Play of the Week newsletter by Chris Newsletter issue: #180Read time: 1m 48s Zach, a newsletter reader asked me: "Hey Chris! I'm a senior graphic designer transitioning to UX. Advice?" Oh boy. Where to start? Look, I've been there. Back in 2014, jobless, no savings, crashing at my grandparents' place. Not a vibe. From “I’ll design anything” to UX Lead in 6 months wasn't an accident. I spent time understanding what good UX actually is. Lesson #1: Pretty doesn't equal usable. Your perfect UI...
12 days ago • 4 min read
Play of the Week newsletter by Chris Newsletter issue: #179Read time: 1m 23s Quick story: In 2019, I was managing 20+ designers across 4 countries. The best designer on my team? Super quiet dude who barely spoke in meetings. But his work? 🔥 Here's the problem with most design teams today: We're building echo chambers of extroverts who can "sell" their mediocre ideas better than introverts can present their brilliant ones. I call it the "Peacock Problem" The loudest designers get promoted, not...
19 days ago • 4 min read
Play of the Week newsletter by Chris Newsletter issue: #178Read 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...
26 days ago • 4 min read
Newsletter issue: #177 Read time: 53s Play of the Week newsletter by Chris A big thank you to Edios Design, our sponsor, who keeps this newsletter free to the reader: DESIGN + AI NEWSLETTER Rethinking Design in the Age of AI Join a growing community of designers exploring how AI is reshaping creativity, collaboration, and the meaning of design itself. Insightful, human, and beautifully crafted. Join Eidos Design on Substack Your UX portfolio homepage is your digital first impression. You've...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Play of the Week newsletter by Chris Newsletter issue: #176Read time: 1m 49s In 2022, I rejected my second Head of Product Design job offer. More on that story here They offered $150,000, after tax. I still said no. Was I high? Nope.On drugs? Negative.Just stupid? Possibly. But here's the twist: it was the best damn decision I've ever made. You see, most people approach their design career like this: “Let me build a decent portfolio → get a good job → climb the ladder → repeat until death.”...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Play of the Week newsletter by Chris Newsletter issue: #175Read time: 1m 56s PERSONALIZED VIDEO Get Your Portfolio Roasted A 30-minute, private video, packed with personalised, easy-to-implement advice that will improve your portfolio. Get feedback ASAP Ever watched a designer melt down during a critique session? That was me in 2016, sweating through my t-shirt while stakeholders dismantled my unified navigation design (in hindsight, it absolutely made no sense). I thought I was Steve Jobs....
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Play of the Week newsletter by Chris Newsletter issue: #174Read time: 1m 59s BUNDLE EXCLUSIVE "I don't know how to grow" Strategize, design, and create your dream UX career, step-by-step. Start growing your career Ever make a decision that made you rethink your entire career? 🙋♂️ Raises hand My career journey has been a rollercoaster. Epic fails and (thankfully) some wins. I quit the best job to chase status, only to fall flat on my face. I once spent 8 months building a product nobody...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Play of the Week newsletter by Chris Newsletter issue: #173Read time: 1m 16s A big thank you to Miro, our sponsor, who keeps this newsletter free to the reader: FREE FOR DESIGNERS 😍 The ONLY design workshop platform you need Miro helps designers organize and run design sprints and workshops on a single, flexible canvas, with facilitation tools like timer, voting, clustering, templates, blueprints, and private mode. Plus, you can now use Miro AI to summarize insights. No more hours spent on...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Play of the Week newsletter by Chris Newsletter issue: #172Read time: 1m 34s ONLY $99 Your all-in-one toolbox for UX design UX resources that will make your eyes water with joy. Frameworks, guides, and templates! Used by 20,000+ designers. Get access to the playbook 10 years ago, the design industry had a collective meltdowns over “UX processes”. Everyone and their mum was preaching about how messy processes needed fixing. UX consultants were selling the UX perfect process. It’s 2025 and I’m...
2 months ago • 5 min read