Dear Reader,
Jeff here...Today, we're trying something different with the newsletter.
For the last two years, Hannah and I have been writing this weekly advice column for you and over 5,000 designers.
It's been a wild ride...from late-night cramming to early-morning writing sessions to beautiful feedback and encouragement that makes it all worth it.
This advice letter has been a weekly reminder for us to keep innovating, but the Fountain Institute is becoming more than just Hannah and I...
The community of designers around the Fountain Institute is our real value so we thought--it's time for our newsletter to grow with the community.
Introducing the newsletter2.0...(final_final_but_not_really)
π¦Ύ AI-powered post-its
βToday, Miro launched an AI version of its popular white-boarding tool (shared by Jerome Bertrand)
βLearn moreβ
π
Non-managerial career path
βStaff Design explores how individual contributors are exploring careers at the highest level and has some great resources
(shared by Anja Lena)
βLearn moreβ
π° Paid Figma plugins
βFigma just launched a section in their resources page with paid items
βLearn moreβ
π§ How to be a facilitator
βHannah Baker just published an article on how and why you should build skills as a design facilitator
βLearn moreβ
Apply to join the Guild of Working Designers here.
from Henry Mintzberg, an excellent source for design strategy
βShare this quote on Instagramβ
βSource, shared by Rana Fathi in the Guildβ
Learn to create a winning strategy in UX
| Watch the Video on Youtube |
β |
Learn how to initiate systemic change within an organization, whether a small team or a large city.
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
| Reserve a Seat (Free) |
Learn how to build a winning UX or product strategy that aligns design with business.
April 17-May 8, 2023
| Reserve a Seat |
Until next week!
Jeff Humble
βDesigner & Co-Founder
βThe Fountain Institute
P.S. We'd love some feedback on the new newsletter. Hit reply and let us know what you think!
The Fountain Institute is an independent online school that teaches advanced UX & product skills.
How the Fountain Institute Started and Where It's Going by Jeff Humble Dear Reader, In case you missed it, Hannah dropped a pretty big announcement in the last newsletter. I wanted to tell the story of how the Fountain Institute started, why weβve never had an βAbout Usβ page, and where I think weβre headed next. How it started The Fountain Institute started when two friends decided to grab a beer and work...then kept doing it for 7 years. There were many false starts along the way. Starting...
A goodbye and the story that goes with it By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, There's an idea I've been chasing for most of my working life, and I didn't know it. I want to tell you about it, and about something that happened a few years ago that I haven't talked about much publicly, but that belongs in this story. Some of you might already know this about me, but I used to work in education departments at museums. The thing that grabbed me in the museums was a shift that happened, away from the...
7 Ways Hiring is Evolving for Senior Designers by Jeff Humble Dear Reader, 2026 has been a wild ride for product designers, so we thought it might be worth checking in to see what's changing about design hiring. There has never been a better time to think outside the box with your career strategies. In this article, we give you a playbook from various experts where every piece of advice is from this year. Get comfortable with live problem-solving. Shipped, traceable work beats case studies....