while it's great to compare yourself to others to strategize what sets you apart, focusing on it too much can be a trap.
if you define yourself through the lens of others, you risk losing your individuality. instead, strive hard to establish a unique identity that can't be compared easily to others.
this means that identifying and understanding your competition (mapping your competition) is just a strategy used to make your business stand out or be unique. the main goal is to be distinctive.
what i'm suggesting is to be so distinct, so individual, that you become a point of reference. some brands (and people!) are so unique that they are products of their environment and culture. the zeitgeist.
how to do that?
innovate relentlessly - push boundaries and explore uncharted territories.
strive to be the benchmark in your field, not just another player, not a slightly better version of what already exists. aim to be so uniquely identified that others will need to mention you when explaining themselves. become the standard to which others aspire.
finally, communicate your unique identity effectively, making sure it resonates with the right audience.
local-first software - why it's a game-changer for developers and
designers?
let's talk about something pretty cool that's going on in tech.
local-first software.
why is it happening?
there's a move towards "decentralized systems." in simpler terms,
this means breaking away from giant, single cloud systems that hold
all the power and control. instead, we're looking at smaller,
independent units that can work together but also operate on their
own.
it's a golden chance to build apps that are not only super modern
but also ethical and centered around the user.
if you're a developer or a designer, you really need to pay
attention. why? well, it's all about giving us more control and
better privacy. making our apps work even when we're offline. sounds
great, right?
it's built on something called crdts (conflict-free replicated data
types). in simple terms, it lets us collaborate in real-time without
needing a central server. so, you and your team can work together,
even when you're not online.
i know what you’re thinking… “this is what figma and google docs
have” but in fact, it doesn’t. you know how annoying it is when
there's a lag in figma? this happens because your design files are
running on figma’s cloud. local-first software fixes that.
i was one of the early advocates for live collaboration, and my team
at ‘under’ took figma to the next level. nowadays, i feel live
collaboration has become somewhat overrated, as if it's the only
mode we should work at.
we should be able to work both online and offline and collaborate as
needed. local-first software is like getting the best of both online
and offline worlds.
i appreciate how collaboration works for developers using git. and i
believe designers should be able to work in such a way. imagine
designing solo, without ever worrying about version conflicts.
with a local-first approach, it's a core feature. local-first keeps
your apps running smoothly. once you're back online, all your
changes sync up automatically. this is a real game-changer!
if you're creating tools, going local-first makes your software way
more attractive. it offers a truly collaborative space, free from
any conflicts.
now, let's talk privacy.
with all the debates going on about who owns our data, local-first
apps have a killer advantage. your data is stored on your own device
and can be encrypted from end to end. that means you’re the boss of
your information.
if you’re building tools, local-first is a trust booster for your
users.
big names like apple are already on board, using crdts in their
notes app. and startups are also getting in on the action.
this isn't just some trend—it’s foundational tech that’s going to
change the game.
zeitgeist-driven business strategy
here's a tip if you're starting a new business, product, or any
investment of your time and/or money.
tune into the "zeitgeist" - the spirit of the times. it's the secret
sauce that spices up the business world and paves the way to
success. think of the zeitgeist as the mood of the moment, a flavor
of the era that gives you the context to create something truly
'now.’
but here's the catch – it's a bit wild.
you’ll need years of watching, analyzing, and thinking about the
world's changes and shifts. the reward? you’ll become a societal
researcher, anticipating trends before they're even a blip on the
radar.
while riding this zeitgeist wave, don't forget your own authentic
flavor. consider it the surfboard uniquely designed to your taste.
without it, you may ride the wave but lose yourself in it. the wave
is everyone's, but how you ride it – that's purely yours.
remember the importance of your audience. connecting with them is
like finding the perfect beach where the waves meet the shore.
understand their needs, their dreams, their fears. they're your
fellow surfers in this ocean of opportunity, guiding you to
uncharted waters.
