Posts tagged with “Personal Stories

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Breadth vs. Depth: Lessons from Agencies and In-House Design

December 17, 2024  •  9 min readA close-up photograph of a newspaper's personal advertisements section, with one listing circled in red ink. The circled ad is titled "DESIGN NOMAD" and cleverly frames a designer's job search as a personal ad, comparing agency work to casual dating and seeking an in-house position as a long-term relationship. The surrounding text shows other personal ads in small, dense print arranged in multiple columns.

Just as casual dating helps you figure out what you want in a relationship, working at agencies early in your design career lets you explore different styles, clients, and problems before settling down in-house. Drawing from my nearly three decades of experience on both sides, I've learned there's real value in starting broad before going deep.

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The Greatest Story Ever Told

August 24, 2024  •  3 min readPhoto of Kamala Harris

Under immense pressure, under the highest of expectations, Kamala Harris outperformed in her acceptance speech at the DNC, delivering way beyond what anyone anticipated. Her biography is what makes her relatable. It illustrates her values. And her story is the American story.

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The Apple Design Process

January 19, 2022  •  6 min readCreative Selection book with Roger Wong's Apple badge

Drawing from my time at Apple and insights from Ken Kocienda's 'Creative Selection,' I share how Steve Jobs shaped Apple's legendary design process through relentless exploration and refinement. From creating hundreds of packaging mockups to weekly design reviews in the mysterious Diplomacy room, this is an insider's look at how Apple's obsession with quality came to life under Steve's ultimate creative direction.

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A Year of Learning

April 18, 2021  •  4 min readGold #1

During the pandemic lockdown, I turned to learning as a way to stay occupied. What started with optimizing my work-from-home setup led to rediscovering old passions in photography, videography, and 3D animation, eventually culminating in creating art and launching a newsletter.

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30 Years of Mac

January 25, 2014  •  1 min read

How I spent months convincing my dad to buy me my first Mac, and the hours I logged at Computerland waiting for that day.

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Putting a Dent in the Universe

October 6, 2011  •  2 min readSteve Jobs

From playing with MacPaint as a seventh grader to working directly with Steve Jobs at Pixar, my journey with Apple spans decades. While Jobs was demanding and direct, his push for perfection helped shape not just my career, but the entire tech landscape.

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Thank You, Steve

August 26, 2011  •  2 min readWelcome animation

While working at Apple, I had the unique experience of presenting the Mac OS X Panther setup animation directly to Steve Jobs. After 14 rounds of revisions, his dedication to perfection taught me an invaluable lesson: Keep going until it's right. Don't settle.