  • Johnny Terlaje
  • Jason Yoo

The Sidebar:

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to full episodes going forward! Sign up at https://patreon.com/designdetails.

In this week's Sidebar, we answer a listener question: how long should you stay at a company before moving on? We weigh the tradeoffs of specializing in an industry, the downsides of Silicon Valley job-hopping culture, and more.


Follow up:

  • Sam Mason asked if we will ever see Apple introducing custom icon packs. Probably not!
  • Priscilla Then asked if we would record the show on video. Probably not, but it's an interesting idea we could maybe do as a one-off someday!

Main topic:

This week we answered a listener question sent to us in the direct messages: Should designers perform UI reviews after dev implementation, or should QA be responsible for that?


Cool Things:

  • Brian shared Robbie Tilton, a creator making fascinating digital toy concepts. Go to that Media tab on Twitter and enjoy!
  • Marshall shared Miles Morales, a stunning Spiderman game that Marshall actually decided to play (and not just watch). Strong endorsement!

Design Details on the Web:


Bye bye!


Every week, Brian Lovin and Marshall Bock settle in for a thoughtful, often meandering chat that pulls back the curtain on how things are made. Their Design Details podcast lives in the rich space where technology and the arts intersect, focusing less on polished case studies and more on the real, sometimes messy, work of design. You’ll hear them dissect the nuances of product decisions, debate the evolving culture of creative teams, and share personal stories from their own experiences in the industry. It feels less like a lecture and more like eavesdropping on a conversation between two deeply knowledgeable friends. The discussions regularly venture into the philosophical side of craft, examining why certain choices resonate and how design shapes our daily interactions with the world. For anyone curious about the thinking behind the pixels and interfaces, this show offers a consistent, grounded perspective. Tuning in provides a sense of community and a candid look at the process, making it a staple for designers and creators who appreciate substance over flash.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Design Details
Podcast Episodes
434: News Desk, Vol. 4 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:13
This week, we talk about enhancing the performance of design teams, a more efficient developer handoff process, and how to develop strong opinions. In the Sidebar, we talk about the tradeoffs of career progression and ov…
433: Making a Case for Icons [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:16
This week, we make the case for designing product icons and discuss what to do if your team doesn’t want to invest in great iconography. In the Sidebar, we talk about how to incorporate default typefaces into your design…
432: Traits of a Good Manager [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:52
This week, we spent more time exploring the traits of a good designer manager. In the Sidebar, we talk about the design details of Apple’s Studio Display and Mac Studio.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segm…
431: Transitioning from Industrial to Digital Design [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:54
This week, we talk about transitioning industries and how to bridge the quality gap in a new field. In the Sidebar, we talk about storytelling and the surprising insights that can be found in engagement data.The Sidebar:…
430: Design File Sanity and Breaking Navigation Patterns [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:54
This week, we talk about design file sources of truth, Snapchat's evolution, and the qualities of great managers. In the Sidebar, we talk about building a YouTube channel from scratch, the opportunity for designers on Yo…
429: Better Remote Onboarding [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:15
This week, we talk about the messy nature of remote onboarding and share our tips to make it suck just a little less. In the Sidebar, we talk about the visual design for the heads up display used in televised sports.Gold…
428: Teaching vs Micromanaging [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:02
This week, we talk about teaching versus micromanaging, or how to give feedback as a manager in a productive and growth-oriented way. In the Sidebar, Marshall shares his tips and tricks for organizing icon systems in Fig…
427: Tools for Thought ft. Mark McGranaghan and Adam Wiggins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:21
This week, we sat down with Mark McGranaghan and Adam Wiggins to talk about building creative tools, designing across devices and platforms, creating career capital, starting design podcasts, and more.Golden Ratio Suppor…
426: Senior++ Designer Expectations [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:24
This week, we share some (hopefully) non-obvious paths to level up at work and exceed the expectations for a senior++ product designer. In the Sidebar, we talk about the importance of giving blunt feedback, and share way…
425: Overengineering Variants [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:41
This week, we share tips for crafting component variants to avoid the dreaded variant-explosion problem. In the Sidebar, we talk about Tesla’s latest UI refresh, where we see auto interfaces going in the future, and shar…