Ready to see how variables in @figma can level up your UI Kit?

Here's my system 👇

Quick outline:

First I'm going to show you the two current problems most UI Kits face

Then I'll walk you through a variables system that will make your life WAY easier.

Sound good? Let's dive in 👇

Problem #1:

UI Kit components should have a lot of shared attributes (padding values, border radius, height values, etc.).

When you don’t match these attributes across components you can end up with some pretty wonky scenarios… not great 😬

But this consistency is MANUAL 👇

That means we have to remember that `small` size variants should all be 32px tall with 4px border-radius.

And each new component we add to our UI Kit also adds another knob that we have to turn to make future changes 🤦‍♂️

Problem #2:

Every component in our UI Kit required at least two breakpoint variants. Your `Button` component probably looked something like this (at the very least)👇

This also meant that we had to constantly change between these breakpoint variants in our files.

I don’t know about you… but it feels like I’ve done this workflow thousands of times in Figma 🙄

Don't worry... now there's a better way 👇

❌ Eliminating breakpoint variants

Now we can define our breakpoints as variable “Modes” within our UI Kit.

This means all of your component sets immediately get cut in half 🙌

📐 Ensuring consistency

But that’s just the beginning… variables also make it 10x easier to keep our UI Kit components consistent.

I typically have a single “size” variant that exists in basically every component in my UI Kit (ex: sm, md, lg).

My goal is to be able to put a `md` input alongside a `md` button and have them share all of the core attributes (size, radius, etc.).

So this is how I’m currently thinking about my UI Kit variables 👇

• Modes = breakpoints

• Groups = component attribute (height, radius, padding, etc.)

• Variables = [attribute]—{size variant}

In natural language, I’m saying “On {breakpoint}, this is the {attribute} for components using the {size} variant“.

From there we can use these new variables when creating our UI Kit components 💯

If you’re creating a `lg` button then you simply select the “{attribute}-lg” variable for whatever part you are styling.

Here's why this is awesome 👇

Every single time you put two `lg` components next to each other they will automatically match perfectly 😍

And if you ever need to make changes, now you have a single variable that you can use to control every component in your UI Kit 💪

🤖 Automating breakpoints

Since we’re importing our UI Kit in every file that we’re designing pages, we can also use these variable modes to assign breakpoints to our parent frames.

That solves one of the other core problems with the old way of building UI Kits 👇

Now all of our core components will automatically adjust to use the correct styles (no more manually switching between breakpoint variants).

Notice how the button sizes respond automatically in the .gif below 👇

Btw there's a whole lesson on this in figma.academy if you want to go deeper 🎨

You'll also get access to my UI Kit so you can see exactly how I set everything up 👇

I'll leave you with a general rule of thumb:

💡 Use variables to make your current workflows more streamlined, not to get your responsive designs to behave like the product itself.

Knowing when NOT to use variables is just as important as knowing what they are capable of ✌️

How to level up your UI Kit with Figma variables 👇

If you're like me, you were a bit overwhelmed the first time you started prototyping with variables 😬

But once you master it you start to realize something...

It follows the same repeatable steps 👇

My goal with figma.academy is to simplify prototyping with variables as much as I possibly can...

So here's how I break it down into 4 repeatable steps 👇

01 // Create the variable you need

Start by asking yourself "What piece of UI do I want to change in my prototype?"

You'll need a variable for that 💡

Here's how you pick the right variable type for the job 👇

01 //

Which type you choose depends on what you're trying to accomplish 👇

🔤 Are you updating text?
⤷ string/number

🧱 Are you updating components?
⤷ string/boolean

👀 Are you changing visibility?
⤷ boolean

🎨 Are you updating styling?
⤷ color/number

01 //

Once you have the variables created, use that first column to define your DEFAULT value.

Note:  if you're using string variables to control component states then you're going to want to write the name of your starting variant exactly as it appears 👀

02 // Assign your variable to your UI

You're going to hear the word "bind" a lot... all that means is that you're mapping a variable to a piece of UI

You'll always bind variables in the relevant section of the properties panel 👀

03 // Test your connection

Before jumping into prototyping mode I like to run a test to make sure things are behaving the way I expect.

Open up your local variables and make a change to the default value...

Did it update your UI? If yes, then you're ready for step 4 👇

04 // Set up your triggers

This is where it starts to get fun 🤩

There's WAY too much for a thread. I have a whole module of videos in figma.academy on this topic...

