grug make design. grug not know much. but grug know pain. grug try to avoid pain. grug learn over many fire-cycles.

complexity bad

design tool have many button. design system have many rule. too many rule = grug scream.

grug say: "if design need manual, design too complex."

grug want small number of shapes, big number of meaning.

grug make button look like button. not like bird.

too many option bad

grug see figma file with 10 variants of same thing. grug cry.

grug learn: better to have one good button than 10 maybe-button.

grug say "no" to:

• fancy hover that look like spaceship
• custom scroll bar that work only on tuesday
• color with name like "soul-mist blue"

grug use gray. gray work fine.

information density good

many designer worship empty space. grug no worship.

grug think: space good only when it help brain see fast.

too much space = scroll scroll scroll = brain tired.

grug like dense UI that show all tools.

grug say:

"simple" not mean empty. "simple" mean "solve problem fast."

grid good

grug no trust magic layout. grug use grid.

grid keep thing straight. grid bring peace.

grug align text with image. not just "vibe it."

typeface is voice

grug pick one typeface. grug not mix 7 font in one page.

grug ask: does this type shout? whisper? scream in cave?

grug not need Helvetica Neue Ultra Thin Condensed Oblique for error message.

icons not art

grug not decorate. grug communicate.

if icon need tooltip, icon not good.

grug like icons that look like thing they mean.

process not god

grug hate "design sprint." grug hate "crit where no one say truth."

grug like prototype. grug like watch user struggle.

grug believe in "make → test → cry → fix"

system not religion

design system good, until it tell grug to do dumb thing.

grug follow system unless system hurt user.

grug remember: system made by grug. grug can change it.

stakeholder bad

grug show design. many chief come. chief say: "make logo bigger."

grug nod. grug ignore.

grug protect user from chief.

grug like developer

grug work with dev early. grug not throw figma over wall.

grug know:

• dev no like 8px box-shadow blur with 3.6% opacity
• dev no like "just animate to feel natural"

grug talk to dev. grug compromise. both grunt in agreement.

user > dribbble

grug not design for likes. grug design so user not suffer.

pretty not always good. clear always good.

user never say "nice neumorphism." user say "where button?"

conclusion

grug no want award. grug want thing to work.

grug want user to say nothing, because thing just worked.

grug happiest when user forget grug exist.