404: Visual Design and Craft ft. Justin Stahl

404: Visual Design and Craft ft. Justin Stahl

Author: Brian Lovin, Marshall Bock July 14, 2021 Duration: 58:38

This week, we talk with Justin Stahl about visual design and craft, the impact of design systems and tools on the visual landscape, tactical tips for a stronger design interview, and much more. In The Sidebar, we ask Justin about the best advice he’s ever received, becoming a manager, and knowing when it’s time to switch teams.


Latest VIP Patrons:

  • Matt Turpin
  • Nushaine Ferdinand
  • Paul Hernandez
  • Chandni Luhadiya
  • Justin Wagoner
  • Altay
  • Kira
  • Aldrin Fernandez
  • Anna Zhandarovich
  • Paweł Ludwiczak
  • Nikki
  • Alex Harvey
  • Jacob Johnson
  • Joshua Beitler
  • Kasper
  • Andrew Kamau

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.


Followup:


Main Topic:

This week, we talk with Justin Stahl about visual design and craft, the impact of design systems and our tools on the visual landscape, tactical tips for a stronger design interview, and much more.

Justin is currently a Director of Product Design at Cruise. Before this, he was a Chief of Staff at Facebook Reality Labs, the Head of Product Design for Portal, and spent years as a product designer working an a wide range of Facebook products.


Cool Things:

  • Brian shared Tiger on HBO, a two-part documentary about the rise and fall of Tiger Woods. Even if you’re not super into sports, it’s worth a watch.
  • Marshall shared The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It’s grim-dark fantasy, a good pick for anyone who enjoyed Game of Thrones.
  • Justin shared The Ideal City: Exploring Urban Futures, a book which chronicles the design of urban futures.

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
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…