But I do want to leave you with one idea that hopefully simplifies this whole feature set for you 👇

04 //

Every variable-powered prototype you make will end with a `Set Variable` interaction.

That's ultimately the goal... to use variables to trigger a change in your UI by updating the variable you've assigned.

Here's the question you have to ask yourself though 👇

04 //

"Do I have to first see if a separate condition is met before I can change this UI?" 🤔

If no  ☞ `Set Variable`

If yes ☞  Add a `Conditional` first and THEN nest your `Set Variable`

Thinking of `Conditional` as a wrapper for `Set Variable` was a huge unlock for me 👇

You can also go way deeper here 👇

https://twitter.com/ridd_design/status/1711373871155396950?s=20

Before you go...

You're going to want to add variables to ALL of your prototypes...

Don't do that 😬

Variables are great when used strategically but they can also add a lot of unnecessary complexity too

You'll have to follow @ridd_design for a future thread on that though :)

4 steps to prototype with variables in Figma

"What most designers get wrong about design systems"

I landed on that title for my 🤿 Deep Dive with @danmall because he really challenged some of my previous ideas...

Here are a few golden nuggets that really stood out from the chat 👇

If you want to listen to the full episode, all of the streaming links are below 👇

(otherwise, keep reading for some of my favorite takeaways)

https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/dan-mall

1) Most people approach atomic design backward

The right way is to build the big thing first.... then take it apart to identify the little pieces (not vice versa)

2) In two years we'll be talking about design systems MORE...

But then in 5 years, we won't talk about them at all 👀

Because it'll become too obvious (just like we stopped talking about responsive design)

3) Figma variables have made it too easy to create tokens

Lots of teams are going to get themselves in sticky situations if they're not careful 😬

4) Too many people wait for official buy-in to start building a design system.

Dan thinks more designers should be “rascals” and start building one on their own… then ask for buy-in to CONTINUE it 😉

5) How we should measure success of our design systems:

❌ Adoption (typical metric)

✅  How often the design systems team is invited to product kickoff meetings

6) You should only become a design systems specialist if you want to be a COLLECTOR not a CREATOR 🤔

7)  The best design systems teams don't look for opportunities to grow the system...

They look for ways to REMOVE components 👀

Dan also shares a ton of interesting ideas on AI and more broadly where design systems are headed next...

If you're into that sort of thing then you'll love this episode 👇

https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/dan-mall

Btw, we share key takeaways like this every Thursday to 10k+ designers 👀

Sign up below 👇
https://www.dive.club/deep-dives

What Most Designers Get Wrong About Design Systems

If AI is empowering us to accomplish ~80% of the work in < 20% of the time...

Then what does that mean for the role of a designer?

I broke it down into 5 ideas 👇

1️⃣ "Taste" becomes more important than ever

When design is fully democratized by prompt engines… one of the distinguishing factors is going to be knowing what “good” looks like and being able to confidently articulate it.

1️⃣ //

It reminds me of this short Rick Rubin interview clip if you haven't seen it already

Here's one reason this gets me excited 👇

https://twitter.com/itsarkangel/status/1615182281068666881?s=20

1️⃣  //

I'm now even more bullish on the value of investing in my visual library of inspiration.

Soon we'll be feeding AI images and transforming entire flows to match that visual style.

So your swipe file will be even more valuable in the future 👀

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLv9RU_2xik&t=2s

2️⃣ Ingenuity > Output

AI will empower us to 10x the number of explorations that we can do within a given problem space.

When time is no longer the primary constraint, our ceiling is only capped by our ingenuity...

2️⃣  //

So much of what we value in designers today is tied to output:

☞ how many projects can you handle
☞ how many docs can you write
☞ how many screens can you crank out per week?

But when output is uncapped, our value is tied directly to the quality of our ideas 👇

2️⃣ //

We'll be able to blitz past the obvious concepts and go waaaaay wider during early product explorations.

This is going to test our understanding of product strategy in new ways 🧠

And it's why I believe AI is going to reward designers who have a strong product sense.

3️⃣ Roles will start to converge

@DanHollick said it well below:

Here's what I think this means👇

3️⃣ //

AI is going to empower anyone to design, code, write SQL queries, build automations, etc.

And that’s going to make the lines between traditional roles on a product team pretttty blurry…

So it's time to expand the surface area of how we define our role as a “designer” 👇

4️⃣ // Designers as business strategists

AI is going to empower more designers to move up the value chain.

By reducing the bulk of our current workload we’re going to be freed up to start strategizing about the bigger, meatier problems.

