craftsmanship

Bilingual

Weighing the Business Case for Quality
2 months ago
- The dichotomy between craftsmanship and making money is false; businesses can succeed by investing in quality.
- Stripe's CEO Patrick Collison argues that beauty and care in products drive rational customer trust and success.
- To get a mandate for quality, ask if there is a business case for it in your project or role.
- Products worth doing well are often used frequently, have product-led growth, focus on retention, high customer LTV, and demanding users like developers.
- Examples of craft-centric companies include Linear, Figma, Stripe, Wealthsimple, and Apple.
- Projects with low quality incentives, like internal tools, should be built to minimum standards and shipped.
- To work on quality-driven products, understand the business: customers, purchase drivers, and retention factors.
- When being recruited, ask how UX and quality contribute to business success to ensure alignment.
- Caring about craft isn't enough; customers must reward quality to avoid working uphill.
Grow slowly, stay small
2 months ago
- Author admires Japanese multi-generational businesses dedicated to craft, where perfection is unattainable.
- Slow, consistent investment over years is essential for creating beautiful things; instant gratification undermines this.
- Longevity in business comes from growing slowly or not at all and choosing to stay small.
- The fisherman and businessman parable shows that bigger is not always better; chasing status over contentment is a trap.
- Smaller, slower-growing companies are less risky, less fragile, and less stressful.
- Author runs Bear with this philosophy: sustainable growth, no leverage, and control over direction.
Making
2 months ago
- The author gains fulfillment from making things himself, not from having AI or others make them.
- He feels uncomfortable claiming AI-generated work as his own, distinguishing between 'making' (using tools like compilers) and 'asking' (prompting AI).
- He wrote a flash card system by hand and feels proud of it, unlike AI-generated code.
- He explores the gray area between compilers and AI, but still perceives a difference in the act of creation.
- He values the act of making over delegating to AI, even when AI can produce results faster.
Old car engines find a second life as handmade electric guitars
3 months ago
- Engine head guitars combine unique geometry and original engine forms to function as both instruments and sculptural objects.
- Discarded and unsold garments are repurposed as raw materials in fashion to promote sustainability.
- Luxury brands support traditional crafts through funding global prizes, apprenticeships, and workshops to preserve artisanal skills.
- Designboom seeks an experienced managing editor to oversee editorial workflow and maintain its leading global voice in design, architecture, art, and technology.
- A Mexican designer reflects on a decade-long practice of transforming plant waste into valuable products while keeping craft tied to local growers.
Security guard, 72, behind design of Nike's new Shinjuku store
3 months ago
- Shuetsu Sato, a 72-year-old security guard, created handmade tape signs with a unique rounded font to guide commuters in Shinjuku Station.
- His font, known as the 'Shuetsu font,' gained popularity and was later used by Nike for their Shinjuku store signage after graphic designer Shun Sasaki advocated for it.
- Sato's design process involves freehand crafting with tape and a utility knife, emphasizing empathy and personal touch, without formal design training.
- The collaboration between Sato and Nike blended traditional craftsmanship with digital design, highlighting the font's organic and playful quality.
- Sato continues his craft out of love, advising young designers to stick with what they love and not overly cater to others' demands.

craftsmanship

Weighing the Business Case for Quality

Grow slowly, stay small

Making

Old car engines find a second life as handmade electric guitars

Security guard, 72, behind design of Nike's new Shinjuku store