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Mary Mahling Carns

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The Sunshine Eaters: a series on surviving multiple layoffs

Every morning, I log into Duolingo to practice my French. I always begin my daily lesson by working on my previous mistakes, because you…

Mar 15, 2022

If you become affected by a layoff, are you truly allowed to grow? Photo by Árpád Czapp on Unsplash

Mar 15, 2022

Published in
Bootcamp

Why asking “What‘s your pain point?” doesn’t work

Like many of you recently, I deactivated my X/Twitter account to use BlueSky. A couple of things struck me when I made the move:

Dec 10

Image of a deep sea diver. Designers need to dig deeper in order to uncover issues with products. Image credit: NEOM, Unsplash

Dec 10

Published in
Bootcamp

You need to learn more about Corita Kent right now

As a designer, I get inspired when I do deep dives into the works of other artists. As a former resident of Boston, Somerville MA, and…

Nov 21

“that they may have life”, serigraph, 1964. Transcribed text: ENRICHED BREAD It’s bad you don’t know what to do when you’ve got five children standing around crying for something to eat and you don’t know where to get it, and you don’t know which way to start to get it. I just get nervous or something. Kentucky miner’s wife There are so many hungry people that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread. Gandhi SOURCE: Corita.org

Nov 21

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Bootcamp

You may want to learn more about The Polish Poster School right now

When I was a kid, back when Americans fought against fascism, my family would go to a place near my house called The Nut Tree. If you are…

Nov 8

“Cyrk” poster designed by Jan Mlodozeniec (1929–2000), Poland (1974) — Document courtesy of Contemporary Posters, New York — www.contemporaryposters.com

Nov 8

Published in
Bootcamp

Can a navflow diagram replace your low-fi wireframes?

As designers, we don’t have tools that clearly express to non-designers how an app would work — not even Figma. Even a low-fidelity…

Oct 24

An example of a navflow diagram built using Whimsical that shows how a prospective home improvement app could work.

Oct 24

Published in
Bootcamp

Whatever it is, operating in Founder Mode will make it worse.

When teaching graphic design at a local university, I shared a Steve Jobs anecdote from a former Apple employee with my class.

Oct 9

Founders need some tough love sometimes. Photo credit: Shannon Rowles, Unsplash. Photo of a coffee mug that says “I heart founders”.

Oct 9

Published in
Bootcamp

Hey, LinkedIn, we need to talk. You’re a fake job enabler.

Hi, LinkedIn? You have a fake job problem and it looks like everyone can see it except you.

Sep 24

photo of a person in a ghost costume wearing sunglasses. Photo credit: Febe Vanerman, Unsplash

Sep 24

Published in
Bootcamp

Going right to designing screens at a new job sets you up for failure, what to do instead

If you are a UX or Product designer, the first few weeks at a new job can be awkward. You have already gone through the interview…

Sep 12

Going right to designing screens at a new job sets you up for failure, what to do instead

Sep 12

Published in
Bootcamp

“I alone can fix it” doesn’t work for products

I have witnessed sprint planning sessions nearly turn into fistfights.

Aug 28

photo of person with a monitor for a head, with a second person handling the remote control. Photo: Noah Buscher, Unsplash

Aug 28

Published in
Bootcamp

When consistency goes wrong: how design systems make learnability harder

Repeat after me: no one intentionally creates unusable websites or apps.

Aug 14

screen showing a clean design system for a website or application. Photo by Balázs Kétyi, Unsplash

Aug 14

Mary Mahling Carns

Mary Mahling Carns

🌟 I draw & I write about design and how it can make apps and lives better, faster, stronger 💪 🔎 https://mary-mahling-carns-halftank-studio.kit.com/profile

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