Design, Creativity, Systems, and Potential in the Agentic Age with Jem Gold

As we put our course together, I want to have conversations with people who are thinking about things deeply, creatively, and responsibly. That's why it was an absolute pleasure to chat with my long-time internet friend, Jem Gold, technology as a creative medium, the soul of the early web, and the new era of AI-assisted making.

💥 Want to learn how to use AI & Design Systems together to make great digital products? Preorder our AI & Design Systems online course and join our vibrant community here: https://aianddesign.systems/

Topics Covered:

◉The counterculture lineage of the web and why reclaiming it matters now
◉ Technology as artistic expression — Jem's concept of the "technology artist"
◉ The flow state in music and how it translates to building with technology
◉ Should designers code? Why the answer is changing fast
◉ Skill-driven development and teaching LLMs how to design (not just what to build)
◉ One-shotting beautiful, branded interfaces with minimal input
◉ Jem shows off some wonderful one-shotted demos
◉ Generative UI as superposition: interfaces that adapt to the person observing them
◉ Design systems, Web Components, and building durable foundations for a non-deterministic future
◉ AI as a creative process tool — not replacing the music, but clearing the way for it
◉ ADHD as a superpower in the agentic era

Links & Resources:
◉ Jem's newsletter: https://superposition.jem.computer
- Support Jem and her work for $8/month; and use code JEMANDBRAD for an annual discount
◉ Jenny Wen's interview on Lenny's Podcast: • The design process is dead. Here's what's ...
◉ The Grid (Jem's AI design startup, ca. 2015) https://thegrid.io/
◉ Everything Just Gets Built: https://superposition.jem.computer/ev...
◉ I Don't Miss Code https://superposition.jem.computer/i-...
◉ Real-Time UI https://bradfrost.com/blog/post/real-...
◉ "Ghostwriter" by RJD2 drum/synth cover • Ghostwriter by RJD2 - 

• (00:00) - Chapter 1

Creators and Guests

Host

Brad Frost

Creator, web designer & developer, teacher, consultant, speaker, writer, musician, & artist. Author of Atomic Design. Enthusiasm enthusiast.

Guest

Jem Gold

your favorite technologists’favorite technologist

What is Wake Up Excited!?

Inspiring conversations with exuberant humans about how to live a creative, fulfilling, and authentic life. Hosted by enthusiasm enthusiast, Brad Frost.

We experience a brief moment of truth when we first wake up in the morning. Before the cold shower of reality, our infinite to-do lists, and macro-level woes seize our consciousness. We experience a brief moment of excitement — and this pure moment tells us something important about ourselves.

There are people out there who seem to move through life with intention, authenticity, creativity, kindness, and enthusiasm. And they do this despite the deeply inperfect world we inhabit. This podcast is an attempt to learn from these people.

Through wide-ranging conversations, Wake Up Excited explores guests' passions, interests, enthusiasms, and philosophy of life.