{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"State of Play","title":"Lee Black: He Makes Figma Do Things It Wasn't Designed For.","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/4acfcf1a\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3250,"description":"Lee Black has been designing for 25 years. He made those Figma pills with goldfish swimming inside. He also ran an app company that nearly broke him.We talked about chasing money that never made him happy, why his tool stack hasn't really changed in a decade, and what happens when you master your tools so deeply that the rules start to bend.Get the UX Tools Newsletter (written by me)Join 100,000+ designers for weekly insights on creative software and the people shaping it: https://uxtools.coCHAPTERS:00:00 - \"It's not about learning everything\"01:59 - Taking apart toys to understand how they work04:35 - Speed vs. quality07:19 - Music came first09:29 - His tool stack (it's simpler than you think)11:03 - \"It hasn't really changed that much\"12:44 - ChatGPT as an ideas buddy14:40 - How Midlife Engineering was born16:10 - What \"polish\" means to him18:17 - The Matrix scene that started the pills20:36 - \"I want to put a fucking goldfish in there\"21:09 - Designing with restraint23:27 - Dieter Rams as jazz, not gospel26:03 - Protecting taste when you scale31:05 - The app company that broke him48:16 - Advice for designers struggling right now51:57 - If nothing mattered, what would you work on?ABOUT TOMMY GEOCOI spent 15+ years in tech and design. Former military. Father of five. Now building Internet Enjoyers, a weird little media + product studio rediscovering soul in creative tech.ABOUT STATE OF PLAYHost Tommy Geoco discovers what fuels the internet's most interesting designers and builders.LINKS:UX Tools Newsletter: https://uxtools.coFollow Lee Black: https://x.com/mrblackstudio1042 Studio: https://1042.studioMidlife Engineering: https://midlife.engineeringFOLLOW ME:X / Twitter: https://x.com/designertomInstagram: https://instagram.com/itsdesignertomLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tommygeoco","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/Q4goNjMCyLVJblsVd-hc65Y9xpTGIkbjq5L00Huluhg/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kZTM4/NTdjYjhlYmI5NzU0/YjRlNDNkMjFiNDgy/NTRhNi5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}