don't leap too far ahead! being ahead of the game is like showing up
to a party before the host. it's a delicate dance between riding the
wave of the era and your own path.
let me tell you about my first startup, relate, to illustrate this
point.
i wanted to create something big—a new way of bringing together web
design and development. i thought i was perfectly in sync with the
zeitgeist, but the world wasn't ready for the big change i was
proposing. both culturally and technologically.
ai was around the corner, a missing puzzle piece i didn't even know
was needed.
it's like electric cars - they needed both technology and a culture
shift to really take off.
nikola tesla, spinoza, and maybe even vincent van goh, were pioneers
who couldn't catch the wave of their time despite tuning into the
"zeitgeist". maybe they were too tuned?
this brings me to my next point.
sometimes entrepreneurs focus too much on either the tech or the
culture. if you're all about one and ignore the other, you could
miss the whole picture.
it's a balance - know your tech, but also know the people who will
use it.
but let's dive deeper into that balance.
being zeitgeist-driven is mostly about seeing the big picture. but
it's about knowing when to zoom in and out. entrepreneurs often get
caught up in their own vision, missing the evolving landscape around
them.
never assume you've got the full picture. things are often more
connected than they seem.
think of a mosaic. each tile is critical, but the collective pattern
makes it beautiful. if you're only looking at individual tiles,
whether it's tech or culture, you miss the art.
don't just analyze data - interpret it. numbers can only get you so
far. your gut feeling, intuition, and understanding of human nature
come into play here.
adapt. it's one thing to catch the zeitgeist wave. it's another to
stay on it. trends change. people change. the world changes. what
worked yesterday might not work tomorrow.
it's tough, but once you're on top of that wave, you'll predict the
future and shape it.
sometimes, you'll need to reinvent your surfboard while riding the
wave. sounds impossible, but that's the thrill of the game. you
might stumble, but it's the quick recovery that counts.
the trick is in the timing. like a surfer waiting for the perfect
wave, you wait, you observe, and then you strike.
catching the zeitgeist is more than just a strategy. it's an art, a
philosophy, a way of life. so grab your board, find your wave, and
surf those societal currents.
the ocean's wide open.
when design meets passion
there's a point where skill is mixed with emotion, and that's where
magic happens.
this is the sacred space where design meets passion.
design, at its core, is a process of solving problems, communicating
messages, and making the world more functional and beautiful. but when
a designer brings passion to their work, the results are... magical.
i'm eden, and i've dived deep into the world of design through my
ideas, under and rainbow - both of these companies have a
design-forward approach, but what makes them truly unique is the
heartbeat behind them – passion.
here’s what design-passioned means to me:
authenticity over trends - when passion drives design, the results
are timeless. passionate designers don't chase after trends.
instead, they bring their unique voice and vision to the table,
creating works that resonate on a deeper level.
every goddam’ detail matters - passionate designers obsess over the
little things. they understand that everything has a purpose. this
attention to detail ensures that the design looks good and feels
right.
design with empathy - a passionate designer strives to understand
the end user. they design with empathy, ensuring that their
creations are functional and user-friendly.
continuous evolution - the world is ever-changing, and so are our
designs. and those passionate about it are always learning and
growing. they seek inspiration everywhere, from nature to art to
daily life, ensuring their designs are always fresh and innovative.
resilience in the face of challenges - passion gives designers the
drive to push through obstacles. where others might give up,
passionate designers see challenges as opportunities to fix broken
things and by that, learn and grow.
in my journey, i've learned that design is a mindset, a way of life.
it's about keeping things simple, respecting the process, and pouring
your heart into your work. when design truly meets passion, it becomes
more than just a profession. it becomes a calling.
and to those who are starting to walk this path, i say, embrace your
passion. let it guide your designs. because when the heart and mind
work in harmony, the results are high-end.
designing for ai - understanding context and its potential
hey, let's talk for a moment about designing for ai, because it's a
whole different thing.
