Dive Club 🤿

Meng To - Codex superpowers for designers 30.06.2026 35min

Meng To (https://x.com/MengTo?lang=en) is one of the people I keep tabs on to see how he's evolving his workflow as he builds his ideas with AI.So I sat down with him to get a look into what his process looks like now… (spoiler: he’s moved everything to Codex)We do a ton of screen-sharing and go deep into his strategies for prompting, how to get better outputs from the models, and more 👇Some highlights:Why Meng built his own local Notion toolWhy Meng writes 0% of his own code nowStrategies for design.md and agents.md filesHow Meng uses GPT Image 2 to brainstorm UI designHow Meng’s workflow has evolved in the last 1.5 yearsa lot more

Loredana Crisan - Figma's big bets for the future of AI design 24.06.2026 50min

This week we are going behind the scenes of Config 2026 with Loredana Crisan (Figma’s Chief Design Officer) https://www.linkedin.com/in/loredanacrisan/We talk about Figma’s vision for AI, why design is having “an identity crisis and a renaissance at the same time,” and what it means to use AI to express what’s already in your head (not outsource creativity to it).It’s a clarifying conversation about taste, tools, and the future of design 👇Some highlights:- Designing systems not screens- Loredana’s mental model for AI as a tool- Building your own tools and mini apps in Figma- What Figma is learning in their own UX research- What types of designers Figma is hiring right now- + a lot more

Brett Williams - How a Visual Designer Became a Builder 16.06.2026 50min

What does it look like when a designer with zero technical background commits to shipping something real?That’s what this week’s episode with Brett Williams is all about.He gives us a behind-the-scenes of his journey building Gather including:Brett’s process for iterating on a designBrett’s new prototyping.md skill workflowHow Brett maintains control while building with AIBrett’s strategy for adding sound design to GatherWhen Brett relies on Figma vs. explores directly in codea lot more

Ron Goldin - Building your ideas as a design leader 09.06.2026 54min

This week's episode is with Ron Goldin who has led design at Google, Shopify, UberEats, and in my opinion... he's the perfect example of what it looks like to thrive as a design leader in an AI world.So this week’s episode is a deep dive into his journey as a builder and it’s full of stories:Redesigning the Shopify checkoutRon’s unique research tactics for UberEatsBuilding MTCHMKR from scratch in LovableNavigating the job market as a design leadera lot more

How Anthropic, Every, & Ramp design with AI 02.06.2026 39min

A couple of weeks ago I recorded my first ever episode in front of a live audience (at Ramp HQ in NYC) 🗽So today I’m excited to share the panel discussion recording with 3 incredible guests:Meaghan Choi who is the design lead for Claude Code and CoworkDan Shipper who is the CEO of Every and one of my favorite thinkers when it comes to AIAnd Bradley Ziffer who is a design engineer at RampIt’s a deep dive into AI design workflows at Anthropic, Ramp, and Every and I think you’ll enjoy it :)The event was hosted by Double Diamond and Ramp

Andy Madrick - Why AI changed design handoff forever 26.05.2026 52min

⭐️ Check out Andy’s course - Craft at Speed https://join.dive.club/maven-aff-andy-madrickUse code DIVECLUB for 15% offAndy Madrick ( https://x.com/andymadrick ) is rethinking what it means to be a designer in 2026.While at Notion, he’s developed a workflow where he prototypes directly in code, ships frontend PRs, and uses AI tools like Cursor to own the final polish of user interfaces.In this episode we get a look into how he keeps all these things in motion and still designs with insane attention to detail.Some highlights:Building one of Notion’s most visible UIsWhy recreating interactions teaches you craftOwning the last 5-20% of frontend polish workThe “jelly bean factory” problem with AI outputWhen to start in Figma vs. jumping straight to codeHow Andy creates prototypes that content teams can edita lot more

Tommy Geoco - The state of the design industry right now 19.05.2026 1val

Over the last few months, Tommy Geoco has went on site to study today’s top design teams (Vercel, Perplexity, Metalab, Ramp, etc.).So this week’s episode is a deep dive into all of the trends he’s seeing around AI workflows and where design is headed next.Some highlights:Why 59% of designers build their own toolsTommy’s current tool stack for AI design workWhat signals show AI fluency in job interviewsWhy internal tool building is the new career pathWhy now is the best time to grow in the design communityHow design workflows have become creative director rolesa lot moreBen Blumenrose (mentioned as having good insights on design)

