Dive Club 🤿

⭐️ Check out Andy’s course - Craft at Speed https://join.dive.club/maven-aff-andy-madrickUse code DIVECLUB for 15% offAndy Madrick ( https://x.com/andymadrick ) is rethinking what it means to be a designer in 2026.While at Notion, he’s developed a workflow where he prototypes directly in code, ships frontend PRs, and uses AI tools like Cursor to own the final polish of user interfaces.In this episode we get a look into how he keeps all these things in motion and still designs with insane attention to detail.Some highlights:Building one of Notion’s most visible UIsWhy recreating interactions teaches you craftOwning the last 5-20% of frontend polish workThe “jelly bean factory” problem with AI outputWhen to start in Figma vs. jumping straight to codeHow Andy creates prototypes that content teams can edita lot more

Over the last few months, Tommy Geoco has went on site to study today’s top design teams (Vercel, Perplexity, Metalab, Ramp, etc.).So this week’s episode is a deep dive into all of the trends he’s seeing around AI workflows and where design is headed next.Some highlights:Why 59% of designers build their own toolsTommy’s current tool stack for AI design workWhat signals show AI fluency in job interviewsWhy internal tool building is the new career pathWhy now is the best time to grow in the design communityHow design workflows have become creative director rolesa lot moreBen Blumenrose (mentioned as having good insights on design)

How do the best designers shape strategy at companies like Shopify?That’s what today’s episode with Design Director Katarina Batina is all about.Some highlights:Balancing metrics and visionRedesigning the shopping cart UXTaking a big bet on the shopping feedHow product strategy has changed with AIHow to get people excited about your ideasHow to make sure you don't overcook your appa lot moreKatarina mentioned John Rundle and Luke Dupont

Rafa Conde (https://x.com/rafahari) is a design engineer at Retro and one of the most creative designers I know. I still remember where I was when I first saw the video on his personal site (https://rafa.design/) 😂In this episode we unpack what it means to design experiences that bring delight :)Some highlights:- Finding ways to introduce delight- How to make users feel something- The power of humor in your design- How to lean into video as a superpower- Balancing accessibility and delightful UX- Behind the scenes of Rafa's side projects- + a lot more- Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation 1) — directed by Hideo Kojima, referenced for its fourth-wall-breaking design moments (Meryl’s codec frequency hidden on the game box; Psycho Mantis boss fight requiring the controller to be switched from port 1 to port 2)- Sunlit app — gyroscope-based app for tracking sun position and light direction, referenced as a recent example of surprising UI: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.lonepalm.coloringworld&pli=1- Retro app — private social network for friends and family (what Instagram used to be); Rafa’s current employer: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/retro-photos-with-friends/id6443709020- Splat app — Retro’s generative AI app for iPad/iPhone that turns photos of kids into coloring book pages: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/splat-magic-coloring-book/id6749165093- Hand Mirror app — Rafa’s most popular side project, a menu bar camera app: [https://handmirror.app](https://handmirror.app/)- Gabe Valdivia’s episode — early Dive Club episode (~ep. 30) where Gabe talked about designers needing to be like “little TikTok creators” inside their orgs: https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/gabe-valdivia- Final Cut Pro — Rafa’s video editing tool of choice: https://creatorstudio.apple.com/info/try?itscg=20201&itsct=acs-sem-187498456050-794866723417&pt=2003&ct=css-187498456050-794866723417

Imagine going from IC to leading the Wealthsimple design team in a few short years…That was Polly D’arcy’s (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pollydarcy/) journey and today’s episode covers everything she’s learned along the way. We go deep into design leadership, craft, hiring, and a lot more.Some highlights:- Why Polly hires specialists over generalists- Tactics to nail your next portfolio presentation- What it looks like to lean into the moment with AI- How Polly defines design quality at WealthSimple- Polly’s go-to interview question to evaluate designers- How AI is changing team composition and design roles