we’ve designed rnbw as an ai-driven product from the ground up. for
me, it was an eye-opener.
i found that it wasn't just about adding ai. it was about rethinking
everything. the way we approach design, the way we interact with
users - it all changes.
it's not about tools or technology. i saw how i could make rnbw
smarter, earlier, just by tapping into the power of context.
in some way, ai is pushing us to do what we should have been
focusing on all along - integrating context into our software.
the crazy thing is that we baked in many context-driven
capabilities, even before plugging in the ai!
i could have done it all along, for so many products! but i didn't
because i was stuck in old ways.
breaking free from that showed me a new world of possibilities.
this isn't just about telling a computer what to do. it's about
understanding context and using that to make something amazing.
wait, what is context anyway?
the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement,
or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and
assessed. “the decision was taken within the context of planned
cuts in spending”.
context is everything around us. it's about time, space, meaning,
and behavior. it's the stuff that helps ai "get" what's happening.
traditional computers just follow rules. and well, ai doesn't. it
takes all these contexts, mixes them together, and comes up with
something that makes sense, just like us humans.
here's the thing: computers are dumb. they do what we tell them, and
that's it.
but with ai, it's like they suddenly understand.
we’ve been contextualizing things in software, for instance, when we
select a country from a dropdown menu and see its flag, that's a use
of context. or when we incorporate a pre-designed style, element,
function, or anything else, we are correlating data and context.
but there were always humans needing to manually fill up this data
in a specific way. now, we don’t have to do it ourselves.
when you don't fit
i'm eden. i talk, and sometimes, i don't sound smart. i write, and
the words aren't always shiny. but when i talk about what lights me
up, i'm all in.
i've noticed something. my vibe's different. regular people not
getting what i'm about. but there are those few who stop, listen,
and nod. they're kind of crazy too. they "get it".
i started under and rainbow. they're for the creatives, the
thinkers, and those who see design as more than just looks. those
who, like me, value the weird.
i think there's a strength in being real, in being passionate. i
don't need everyone to follow. just those who feel what i feel,
those who connect with the heart of what i do.
so, for others like me, don't stress about fitting in. it's okay to
stand out. it's not about winning everyone. it's about finding those
who truly get you. and trust me, that's enough.
A love letter to my design heroes
Sometimes, you stumble upon creators who leave an incredible mark on
your creative psyche. They seep into your consciousness, swirling
their colors, forms, and ideas into your thoughts until they become
part of your creative DNA.
For me, those creators are Hey Studio, AndWalsh, Teenage Engineering,
and the incomparable Neri Oxman. Of course, there are many others, but
they are the ones who keep making their mark on me. Their work – in
all its varied and vibrant glory – serves as a reminder that design,
at its best, is a love affair with creativity.
Oh, Hey Studio. It's like walking into a kaleidoscope of creativity.
Each design is a vibrant, playful energy that wakes the soul. While
appearing almost childishly simple, their designs are sophisticated.
The charming primitivism they express is anything but elementary - the
essence of joy distilled into design, a pure and powerful expression
that's universally inspiring. They are not merely designers - they are
masters of visual euphoria.
AndWalsh, on the other hand, is like an eccentric scientist
passionately dissecting the bizarre quirks that make each brand
unique. Jessica Walsh is always up for the weird, the strange, and the
unexplored, embracing and amplifying these aspects until they become
the heart of the narrative. Their daring spirit is electrifying. they
aren't just designing - they're voyaging into the deep sea of the
unknown and emerging with treasures that redefine the possibilities of
branding and graphic design. This ability to transform the odd into
the extraordinary is why I'm so obsessed with AndWalsh.
From the eclectic world of branding, I turn to the art of sound,
personified by Teenage Engineering. Their approach to design is like a
symphony, each product a note that adds to their melodic narrative of
simplicity and versatility. The OP-1, their near-mythological
synthesizer, is like an orchestral piece. It's a testament to their
ability to craft intuitive yet profoundly capable designs. Each knob
and key show us that design can be a doorway to a universe of
possibilities if only we dare to step through it.
