👋 Hey Growth Enthusiasts!
November’s here, and we’re looking closer at the real impact behind what we design.
This month, we're exploring why your design decisions have ripple effects you're not tracking, how AI companies are packaging the future in nostalgic wrapping paper, and why your design system team might be drowning in their own success.
Also on deck: preparing for Gen Alpha (yes, they're closer than you think), turning fragmented fundraising into unified storytelling, and the psychology of anchoring (because that first number changes everything).
Stay accountable. Stay curious. Stay building.
🔥 Top News: What We’re Watching (and Side-Eyeing)
A rapid-fire digest of the stories catching our eye—plus our take on what they really mean for product, growth, and building things that actually work.
Your Design Decisions Have a Body Count (8 min read)
Our 🎬 - That innocent design tweak you shipped last Tuesday? It's got a body count (and a carbon footprint). Systems thinking isn't optional for any of us when your feed optimization also optimizes teen anxiety and climate disaster. Here are some tools to see the damage before you cause it.
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Why AI Companies Are Selling You the Future in VHS (5 min read)
Our 🎬 - Tech's most powerful companies want you to trust their AI, so they're wrapping it in cassette tapes and typewriter fonts. Turns out the best way to sell the scary future is to make it feel like the safe past. Manipulation 101, executed flawlessly.
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How to Stop Being Your Design System's Bottleneck (11 min read)
Our 🎬 - Success bred chaos for Agoda's design system team. 1,600 users, 100 weekly tests, and zero ways to explain why your request isn't happening. They built a framework that turns "when will this be done?" from a fight into a conversation. Accountability is the new velocity.
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How Figma's CEO Turned a $20B Rejection Into Rocket Fuel (Video/Podcast)
Our 🎬 - Adobe ghosted them for $20 billion, and instead of spiraling, Dylan Field turned it into an IPO. Learn how he kept morale up, stayed obsessed with "time to value," and why he thinks AI makes designers more valuable, not less. Turns out getting dumped at the altar might be the best thing that ever happened to you.
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🌱 What We’re Thinking About
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No need to fear Gen Alpha—just be prepared.
They’ve already coined phrases like “delulu” and “main character energy” to explain the world around them. The way they’ll shape brands won’t be subtle either. In our latest post, we break down what makes them tick and how to stay relevant.
Read the full story on Niftic.com →
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💻 Behind The Build
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How do you unite 30+ colleges and countless donors under one digital roof?
When The University of Utah came to us, they needed to replace fragmented fundraising chaos with a unified platform that turns giving into storytelling.
Explore how we built an experience where every dollar has a story and every story inspires action.
Check out this case study on Niftic.com →
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🍿 Design Snack: First Impressions Stick ⚓
This Month's Cognitive Bias: Anchoring. Ever notice how that "original price" makes the sale price feel like a steal? Or how the most expensive option makes everything else seem reasonable? That's anchoring bias—the first number you see becomes your mental reference point for everything that follows.
💡 Quick Tip: Lead with context that frames value. Whether it's pricing tiers, feature comparisons, or even time estimates, the first piece of information sets the stage. Use it strategically to guide perception and make your preferred option feel like the smart choice.
🔍 Real-World Example: Same three pricing tiers, completely different psychology.
The "Do" version uses smart anchoring:
- Premium Plan ($15.99) sits in the middle, visually emphasized
- Flanked by Deluxe ($45.99) above and Basic ($5.99) below
- The high anchor makes Premium feel reasonable, even smart
The "Don't" version kills the anchor:
- Basic Plan leads, setting a low-price expectation
- Premium now feels like "upgrading" rather than the default
- No psychological contrast to make Premium shine
Order matters. The first number users see becomes their measuring stick for value.
💭 Something to Think About: What information are you showing first? Is it anchoring users toward the choice you want them to make—or away from it?
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Strategy + Content. Former English teacher. Professional word wrangler.
Juliana traded the classroom for content strategy, but never lost her love of a well-crafted sentence—or a good book before 9am. Thanks to her sisters nudging her past self-doubt, this Northern Virginia native turned PNW convert now channels heart into words for a living.
When she's not writing copy or hunting for YouTube tutorial gems, you'll find her running the Trail of Ten Falls, crocheting slightly wonky plushies, or asleep 20 minutes into movie night (her fur babies don't judge).
If it needs the right words, she's on it. If it needs answers she doesn't have yet, she'll figure it out—and be honest about it.
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🎶 In the Stack: Oboe
Experimentation should be fast, flexible, and focused on real growth—not buried under red tape.
Enter Oboe stage right. It’s lightweight, powerful, and lets our team (and our clients) run clean experiments without slowing down.
