Play of the Week newsletter by Chris​ ​ ​​​​

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Newsletter issue: #178
Read time: 1m 27s

When I started my design career, I was obsessed.

I was the kid with 27 browser tabs open, all UX blogs.

​Atomic Design book on standby.
​Design Details podcast on repeat.
​Design Sprint playlist queued up.

I thought I was being productive.

I was actually being an idiot.

Then I finally realized something:

The designers making an impact weren't just design nerds.

They were business-savvy creative psychologists who could sell their ideas, navigate politics, and understand systems beyond pixels.

Here's what my content diet looks like now:

• 10% random brain rot
• 10% design
• 10% AI
• 20% creator economy
• 50% business, leadership, startups

I treat my brain like I treat my body. It needs a balanced diet, not just coffee.

You: "But Chris, I need those UX articles to stay current!"

Me *throwing my sticky notes at you: "CURRENT AT WHAT?"

Our career matrix looks like this:

Naval calls it "specific knowledge".
Alex Hormozi calls this "skill stacking".
Heather McGowan says it's an "x-shaped" designer.

I call it "not being a basic bitch" designer.

I've watched designers with mediocre portfolios outperform pixel-perfect designers simply because they understand business, can speak the language of stakeholders and know how to sell their vision.

Nobody tells you this in art school (they're too busy teaching you colour theory for the 87th time 🤦🏻‍♂️).

In 2015, I got my first UX role with almost zero UX knowledge.

By 2019, I was leading a team of 20+ designers across 4 countries.

It wasn’t my Figma skills (I never named my layers).

It was learning sales psychology to pitch my ideas.
It was understanding how design translates to business value.
It was speaking the language of engineers, product, and executives.

I put together a cross-disciplinary reading list. Material that I know will help your career, like it helped mine.

P.S. Know a designer who's still in the UX content bubble? Send them this before it's too late.