Interface Café
@interfacecafe.com
A calm space to work through ideas on the meaning of our work, both theoretical and practical. Written by @iamli.am ☕ https://interfacecafe.com/
Staying creative with a design system means knowing when and how to break it. interfacecafe.com/doubleshot-g... #DesignSystems
Staying Creative with Design Systems • Doubleshot
Staying creative with a design system means knowing when and how to break it.
interfacecafe.com
“Taste” and “craft” are often discussed as a shield (or a strawman) in conversations about AI. But debates on taste vs. automation are meaningless until we actually define our terms. Here is the definition we need: interfacecafe.com/craft-in-the... #designsky
Unpacking “Craft” in the Software Interface
The more I see craft mentioned as a power of design, the more I feel that a working definition is urgently needed.
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"Nature can only be fenced in so much." Can the same be said for design? A meditation on gardening, the limits of information, and why knowing facts about an object might feel unfulfilling. interfacecafe.com/meditation-o... #designsky
A Meditation on Gardening, Design, and Information
It’s very hard to replicate the aesthetic pleasure of a moonvine on-screen. The composition suffers from a lack of texture. There’s no wind or rain inside a smartphone.
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Untangling some of the abstract and ambiguous possibilities of designing with AI. interfacecafe.com/doubleshot-d... #AI #Design #FutureOfDesign
Design Space and the Generative Spectrum • Doubleshot
Untangling some of the abstract and ambiguous possibilities of designing with AI.
interfacecafe.com
Should an expand arrow point up or down? Components often struggle with the distinction between state and function. Find out why the answer might actually be in the button's shape. 👇 interfacecafe.com/the-state-of... #designsky
The State of Buttons
The button's complexity is a result of how flexible the concept of a button really is. It's just a region of space on screen that triggers some action.
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In a world obsessed with novelty, David Reinfurt reminds us that in design, 'it's more important to be true than new.' interfacecafe.com/doubleshot-t... #Design
🔓 True is Better Than New • Doubleshot
I’ve always been a big believer in actively cultivating the individual perspective as a part of good design rationale, and it’s even more on my mind now.
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“The goal of foreseeing an unknowable future leads to misunderstandings of the present.” A quote from Tom Boellstorff that feels more relevant than ever.
Predict the Present • Doubleshot
Is there something more behind the desire to know the future (or speak it into existence)?
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The features in our design tools imply something about which tasks should be possible and how they should be carried out. interfacecafe.com/doubleshot-l... #DesignTools #CreativeProcess #Design
Let’s Talk About Tools • Doubleshot
The assemblage of tools not only implies something about which tasks should be possible, but also how they should be carried out.
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In a 🆕 Doubleshot newsletter, I break down my recent @design-notes.show conversation with Rachel Been, SVP of Design for Expedia Group. interfacecafe.com/doubleshot-h... #designsky
Humanity will always be the reference • Doubleshot
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How type design made me see all the “fixed” logos on social media in a new, dimmer light. interfacecafe.com/letting-go-o... #GraphicDesign #Logos #Typography
Letting Go of Geometry (Again) • Doubleshot
How type design made me see all the “fixed” logos on social media in a new, dimmer light.
interfacecafe.com
A special ep with PM Aneesha Kommineni, UX Researcher Michael Gilbert, and Creative Director Andy Stewart, going over the M3 Expressive updates. interfacecafe.com/design-notes... #MaterialDesign #DesignSystems #Podcast
Material Design Gets Expressive: Aneesha Kommineni, Andy Stewart, and Michael Gilbert
The latest evolution of Google’s design system: Material 3 Expressive.
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📣 Calling all Design Notes listeners: What other design or creative podcasts do you listen to regularly? Let me know in the replies! #designsky
It’s freeing to think about returning to a site built in Notepad as a more direct expression. Jarrett Fuller unpacks simple tools in this essay. interfacecafe.com/read-this-ja... #WebDesign #IndieWeb #Simplicity
📚 Read This: Jarrett Fuller on Simple Tools
The irony of recommending this essay on Interface Café, which is hosted on Ghost, a CMS platform, is not lost on me.
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A post from Nico Thornley, Brenton Simpson, Julia Feldman, and Michael Gilbert about research the team did to determine how users perceive Material 3. interfacecafe.com/read-this-wh... #MaterialDesign #UserResearch #UIUX
📚 Read This: What Does Your UI Say To Your Users?
New on the Material Blog: a post from Nico Thornley, Brenton Simpson, Julia Feldman, and Michael Gilbert about research the team did to determine how users perceive Material 3 against Material 2.
interfacecafe.com
In a brand new issue of Doubleshot, I reflect on the importance of careful and intentional abstraction, and the aesthetic impact that can be created by mystery. interfacecafe.com/levels-of-ab... #designsky
Levels of Abstraction • Doubleshot
The aesthetic effect of mystery in design.
