Tanner Christensen’s Post

From the archives: Poor design meets one need while creating a dozen others. Good design resolves problems without negatively affecting anything else in its ecosystem. Systems thinking is the lens of thinking that separates the genuinely great designers from the pretty-great ones. It's a way of looking at the bigger picture and understanding the interconnectedness of all the parts. Do you agree/disagree? #systemsthinking #designthinking #gooddesign

Over the course of my career I've had the displeasure of suffering through learned helplessness—the psychological state of feeling as though my efforts have no impact whatsoever. The thing about learned helplessness is that it can feel like "the world is against you", when it's really "you against you." It's all psychology and how we think—and the actions we do or do not take as a result of our thoughts.

This is a tremendous announcement for any designer (or related function!) looking to level up their design systems abilities. Dan's "Make Design Systems People Want to Use" program is well worth catching—and now it's completely free! Plus, his Design Systems 101 course is going to be available for just $101 starting April 1st. #designsystems #designers

If you’re a designer who is getting interviews but not sure what types of questions to ask, this might help. I was looking through an old journal and stumbled on these questions I wrote for myself when I was talking to early-to-mid stage companies. They’ve served me well in identifying expectations and opportunities upfront in interviews, so I wanted to share them. 1. Why is the company investing more in design now? A good way to determine if the company has a clear sense of what design can do for the business, and whether or not it’s a “gut reaction” to some need or a carefully considered plan for growth. 2. How have design decisions historically been made (related to how things look or the user flow, for example)? Tangible examples of how design decisions are made can tell you a lot about how the company thinks about the role and responsibility of designers. 3. What does a “design decision” mean to you, how do you think about the scope of responsibility for design at the company? A bit more direct than the previous question: when design decisions are a matter of perspective or quality, that’s very different than if design decisions are fundamental to the business’ bottom line. 4. Where do stakeholders currently want to see design involved in the process? An opinion on what existing issues with the design team (if there is one) can spotlight where you might be expected to dive in—or flag efforts you may need to be trained to do well. 5. What’s working in the current design process? What could be better  Where does design work currently happen (Slack, Docs, elsewhere)? 6. What challenges do you think a designer coming into this role may face? What would you add to the list? Are there any interview questions that have worked well for giving you signal on the role, company, and culture?

Calling all designers! Are you looking for a community of like-minded creatives to connect with? Check out https://posts.cv for an inspiring and helpful community. I've found the community to be delightful, with members often sharing work that is downright inspiring. Join me over there - my username is tannerc. Let's connect. #designers #creatives #community

Minor details seem insignificant until they're not. I recently discoverec my portfolio website had a minor bug causing navigation shifts by a few pixels between pages. The bug was probably unnoticed by most. But like finding a hair in your food when eating at a restaurant, those who do notice are left with a negative impression—even if minor. Such small issues, like a bug on a website, a typo in a résumé, or a broken link, won't ruin a career on their own. But they can elevate someone else's work by comparison. Those who invest a little extra effort to eliminate errors in their résumé or ensure their website is responsive across all devices tend to stand out against those who don't. #designers #jobsearch

Snaplight, 2015. 1 weekend from idea to build. 400,000 downloads.

Building for Vision Pro brings a few new to think about when it comes to interaction design. I think a lot of creativity is going to be unlocked from the platform.

One of the things that made early 2000s app design stand out was the creative use of effects that went beyond the confines of a typical window. Take Disco by Sofa, for example, which had an incredibly fun smoking animation every time you burned a CD. I vividly remember as a kid being awed by the animation and the creativity. Who would have thought of using smoke as a visual indicator that the app is doing something?! (The Sofa team, of course.) Now, in the spirit of breaking outside the bounds we're all familiar with, my meditation timer app Center will include a soft "ripple" animation. The animation is entirely optional for users, but it adds a bit of visual delight to the experience of ending a mindfulness session when using the app on a Mac. (And it looks especially neat on the Vision Pro version of the app.) What do you think? #appdesign #mac #meditation #mindfulness

👋 I am looking to speak 1:1 with anyone who is currently or has previously worked on a design system team. I'm hoping to learn about how various design systems categorize non-core patterns. Conversations will be short, casual, and will not recorded. I'm also more than happy to use the time to answer any questions YOU might have for me. If you're interested in chatting, drop a comment or message me directly. (Or if you know someone who might be a good person to speak to, tag them in the comments!) #designsystems