Developing Taste(emilkowal.ski)
44 points by cat-whisperer | 36 comments
An essay by design engineer Emil Kowalski arguing that taste and attention to detail differentiate software products now that functionality is commoditized.
#product-design on Hacker News
25 stories tagged product-design, newest first.
The End of Rationing(sanketsaurav.com)
44 points by sanketsaurav | 39 comments
Blog essay arguing that AI coding tools like Claude Code have ended the rationing of engineering effort, and software makers haven't yet adapted.
Code is clay now(albertodenia.com)
219 points by albertodenia | 141 comments
Blog essay by iOS developer Alberto Denia arguing agentic coding makes code malleable like clay, contrasting hands-on 'artisan' and automated 'factory' workflows.
Someone behind the software(karrisaarinen.com)
532 points by tosh | 188 comments
Blog post by Karri Saarinen arguing that good software products carry the experience, values, and perspective of the people who make them.
I designed a nose guard for my dog and gave it away. Now 500 dogs wear one(snoutcover.com)
195 points by ragswag | 102 comments
A founder's story of designing a nose guard for his pitbull with discoid lupus (DLE) and growing it into a product worn by 500 dogs.
![Screenshot of youtube.com: How to scale intent, quality, and artistry with AI [video]](https://hn.urlbox.com/shots/renders/2026/10/4/19a83d9b-9696-4e42-89f7-05b0effd5404.jpg)
How to scale intent, quality, and artistry with AI [video](youtube.com)
86 points by simonjgreen | 35 comments
YouTube video of Lenny's Podcast with Stripe's Katie Dill on scaling intent, quality, and artistry in product design with AI.
What Meta got right with Muse(metedata.substack.com)
120 points by young_mete | 160 comments
A Substack newsletter post by product designer Mete Polat arguing that Meta's Muse shows design matters in consumer AI for companies with the money to invest.
What is going on with ceiling fans(mcmansionhell.com)
392 points by colinprince | 344 comments
A McMansion Hell blog post examining and critiquing the strange state of contemporary commercial ceiling fan design.
What would a serious AI product look like?(blog.glyph.im)
103 points by lumpa | 41 comments
Blog post on Deciphering Glyph arguing current AI chatbot products lack features needed for serious work and imagining what a serious AI tool would include.
Apple's Dimensional Drawings(developer.apple.com)
345 points by herbertl | 112 comments
Apple Developer page offering downloadable dimensional drawings and technical specifications for Apple devices to help accessory makers.
Škoda DuoBell: A bicycle bell that penetrates noise-cancelling headphones(skoda-storyboard.com)
541 points by ra | 545 comments
Škoda Storyboard article introducing DuoBell, a bicycle bell designed so its sound cuts through active noise-cancelling headphones to alert pedestrians.
Don't push AI down our throats(gpt3experiments.substack.com)
337 points by nutanc | 245 comments
A Substack essay arguing that AI is being forced into search bars, operating systems, and creative tools, and should instead be adopted slowly and organically.
I designed and printed a custom nose guard to help my dog with DLE(snoutcover.com)
576 points by ragswag | 68 comments
The SnoutCover maker's story of designing and 3D-printing a custom nose guard for their dog Billie, who has discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE).
./watch(dotslashwatch.com)
371 points by shrx | 106 comments
Product page for ./watch, a quartz watch whose design exposes electronic components and draws inspiration from command-line interfaces and computer hardware.
Objects should shut up(dustri.org)
413 points by gm678 | 306 comments
Blog post ranting that devices like cars emit intrusive, non-configurable beeps and alerts, arguing objects should stay quiet unless something critical happens.
AI Horseless Carriages(koomen.dev)
762 points by petekoomen | 449 comments
Pete Koomen's essay arguing many AI apps are 'horseless carriages' that mimic old software patterns, using Gmail's AI assistant as an example.
But what if I want a faster horse?(rakhim.exotext.com)
1383 points by saeedesmaili | 585 comments
Blog post by Rakhim questioning the Henry Ford 'faster horse' quote and arguing that sometimes users genuinely want improved versions of existing products.
AI agents: Less capability, more reliability, please(sergey.fyi)
393 points by serjester | 230 comments
Blog post by Sergey Filimonov arguing AI agents should prioritize reliability over expanded capability, critiquing flight-booking demos.
Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer(tibinotes.com)
387 points by tb8424 | 156 comments
A Substack essay by Tibi Iorga on how startups can work out their user experience without a dedicated designer, time, or budget.
Show HN: I designed an espresso machine and coffee grinder(velofuso.com)
675 points by smeeeeeeeeeeeee | 398 comments
Product site for Velofuso's Trefolo minimalist espresso machine and Turbina cylindrical burr coffee grinder, designed by a solo maker.
I designed a Dieter Rams-inspired iPhone dock(arslan.io)
1431 points by farslan | 335 comments
Fatih Arslan's blog post describing how he designed a Dieter Rams-inspired iPhone dock, shown as an orange printed stand.
How Lego builds a new Lego set(theverge.com)
350 points by sohkamyung | 217 comments
The Verge feature going behind the scenes of how Lego designed its official Polaroid OneStep SX-70 instant camera set.
![Screenshot of youtube.com: I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]](https://hn.urlbox.com/shots/renders/2023/11/17/e82eec69-fe6f-43e1-a648-75dffa1c0d53.jpg)
I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video](youtube.com)
1169 points by anonymfus | 407 comments
YouTube video by Simone Giertz explaining why she spent three years designing and developing a coat hanger product.
Every app that adds AI looks like this(botharetrue.substack.com)
473 points by vitabenes | 171 comments
A Substack essay by Alex Dobrenko satirizing how tech companies bolt on AI features that look alike and add little value.
The Tyranny of the Marginal User(nothinghuman.substack.com)
1311 points by ivee | 721 comments
A Substack essay by Ivan Vendrov arguing that consumer software gets worse over time because companies optimize for the least-engaged marginal user.