For every complex problem, there is an
answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
— H. L. Mencken
I keep the above quote in my backpocket for those eureka moments, to remind me to engage in creative doubt and take two steps back.
That’s why I love systems and data — they introduce personal friction but enable collective freedom by giving teams a common framework for creativity.
Make the right thing
Make the thing right
The emotional core of a visceral experience
The precious chance to establish trust and tell a story
Clarity, brevity, and a touch of brand-aligned zest
Enough not to make developers cry or pull their hair out at least
Enough to extract and present insights in a digestible way
I usually start here, or go back to it when I feel stuck
I’m mostly tool agnostic, but I love the community
Hey! That’s how this website was made :)
For more involved prototyping tasks
600+ lines of custom code make up this site's interactions
For some quant + quali research and testing
For some basic statistical analysis of datasets
For any additional site analytics and performance insights
I’m not emotionally attached to my process, conclusions, or results. I welcome feedback and always seek to prove myself wrong.
I think “nice” is a compromise at best and a ticking time-bomb at worst. Transparency and generosity make for happy teams and stakeholders.
I practice my craft like an athlete or musician, investing my time in skills that deepen or broaden my toolkit in quantifiable ways.
Research and testing are necessary but resource-intensive, so I’m learning how to squeeze as much ketchup out of the bottle, so to speak.
I’d like to make informed and ethical design decisions that account for the users’ motivations rather than exploit their blind spots.
While I champion the user above all, I also want to better understand the business side of things so that my designs can espouse company goals.
For over a decade I’ve worked with the most disparate teams to make experiences happen, from pop-up bookswaps to collaborative poetry websites. These opportunities for connection all happened through my favourite design question: “Who is this for?”
My exclusive focus on Digital Design began four years ago. I'm currently Head of Design at Brytr.
Check out Humane by Design to read more about the principles that guide my design process.
Lover of:
In my spare time I like to tinker, play guitar, work out, and document my design journey in articles such as this:
Write more, design less (and better)
In this article I wrote for the UX Collective, I explore how writing can reframe our knowledge and drive our decisions.
hello@calo
amico.com
