My articles about design, CSS, product strategy, leadership, investing, and more.
Posts
AI
AI Hasn’t Replace Design. It Revealed What Design Wasn't.
Mar 2026
AI enhances design workflows by producing high-quality artifacts quickly, but it does not replace the deeper decision-making and intent behind design. The real work of design—narrative, trade-offs, and taste—becomes clearer as automation removes the labor that previously obscured it.
Design
Designing Trust in Financial Products
Mar 2026
Designing trust in financial products requires addressing survivorship bias and enhancing user confidence through clear, structured information. Effective design prioritizes understanding and aligns all elements to foster trust, preventing potential investors from disengaging.
Design
Not Everything Needs To Be Built
Mar 2026
Craft-driven teams often struggle with throughput due to bespoke deliverables. Instead of lowering quality to speed up, focus on using existing tools to solve operational problems. The goal is to prioritize meaningful work that truly adds value. Not everything needs to be built.
Design
Web Overhauls Under Real Constraints
Mar 2026
Facing tight timelines and complex systems, the author emphasizes mastering inherited platforms instead of tearing them down. By understanding HubSpot deeply, targeted improvements were made across multiple business lines, showcasing the value of working within constraints.
Design
Experiments in Public
Mar 2026
Experiments in Public highlights the importance of side projects in personal development, showcasing how creative experiments lead to skill growth, connection, and renewed confidence, ultimately enriching professional work and fostering innovation.
Design
Making the Most out of Mulch. Stay With Me.
Mar 2026
This weekend, I enhanced the Rockville High School Booster Club Mulch Sale website by streamlining the checkout process and improving clarity. The changes reduce manual follow-ups and make ordering easier for families, ultimately benefiting the hardworking volunteers.
Personal Development
20 Years of Fooldom
Jan 2026
After 20 years at The Motley Fool, I reflect on my journey from design to leadership, the teams I’ve built, and the joy of impactful work in a fast-paced marketing environment. Grateful for the experiences and people who shaped my path.
AI
Margin Call Me: How I Misused AI to Deliver Cheesy Financial Pickup Lines
Feb 2025
Using AI, I revived cheesy financial pickup lines from a 2010 spreadsheet, creating a fun generator with Chad Cattle, a confident cartoon bull. The project launched just in time for Valentine's Day, blending cringe-worthy humor with finance. Visit
CSS
Building a Dynamic Word Carousel Card with Pure CSS
Jan 2025
Create a dynamic word carousel card with pure CSS, showcasing multiple roles or titles in an elegant, animated display. Perfect for portfolios, landing pages, and storytelling, this reusable component highlights the power of simple, clean design.
CSS Art
Pure CSS Art, one HTML tag — My Divtober 2023 collection
Oct 2023
Join me on my Divtober 2023 journey, where I created a collection of CSS art using just one HTML tag each day, inspired by unique prompts. From witches to origami, explore the creativity and challenges of crafting art with minimal resources.
Personal Development
The Empathy Gap Between Designers and the Business
Apr 2023
Designers excel at understanding users but often lack empathy for executives, creating an "empathy gap." This article discusses the need for alignment between design and business goals, emphasizing that successful solutions require collaboration, not just adherence to design principles.
Personal Development
Design
How a Dropped Ice Cream Turned Me into a User Experience Designer
Apr 2023
A dropped ice cream bar at Disney sparked a shift from back-end development to user experience design, emphasizing the importance of turning frustrating moments into delightful ones, mirroring the magic of thoughtful interventions.
AI
Can learning to ski teach you about User Experience Design? ChatGPT thinks so
Jan 2023
Can learning to ski enhance your skills in User Experience Design? This article explores intriguing parallels between skiing and UX design, highlighting the importance of planning, adaptability, iteration, and attention to detail in both fields.
Personal Development
15 Accomplishments in 15 Weeks of Sabbatical
Jan 2023
Reflecting on 15 weeks of sabbatical, the author achieved significant milestones including a Design Thinking certification, family travels, and personal development projects. A fulfilling journey that rejuvenated their perspective and skills.
22 Lessons I learned in 2022
Dec 2022
Reflecting on 2022, these 22 lessons emphasize the importance of relationships, self-worth, and personal growth, encouraging readers to cherish their time, invest in themselves, and embrace their unique paths.
