Working notes from product people

Ask the people who’ve done it.

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01 — TopicsFourteen drawers, sorted.

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Open drawer · 10

Product design & UX

131 notes · 24 people · 2005–2026
The Looking Glass podcastApr 14, 2026

How to Spot a World-Class Designer

Apr 14, 2026
Key learnings
  • World-class designers are distinguished by judgment and taste, not just the ability to execute polished visuals.
  • Excellent designers obsess over the underlying problem before jumping to solutions, which separates them from those who iterate…
  • Strong designers can articulate why a decision is right, tying craft choices back to user needs and business constraints.
Lenny’s Podcast148 min

35 years of product design wisdom from Apple, Disney, Pinterest, and beyond

Bob Baxley · Jun 12, 2025
Key learnings
  • Before joining a new company, check whether founders genuinely believe in design; design-led cultures are born that way, not…
  • When changing cultures, keep your core values but re-express them in the new company's behaviors rather than carrying over old…
  • Keep teams small when inventing something new; add people once the vision is clear, since more people slows creative convergence.
@joulee · Julie Zhuo on X♥ 86
The software of the future promises more power and flexibility for more imagination. We started with use-case software, moving to platform software, moving to all-purpose coding agents. Interface design is shifting rightward. A few things to keep in mind for designers: 1. Make the interface…
Lenny’s Podcast113 min

Building beautiful products with Stripe’s Head of Design

Katie Dill · Oct 15, 2023
Key learnings
  • Beauty and functionality are not opposites; beauty enhances usability, approachability and trust, and users read attention to…
  • When joining a team, come in listening and build trust first; Katie's early team intervention taught her that people won't follow…
  • Quality is a group effort: align engineering, product and design on shared standards, and use an editor or architect to ensure…
Lenny’s Podcast100 min

Jenny Wen

Jenny Wen · Mar 1, 2026
Key learnings
  • Classic linear design process (research, diverge, converge) is breaking down as engineers ship prototypes quickly; designers…
  • Design work is splitting into two modes: supporting implementation and setting a vision, where the vision now often spans three…
  • Designers can use coding tools to do last-mile polish and prototype in real code, rather than waiting on engineers for every…
Lenny’s Newsletter · Free post♥ 363

How to develop product sense

Mar 15, 2022 · 18 min

Jules Walter argues that product sense is a learned skill rather than an innate talent, defined as consistently crafting products that have the intended impact on users through empathy and creativity. He offers four…

@ttorres · Teresa Torres on X♥ 4
🎙️Unpacking Innovation Is innovation the goal — or just a byproduct of solving customer problems well? In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack one of the most misused words in product: "innovation." Teresa makes the case that chasing novelty for its own sake…

02 — FrameworksModels, annotated.

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03 — PeopleWho wrote the notes.

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04 — QuestionsAnswered from the notes.

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Where notes come from

NewsletterLenny’s Newsletter106 free posts, with a longer excerpt.
Subscriber postsSummary only229 paid posts: our summary, at most two short quotes, and a link.
PodcastLenny’s Podcast322 episodes, each with 5–8 key learnings and timestamps.
EssaysSVPG · The Beautiful Mess499 essays from Marty Cagan and John Cutler.
Substack & blogsShreyas · Julie · Jason · Hiten577 essays and posts from independent writers.
XPosts on product58 posts, filtered for product relevance.