@mialoira said it well here:

4️⃣ //

If you're looking to level up this part of your skillset then here's a great starter from Mia below 👀

Otherwise, here's the other way I think we can expand the surface area of how we define our role as a "designer" 👇

https://twitter.com/ridd_design/status/1656689846310834176?s=20

5️⃣ // Design contributing to production code

@framer is the tip of the iceberg...

We’re entering a world where design isn’t going to be painting pretty pictures of what a product could look like anymore...

We’ll be expected to contribute directly to the product itself 👇

5️⃣ //

All eyes are on @figma right now 👀

Are they going to be the ones to usher in mass adoption of these new tools? Here's hoping it happens at Config 🤞

Regardless of how it shakes out ... more designers are going to become builders as a result of AI 💪

5️⃣ //

Syntax is no longer the blocker... all it takes is a solid baseline of technical literacy and you'll be able to meaningfully contribute to the ACTUAL product...

ChatGPT makes me feel like a superhuman already and we're still in the first inning 👀

So where to from here?

Start to tinker and explore what's out there!

Something that stood out to me about my interview with @femkesvs was how she hasn't historically considered herself a "builder" but already feels like AI is opening that door for her 🔑

I also shared a more in-depth version of the above in my newsletter "Design Tactics"

You can join 5,000+ other designers and get it here 👇

ridd.substack.com

I know this topic and the rate of change can be intimidating, but my aim is to inject a bit of hope into your outlook 🌞

More to come!

How AI impacts the role of a designer

Threads has quickly risen to the top tier of my design inspiration list...

I'm all in on this product > Slack

Here are my 10 favorite design details 👇

01 // Hover sidebar

When my device size is narrow, I can access the full sidebar on hover.

Slack makes me click and I always forget where the icon lives.

This flow is 10x more seamless and I almost prefer narrowing screens as a result...

02 // Playfullness

Threads doesn't take itself too seriously. Work can be fun too!

I love that they have these fun animated banners and allow me to add silly gifs as channel icons.

These are the kinds of details that make me want to spend more time in the product.

Speaking of keeping things lighthearted...

How great are these default avatars?!?

They even went the extra mile and allowed me to cmd + click to generate random background gradients 😍

This kind of personalization makes the product way more sticky 👏

03 // Customization

I'm a huge fan of products that allow me to control my own density settings.

This is something that can totally vary from channel to channel and I love that they give me the control.

(bonus points for these juicy borders)

04 // Opinionated

My favorite software products are often the most opinionated (and this is often what it takes to truly improve on existing workflows)...

Like how threads automatically creates new blocks after 500 characters.

I didn't know I needed this. But it's brilliant.

Another way that Threads is very opinionated is that things don't disappear until you mark them as "Done".

No more worrying about unread/read as a way to keep track of things.

I have a to do list!

It requires action on my part which is new, but I already love it ❤️

05 // Familiarity

Threads doesn't get cute or try to reinvent the wheel when it doesn't have to.

I LOVE huddles in Slack. And I'm glad that they simply brought the feature in as it already exists.

Innovate when necessary. Capitalize on familiarity when possible.

06 // Innovation

But they do pick the right places to innovate...

I am ALWAYS sharing Loom videos in Slack. But it creates a disjointed feedback experience.

So Threads went all in on video and it's so 👏 much 👏 better 👏

The vertical video makes it all feel more human too.

07 // Know your audience

Threads went all in on designers by solving a core workflow challenge:

I'm constantly linking to Figma frames with accompanying screenshots

Except... those get out of sync QUICKLY.

Not anymore with "Resync frame" and a shiny new upload plugin 💪

08 // Anticipation

Threads anticipates the questions that I have...

Like "who has seen this already?"

I am CONSTANTLY asking that question in Slack but never considered it as a missing feature...

Being able to anticipate Qs like this demonstrates elite understanding 👏

09 // Keyboard shortcuts

My favorite products are all designed from the ground up to not require me to use my mouse.

Threads nails this and I love how keyboard commands are attached to hover states (this is one of my favorite details in Linear)

I also LOVE that they use simple letter key shortcuts but then turn them off whenever I'm focused in an input.

See how the "D" is removed from the done button on focus?

I super appreciate this attention to detail.

10 // Little big UI details

Threads cares about the tiny UI polish that makes a product truly beautiful

Just look at the detail on these inputs. The double borders... the subtle inner shadow... the shading...

It's all 🤌

And if you want to play with it yourself I highly recommend jumping on the waitlist:

(don't you just want to pop that icon in your mouth 🤤)

https://threads.com

Lastly if you're looking for tips on organizing all of this inspiration...