Lastly, the phenomenal Neri Oxman is like a sorceress, weaving threads
from different fields into a magical tapestry that defies
categorization. At Under, we call her “The Bionic Woman” because she
is perfect in many ways. She embodies the harmonious marriage of
pragmatism and idealism. Each project is a mosaic of design, biology,
computing, and materials engineering, displaying a level of ingenuity
that's simultaneously humbling and exhilarating. Her journey isn't
just about the final product, it's also about the alchemical process
of transformation. And it's this ability to see and create connections
where none seem to exist that makes her a visionary in the truest
sense.
The design world is a beautifully infinite cosmos - these designers
are some of the brightest stars in my constellation of inspiration. ❤️
designing directly in the medium, led by ai?
tl;dr. Figma, you've served us well. But we're moving on. We're
heading back home - designing directly in our medium, led by AI.
When it comes to digital design, we've been playing a long and
sometimes awkward game of telephone. We sketch our dreams in Figma or
some other vector tool, then translate them into code. It's a process
as clunky as using Morse code in the age of WhatsApp.
Why the detour? It's time we brought design back home - to code. App
design is already there. It's a no-brainer. We've got libraries,
frameworks, and toolkits that make code feel like a playground. Why
take a pit-stop in Figma when you can just take a direct flight?
And what about websites? Sure, they're heavier on graphics and visual
elements. Figma does a decent job of sketching them out. But remember,
it's still a sketch. It's not the real deal.
Figma recently introduced variables, and a VSCode plugin for hand-off.
It's a step closer to coding, but let's not kid ourselves. It's all
fancy moves within a design file that don't translate to usable code.
Enter the main event - AI. The star of the show. Imagine if you could
tell AI what you want, and it just... makes it happen. In code. No
detours, no translations, just straight-up creation.
That's right, AI's got the potential to bring us back to our roots. To
let us design directly in our medium. To make tools like Figma look
like, well, the typewriters of design.
So long, Figma. and thanks for all the sketches!
Thoughts on AI, XR, UI, UX, etc. Part 3 - Ethics and opportunities in
Branding and Product Design
AI and XR are reshaping branding and product design, enabling brands
to give immersive, heart-touching experiences!
But, with the potential of AI and XR comes a new responsibility for
designers and developers. (like we don’t have enough already). We must
now balance innovation, personalization, and privacy more than ever.
These fresh, personal experiences are changing how brands and users
connect.
They're new paths to trust and love!
The opportunities to make thrilling, user-focused experiences are now
limitless.
Think of a car brand offering a virtual test drive. Or a healthcare
app guiding real-time physical therapy with XR. A shopping app with
virtual fitting rooms and AI-chosen styles. Or a travel app giving
virtual tours of your next holiday spot.
The personalized experiences created through AI and XR require
substantial data. While this enables highly tailored interfaces and
experiences, it also raises significant concerns about privacy and
security.
How do we ensure the collected data is stored and used responsibly?
This question challenges us to develop new ways of thinking.
Another critical aspect to consider is biases in AI algorithms. This
is already a thing today - harmful stereotypes affect user
experiences. Striving for fairness in the AI-driven design world will
require continuous reflection, assessment, and adjustments.
Another thing is accessibility, we must be at the forefront of design
thinking. We must create experiences that are not only novel and
engaging but also accessible to all users, regardless of physical
abilities, cognitive differences, or other unique characteristics.
“What users expect” was always the critical mental model - Clever
designers can now use this principle on a deeper level and mix AI and
XR to make things that work, feel right, and are exciting.
