Hey there! Hope all is well.
Holy crap, it’s been a minute. My world has been utterly bananas, crossing over from “good busy” to “unhealthy busy”. BUT! I’m stabilizing things, and because I’ve been so busy, I have SO MUCH GOOD STUFF to share here. Let’s go!
into design systems conference
The first exciting annoiuncement is that TJ, Ian, and I are speaking at the Into Design Systems Conference on March 19-20. The focus is on AI & Design Systems, which feels incredibly important, urgent, and right up my alley. I’m excited to share our latest thinking as well as to learn from everyone. Get your ticket and see you there!
real-time ui
We’ve been doing a BUNCH OF WILD STUFF as we put together our AI & Design Systems course & community. TJ’s incredible videos and tooling has opened the door for all manner of exploration, and I got to thinking:
A prototype is worth a thousand meetings, but what if the meeting is the prototype?
That’s what I’m exploring with what I’m calling real-time UI. Simply say a component name and immediately see it materialize in front of your very eyes, and create design system-powered websites without touching a mouse or keyboard. Crazy stuff. See it in action as I introduce it to TJ as well as our own merry design system team:
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everything everywhere all at once
Lightning round! Here’s a rundown of so many of the other things we’ve been up to:
◉ We hosted our first AI & Design Systems jam session! We’re hosting bi-weekly live sessions to our growing AI & Design Systems course community
◉ Chapter 3 of my Atomic Design Certification Course is nearly done! This chapter took way longer than I wanted, but it’s because it’s taken a ton of demo creation to show how to comprehensively create design systems in Figma, code, and documentation! Really pleased with how it’s all coming together.
◉ There are 2 new incredible Wake Up Excited! episodes. Mike Rybachuk shares practical, hard-won ways to practice self-honesty and choose joy on purpose, and Christine Vallaure offers a grounding look at designing a balanced life through agency, autonomy, and finding fulfillment in the work itself.
◉ Our AI & Design Systems course is entering production mode! TJ, Ian, and I have been navigating this fast-moving terrain and are finally at a point to really roll up our sleeves and record and release a slew of course material. Preorder the course and get access to hours’ worth of videos, a friendly community, direct access to industry leaders, and a whole lot more fun on the way!
◉ Making systems progress. Since declaring systems bankruptcy, I’ve been doing a ton of work to (re)build systems and get work and life into a healthier place.
◉ My stress relief as always is playing music. Ian and I played along with absolutely-wild French prog-rock music totally cold: no warm up or practice. Melissa and I played along with RJD2 as I get closer to getting my studio fully set up.
Since things have been so busy, I’ll leave you with this question: how do you know when you’ve crossed over from “good busy” to “unhealthy busy”? What are the signals? What do you do to cross back over into healthier territory?
Much love,