Design
Five Ways Iconography Benefits the Users and the Business
Dec 2022
Iconography enhances digital design by providing visual clarity, boosting brand recognition, improving usability, ensuring accessibility, and promoting cultural sensitivity, making it essential for user experience and business success.
Design
Is Iconography really just Clip Art?
Dec 2022
The article delves into the distinction between iconography and clip art, emphasizing that while they may appear similar, iconography serves crucial design purposes such as enhancing usability, brand recognition, and accessibility, unlike outdated clip art.
Technical
How to get SnagIt to convert to PNG images automatically.
Nov 2022
Discover effective workarounds for converting SnagIt captures to PNG images, including using presets, Yoink for temporary storage, and batch exporting for multiple files. Simplify your image management while working with SnagIt.
CSS Art
31 CSS Art pieces, one HTML tag — My Divtober 2022 Collection
Oct 2022
A showcase of 31 unique CSS art pieces created during the #divtober challenge, utilizing only one HTML tag each. Featuring diverse themes and techniques, this collection highlights the artist's journey in mastering CSS while engaging with a vibrant community.
CSS
How to animate gradients darkening with pure CSS
Oct 2022
Learn how to animate gradients darkening using pure CSS, exploring techniques with the
Technical
How to use Codekit .kit partials on your site
Jan 2022
Learn how to effectively use Codekit .kit partials on your static site by ensuring your importing files are also .kit files. Discover the advantages of Codekit for building websites without the overhead of complex frameworks.
Investing
My kids convinced me we should invest in Roblox (RBLX)
Mar 2021
A parent shares their decision to invest in Roblox (RBLX) for their daughters, highlighting the platform's engaging nature, safety features, and the financial benefits for game designers. They reflect on the growing popularity of Roblox among kids and its long-term investment potential.
Investing
How the Super Bowl can help us understand Hedge Funds
Feb 2021
Understanding hedge funds through the lens of the Super Bowl, this piece explores different investment funds, the concept of hedging, and the aggressive strategies used by hedge funds, all while drawing amusing parallels with sports betting.
Investing
What is happening with GameStop (for non-financial people)
Jan 2021
A straightforward explanation of the GameStop stock situation, detailing how hedge funds short-sold the stock, the role of Reddit investors in driving up prices through call options, and the subsequent market chaos involving brokerages like Robinhood.
Personal Development
Setting your Annual Goals based on your Age
Aug 2019
Set annual goals based on age by reflecting on past achievements and prioritizing new objectives. Break goals into categories like health, finances, travel, and personal growth, and review them regularly to ensure progress and adapt to changing priorities.
Design
The complexities of building a stock table using International data
Sep 2018
Building a stock table with international data involves complexities such as handling multiple currencies, varying dividend structures, and discrepancies in market cap representation, along with challenges posed by different exchange formats and numeric tickers.
Web Design
How to set internal border lines on a CSS Grid layout
Aug 2018
Learn how to create a CSS Grid layout with internal border lines using
Technical
5 Practical Takeaways for Improving Your Code’s Accessibility
Aug 2018
Five practical tips for enhancing code accessibility include using
Management
Simplifying the Hiring Process with CodePen
May 2018
Streamline the hiring process for design and front-end roles by utilizing CodePen for open-ended projects. The Page Layout Challenge fosters discussions about design choices and thought processes, eliminating common hiring friction.
CSS
Jumping into CSS Grid
Mar 2018
Learn how to leverage CSS Grid to create responsive layouts with ease. This article details a project transforming a family Christmas card insert into a web page, showcasing practical steps, challenges faced, and valuable lessons learned along the way.
Personal Development
Five Recommendations for the Graduating Designer
May 2015
Five recommendations for graduating designers: tackle your debt, engage with the community, volunteer for causes you care about, pursue your dreams, and stop talking—start building your ideas. Embrace the journey and enjoy the ride!
Design
Walling off the Garden: Balancing Security with Usability
Apr 2015
Balancing security with usability in gardening, the author reflects on the importance of not overcomplicating experiences with unnecessary barriers, emphasizing that a secure environment should also foster enjoyment and accessibility.