Thoughts on AI, XR, UI, UX, etc. Part 2 - Redefining principles in
ui/ux design
ai and xr have started a new chapter in ui/ux design where the
traditional principles of discoverability, learnability, and feedback
are being reshaped.
discoverability is evolving with ai’s ability to predict user needs
and streamline access to features. a perfect illustration of this
evolution is our growing understanding of scrolling. the “above the
fold” was a thing just a few years ago. yet over time, we’ve all
realized that there’s more content “below the fold,” making the
“scroll” a very natural gesture, changing our interaction habits. ai
is accelerating this learning process.
with the growing intuitiveness, contextualization, and personalization
of ai systems, the conventional rules of learnability are becoming
less relevant.
with ai providing real-time assistance and feedback, there’s less need
for users to rely on explicit feedback too. the ai-driven interfaces
can now self-evolve based on user feedback, responding to user needs
and preferences in real time.
we’ll expect things in specific circumstances, and things will happen.
imagine walking into your smart home at the end of a long day. the
lights soften, your favorite relaxing music starts playing, and the
thermostat adjusts to your preferred evening temperature — all without
you having to lift a finger. while this is already possible today,
imagine this level of experience in every vertical of our life.
we are taking all that we have learned into this new era, and
unlearning certain things. as there will be a less traditional user
interface, and there will be more interfaces integrated into the
physical world. we will discover new ways of designing interfaces,
such as the principle of ‘less is more,’ where the best user interface
is almost invisible, maximizing user experience (ux) with minimal,
natural ui.
Thoughts on AI, XR, UI, UX, etc. Part 1 - The Fusion
i’ve been a keen observer for the past two decades, closely studying
the evolution of user interface (ui) design. today, we are in an
exciting new era, thanks to the rising tide of artificial intelligence
(ai) and extended reality (xr) technologies.
ai is reshaping our world, revolutionizing how we interact with
machines. combined with xr technologies, we’re moving towards a future
of diverse, personalized interactions that transforms devices into
virtual spaces. these advancements will revolutionize our digital
interactions in ways we could only imagine.
the emergence of xr technology, which places our bodies in a virtual
space, will enable the creation of new gestures that can interact with
technology in incredible ways — paving the way for dynamic interfaces that adapt and learn from the user in real time.
the combination of ai and xr is a novel thing that defies simple
description. it’s a bit like adding one and one together and getting
three — a mysterious and exciting outcome that we’re still trying to
fully understand. it’s similar to blending two distinct genres of
music. the resulting sound can only be truly felt, not easily
explained in words.
ai and xr are opening up new opportunities for designers to experiment
with innovative approaches.
a wise man once said, “we shape our tools. thereafter, they shape us”.
i think this couldn’t be more true today. as ai increasingly
integrates into our lives, our devices become more attuned to our
needs. gone are the days of manually commanding every operation.
now, our machines learn from us, adapt to us, and anticipate our
needs.
think how voice assistants like alexa or siri work: we no longer need
to navigate complex menus or learn specific commands. instead,
technology understands and responds to natural language, adapting to
our needs and teaching itself how to best serve us.
we expect, and they do. the script has flipped.
and in exchange, ai will train us humans to ask the right questions,
leading us to be more specific and intentional in our queries. it will
be less about “what this piece of hardware and software can do for
me?” and more about “what do i want? how can i best describe it?”.
for example, instead of searching for ‘restaurants nearby,’ we might
ask ‘what is the highest-rated thai restaurant within a 10-minute
walk?’”
this is great since successful people are the ones who train
themselves not to give the best answers but to ask the right
questions. imagine more people knowing how to ask better questions —
raising humankind’s consciousness.
computers have always struggled with right-to-left writing.
in a right-to-left, top-to-bottom script (commonly shortened to right
to left or abbreviated rtl), writing starts from the right of the page
and continues to the left, proceeding from top to bottom for new
lines. this can be contrasted against left-to-right writing systems,
where writing starts from the left of the page and continues to the
right. (source: wikipedia).
in the west, the first computers were created with latin letters,
going from left to right. it was not their concern how their
technologies were adopted in the east back then, and we cannot blame
them since they had their own thing to worry about, which was ensuring
all of the technology was working, and we respect them.
