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Insights · Field notes

Notes from the UX desk.

Field notes on UX, product design, accessibility, DesignOps, governance, and AI, written for the people making product and delivery decisions.

Read selected briefingsStart a conversation

Latest briefing.

The newest note from the UX desk.

Selected briefings.

Decision-focused analysis on UX, product, accessibility, DesignOps, governance, and AI. Newest first.

  2. Abstract architectural scene showing a person at a glowing boundary within a geometric system, with a red path extending beyond the controlled structure.
    • Governance
    • HumanCenteredAI
    • AI

    When AI Is Right for the Wrong Reason

    We cannot predict every way an AI agent might interpret us. The guardrail belongs where interpretation becomes a consequence.

  3. Abstract isometric illustration of a digital product interface divided into business modules, with an orange-red band moving through the system to represent shifting friction, cost, and trade-offs.
    • Product design
    • Design Strategy
    • Design Leadership

    Product Design and the Art of Negotiation

    Good product design is less about removing friction than deciding where it belongs. Every trade-off has a cost. The real question is who pays for it.

  5. Scattered numbers and data points converge into connected charts, dashboards, and interface wireframes on a white background.
    • UX Design
    • UX Research
    • Product design

    Design Without Evidence Is Mostly Confidence

    How to turn vague requests into accountable design work by defining the problem, baseline, hypothesis, measures, guardrails, and ownership before opening Figma.

  9. Black-and-white pencil drawing of an older mentor sharing a scroll with a group of business-casual professionals seated around him in an ancient Greek setting with columns, scrolls, books, and temple ruins, symbolizing knowledge transfer and protection.
    • AI
    • AIGovernance
    • Future of Work

    Stop Renting Your Own Memory

    AI is changing agency economics by making company knowledge searchable, portable, and easier for small expert teams to use.

  11. Office space, letterpad on the front with team capabilities
    • Team Capability Engine (TCE)
    • Leadership
    • Process

    The Shadow Spreadsheet

    Most teams don’t lack talent. They lack visibility. TCE helps leaders see capability gaps before projects slip and people burn out.

  12. A design professional with a haptic glove uses complex, floating holographic interfaces to manage UI design, AI analysis, code schemas, design tokens, and compliance data against a sunset view of Copenhagen.
    • AI
    • DesignOps
    • Future of Work

    DesignOps 2.0: Governing the AI Delivery Pipeline

    Design systems were built as libraries for humans. AI needs something else: a governed context engine. This article lays out a four-layer DesignOps model for controlling how design knowledge enters AI workflows, how output gets evaluated, and how corrections become better system behavior over time.

  21. Leadership in the Age of Infinite Fluency
    • AI
    • Future of Work
    • Leadership

    Leadership in the Age of Infinite Fluency

    In an age of infinite AI fluency, leaders need calibration. A one-page Decision Brief turns confidence into assumptions, evidence, and tests.

  22. Minimal constellation-style system map
    • Future of Work
    • Leadership
    • Product design

    15 Rules of Design Leadership for 2026

    15 Rules of Design Leadership for 2026: decompose the work, design for autopilot, protect integrity, and make ideas happen.

  33. AI + UX: A Few Notes from the Field
    • AI
    • Case Study
    • Future of Work

    AI + UX: A Few Notes from the Field

    How we used AI tools to cut UX delivery time by ~60%. Without extra budget or headcount. What worked, what didn’t, and what we’d do again.

  34. Red Means Danger, Unless You Can’t See It
    • Accessibility
    • Empathy
    • UX Design

    Red Means Danger, Unless You Can’t See It

    Red means danger, unless you can’t see it. How sci-fi interfaces reveal a real-world design flaw that affects 300 million people, and how to fix it.

  36. Change Isn’t the Enemy, Comfort Is
    • AI
    • Leadership
    • Process

    Change Isn’t the Enemy, Comfort Is

    Why legacy processes fail and how real change starts. Kotter’s model, Kaizen, and AI insights for leaders ready to evolve.

  46. Cognitive Empathy: Your Everyday Survival Tool
    • Empathy
    • Leadership

    Cognitive Empathy: Your Everyday Survival Tool

    Discover the power of cognitive empathy—your essential survival tool for fostering understanding, solving conflicts, and building deeper connections.

  70. A painted profile of a human head in green and blue brushstrokes, with dollar-sign coins and fine network lines swirling outward from where the brain would be.
    • Wellness

    Financial Freedom: The Key to Mental Health

    An NBER study put cash transfers and psychotherapy head to head across 5,756 households. The cash improved mental health; the therapy, as delivered, did not. What that says about well-being.

  71. The Future of AGI: Transforming UX Design
    • AI
    • Leadership
    • UX Design

    The Future of AGI: Transforming UX Design

    Explore how AGI will revolutionize UX design, bringing unprecedented adaptability, ethical considerations, and human-AI collaboration to create intuitive, user-centered experiences.

  77. Leading by Design: My Experience in UX
    • Leadership
    • Teamwork
    • UX Design

    Leading by Design: My Experience in UX

    Leading by Design: My Experience in UX, I bridge technology and humanity, creating intuitive experiences and supporting teams to thrive in UX. My journey is about making meaningful impacts.

  79. Design Leadership: The Art of Balance
    • Leadership
    • UX Design

    Design Leadership: The Art of Balance

    Balancing creativity and feasibility in design leadership is like walking a tightrope. Learn how to foster innovation while meeting real-world demands

  85. Design Thinking in Leadership
    • Design Thinking
    • Leadership

    Design Thinking in Leadership

    How design thinking and empathy can transform leadership, boost team engagement, and foster innovation. Learn practical steps to implement these strategies.

Showing 85 briefings · Newest first

What these insights are for.

Crisp explanations of UX, product design, accessibility, AI, DesignOps, governance, and delivery risk for decision-makers.

See applied workStart a project

  1. Decision-focused UX analysis.

    Product design risk, accessibility, DesignOps, governance, AI workflow, and team capability, explained in practical operating terms.

  2. Written for product and delivery leaders.

    For teams that need to understand why work is slowing down, where risk is hiding, and what to fix first.

  3. Read before turning symptoms into roadmaps.

    Use an article when a topic needs sharper framing before planning, buying tools, changing process, or briefing stakeholders.

  4. Grounded in field work.

    The editorial focus mirrors UXDL consulting patterns across governance, accessibility, AI adoption, design systems, and operations.

  5. From reading to diagnosis.

    If an article names the problem you are seeing, the intro call decides what a practical intervention should look like.

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