Katarina Batina - Making big bets with design 12.05.2026 55min

How do the best designers shape strategy at companies like Shopify?That’s what today’s episode with Design Director Katarina Batina is all about.Some highlights:Balancing metrics and visionRedesigning the shopping cart UXTaking a big bet on the shopping feedHow product strategy has changed with AIHow to get people excited about your ideasHow to make sure you don't overcook your appa lot moreKatarina mentioned John Rundle and Luke Dupont

Rafa Conde - Make your designs memorable 05.05.2026 59min

Rafa Conde (https://x.com/rafahari) is a design engineer at Retro and one of the most creative designers I know. I still remember where I was when I first saw the video on his personal site (https://rafa.design/) 😂In this episode we unpack what it means to design experiences that bring delight :)Some highlights:- Finding ways to introduce delight- How to make users feel something- The power of humor in your design- How to lean into video as a superpower- Balancing accessibility and delightful UX- Behind the scenes of Rafa's side projects- + a lot more- Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation 1) — directed by Hideo Kojima, referenced for its fourth-wall-breaking design moments (Meryl’s codec frequency hidden on the game box; Psycho Mantis boss fight requiring the controller to be switched from port 1 to port 2)- Sunlit app — gyroscope-based app for tracking sun position and light direction, referenced as a recent example of surprising UI: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.lonepalm.coloringworld&pli=1- Retro app — private social network for friends and family (what Instagram used to be); Rafa’s current employer: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/retro-photos-with-friends/id6443709020- Splat app — Retro’s generative AI app for iPad/iPhone that turns photos of kids into coloring book pages: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/splat-magic-coloring-book/id6749165093- Hand Mirror app — Rafa’s most popular side project, a menu bar camera app: [https://handmirror.app](https://handmirror.app/)- Gabe Valdivia’s episode — early Dive Club episode (~ep. 30) where Gabe talked about designers needing to be like “little TikTok creators” inside their orgs: https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/gabe-valdivia- Final Cut Pro — Rafa’s video editing tool of choice: https://creatorstudio.apple.com/info/try?itscg=20201&itsct=acs-sem-187498456050-794866723417&pt=2003&ct=css-187498456050-794866723417

Polly D’Arcy - Going from IC to VP of Design at Wealthsimple 28.04.2026 55min

Imagine going from IC to leading the Wealthsimple design team in a few short years…That was Polly D’arcy’s (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pollydarcy/) journey and today’s episode covers everything she’s learned along the way. We go deep into design leadership, craft, hiring, and a lot more.Some highlights:- Why Polly hires specialists over generalists- Tactics to nail your next portfolio presentation- What it looks like to lean into the moment with AI- How Polly defines design quality at WealthSimple- Polly’s go-to interview question to evaluate designers- How AI is changing team composition and design roles

Brandon Jacoby - Seeing Taste vs. Creating Taste as a designer 21.04.2026 52min

Capital, early Cash App, and most recently, X, all have one designer in common — [Brandon Jacoby](https://x.com/JacobyBrandon).In this episode Brandon is talking about how he’s combining his years of experience designing with fresh, high-functioning teams and is now launching an all-new independent practice to help founders push past good enough.He shares some really interesting thoughts on taste, being creative with AI, and how to thrive in a 0->1 environment.Some highlights:- The types of designer who get most amplified by AI- What it takes to thrive while designing a 0→1 experience- How Brandon is positioning himself as a new independent- The difference between "seeing taste" and "creating taste"- What Nikita (X Head of Product) taught Brandon about onboarding- + a lot more- John Lasseter (Pixar director) quote - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFbOOjAC_Fg- Tolan app (mentioned as example of creative onboarding) - https://www.tolans.com/- Owen Jennings at Block (Brandon’s mentor for 4 years) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/owenbrittonjennings/- Nikita (former Head of Product at X) - https://x.com/nikitabier