I made a little tutorial video where I show you how to create the ultimate design swipefile in Notion 👇

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLv9RU_2xik

My 10 favorite design details about Threads

Today is an exciting day!

We've now revealed all of the instructors for @joindiveclub 🤿

So here's a video recap and glimpse into the future of Dive👇

Our first instructor is @molly_hellmuth (whose 1st cohort for Design System Bootcamp has already sold out 😮)

https://twitter.com/joindiveclub/status/1567916774380949504?s=20&t=aXwT4NzW6aPQTWWKHiTFPw

Our 2nd instructor is @DannPetty who's creating the ultimate course on web design 💪

https://twitter.com/joindiveclub/status/1570423112445087748?s=20&t=aXwT4NzW6aPQTWWKHiTFPw

Our 3rd instructor is @bonniekatewolf who's going to help you master the art of product iconography 🙌

https://twitter.com/joindiveclub/status/1572971508842233856?s=20&t=aXwT4NzW6aPQTWWKHiTFPw

Our 4th instructor is @FonsMans who's going to take your visual design skills to the next level

(he also did the branding for Dive!)

https://twitter.com/joindiveclub/status/1575508227860504576?s=20&t=aXwT4NzW6aPQTWWKHiTFPw

Our 5th instructor is @femkesvs 🙌 She's going deeeeeep into the world of product strategy

https://twitter.com/joindiveclub/status/1578048469826121728?s=20&t=aXwT4NzW6aPQTWWKHiTFPw

Our 6th instructor is @joeyabanks who's creating an all-new Figma foundations course ❤️

https://twitter.com/joindiveclub/status/1580574126854459392?s=20&t=aXwT4NzW6aPQTWWKHiTFPw

Our 7th instructor is @Soengle who is creating THE course to help people land their dream job 💪

https://twitter.com/joindiveclub/status/1583119907528458240?s=20&t=aXwT4NzW6aPQTWWKHiTFPw

I'm the 8th instructor (surprise surprise... 😇)

And I have all kinds of exciting learning journeys planned :)

This is just the beginning... 2023 is going to be a BIG year for Dive and I can't wait to show you.

Also make sure you're on the early access list!

That way you'll be the first to know when new courses launch in January

👉 dive.club

Dive recap

Arc is a masterclass in product design 🤯

It's so inspiring and I feel like we can all learn a TON from how it's designed.

So I've been taking all kinds of notes...

Here are the 9 design elements that stand out the most 👇

If you're not familiar, Arc is a new browser from @browsercompany 

This isn't an incremental improvement on Safari/Chrome/etc.

It's a fundamental rethinking of what it means to surf the internet.

And @joshm has built a stellar team that is pushing the boundaries of design 👇

01 // 

Arc doesn't bombard me with onboarding prompts all at once.

First they let me explore...

And then after I take an action they explain it, share additional context, and prompt the next action to take.

Plus these gradients are tasty 🤤

02 //

Arc doesn't limit the user journey to their own product surface area

For instance, after I upload my passwords, I'm immediately prompted to delete them from my downloads folder for security.

S/o to @kristinatastic for the designs on this one 👏 

03 // 

Arc allows me to make the space my own.

Personalization is such a great way to make a product sticky.

They didn't have to let me customize the amount of noise that I want to add to my gradients...

But it increases my attachment to the product big time 🤌

04 // 

Arc prioritizes the little big details. 

These library cards FEEL excellent.

Notice how smooth the hover is and how my mouse shines a light on the card itself?

Instead of focusing on "confetti moments"...

Arc makes the mundane delightful ❤️

05 //

Arc isn't afraid to be opinionated

After 12 hours, they automatically close all of my tabs that I have not explicitly saved.

That seemed crazy at first...

But I LOVE it. Starting out my morning with a blank slate is incredible.

Sometimes designers know best 🤷‍♂️

06 // 

Arc uses subtle animation to let me know what's happening.

As an example, look at how the URL bar animates on refresh.

It's such a small detail but it feels excellent 👌

07 // 

Arc gets out of my way.

I love being given space to focus while removing all the clutter.

It's awesome for designers too b/c our browser basically look like a Figma prototype now 😆

(also peep those 🔥 designs from @theyuanstudio )

Another example for 07...

I LOVE that the red/green/yellow menu circles are a simple dark opacity until I hover over them.

I know that they're there...

