There is truth in Peter Moore saying, "Poetry only makes life bearable. Engineering got us to the moon."

But if not for poetry, I doubt we would have bothered to go to the moon in the first place.

At the end of Moneyball, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) shows Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) a clip of one of their minor league players.

This was shortly after the Oakland A's lost their final game of the season in 2002. Billy bet on undervalued players by using new statistical analyses to only come close to winning the World Series. He also set an American League record with 20 consecutive wins and changed baseball strategy forever. Those are types of wins, but not the one he set out for. Billy felt the loss.

Recycling is last because it's not very good.

There's always been emphasis on recycling, but electronics and assembled products are difficult to recycle and often aren't. Designing for disassembly helps when the user follows through, same for repairability.

A constant question with design thinking that's needed at all stages.

It's the starting point and compass for user empathy. We turn people's experiences into a narrative to design around.

It's hard to know when to stop.

Paula Scher still goes back to adjust the Public Theatre logo from time to time and no one ever notices. She designed the original one 30 years ago, the most recent revision was 3 years ago.

One of the most impressive things you can do in life is to do your "thing" really well. It's astonishing to hear a guitar solo from a guitarist. Or when a mountain climber makes it to the top.

Acknowledge that there is a difference between design and craft.

Designers create designs that fill a niche and solve a problem, while the aesthetics or the "pretty part" comes with craft. Design leads to breakthroughs whereas craft ensures that design achieves what it intends to.

Cheaper seltzer has more intense carbonation than premium brands.

It's hard for me to justify spending 2 or 3 times the amount that generic seltzer costs. When curiosity does get to me, I'm often disappointed (with the exception of Liquid Death's Mango Chainsaw). Finer bubbles aren't satisfying, even though they're the "good" kind.

Design thinking is the big one. It's a non-linear way of going about identifying people's problems and designing risk-adverse solutions.

Product thinking is linear and focused on making the product more efficient.

Creative thinking means trying to generate new ideas that solve problems by considering different perspectives and decisions.

The presentation starts in 15 minutes. You're nervous and looking for more confidence but it's just not there.

Confidence isn't the only tool for the underprepared. What you need is courage. Courage doesn't feel good like confidence. You take action despite fear.

The most popular way to create a 3D model is by placing sets of faces, edges and vertices (surfaces, lines, curves and points) within your 3D modeling software. Faces, edges and vertices make up a type of model called a B-rep, or Boundary Representation. This is standard for Solidworks, AutoCAD and Blender. You define the limits that represent the boundaries of your model. Ai typically does not generate B-reps, instead they make Implicit models.

You design what you think.

Ideas are fleeting.

Like a butterfly, an idea can appear and disappear in an instant.

If UX research weren't essential, every successful business wouldn't prioritize it. When designing for a client, however, greater influence should be given to the stakeholders who support your business.

You may know the best design practices, but if your clients aren't delighted, your vision will be irrelevant.

No matter how much you love your job, a bad day of pinball is better than a good day at work.

You can have passion for what you do without it consuming you. Taking time for yourself and loved ones does not reflect the absence of devotion. Without setting boundaries around a healthy work-life balance, burnout is inevitable.

There are moments when stepping away from work can be the most productive thing you can do.

Coming up with a good idea can feel like fishing. Go fishing often, you'll catch a fish.

What we want isn't always good for us. Most people sabotage themselves when they get the opportunity and without full appreciation of it.