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Can technical expertise be a creative trap? In a new Design Notes, Fabian Bircher explains how to break free of what's technically possible to make a greater creative impact.
Other Than Expected: Fabian Bircher on Combining Art, Architecture, and Code
Fabian discusses his unique creative process, where inspiration flows from both artistic concepts and the discovery of new technological possibilities.
interfacecafe.com
A new issue of the Doubleshot is set to go out next Wednesday! Sign up now so you don't miss it, and catch up on previous design tips, tools, and theory. interfacecafe.com/tag/doublesh...
At the height of Google+, many Android dev, customization, and fan community members were hanging out there. Here’s what I think it got right: interfacecafe.com/one-thing-go... #GooglePlus #SocialMedia #TBT
One Thing Google+ Got Right
Decentralized platforms are picking up steam, and one reason I’m excited for that comes back to Google+
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The way metaphor permeates the interface points to a continued struggle with the complexity introduced by the things we’ve created. interfacecafe.com/metaphor-and... #Design #UX #Metaphor
Metaphor and Transformation in the Interface
The way metaphor permeates the interface points to a continued struggle to live with the complexity introduced by the very media we’ve created to manage it.
interfacecafe.com
The most interesting explorations are those that show something unexpected: the importance of creating a slight unbalance or a new focal point in the composition. interfacecafe.com/doubleshot-0... #DesignThinking #CreativeProcess #DesignSystems
Tension • Doubleshot
The most interesting explorations are those that show something unexpected: a constellation of system features that creates a slight unbalance or a new focal point in the composition.
interfacecafe.com
On an infinitely scrolling, algorithmic list, scrolling past something is about the least intentional thing one could do. interfacecafe.com/view-counts-... #SocialMedia #Design #UserExperience
View Counts and the Detotalization of Social Media
On an infinitely scrolling, algorithmically generated list, scrolling past something is about the least intentional thing one could do.
interfacecafe.com
Connecting historic conceptions of adaptable design with contemporary visions, looking toward a truly adaptive future. interfacecafe.com/the-future-o... #AdaptiveDesign #FutureofDesign #SpeculativeDesign
The Future of Design is Still Personal
Connecting historic conceptions of adaptable design with contemporary visions, looking toward a truly adaptive future.
interfacecafe.com
If Googling doesn’t give you the numbers you need, or you just want to show off your math skills, here’s a relatively easy way to determine the relevant metrics for your designs. interfacecafe.com/how-to-find-... #Design #AndroidDev #UIUX
How to Find Device Metrics and dp Resolution for Any Screen (Updated)
If Googling doesn’t give you the numbers you need, or you just want to show off your math skills, here’s a relatively easy way to determine the relevant metrics for your designs.
interfacecafe.com
Tomorrow, a new Doubleshot newsletter goes out, pondering the primacy of the “problem” in the design process. Sign up to get it directly in your inbox 💌
Doubleshot - Interface Café
Enrich your practice with the Interface Café newsletter—one part curated practical tips, one part theoretical exploration, delivered to you bi-weekly.
interfacecafe.com
From Le Corbusier to Figma, “design is, at its core, a permanently subject-oriented discipline.” To realize the potential of this coming era of design, we must reconsider the nature of the objects we create.
Reshaping our expectations for generative design
From Le Corbusier to Figma, “design is, at its core, a permanently subject-oriented discipline.”
interfacecafe.com
Adaptability to the individual is a persistent vision that’s engaged a long line of thinkers and practitioners in computing since day one. Trace its history (and predict its future) in this summer reading list 📚 interfacecafe.com/adaptive-ind... #designsky
A Reading List for Individualized and Adaptive Design
It’s (still) summer, which is the perfect time for a reading list.
interfacecafe.com
In a new Doubleshot, some thoughts (and resources) on the irreplaceable creativity of the mind and how individual subjectivity, on a fundamental level, can’t be generated. ☕️ interfacecafe.com/mindmade-ai-... #designsky
Tomorrow, a new Doubleshot newsletter will go out centered on what distinguishes generation and creation. Sign up to get it directly to your inbox, or on Interface Café ☕️ interfacecafe.com/tag/doublesh... #designsky
Doubleshot - Interface Café
Enrich your practice with the Interface Café newsletter—one part curated practical tips, one part theoretical exploration, delivered to you bi-weekly.
interfacecafe.com
The interface subtly evokes and communicates possibility. For an example, look no further than the chair you’re probably sitting on right now. 🪑 interfacecafe.com/chair-as-int...