Brian Lovin - How to level up with AI as a designer 14.04.2026 55min

When it comes to tools and workflows, Brian Lovin (https://x.com/brian_lovin) is someone I pay very close attention to.He’s actually the one who first got me hooked on Conductor (https://www.conductor.build/).But times are changing (again 😅)…So today’s episode is a deep dive into his design process and all of the ways he’s iterating on his approach to both using AI tools as well as building AI tools at Notion.If you like getting into the weeds of how the best designers are wrangling AI then you’re going to love this episode.Some highlights:- Why his first Notion design offsite was so impactful- How Brian built Notion’s prototyping playground- Why Brian has started using Cursor again- Practical tips for prompting AI more effectively- Behind-the-scenes of Brian’s new side project- How to stay relevant as a designer in an AI world- + a lot more- Agentation and Dialkit for frontend ([https://agentation.com](https://agentation.com/), https://joshpuckett.me/dialkit)- Cursor and Conductor for coding ([https://conductor.build](https://conductor.build/))- Brian’s side project Shiori ([https://shiori.sh](https://shiori.sh/))- Max Schoening nerd snipes Brian (https://x.com/mschoening)- Karri’s issue tracking is dead article (https://linear.app/next)

Ian Silber - What it's like designing at OpenAI 08.04.2026 45min

If you're like me you gotta be curious... what's it like designing at OpenAI?So I’m excited to share today’s episode with you :)It’s a deep dive with OpenAI’s Head of Product Design, Ian Silber (https://x.com/iansilber).Some highlights:****- The traits of the best systems thinkers at OpenAI- What makes the design culture at OpenAI unique- The vision for OpenAI's dynamic interface library- What it's like designing around chat as a primitive- What makes designing with AI as a material so unique- How tools like Codex are changing the practice of design- + a lot more- Mike Matas and Brandon Walkin (creators of Origami) https://mikematas.com/ , https://medium.com/designatmeta/introducing-origami-live-and-origami-2-0-a68116294e65- Cursor and Codex (AI coding tools) https://cursor.com/ ,(https://chatgpt.com/codex/?c_id=23226110534&c_agid=188421385415&c_crid=800871103650&c_kwid=kwd-111182835&c_ims=&c_pms=9017288&c_nw=g&c_dvc=c&gad_campaignid=23226110534&gbraid=0AAAAA-I0E5dO-SVXduV4xJjtnqTNMNrAP)

Marvin Schwaibold - Inside Shopify's New Product Design Studio 02.04.2026 54min

Remember when the Carl Rivera (https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/carl-rivera) told us about his vision to create the new Shopify Product Design Studio?Well in this episode I got to sit down with Marvin Schwaibold (https://x.com/MSchwaibold) from Molly studio who Shopify recently acquired to bring that vision to life.We go deep into creativity, Marvin's journey with Molly, how he's building his ideas with AI, and a lot more.Some highlights:- How to become a well of creative ideas- How AI unlocks how designers work at Shopify- What design differentiation looks like at Shopify- What Marvin has learned diving into Claude Code- How designers at Shopify create and leverage internal tools- Behind-the-scenes of redesigning the famous Collins website- + a lot more- Jaytel - Marvin’s design partner from Molly studio https://x.com/Jaytel- Brian Collins - legendary designer who worked on the Collins website redesign https://wearecollins.com/- Carl Rivera - Shopify’s Chief Design Officer (referenced previous Dive Club episode) https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/carl-rivera- Design Fluid Interfaces video from Apple’s Human Interface team (2019) [https://developer.apple.com/br/videos/play/wwdc2018/803/?time=1551](https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/808/)- Claude Code - AI coding tool by Anthropic https://claude.ai/login- Artifact - internal Shopify tool for showcasing design work https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jaytel_this-was-meant-to-stay-inside-shopify-but-activity-7422739773561384960-oqiU/