although, after years of struggle, since the default writing direction
is left to right, middle-easterners have had to adopt weird methods
and hack the text somehow, so the writing direction will look just
right (or as close as possible) for the end-users.
middle-easterners are coming up with solutions that reverse a
paragraph’s direction. imagine having to do that for every paragraph
to write with your native language.
exactly. that would be a nightmare.
there’s a social responsibility once a company reach a specific size —
they should acknowledge that the users in the west read differently
than those in the east or the far east. product companies should
acknowledge that “globalization” puts the responsibility on them. the
support for diversity, inclusion, and politically correctness starts
with the most fundamental thing — language.
here are some tools that supports bidirectional reading and writing —
sketch, framer.
and here are some tools that do not support bidirectional reading and
writing — figma, adobe xd, notion, slack, evernote
if a company uses such a product, then the company suppresses
communication and creative thinking.
support bidirectional-text in your product today.
The “Design-to-code” VS “Design-as-code” narrative
the “design-to-code” narrative represents converting design made in
ideation tools into a coded format. why is it a narrative? because
there is another narrative. the “design-as-code” narrative — our
narrative.
relate is a “design-as-code” environment that lets you ideate in the
actual medium, the web. in other words, your design lives as code,
which has many benefits! in our case, we help design teams create
presentational ui components and handle deploying, versioning, and
operations to maintain a software product. developers can continuously
consume the components and easily plug whatever they need into them
while focusing on logic.
our goal is not to design a bridge (or a system of bridges) but to
provide designers with a gateway to the web medium. as soon as they
enter, there is no need for bridges. they communicate in the same
language as the original islanders, the developers, who keep the code
as the source of truth.
the issue i have with “design-to-code” is going through the following
question (and i may not have a definitive answer) — is it even
possible to expect developers to consume code generated by traditional
design tools? in what ways will it be integrated with developers’
components? since these components go beyond the presentational
aspects, wouldn’t they interfere with the developers’ work?
imagine someone took it very seriously and built the ideal
“design-to-code.” the design is beautifully translated into a
production-ready piece of code. so if i’m making a commercial website,
i’m fine! but what if i’m building a complex software product with
complect design, with another ten designers and 30 developers. now
what? how do developers add functionality on top of the exported code?
what if they have modified the code, tweaked it, and written their
functionality on top of it? how do i maintain a system?
where do designers and developers find the best ground for mutual
success?
while the “design-to-code” narrative is engaging, we see it as a
“honey-trap.” the problem is that these tools speak a particular and
non-standardized language, so translating it into code requires a lot
of underlay algorithmic work. many players on the market are now
fighting this war, and our hearts are with them.
Is CSS the missing link between a designer and a developer?
what is the missing link between a designer and a developer?
ready for it?
i believe it’s plain good ol’ css!
it’s the perfect “agreement” between the two camps, allowing
designers to become directly responsible for the form and developers
to take responsibility for functionality.
it doesn’t mean one shouldn’t coordinate with the other on
form/function, yet both sides finally got an opportunity to be on
the same page. or, in our case, a web page.
you may now think, “i need to know how to write css to make that
happen” or “my design tool makes it complicated enough.
why should i learn something new?” we got some news for you. your
design tool does make it too complicated by detaching you from the
medium and its possibilities.
and there is another way. it is called relate.
you will learn to “relate” half the time you learned other tools,
and it will give you unlimited superpowers that you can then apply
multiple times, forever.
what does the designer get?
create a robust design system powered by plain, functional css.
use the same system across multiple relate projects to emphasize
your ui/ux.
what does the developer get?
continuous delivery of a design system, straight away from the
designer.
use the other related projects as the ultimate documentation and
implement the design with functional css.
what does the business get?
achieve “one source of truth” between design and engineering and
have one less thing to worry about. if you’re an online business,
it’s a tremendous amount of time.