Why the Internet Is Anti-Design, and How You Can Fight Back.

Fuller is something of a philosopher of digital design; his podcast “Scratching the Surface” canvasses experts in the field. In the past decade, he argues, a “user-centered” approach to design has been replaced by what he has taken to calling a “corporation-centered” approach. Rather than optimizing for the user’s experience, it optimizes for the e... See more

how design has become mass user-centered, driven by rules of optimization, efficiency and engineering.

The dominant school of thought when it comes to UI design in tech, at least that I’ve grown up with the past two decades, has centered around removing friction for users in accomplishing whatever it is they’re trying to do while delighting them in the process. The goal has been design that is elegant, in every sense of the word: intuitive, ingeniou... See more

Designers are taught that their job is to represent the people who will use our products. We "empathize" with them and put their needs at the center of our decision-making process. As companies scale up, their priorities and incentives become less and less aligned with the people using their products. Bad things happen as we stop solving people pro... See more