Flora Guo - How to accelerate your design career with AI 25.03.2026 46min

Flora Guo (https://x.com/floguo) has one of the more impressive career trajectories of anyone I've interviewed on this show.She's currently the founding design engineer at Paradigm. But before that Guillermo (Vercel CEO) personally DM'd her to join the Vercel team.So we're going deep into career growth, design engineering, what it's like being a founding designer at an AI-native startup.- What it’s like being a founding design engineer at Paradigm- The challenges of designing AI-first products that work at scale- Flora’s experiments with new design tools like Paper and Variant- What Flora learned working alongside top design engineers at Vercel- How Flora evolved her workflow with Claude Code over the past year- Mental models for using AI as a learning tool rather than just a task executor- + a lot more- Tokyo Design Forum (February 2026) - https://www.tokyodesignforum.com/- UI Engineering 101 by Mariana Castillo and Derek Briggs - https://maven.com/pixeljanitor/uiengineering-101-for-designers- We talked about Rauno Freiberg's portfolio (Vercel design engineer) - https://rauno.me/- New tools: Paper - https://join.dive.club/paper-ad-email

Kris Puckett - Becoming an AI-native designer 19.03.2026 52min

Today's episode is with Kris Puckett who has led design at Mercury, Dropbox, and now as a design manager at Stripe.His journey is the perfect example of what it looks like to lean into this moment in time with AI.Some highlights:- Behind the scenes of Kris’s Epilogue app- How to create custom skills with Claude Code- How to start building personal systems with AI- How Kris taught Claude to be a metal shader expert- Building internal tools and workflows with AI at Stripe- + a lot more

Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care 12.03.2026 53min

What does it look like to demonstrate uncommon care in the way you design and build an interface?Josh Puckett has has spent nearly two decades designing products like Wealthfront, Dropbox and helping dozens of startups.But recently he released Interface Craft which is a library of everything he's learned about through the years about designing with “uncommon care” 👇⭐ Use this code for 20% off Interface Craft: DIVE20Some highlights:Josh’s principles for great designMorphing strategies for micro-interactionsHow the value proposition of design is shiftingHe builds a custom pattern generator on the flyHow Josh makes storyboards to collaborate with AIWalks us through how he designed the onboarding flow

Luis Ouriach - How are design systems changing? 10.03.2026 55min

Today's episode is with Luis Ouriach (https://x.com/disco_lu) whose role as a designer advocate at Figma means he's constantly helping teams navigate this rapidly changing landscape... especially when it comes to design systems.So we're going to do a deep dive into the trends he's noticing and what it all means for designers.Some highlights:- How design systems are changing with AI- Luis’s ideas around agentic design systems- Pitfalls to avoid when adopting AI with your team- What trends we can ignore vs. what is really important- Luis’s journey as a builder and his career plan moving forward- What Figma's new integration with Claude and Codex unlocksLuis’s agentic design systems article: https://medium.com/@disco_lu/building-agentic-design-systems-the-future-of-ai-enhanced-design-6ad0470cf1e3

Cameron Worboys - Inside an AI-native design org 05.03.2026 54min

Today's episode with Cameron Worboys (Head of Product Design at Cash App) is an inside look at how an AI-native design org operates and the ways designers can thrive in this new world.We go deep into:The new archetypes of designersCam's vision for bespoke softwareThe #1 trait that Cam looks for in design hiresHow >90% of designers at Cash are shipping PRsWhat to do if you don't want to become an IC builderHow to create an emotional attachment to your productHow Cash has replaced the old engineering/product/design triadJulien Martin's episode - https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/julien-martin

Katie Dill - The new era of design at Stripe 23.02.2026 54min

A few weeks ago, Stripe launched their [new site (https://stripe.com/) and reminded everyone who the 🐐 of web design is…So I asked their Head of Design, Katie Dill (https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-dill-79168b3) , to walk us through some of the tiny design decisions that make it so special.But we also did a deep dive into how the practice of design is evolving at Stripe and everything they’re doing to push past the status quo.Some highlights:- How the “call for a new aesthetic” is influencing design culture at Stripe- How their internal tool Protodash is changing the way designers prototype- The most important signals that Katie looks for when hiring designers- What the concentration of craft looks like in an AI era- + a lot moreCall for a new aesthetic - Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen’s grant program (https://newaesthetics.art/)Cultural Tutor YouTube video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=tWYxrowovts“Beauty is the New Business Tool” - 1927 Atlantic article (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1927/08/beauty-the-new-business-tool/376227/)