Dive Club 🤿

We’re talking about craft in B2B SaaS... but what is it like designing for frontier interfaces like the Apple watch or even neural interfaces?We find out in this week’s episode with Rooz Mahdavian. (https://x.com/roozm)He’s the design engineer at Neuralink so we're about to get pretty nerdy and talk about what it’s like designing an experience that allows someone to use a computer with just their mind.The level of detail and first-principles design thinking is truly impressive.Some highlights:- What it looks like to design for delight in neural interfaces- What Neuralink is looking for in their 2nd design engineer role- What it takes to design frontier interfaces at Apple and Neuralink- The evolution from Apple Watch Siri face to brain-computer interfaces- Rooz’s vision for “daydreaming with computers” and direct visual imagery transfer- Reimagining a cursor for a neural interface - from color-based feedback to circular reticles- + a lot more- Apple Watch Faces team (https://www.youtube.com/embed/oaqHdULqet0?start=585&end=705&autoplay=1&controls=0)- Siri Watch Face (intern project that shipped) (https://www.youtube.com/embed/oaqHdULqet0?start=585&end=705&autoplay=1&controls=0)- Neuralink (https://neuralink.com/) - brain computer interface company- Blindside - Neuralink’s vision restoration project (https://neuralink.com/trials/visual-prosthesis/)

Imagine it’s your first day as a designer at Perplexity... and the VP of Design hands you the keys for their all-new AI browser, [Comet](https://www.perplexity.ai/comet).That’s the story for [Escha Vera](https://x.com/eschadiol).So this week’s episode is a deep dive into her design process and what it looks like to use AI like an artist.- How she designed Comet onboarding experience- Creating generative invite codes using multiple AI tools- How she created the Perplexity design system from scratch- How she productized AI without leading with chat interfaces or prompts- What are her principles for designing AI experiences that prioritize usability- + a lot more- [Soleio](https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/soleio-2) sent the intro to [Henry Modisett](https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/henry-modisett)- She worked at [Descript](https://x.com/descriptapp) before joining [Perplexity](https://x.com/perplexity_ai)- Previously worked on [Daylight Computer](https://x.com/daylightco) and Motif- Collaborating with [Phi Hong](https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/phi-hoang) on branding at Perplexity- Uses [Suno](https://suno.com/home?wpsrc=Google%20AdWords&wpcid=22042553892&wpscid=173890219393&wpcrid=726251362516&wpkwid=kwd-2827037661&wpkwn=suno&wpkmatch=e&wpsnetn=g&gad_campaignid=22042553892&gbraid=0AAAAA9pWpduFan7icL90FczgyQploCsYi) for music generation and remixing

What does the perfect e-commerce platform look like in an AI era?That’s the question Shopify’s Chief Design Officer Carl Rivera has set out to answer so this week’s episode is all about Shopify’s big bet on design and craft as the ultimate differentiator.We go deep into:- What happens when AI makes everyone a 7/10 designer- What most design teams get wrong when casting vision- How design can lead the creation of truly native AI experiences- Why every designer at Shopify is learning to ship to production- Carl’s thesis for why designers are severely undervalued in the market- Why Shopify acquired Molly Studio and what it means for how the org works- + a lot morehttps://www.molly.studio/ - design studio acquired by Shopify

Only a select few have multiple episodes on Dive Club and today Catt Small joins the ranks.She has a gift for turning messy ideas into practical next steps so it’s no wonder her Staff Designer course is one of the top-rated on Maven.In this episode we go deep into all of the ways you can make an impact by building influence on your team and effectively casting vision for your product.Some highlights:The 2 ways to measure your influenceStrategies for getting distribution for your ideasHow to select the ideal format for casting a visionStorytelling tactics used by the best staff designersHow to strategically invest in workplace relationshipsWhat Catt learned while interviewing staff designers for her new book⭐ Get $100 off Catt’s course: Staff Designer: Influence & Lead as an Individual Contributor⭐ Get 15% off pre-orders for her new book: The Staff Designer

What does it take to make people feel something with design...?This week's guest is kind of an expert on the question. Sara Vienna (https://x.com/sravienna?lang=en) , the Chief Design Officer at Metalab, talks about the responsibility that designers have to shape this AI world that we're entering without losing the heartbeat of a brand.We don't hold back on the current state of the industry and what it feels like to be a designer today.Some highlights:- How to not get swept up in current design trends- How Metalab has adopted AI workflows internally- Strategies for leveraging AI to understand research data- What it takes to put meaning at the heart of a brand/product- How Metalab invests in the collective taste of the design org- Where Sara derives signals and how she filters out the noise- Being late on a trend is bad taste even more so than ugly design- + a lot more- Windsurf https://windsurf.com/) and [Suno](https://suno.com/home?wpsrc=Google%20AdWords&wpcid=22042553892&wpscid=173890219393&wpcrid=726251362516&wpkwid=kwd-2827037661&wpkwn=suno&wpkmatch=e&wpsnetn=g&gad_campaignid=22042553892&gbraid=0AAAAA9pWpduFan7icL90FczgyQploCsYi) rebrands- Jony Ive’s Stripe Sessions talk (https://stripe.com/sessions/2025/a-conversation-with-sir-jony-ive)- Erica Hall’s book “Just Enough Research” (https://www.mulebooks.com/just-enough-research)- Anthropic’s Machines of Loving Grace paper (https://www.darioamodei.com/essay/machines-of-loving-grace)- Blok for focus (https://blok.so/)

I think we're entering a world where the market for fractional design is about to explode…So this week's episode is with one of my favorite people in the industry, Gabe Valdivia.We're going to explore his independent journey → how he made the jump, how he's evolved the practice in year two, and all of the lessons he's learned along the way.Some highlights:Gabe’s three-phase client modelHow to sell a client on fractional designGabe’s rules of thumb for pricing himselfHow Gabe’s new apprenticeship program worksHow Gabe vibe-coded his personal Freelance OSHow he has redefined success from year 1 to year 2Gabe’s journey to figure out how to position himself as an independenta lot moreCharlie Sutton who he worked with on VR team at FacebookTeam Human book by Douglas Rushkoff

Too much of designing a startup happens behind closed doorsSo I want to work with the garage door open while building Inflight (https://www.inflight.co/) as much as possible.You already saw a bunch of the nitty gritty UI details (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D39Dv9MSlhs)…But when you’re going 0 to 1 on something, the storytelling piece is often the hardest part.So this episode is a sneak peek of a recent presentation we gave in SF (and some behind-the-scenes commentary to go along with it).

