DX Perspective: What Customers Need, Better Typography, and Modern Product Development
Hi all!
Here’s your weekly dose of DX Perspective, a list of what I’m exploring and thinking about. Feel free to forward this along to friends.
kw picks
Building what customers need, not just what they ask for
Steve Jobs famously said customers don't know what they want until you show it to them. Henry Ford quipped that people would have asked for faster horses, not automobiles. Yet at Linear, we just built a feature specifically designed to collect customer requests. Seems contradictory, right? It's not. Here's why.
Five simple steps to better typography - Mark Boulton
Typography, I find, is still a bit of mystery to a lot of designers. The kind of typography I’m talking about is not your typical “What font should I use” typography but rather your “knowing your hanging punctuation from your em-dash” typography. Call me a little bit purist but this bothers me.
What I'm reading
Content Designers: the unsung heroes of design
Why former English majors will become the epicenter of technology & design.
A blueprint for modern product development
At some point, most companies look to standardise how they build things. This typically happens when they grow to a size where communication begins to break down, their concentration of senior people dilutes, or they start focusing more intentionally on impact, quality, and return on investment (ROI).
Emerging Tech
Dispatch 1.1 / A New Domain Map + Agentic AI
Dispatch is a new type of post focused on work in progress—brief vignettes that highlight methods, artifacts, and analysis from the field.
Tools and Resources
My recent articles
Are You Actually Making Progress? How I Rewired My Weekly Reflection to Drive Real Impact
Strategic Design Leadership: Essential Questions for Design Executives
Fueling Innovation: How Design Leaders Drive Product Transformation
Moving Beyond Execution — The Evolution to Strategic Design Leadership
Decoding The Future: The Evolution Of Intelligent Interfaces
🔈 Design Leadership at Scale — Shape The Future of Business
DLS courses are built for design leaders ready to sharpen their strategy, expand their influence, and lead at the highest level. Whether you‘re mapping your next career move, strengthening design operations, or stepping into executive leadership, these programs give you the frameworks and insights to drive real impact.
DLS: Operations (Mar 18—27)
Scaling a design organization without compromising quality or culture is a challenge every design leader faces. This course equips senior and emerging design operations leaders with the tools to build robust infrastructure, optimize processes, and drive operational excellence. From talent development to systems that support rapid growth, this program is crafted for leaders ready to take their teams to the next level.
DLS: Executive (Mar 24–Apr 3)
This advanced course is tailored for senior design leaders—Senior Directors, VPs, SVPs, and CDOs — who are ready to lead at the intersection of design, business strategy, and emerging technology. Dive deep into aligning design with business objectives, fostering product culture transformation, and building scalable operations that support innovation and growth.
DLS: Career Strategy (May 17—18)
Your career journey deserves intention and strategy. This weekend immersive is designed for design leaders who are ready to map out their path, elevate their impact, and align their leadership trajectory with long-term goals. Whether refining your current role or preparing for new opportunities, you’ll gain actionable frameworks to craft a career that stands out in a competitive market.
DLS: Director+
Built for experienced design leaders ready to step up to executive roles, Director+ focuses on leading in complex, matrixed organizations, scaling your influence, and making high-impact decisions. This course will empower you to lead with clarity and confidence, bridging design with broader business goals to drive value across the organization.
And please give me feedback. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.
Have a great weekend.
— Rachel