Dive Club 🤿

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 more

Call 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/)

As software becomes easier to create than ever, what does it look like to truly differentiate with design?
Today's episode with Julien Martin (https://x.com/julienmartin_?lang=en) is an attempt to answer that question.
He was the Head of Design at Zenly, Snapchat, and Amo which is some of the most uniquely impressive consumer design I've ever seen.
Some highlights:
- Behind the scenes of early Amo explorations
- How the composition of design orgs is changing
- The unlock that led to Amo's unique visual language
- Julien’s advice for how to succeed in today’s job market
- The untold story of how Julien joined in the early days of Behance
- Why side projects are now the strongest signal when hiring designers*

- Andy Allen (https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/andy-allen) (referenced multiple times for his “not boring” article and Camera app)
- Off Market (https://offmarketjobs.substack.com/) (Julien’s talent agency for designers)
- Retro app (https://retro.app/) and Duolingo (https://www.duolingo.com/) (mentioned as inspiration)

Today's episode is with Tommy Smith who recently landed a new role as a part of the Dive Talent Network.
So we're doing a deep dive into what makes his portfolio so effective:
Making his side project a first-class citizen
Positioning himself as a new design engineer
Adding personality by experimenting with Rive
Highlighting what matters most in his case studies
Flexing his craft muscles and nailed the finer details

Ryan Stephen (https://x.com/Ryan__Stephen) is a product designer at Microsoft, but the reason I wanted to interview him is because he's the man behind some of my favorite design experiments on Twitter.
So in this episode Ryan gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his creative process, the tools in his stack, and how he approaches effective storytelling in design.
Some highlights:
- How Ryan sparks creativity
- The power of putting your work on Twitter
- How Ryan thinks about investing in his career
- Ryan’s mental model for fidelity and prototyping
- The lessons Ryan’s learned about effective storytelling
- The tools and techniques Ryan uses to make ideas feel real
- + a lot more

Today's episode is with Hannah Hearth who recently became the Head of Product Design at Vercel. We talk about all of the changes that are happening in our industry and what it all means for designers. Everything from how AI tools are changing the practice of design to how this impact the way we think about our career paths.
Some highlights:
Hannah’s #1 trait for great designers
The most underrated storytelling tactic
Doing more with less while not burning out
Examples of how AI is changing the design process
How design orgs should think about adopting AI tools
How much coding is happening on the Vercel design team
Preserving craft and design thinking with collapsed timelines
a lot more