422: The Complainisode

422: The Complainisode

Author: Brian Lovin, Marshall Bock December 9, 2021 Duration: 52:04

This week, we were invited to have a rant session about the little things in modern software that drive us nuts. A complainisode! In the Sidebar, we share our strategies for having a successful design challenge interview loop.

Sponsor:

Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City. Today, Patreon is at the heart of the creator economy. In the last 8 years, the product has grown to support more than 250k creators, who are collectively supported by more than 8 million patrons. So far, Patreon has paid out more than $2.5 billion to creators, and are now on pace to pay out over $100 million every month.

Patreon's design team is small, but growing. The opportunity for impact on the product, and on millions of creators and patrons around the world, can't be overstated. The team is dedicated to leveling up the craft of Patreon's products, shipping beautiful experiences, and building the best tools to help anyone make a living on the internet.

If you're a designer looking for your next level up, get in touch with Patreon's design team and tell them we sent you!

Golden Ratio Supporters:

Patreon — Patreon is hiring product designers in San Francisco and New York City to build the future of the creator economy. Join their small team and level up today.

Sympli — Sympli Pulse is a version tracking application for Figma that lets you and your team clearly understand what's going on — even with hundreds of frames, components and design files — and answer the most painful questions about who changed what and why, adding context to your design decisions. Find Pulse in Figma Community. Learn more at Sympli.io.

Play — Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and collaborate, directly from your phone. With Play you can experience your design as you create it while taking full advantage of native iOS features not found in other design and prototyping tools. Full access invites available for the first 25 people here!

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.

Latest VIP Patrons:

  • Sidharath Chhatani
  • Norma

Follow up:

  • We’ve been recording this gosh dang podcast for 7 years!
  • Thank you all for the Spotify Wrapped shoutouts ❤️

Main Topic:

This week, we were invited to have a rant session about the little things in modern software that drive us nuts. A complainisode!

James Bartlett asks on GitHub: Frustrations with existing products got me into design. As you guys have new Macs, perhaps now's a good time to share your frustrations with Mac OS, and ideate on ways to mitigate. For example, I'd like to see an inbox for Airdrop. Currently everything airdropped, gets dropped into the downloads folder, and with no way to sort by sender etc.

  • Winamp’s new website is...not good.
  • Apollo has great in-app release notes.

Cool Things:

  • Brian shared Cron, a lovely new calendar application for macOS. Get on the waitlist!
  • Marshall shared Twelve South Action Bands for Apple Watch. Funky, but useful!

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
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421: The Future of Remote Design Teams [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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418: Fictional User Interfaces [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:59
This week, we talk about the weird and beautiful world of fictional user interfaces: why do futuristic UIs look so cool? And why aren't they usable? Is the future really going to look like this? In The Sidebar, we share…
417: The Side Project Prophecy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:09
This week, we reflect on why it is that talking about building a side project can often reduce your motivation to actually finish the project. We dig into our latest side project progress and share tips for maintaining m…
416: UI Reviews and QA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:33
This week, we talk about our processes for reviewing UI and making sure that things are shipping as close to spec as possible. In The Sidebar, we recap Apple’s Unleashed event, sharing our favorite moments and spicy take…
415: News Desk, Vol. 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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This week, we talk about the new Stripe Press website, pasting behavior in Figma, the latest tvOS UI, and the importance of using fake data in placeholder copy. In The Sidebar, we share our tools and strategies for remem…
414: Memorable Software Moments [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:30
This week, we recall our most recent “wow” moments with the products in our lives. What are yours? In The Sidebar, we talk about different loading state strategies and their impact on the user experience.Golden Ratio Sup…