But the fact that they don't constantly pull my eyes up to the top left is a really nice touch 🤌

08 // 

Arc understands the WHY behind my actions.

How many times a day do we click on email ONLY to see if there's anything new?

So they shrunk that journey down to a single hover state.

Maybe people will spend less time complaining about the blue gmail buttons now 🙏 

09 //

Arc has designed everything from the ground up with keyboard shortcuts in mind 🧠

You can always tell when shortcuts are added as an after thought because `cmd + k` menus are cool vs. when a team sets out to create a thoughtful, mouseless UX.

Arc nailed it.

I fully believe Arc will have a massive impact on the world of product design for years to come...

If you haven't already, make sure to get on the waitlist:  https://arc.net/

9 design takeaways from using Arc

I had so much fun jamming with @FonsMans on the branding for Dive 🤿

We started from 0 and it was a heck of a journey...

So I thought it might be fun to give a behind-the-scenes look at the entire branding process 👇

The first thing Fons had us do was start working on a Manifest.

For a full week we wrote and then re-wrote...

It forced us to clarify the vision for the brand and align on some key differentiating factors.

Btw at this point notice how [Name] was still a placeholder? 👀

Speaking of names...as soon as he pitched me on "Dive" I knew it was perfect.

We wanted to emphasize going deep on specific topics vs. staying surface level.

And I literally ended every intro video for @figmaacademy by saying "Let's dive in"

But it did present one challenge...

Being a common word, domains were TOUGH to come by.

Eventually we landed on dive.club but that sparked an entire other debate 👇 

Should the brand itself be "Dive"?

Or should we lean in to "Dive Club"?

I flip flopped back and forth on that decision hourly...

Thankfully I had excellent sounding boards  in @helenrice @mds @multiplay3r @theyuanstudio @richariddering @annariddering ❤️

Fons went HAM on logo iterations at this point....

I was seriously blown away by the amount of concepts he shared in the very first Figma file 🤯

Here's a little taste 👀

He pulled out 3 main concepts to paint the edges of where the brand might fall.

I liked the first logo and knew it would work...

But there was something about the 2nd concept that felt like it had a much higher ceiling of potential!

The problem is it felt... masculine 🤔

So instead of having a capital "D" with a separate glyph...

What if we went w/ a lowercase "d" that doubled as the glyph?

This was the "hell yeah!" moment in the branding process where things started to really click.

💧🤿 

From there we started looking at brand elements 👇

The fun thing about working with Fons is that he's 6 hours later than me.

So waking up was like Christmas because I had little Figma file presents in Slack 🎁

This brand exploration was one of the most exciting gifts of all 👇

Btw... I just realized that you might have 0 clue what I'm talking about lol.

My B.

Check out the announcement tweet for @joindiveclub if you haven't already 👀

Otherwise, on we go...

https://twitter.com/Ridderingand/status/1565353699773280258?s=20&t=eSQUeQO0cKRimaznKCBLog

Anyway...

Once we nailed down the logo/type/colors/etc...

The only thing left was to work with my animator friend to bring the Dive logo to life 🙌

Check out the animation on dive.club 👇

All said and done, I am SO happy that I decided to work with Fons on @joindiveclub 

His layer lists and what he's able to accomplish in Figma seriously blow my mind. 

It makes 0 sense how he does what he does 😆

I'm very excited for the @joindiveclub brand to evolve, especially as we start to reveal more instructors too 👀

First reveal happens next Friday!

Any guesses who it is?

Behind-the-scenes of the branding for Dive

Want to learn more about component properties?

Here are 7 resources to take you from beginner to veteran 👇

I've done my best to order these resources from beginner -> advanced

So feel free to jump in at the level that makes sense for you 💪

Ok here we go...

1) Complete guide to component properties

This is a great foundational article to help you get started with the feature

https://uxplanet.org/figma-component-properties-548728f25392

2) Official Figma tutorial

Next up is a bit of video action. This is Figma's official tutorial to help you nail down the basics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIq8FLt1hUY

3) @joeyabanks 's Overview

Now you're ready to get a bit more into the strategies we can use for component properties

https://joeyabanks.substack.com/p/baseline-8-component-properties-in?r=8de6c&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

4) @negativespaceca 's walkthrough video

Tom begins with the basics, but towards the end of the video he gets into some really nifty details like strategically withholding boolean properties

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pao4BiG4MEg

5) Best practices for component properties

This is a breakdown of some of the ideas in the "Strategies for component properties" lesson in @figmaacademy 

It will also show examples of how NOT to use the feature...

https://twitter.com/Ridderingand/status/1544712832683425792

6) @killnicole 's case study

Now we're really getting into the intricate details of the feature set. Vic works on the Microsoft design system and demonstrates a ton of awesome tactics.

