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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

Don’t Take Creative Career Problems Personally

The systematic workplace dysfunction no one talks about — and how to navigate it without losing yourself

Sep 19

It’s not you, it’s them: if you’re creative, some people just can’t take it. Photo by Arion Reyvonputra on Unsplash

Sep 19

Published in

Job Interview Red Flags That Can Save Your Sanity

How to spot toxic workplaces before they damage your mental health and professional growth

Sep 5

Job Interview Red Flags That Can Save Your Sanity

Sep 5

Published in

What Sly and the Family Stone can teach creative people

Throughout my career, there is one thing that stands out as the best thing that I’ve done. There was a company that had a Slack channel for…

Jun 20

Publicity photo of the American band Sly and the Family Stone in 1968. From left to right: Freddie Stone, Sly Stone, Rose Stone, Larry Graham, Cynthia Robinson, Jerry Martini, Greg Errico. Distributed by Epic Records, Daedalus Management, and William Morris Agency, Inc. Photographer uncredited and unknown.

Jun 20

Published in

Memorial Day hits very differently now: memories are breakthroughs

A couple of months ago, I was cleaning out my parents’ house. At the same time, the current administration was busy dismantling the very…

May 27

A photo of an old house superimposed in front with a old black and white photo of three children at the same building years ago. Photo by Anita Jankovic on Unsplash

May 27

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Careless People: a horror story, from a product pro’s perspective

I recently finished reading Careless People, the memoir from former Facebook executive Sarah Wynn-Williams that documents her perspective…

May 7

If you create digital products, especially social media apps, you shoulder a lot of responsibility for how those apps are used. Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.

May 7

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Target’s bias, a big strategy error, and the importance of user research

Among the many retail boycotts for many stores in 2025, few have fallen from retail grace as far as Target. Once the darling of hipsters…

Apr 16

It’s getting trickier to shop in a big box store without compromising your values. Target has not been helping lately. Photo by Caique Morais on Unsplash

Apr 16

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FOMO, FOLS, and how it contributes to enshittification

Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one…

Mar 26

Photograph of a bubble in the Photo by Braedon McLeod on Unsplash

Mar 26

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The enshittification of government: recognition matters

As a former contractor for several government agencies, I’ve been thinking a lot about the recent dismantling of several government…

Feb 13

Two recognition plaques from the U.S. Government. The one on the left is from 1965 and is made from wood and metal. The one on the right is from 2001 and is a printed sheet of paper in a plastic folder.

Feb 13

Published in

How to structure design systems to help users find their way

In my experience, designers are often not given a specific list of assignments to handle at the start of a project. This alone usually…

Jan 22

How to structure design systems to help users find their way

Jan 22

Mary Mahling Carns

Mary Mahling Carns

she/her

🌟 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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