Moving between disciplines and finding the next idea in the work.
i like being able to try an idea while it’s still fresh. sometimes that starts with typography or a visual direction. sometimes it starts in code. i’ll get something running, use it, see what feels wrong, and keep going. a small detail can send the whole thing in another direction.
that’s a big part of why i enjoy moving between design and building. the work gives me something to respond to. i can make a decision, feel the result, and find an idea i wouldn’t have reached by describing it beforehand.
Something to respond to
a written description can carry an idea a long way. once i can interact with something, different questions show up. the text wraps differently. an interaction takes too long. the thing i thought needed another screen makes more sense in the place i’m already working.
these are useful discoveries. i want enough of the idea in front of me that i can notice them, change something, and try again. that’s why i like getting into the medium early.
one workflow i’ve shared with Tenor starts from an image reference. i generate a component, refine it on the canvas, and bring it into a project through a coding agent. being able to go back and forth matters to me. the component can change as i work out what the experience needs.
Room to follow an idea
AI has given me more room to work this way. i can explore more of an idea myself, across interfaces, identity, motion, and the code that makes it work. i’m still spending time with the details and deciding where to take it.
sometimes several of those disciplines are involved in the same project on the same day. i enjoy that. a visual decision can change the interaction, and an interaction can give the identity somewhere new to go.
i can spend hours following a detail because there might be something interesting there. having room for that is part of what makes the work satisfying. it also means being intentional about the meetings, arguments, and other things that get my attention.
Systems that leave room
i’ve started making systems around this process: ways to keep useful context, carry decisions forward, and pick up a project without losing what made it interesting. explaining how i work to an agent has made some of those decisions more explicit.
i want those systems to leave room for the idea to change. keeping a useful discovery should be easy. so should letting go of an earlier decision when the work gives me a better reason.
the part i want to share is that whole process. the original thought, what happened when i tried it, the details that changed, and the thing someone can eventually use. that gives another person something real to respond to as well.