Is it summer yet?

Summer's settling in. We got Owen signed up for a new school for TK and kicked off our summer project, redoing our patio. I'm really excited to hang out outside more, at least until it gets wickedly hot. I made a [playlist for being outside](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1FwZ7mToCoeZKp) and it's the perfect soundtrack for right now.

Let's jump into some links.

Design Town

I've been deep in my own design process lately, partly because of AI and partly in spite of it. I wrote about it in AI for Designers recently. A lot of what I've been reading has been circling the same question, what changes (or doesn't) when our tools are changing?

• Here's a great list of polish details for UI that everyone crafting interfaces should look at. And on the planning side, five research questions from Adobe that are a solid gut check for whether you're designing from evidence or vibes.
• If you're using AI in your work, Figma launched Skills, basically a way to let AI agents work directly on your Figma canvas. And Mockdown has been a really helpful tool for iterating on wireframe-like interfaces with agents.
• If you're designing AI features, I really like this AI taxonomy. It breaks "AI" into six functional types, which has made it a lot easier for me to think about which type I'm working on and what the goals are.

The Inevitable AI Part

I still think the hype is outsized to the value and the industry is full of grifters. And who knows what the long term effects will be (it doesn't look good). But also, I'm using AI and genuinely finding good uses for it. It's a weird place to be right now.

• Opinions on AI can seem pretty polarized, and part of that is because some people just want to believe in magic. And I kinda get it. Who among us hasn't tried to use The Force?
• Is the AI bubble bursting? Who really knows, but there are some signs we're not really seeing the productivity we're being sold.
• Sean Goedecke on not knowing if his job will exist in ten years. I feel that and have been depressingly wondering the same thing.

Stray Links

• Spectre I. An anti-surveillance device that jams nearby microphones. This is some cyberpunk shit and it's wild that we need this now.
• 12 tips for a great family movie night. I need to kick this off. We're also trying to start game nights. Owen's smoking us at Dominos right now...
• The Cube Rule. A unified theory of food classification. Cereal isn't soup. It's nachos. Obviously.