396: Career Cheat Codes

396: Career Cheat Codes

Author: Brian Lovin, Marshall Bock May 5, 2021 Duration: 28:32

This week, we discuss the things we’ve done in our design careers that have had an outsized impact on our professional growth. In The Sidebar, we talk about the anatomy of icons and how that anatomy affects user interfaces.

Golden Ratio Supporter:

Around

Around is a better way to video call. It’s designed specifically to make it easier to gather small groups together to collaborate in real time, without all the distracting and frustrating interfaces that comes with most video chat software. We love the small floating heads and emphasis on making it easy to work alongside the video call, rather than constantly having to app switch.

You can get started for free by signing up at Around.co!

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  • Patrik Lau
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The Sidebar:

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

Follow up:

  • Walter Kimaro tweeted a mini music video on top our theme music. This is the kind of content we’re here for! Thank you, Walter 😊

Main Topic:

This week, we talk about “career cheat codes” — or: things we’ve done in our time as designers that have had outsized impact on our growth.

  • Become “the person” for “a thing”
  • Become a central “connector node” in your organization’s graph
  • Learn in public by writing, tweeting, podcast, or anything else that puts your ideas out into the world in real time.

Cool Things:

  • Brian shared Money Stuff, the best weekday newsletter in finance by Matt Levine. It’s fantastic, funny, and will help you learn about the world of money.
  • Marshall shared the HomePod mini. Turns out, it’s pretty great – when it works!

Design Details on the Web:

Byeee!


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
454: Is UI Design Actually That Important? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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451: The Whole Twitter Thing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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448: News Desk, Vol. 5 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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446: Grab Bag, Vol. 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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This week, we share our preferred naming convention for design files and react to the new Gmail redesign.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1…
445: Designing the Perfect Desk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:27
This week, we talk about a surprising new "smart desk" being shared online, and we talk about what our dream desk would look like. In the Sidebar, Marshall shares his tips and tricks for keeping his Figma files squeaky c…