United by Design
Adrian Secord on breaking silos (and metaphors) to build better UX
Design Notes is a podcast by Liam Spradlin about creative work and what it teaches us. This season begins with a special series celebrating ten years since the launch of Material Design, which explores the inception, evolution, and future of Google’s design system.
The fourth episode in the series features Adrian Secord, who describes himself as a “roving engineer.” He has over a decade of experience building systems and tools that transform design into robust product engineering at scale. Here, he reflects on the evolution of Material Design and the (potentially) exciting possibilities for AI-driven UI. He shares insights on the complexities of large-scale design systems and highlights the need for designers and engineers to find common ground.
In this episode, Adrian Secord speaks about…
The many Google design systems that emerged from Material:
“There are many design systems at Google and they’re children of Material Design in a very literal sense. Maps will have their own design system, and Search has their own... They’re all born from Material Design, but they have their own local work to specialize to their domain.”
How different kinds of UI can educate people about how to use them:
“Video games are really interesting, because people aren’t surprised that they have to learn the interface every time they sit down with a new game.”
Striking a balance between design and engineering:
“There is forever a tension between design and engineering. And ideally it’s a creative tension that great things come out of, but sometimes it’s a little tricky.”
How designers and engineers should walk in each other’s shoes:
“In an ideal world, I would love every single like UI designer to have engineering experience. And I would love every single engineer out there to have to go through a design sprint and a design crit.”
The twists and turns of AI development:
“I have a hard time imagining a fully AI-driven UI, but I would be excited to be wrong.”
Design by Specht Studio x Google Design. Motion by Yanis Berrewaerts.