What does it look like to advance your career in the age of AI? That’s what this week’s episode with Dan Winer (Director of Product Design at Kit) is all about. He shares insights from his top-rated Maven course "Strategy and Influence for Product Designers" (https://join.dive.club/dan-winer-course) So if you want to learn how to go from pixel pusher to strategic partner then this is the episode for you 💪Some highlights:- Dan’s strategies for effective storytelling- How to shine a light on the value of your work- Tactics for building alignment across key stakeholders- The 8 skills that Dan is evaluating in the hiring process- Why design systems are becoming more important than ever- Harsh truths designers don’t want to hear about their portfolio- What to do if you don’t have data to prove the impact of your work- + a lot more

This week's episode is with Andy Zhang who was the lead design engineer at Windsurf. So we're going to shine a light on all of the ways you can make an impact as a design engineer including:Owning more of the frontend polishThinking through design patterns and packaging featuresBridging the gap between technical features and intuitive UXSaying “no” to features to preserve the simplicity of the systemHe also shares some great stories and advice including:What it was like working as an intern at Figma with <10 peopleHow designers can start to get more comfortable with codeHow he taps into his experience as a PM at Uber while selecting the right design processa lot moreRasmus Andersson (https://x.com/rsms) - Designer/engineer at Figma, mentor to AndyKevin Hou (https://x.com/kevinhou22?lang=en) - Lead product engineering at Windsurf, Andy’s basketball teammate who helped him get the job

I’d bet real money that you have been on Smashing Magazine at some point in the last 18 years…Good news is, this week I got to interview the founder, Vitaly Friedman, who is also one of the leading thinkers in UX right now.In this episode we go deep into how AI is changing the way we interact with digital products and how our patterns and processes are evolving as a result.Some highlights:The use case for dynamic interfaces with AIHow to design a less painful refinement journeyThe best AI design patterns to use for inspirationWhen to use quiet AI vs. visible AI in your interfacesWhy more products should be “AI-second” not “AI-first”Why we need to slow users down when designing AI productsHow designers can establish trust when users interact with AIa lot moreConsensusElicitaiuxpatterns.comEpisode with the Gamma Head of Designexa.aiPerplexityChatGPTGeminiNorman Nielsen Group

If I told you someone had a background as a senior designer at companies like Uber, Dropbox, Apple, and Patreon then you'd be pretty impressed, right?Same.But Adam Noffsinger walked away from all of that to start Alma (which you might remember from the Smith+Diction episode).So this episode is a deep dive into what it really looks like to go 0→1 as a design founder.Adam even walks us through his Figma file for Alma so if you’re interesting in startups or designing something from nothing, then I think you’ll really enjoy this conversation 👇

This week’s episode is with Pietro Schirano who is the founder of the new design tool MagicPath and one of the true forward thinkers on AI. We go deep into the future of prototyping, design workflows, and what it takes to catalyze your career with AI.Some highlights:How design workflows will evolveUsing AI as a collaborator not just a toolHow Pietro was able to build influence at AnthropicWhy interactive prototypes are becoming table stakesWhat designers need to understand to master the modelsWhy design architects will be the highest paid role in the futurea lot moreDesignerGPT (5 million users)TweakCNOrigami (Facebook’s prototyping tool)Figma.ai domain purchase

This week I got an inside look at Figma Make while talking to Holly and Nikolas all about the future of prototyping…We get into real world use cases for different kinds of prototypes and how our workflow is evolving as designers.One thing is abundantly clear, things aren’t so linear anymore.Some highlights:How Figma Make fits into your workflowRethinking what “high fidelity” means for a prototypeHow code is the glue and what it means for collaborationWhat are the less obvious use cases for prototyping with AIMeta prototyping with interactive playgrounds and inspect panelsa lot moreFigma Make - AI-powered prototyping tool within FigmaVariables in FigmaAdvanced Prototyping in Figma

Last month we did the ultimate Raycast Deep Dive, but there's a lot in there… so this week I want to highlight just the segment from the product design team.We go deep into how they collaborate, why they’ve started shipping more code, and what it takes to build a culture obsessed with craft.Don’t forget to use code DIVE20YT to get 20% off your first purchase of any Lovable plan ❤️ Valid until August 21, 2025. Go to dive.club/lovable to start creatingFull Raycast episode - The Raycast Deep Dive

This week, Gunnar Gray (Product Design Lead at Perplexity) dives into the art of designing AI-native experiences.He shares lessons from shaping Voice Mode and how prototyping with AI is changing the design process at Perplexity.Some highlights:Why Perplexity is racing to get ideas into codeWhat it’s like designing at a hyper growth startupWhat it’s like designing dynamic voice experiencesGunnar’s journey learning metal shaders with CursorHow Gunnar strategically invests in his design skillseta lot morePerplexity - AI-powered search and discovery platformCursor - AI-powered code editorParticle News app