One of my favorites is the idea of "progressive disclosure".

https://www.figma.com/community/file/1113141767963760931

7) "Strategies for Component Properties" [Preview]

This is a ~7 min preview of the official lesson from @figmaacademy 

It will go deep into strategies for creating an excellent consumption experience for other designers on your team + other details...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaQbI0fLyGA


Also let me know if I missed anything! I'll share any new resources in the next edition of "Design Tactics" 👀

https://www.getrevue.co/profile/ridd

✨ Bonus:

If you use "Slot" components then component properties are a HUGE improvement.

This thread talks about how it works and also goes into how I'm creating large systems of "content components" in Figma now 👇

https://twitter.com/Ridderingand/status/1527393687960842253?s=20&t=Zuct73dG6pzcn3ODp10ulw

7 resources for component properties

In the last ~6 months, @figmaacademy has turned into a full-blown FAMILY business :)

It feels like one, big, awesome game...

And I get to play it every day with the people who mean the most to me.

I'm feeling grateful tonight.

So I wanted to share the story 👇

I hit launch on the beta program this time last year and passed out shortly after 💤

I remember being BLOWN away that 10 people signed up while I was sleeping.

Then I remembered I had to sprint to my computer to invite them so they didn't think they were scammed lol.

Why sprint? Well...

I couldn't figure out how to connect @lmsqueezy and @ConvertKit at first...

That meant I sent all 500 of the invites to the Figma team manually (or... @richariddering mostly did anyway 😅).

Pretty much every system we launched with broke right away lol.

Speaking of my wife:

I couldn't do any of this without @RichaRiddering 

She helped me go all in from the beginning and has supported me every step of the way.

And by the time January enrollment was in full swing, we realized we needed to start treating this like a business...

So we formed our LLC "Riddering ink" and made things official.

@richariddering took over all of the finances, legal docs, reporting, etc.

And I was able to focus on trying to keep the day-to-day operations afloat.

Which turned out to be a lot to handle 😬

At this point our support queue was massive. 

I had companies asking for team licenses when I had 0 plan 🤷‍♂️

I actually apologized to Maven for being so distracted during that week.

Something had to change.

And it turned out my dad was the one who had the game-changing idea...

"What if you hired your sister-in-law?" he asked in Feb.

I would never have considered asking her to quit her job.

But as soon as he said it I KNEW that it was the right move.

She's a graphic designer + operations specialist. And she lives right down the street! Perfect 👌

But our little family business was growing, and not just financially...

My sister-in-law had her 2nd kid in June.

This meant yet again... I was looking for help. But this time was different. This time I wanted to go bigger.

So I reached out to my good friend @Sam_Lane96 

His wife now handles all of our sales operations and CRUSHES it 🙏

This frees up my sister-in-law to do things like help me launch the Designer Talent Network, edit videos, create marketing graphics, etc.

But we didn't stop there...

https://ridd.pallet.com/talent/welcome?referral=true

In May my sister got married. Which meant I got to meet my new brother-in-law's best man.

Turns out, the dude is a killer editor/animator and now we have him working on all kinds of creative projects.

What has me the most excited is what he's going to work on next though...

I'm currently working with @FonsMans on the branding for a BIG project.

Like... way bigger than @figmaacademy 

I seriously can't wait to show you where our little family business goes next 🤩

https://twitter.com/FonsMans/status/1548640895364366338?s=20&t=IG-UxD0P0NJ3qpvy9A-Eww

It all started with being obsessed about the idea of "learning Figma in Figma"

But it's grown into so much more.

I've realized that I LOVE the process of trying to build a family business online.

There's nothing I'd rather do with my free time. And you know what??

It's working!

We've made more $$ than I ever imagined. I won't pretend that part isn't great.

But do you know how cool it is to spend an evening building @airtable automations with your wife while talking shop and celebrating her first successful "zap"?

Ya, we're that nerdy 🤷‍♂️

Thanks for reading this far by the way :)

I didn't sit at my computer to write a thread on the family business.

I just started typing and here we are. I hope you found it at least somewhat entertaining.

Everyone should try to make $1 on the internet. It changes everything.

That's it. No retweet CTAs. No follow requests.

Just me being me.

I won't even ask you to sign up for @figmaacademy 😉

(ok, ok...I couldn't resist...)