423: What We Learned in 2021

423: What We Learned in 2021

Author: Brian Lovin, Marshall Bock December 16, 2021 Duration: 48:33

This week, we recap how we grew, and the things we learned, in 2021. In The Sidebar, we look forward to 2022 and talk about some of our personal and professional goals for the new year.

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:

  • Sean McGuigan
  • Aislinn Kelly
  • Petteri Tiilikka
  • Eric
  • Katie Chen
  • Gabe de la Mora
  • Jonathan
  • Sander Kalmus
  • Y. Chen
  • Miranda Lemmer

Follow up:

  • Complainisode follow up:
    • Graham Connell tweeted: To pile on to the complainisode, animations that take way too long drives me nuts! Like a hover animation that takes a full second to complete. AHHHH
    • Antonija Pek tweeted: complain episode...Apps not having dark mode (ahem @figmadesign), electron apps that suck all the RAM, services that are US only, everything is now subscription based...To name a few
    • Brian wrote about iMessage spam workflows.

Main Topic:

This week, we recap where we grew, and the things we learned, in 2021.

Cool Things:

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
444: Writing Effective Self-Reviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:03
This week, we share our tips for writing better self-reviews during performance review season.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month…
443: Design Systems Interviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
This week, we talk about interviewing for roles in design systems, what to prepare, and how many different kinds of skills are relevant in the field.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon…
442: It Doesn't Have to Be Right [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:00
This week, we share stories and lessons from some of our most memorable mentors.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to…
441: WWDC 2022 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:12
This week, we recap all of our favorite...design details...announced at this week's WWDC.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for a…
440: Don’t Call It a Design Critique [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:47
This week, we talk about how to make design critiques more fun, and how to encourage teams to share their work-in-progress more often.Supported by:Play — Play is the first native iOS design tool built for creating mobile…
439: Config 2022 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:59
This week, we cover all of the exciting new releases from Config 2022, and do a deep dive into the new version of Auto Layout.Supported by:Clay — Clay is the beautiful and private home for all your relationships. Populat…
438: Dissecting Substack’s Podcast Player [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:18
This week, we dissect Substack’s new podcast player design, talking about both the pixels and the strategic advantage of sharing craft-specific content on Twitter. In the Sidebar, we talk about the nature and risks of cr…
437: Scaling Design Critique [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:34
This week, we talk about methods to scale design critiques with a growing team. In the Sidebar, we dig into the...details...of Figma's latest UI changes which added file type icons to file tabs.Golden Ratio Supporters:Ze…
436: Reclaiming Your Focus [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:25
This week, we share our tips and strategies for reclaiming our focus to do deep design work. In the Sidebar, we revisit last week's conversation about the value of ideas and finding the right time to share an idea with t…
435: New Feature Launch Checklist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:40
This week, we share the checklist that we use when launching new features to make sure we’re not missing certain states, flows, or edge cases. In the Sidebar, we talk about working in public and the risk of people steali…