Writing
Notes on product systems, UX architecture and designing AI, written from inside real projects.
Where does intelligence belong?
Most AI briefs say “add an assistant”. The better question is where AI should help, and how much. Five rules for designing AI into a complex product, with an example from KNIME.
AI UXExperience architectureProduct DesignAssistant usage is not the metric. Resolution is.
Teams measure AI features by how often people use them. That rewards the wrong design. Five behaviours that tell you whether an intelligence layer is doing its job, and how to instrument them from the first release.
AI UXMetricsProduct DesignSmart results vs guided next steps
Some users need smarter results; others need guided next steps. Designing AI that adapts to a user's domain expertise – without becoming unpredictable.
AI UXProduct DesignUXDesigning AI systems people can trust
AI in complex products can't be sprinkled on top – it has to be designed as a system: grounded in real objects, with clear jobs, progressive specificity, and the restraint to know when to stay quiet.
AI UXProduct DesignSystemsThe 100x cost rule: how strategic UX investment drives growth and reduces risk
Fixing a UX issue after development can cost 100x more than fixing it in design. Why early UX is a strategy, not a luxury.
UX StrategyProduct DesignProduct innovation doesn't start with sketching interfaces. It starts with structure.
Real innovation isn't aesthetic – it's structural. Start with objects, relationships, and actions before you sketch a single screen.
UX InnovationOOUXProduct DesignDesigners think in flows. Developers think in data. That's the real friction.
Handover tension isn't a process problem – it's a language problem. Start with objects, not just flows, and the friction disappears.
CollaborationOOUXProduct DesignHere's how ChatGPT quietly breaks UX expectations
When an interface smooths over complexity instead of acknowledging it, consistency starts working against clarity.
AI UXProduct DesignDesign SystemsGreat design fails when it breaks mental models
LinkedIn hides your scheduled posts inside the 'create' flow – a lesson in modelling interfaces on how people think, not how the backend works.
UX DesignProduct DesignStop jumping into prototypes too soon
Prototyping before you've unpacked complexity turns design into guesswork. Clarity comes before Figma.
UX DesignProduct Design