#75: It's always been...Writing.
On writing, design, ux and technology
Friends, I have an announcement to make: I’ll be making a slight pivot to this newsletter this year.
There’s a place I’d like to get this to, one day in the future. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I realized with its current state, that place would be a lot harder to get to if I don’t make a change.
I started this newsletter talking and writing about design and UX, mainly. It was great—really great. I’m proud of the earlier works I’ve put out. They are organic in a lot of ways and they made my transition back to writing a lot easier. I was living it so the skin in the game1 was there. It was truly a bright and ripe spot to revive a skill I’ve temporarily abandoned: my writing.
However, it’s been four years since then. A lot has changed, internally and externally. Although my desire to pursue my design career professionally is—unquestionably—still there, my intellectual growth is taking me in a minor redirection: Writing.
I want to talk and write and think more about Writing than anything else in the world for this platform. I want to confront it, spend a lot of time with it and see what we can accomplish together, while slowly stripping off my issues of the past. I want to know what our life will be, would’ve been, if I didn’t abandoned it when I was younger. I want to free myself of any regret in relation to it moving forward.
I want to look at it in the eyes and really say:
I’m in. I am all in. I’m not afraid to lose anything2 but you, of not having you, in my life. I want a life with you in it, filling my world with so much meaning and purpose and growth, despite the hard times. I want you and I am sorry I wasn’t courageous enough back then to fight for you. My insecurities got the best of me, and in the process, I strung you along, mindlessly. You are what’s missing in my otherwise satisfying life and I can’t live with with that. At the very least, I have to give this, give you, a shot. I’m ready now.
I’m ready, now.
Moving forward, I’ll be writing more and more about Writing and the topics adjacent to this such as: productivity, business (like this) , knowledge management and systems (like this and this), learning and more. I’m not really the type to put a lot of constraints to what I would want to explore. It’s possible that I’ll have a piece or two about something completely different, if it contributes to the goals of this platform. These are just healthy parameters that can serve as guidance for what to expect moving forward. (I’ll expand on this on another post)
But what about design, UX and technology, in general?
They aren’t going away, by any means. If you’ve been reading my work long enough, you’d probably know that I’m big believer in the power, the scope and the influence of design. It’s a discipline that, quite literally, makes the world. Writing and thinking are a part of that, in a lot of ways. Design coexists with Writing and thinking. At least, the kind of design that actually makes a difference. It’s a winning combination then for the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo and their contemporaries.
It’s still a winning combination now for the equally brilliant modern-day versions of them living among us to this day.
No, my work on design, UX and technology will not go away as a topic of discussion for this platform. It’ll just be enhanced and driven-by Writing. Instead of having it as a focus, it’ll serve as a baseline.
I’ll write about writing (and all that I find interesting in that world) from the foundation of a designer. I’m really excited for where this takes me. Hope you’ll be able to join me in this journey.
Meditations on writing
Writing is hard because there’s no shortcut to getting good at it other than putting in the time. It’s not even enough to just put in the time. How intense and focused will you be during those times matter a lot, at least if you want to produce great work.
Great work in writing is relative to the writer’s vision and goals. For my own personal practice, I know my writing is great when the ideas I’m marrying stand out. When the idea is so good, the writing becomes invisible—my words become invisible. It is an experience that will usually make the reader forget about the medium, the software and the hardware the work is built on top of. This is how I feel about other people’s writing and this is my relentless desire for mine.
I know I won’t be able to hit this every single time I sit down and write, or even publish. But the pursuit of it, just the mere possibility of having it, the thought of chasing it and allowing myself to embrace that opportunity – this is the high. It matters that I produce great work, obviously. That’s not where the energy is coming from though. Actually doing it, no matter the outcome, makes me feel as alive as I possibly can. It makes me feel like I am one step away from publishing a breathtaking piece.
It makes me feel like I actually have a real future in writing—one that is fruitful, fulfilling and financially sustainable. Hoping is great. Doing is better, infinitely better.
This is me doing it.
If you liked this bit, perhaps you’ll enjoy my past post about writing as well:
Thank you for reading working title,
Nikki
✨
If you have a spare moment, I’d love to hear your opinion on my newsletter. This will help me understand what to write about and curate better. I am also on Notes, where I post previews and premature ideas that fuel my writing streaks.
Worth your time:
P.S. Six of My Favorite Notebooks on Substack by
Messi, Inc from
When Words Cannot Describe: Designing For AI Beyond Conversational Interfaces by Maximillian Piras
Xi Jinping, Emmanuel Macron & demographic “warfare” by
Write your user guide + free template! by
Elsewhere:
I had just finished watching All of Us Strangers— possibly the most poetic, moving and heartbreaking film I’ve seen in recent times.
Recently discovered
’s work, one of the best writers I’ve discovered on substack by far. Compelling work, really thought-provoking pieces of writing. Must’ve shared his work a thousand times with people I know.
A term popularized by this famous author, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, from the book of the same title. It’s a concept that pertains to a person’s risk being directly tied to the goals and rewards.
Just in case this still needs to be said: I don’t mean this in a literal way. I mean this in the context of the buckets Writing fall under, which is ‘Skills’, ‘Passion’, ‘My thing’. Of course, I’m afraid to lose everything (people, comfort, money, time etc) else that makes up the rest of my life, just like most rational people.
Love this for you Nikki - also thank you for the shoutout✨