Rooz Mahdavian - Designing frontier interfaces at Neuralink and Apple
We’re talking about craft in B2B SaaS... but what is it like designing for frontier interfaces like the Apple watch or even neural interfaces?We find out in this week’s episode with Rooz Mahdavian. (https://x.com/roozm)He’s the design engineer at Neuralink so we're about to get pretty nerdy and talk about what it’s like designing an experience that allows someone to use a computer with just their mind.The level of detail and first-principles design thinking is truly impressive.Some highlights:- What it looks like to design for delight in neural interfaces- What Neuralink is looking for in their 2nd design engineer role- What it takes to design frontier interfaces at Apple and Neuralink- The evolution from Apple Watch Siri face to brain-computer interfaces- Rooz’s vision for “daydreaming with computers” and direct visual imagery transfer- Reimagining a cursor for a neural interface - from color-based feedback to circular reticles- + a lot more- Apple Watch Faces team (https://www.youtube.com/embed/oaqHdULqet0?start=585&end=705&autoplay=1&controls=0)- Siri Watch Face (intern project that shipped) (https://www.youtube.com/embed/oaqHdULqet0?start=585&end=705&autoplay=1&controls=0)- Neuralink (https://neuralink.com/) - brain computer interface company- Blindside - Neuralink’s vision restoration project (https://neuralink.com/trials/visual-prosthesis/)
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Escha Vera - Designing Perplexity’s Comet and Using AI Like an Artist
Imagine it’s your first day as a designer at Perplexity... and the VP of Design hands you the keys for their all-new AI browser, [Comet](https://www.perplexity.ai/comet).That’s the story for [Escha Vera](https://x.com/eschadiol).So this week’s episode is a deep dive into her design process and what it looks like to use AI like an artist.- How she designed Comet onboarding experience- Creating generative invite codes using multiple AI tools- How she created the Perplexity design system from scratch- How she productized AI without leading with chat interfaces or prompts- What are her principles for designing AI experiences that prioritize usability- + a lot more- [Soleio](https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/soleio-2) sent the intro to [Henry Modisett](https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/henry-modisett)- She worked at [Descript](https://x.com/descriptapp) before joining [Perplexity](https://x.com/perplexity_ai)- Previously worked on [Daylight Computer](https://x.com/daylightco) and Motif- Collaborating with [Phi Hong](https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/phi-hoang) on branding at Perplexity- Uses [Suno](https://suno.com/home?wpsrc=Google%20AdWords&wpcid=22042553892&wpscid=173890219393&wpcrid=726251362516&wpkwid=kwd-2827037661&wpkwn=suno&wpkmatch=e&wpsnetn=g&gad_campaignid=22042553892&gbraid=0AAAAA9pWpduFan7icL90FczgyQploCsYi) for music generation and remixing
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Carl Rivera - Shopify’s big bet on design and craft as the differentiator
What does the perfect e-commerce platform look like in an AI era?That’s the question Shopify’s Chief Design Officer Carl Rivera has set out to answer so this week’s episode is all about Shopify’s big bet on design and craft as the ultimate differentiator.We go deep into:- What happens when AI makes everyone a 7/10 designer- What most design teams get wrong when casting vision- How design can lead the creation of truly native AI experiences- Why every designer at Shopify is learning to ship to production- Carl’s thesis for why designers are severely undervalued in the market- Why Shopify acquired Molly Studio and what it means for how the org works- + a lot morehttps://www.molly.studio/ - design studio acquired by Shopify
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Catt Small - How staff designers build influence and lead as ICs
Only a select few have multiple episodes on Dive Club and today Catt Small joins the ranks.She has a gift for turning messy ideas into practical next steps so it’s no wonder her Staff Designer course is one of the top-rated on Maven.In this episode we go deep into all of the ways you can make an impact by building influence on your team and effectively casting vision for your product.Some highlights:The 2 ways to measure your influenceStrategies for getting distribution for your ideasHow to select the ideal format for casting a visionStorytelling tactics used by the best staff designersHow to strategically invest in workplace relationshipsWhat Catt learned while interviewing staff designers for her new book⭐ Get $100 off Catt’s course: Staff Designer: Influence & Lead as an Individual Contributor⭐ Get 15% off pre-orders for her new book: The Staff Designer
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Sara Vienna - Taste, Meaning, and How to Stand Out in an AI world
What does it take to make people feel something with design...?This week's guest is kind of an expert on the question. Sara Vienna (https://x.com/sravienna?lang=en) , the Chief Design Officer at Metalab, talks about the responsibility that designers have to shape this AI world that we're entering without losing the heartbeat of a brand.We don't hold back on the current state of the industry and what it feels like to be a designer today.Some highlights:- How to not get swept up in current design trends- How Metalab has adopted AI workflows internally- Strategies for leveraging AI to understand research data- What it takes to put meaning at the heart of a brand/product- How Metalab invests in the collective taste of the design org- Where Sara derives signals and how she filters out the noise- Being late on a trend is bad taste even more so than ugly design- + a lot more- Windsurf https://windsurf.com/) and [Suno](https://suno.com/home?wpsrc=Google%20AdWords&wpcid=22042553892&wpscid=173890219393&wpcrid=726251362516&wpkwid=kwd-2827037661&wpkwn=suno&wpkmatch=e&wpsnetn=g&gad_campaignid=22042553892&gbraid=0AAAAA9pWpduFan7icL90FczgyQploCsYi) rebrands- Jony Ive’s Stripe Sessions talk (https://stripe.com/sessions/2025/a-conversation-with-sir-jony-ive)- Erica Hall’s book “Just Enough Research” (https://www.mulebooks.com/just-enough-research)- Anthropic’s Machines of Loving Grace paper (https://www.darioamodei.com/essay/machines-of-loving-grace)- Blok for focus (https://blok.so/)
Where designers never stop learning 💪Dive Club is an interview series hosted by Ridd that is designed to unlock knowledge from today's most prolific designers. We go deep into craft, storytelling, tools, design engineering, startups, and much more.You can find all of the episodes, key takeaways, and bonus resources here 👉 Dive.club
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