Design doesn't have to be convenient

When I say design doesn't have to be convenient it's easy to misunderstand it in lots of revealing ways. As designers we often aim to reduce friction and be invisible. There's a counterpoint to that where if we have a certain conviction as a team, removing friction stops being our only virtue — we can challenge the person in a way that leads them to growth.

Great design uses friction when it changes the person. It's invisible where invisibility serves the person, and confrontational where comfort keeps them away from greatness.

Agents are going through a challenge like this right now. What people are used to is controlling and observing the agent thoroughly, watching every change and steering them as they work. But Fable 5 showed a different kind of behavior — where the agent is more of a language-to-code interpreter; it will convert your intention into the *correct* solution regardless of how complex it is or how large the diff size will be. They're the first models to work like that and it will only reinforce with time. This behavior means people using these agents need to change the way they interact with them — where people want control, the interface should teach delegation; set a task, come back when it's done. Cursor team already understands it, they've just released their mobile app — it introduced friction in the ways people are used to work with agents, but this friction is formative

For a long time I wrestled with what exactly I'm trying to do while I'm here, as a designer, and as a human. Now I think I know: I want to figure out how machines can help humans become exponential — multiply our agency, creativity, and freedom. That principle takes the leading role in this; you can't make people exponential if you reinforce the habits that make them linear. For the first time in human history we're living in a world of collapsing space between decision and execution — it is the best time for people who want to reinvent everything from first principles. Reinvent with care, attention to details, and a vision of the future

For years, we got away with building things that worked. Now anyone can build something that works. The hot new thing is building something that feels considered, like it was built by someone specific for someone specific.

One of Michelin's rating criteria is how much the chef’s personality is expressed in their food. In many ways I want to be the chef of a 3-star product.