Designed for a Dead Language
Every language app in your pocket inherited a teaching method built for Latin. Understanding why that happened is a more useful design lesson than anything the apps themselves will teach you. In 1788,...
5 min readAnalytics
Data analysis, big data, and business intelligence
Good designers, bad websites: a proposal
I want to discuss accessibility because it is the most important thing for making websites. Other A List Apart articles give you innovation and insight. This article will give you homework. These are ...
5 min readDesign for Amiability: Lessons from Vienna
Today’s web is not always an amiable place. Sites greet you with a popover that demands assent to their cookie policy, and leave you with Taboola ads promising “One Weird Trick!” to cure your ailments...
5 min readDesign Dialects: Breaking the Rules, Not the System
"Language is not merely a set of unrelated sounds, clauses, rules, and meanings; it is a totally coherent system bound to context and behavior." — Kenneth L. Pike The web has accents. So should our de...
5 min readAn Holistic Framework for Shared Design Leadership
Picture this: You’re in a meeting room at your tech company, and two people are having what looks like the same conversation about the same design problem. One is talking about whether the team has th...
5 min readFrom Beta to Bedrock: Build Products that Stick.
As a product builder over too many years to mention, I've lost count of the number of times I've seen promising ideas go from zero to hero in a few weeks, only to fizzle out within months. Financial p...
5 min read
User Research Is Storytelling
Ever since I was a boy, I’ve been fascinated with movies. I loved the characters and the excitement—but most of all the stories. I wanted to be an actor. And I believed that I’d get to do the things t...
5 min read
To Ignite a Personalization Practice, Run this Prepersonalization Workshop
Picture this. You’ve joined a squad at your company that’s designing new product features with an emphasis on automation or AI. Or your company has just implemented a personalization engine. Either wa...
5 min readAI safety conversations have gotten unbelievable
This week two conversations about AI safety went viral that demonstrate just how hard it is to discern AI fact from fiction.
5 min readVals, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, is looking to become the gold standard for AI benchmarking
Vals AI is hoping to make AI benchmarking a more neutral and trustworthy resource in a world increasingly inundated by AI models.
5 min read
Top Stories: iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate Out Now, Siri AI Waitlist, and More
All of Apple's products introduced at last week's event with the exception of the iPhone Duo are now available, with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, and AirPods 5 all...
5 min read
Forget the AI Slowdown—the Vulnerability Explosion Is Already Happening
AI labs are toying with an industry-wide pact to slow development. Meanwhile, widely available AI chatbots are already helping uncover a tidal wave of security flaws.
5 min read
Mathematicians Hate AI. They Can’t Quit It
Powerful AI models have created an existential risk to the field, but researchers can’t stop relying on them because they’re too useful.
5 min read
An Editor’s Picks: The Best Gifts for Bird Lovers
Whether they’re into feeders, field guides, or games, these tried-and-tested picks are sure to land perfectly.
5 min read
The Best Early Prime Day Deals Ahead of Amazon’s Second Sale (2026)
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days officially begin on October 6 and 7, but I’ve already spotted early discounts on gear our team recommends.
5 min read
Residents Harmed by Oil Drilling May Soon Receive Reparations Under New California Law
While lawmakers iron out the details, advocates hope this approach could serve as a model for addressing histories of environmental hazards often concentrated in Black and low-income neighborhoods.
5 min read
6 Best VPN Services (2026), Tested and Reviewed
Every VPN says it’s the best, but only some of them are telling the truth.
5 min read
Xiaomi Has a Luxury SUV for $31,000 That All Western Brands Should Fear
The SkyNomad—with heated floors, a projector, a pop-up roof, a fridge, swiveling seats, and over 1,000 miles of range—is a “luxury” ride that undercuts Range Rovers by tens of thousands of dollars.
5 min read