The Planning Inspectorate

Interaction Designer

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Department for Education

Ministry of Justice UK

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS)

Sage

UX Designer

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

Frontend Developer/Interaction Designer

KIDLY

Financial Times

JUST EAT

UX Prototyper

I’m an interaction designer and a GDS trained design assessor. I have good knowledge of the GOV.UK Service Manual, GOV.UK Design System, GOV.UK Frontend and GOV.UK Style Guide.

Here’s my story:

When I was 16 years old, I wanted to design logos and websites.

I had an eye for design, but lacked the practical skill to do it. So I ended up going into frontend development which was more technical.

But most of the designers I worked with gave me complicated and inaccessible designs to implement.

Sometimes I’d suggest changes to simplify the design and improve accessibility. But no matter how solid my rationale or how simple my solution, I couldn’t convince the designers to make changes.

I felt frustrated having to go back to my desk to implement designs which were harder to build, inaccessible and slow to load.

As a result, I started to believe that designers only cared about aesthetics.

In 2014, my wife and I had our home renovated just in time for the arrival of our first baby. But three weeks into a new six-month contract, I was let go. I’d never had so much responsibility and so little money.

But I got a new contract as a UX prototyper at Just Eat, the UK’s leading takeaway delivery service.

Prior to this role I wasn’t part of the design process. So by the time designs were given to me to implement, it always felt too late to give feedback and suggest changes.

But at Just Eat I was embedded in the design team where I could influence solutions from the start.

To my surprise, the designers there weren’t just focused on aesthetics; they cared about UX. We did user research, ran A/B tests and tracked performance.

I worked closely with Mark Jenkins, the lead designer. But he wasn’t like the other designers I had worked with before. He listened to what I had to say and valued it. He advocated for doing the most basic thing, doing it quickly and learning. He didn’t fuss over pixels.

Most importantly, he showed me that, not only was it possible to be a designer like this but that it was better to be a designer like this.

For example, we redesigned the checkout journey by using the most basic and accessible solution. The result was an increased conversion of 5% – 37,000 orders a week.

Mark also encouraged me to start a blog. And 2 of my early posts went viral on Hacker News (multiple times over).

I realised I wasn’t alone and that others resonated with my design philosophy.

Now I’m trying to be the designer I wish I got to work with when I was a dev.

You can find links to my newsletter and courses below ↓

Adam Silver

Github’s Design System now bans toast messages.

In case you don’t know, toast messages are little messages shown on top of the UI to give feedback about an action that you’ve just taken.

Banning toast messages is an excellent decision because they have bad UX and are terrible for accessibility.

Here’s a few reasons why:

(1) They disappear automatically after a few seconds (at best this is stressful, at worst you’ll miss it)

(2) They obscure the content underneath which is frustrating and slows users down.

(3) They’re hard to spot because they’re small and shown at the edge of the screen.

And there are plenty of other issues which I’ll link to below if you’re keen.

Let’s hope Github bans tooltips next.

Designer with engineering background | I talk about designing products that are ridiculously simple and accessible to use.

Webpage titled "Toasts" explaining that GitHub no longer uses toast notifications due to accessibility and usability concerns, with an overview and recommendation to avoid them.

Pavle Lucic

Senior UI/UX Designer @ Toptal | Prototyping, Branding, UI Development

I am a Senior UI/UX Designer at Toptal, a network of the world's top 3% of software engineering, design, and finance talent. With over 10 years of experience in the design industry, I have a proven track record of creating visually engaging and user-friendly interfaces for in-car navigation systems, SaaS apps, and marketing websites.

My background in business and economics gives me a unique perspective on how to design UX and UI that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also functional, efficient, and user-friendly. I am passionate about solving complex problems, collaborating with diverse teams, and learning new skills. I am also Adwords Search Certified, which demonstrates my ability to optimize the online presence and performance of my clients. My goal is to help tech companies increase their revenue by improving the user experience of their products.

Senior UI/UX Desiger

A lead designer once told me, “We don’t have time for UX research.”

I said, “Then you’ll make time for rework.”

Because that’s the tradeoff.

If you skip qualitative research, your next sprint will be filled with fixes.
If you skip quantitative research, your next decision will be based on vibes.

I’ve seen this mistakes with every single design team I’ve worked with. 

Zero exceptions. 
Myself included.

Here’s the cycle that works:

Qualitative → Design → Quantitative → Refine.
Talk → Build → Measure → Repeat.

Let me explain:

Qualitative research makes people care.
Quantitative research makes people act.

Together? They make decisions make sense

Through numbers, you measure behavior.
Through stories, you understand it.

My process allows me to:

1. Design with confidence, not assumptions
2. Balance empathy with research evidence
3. Build products users actually want

Every great product you admire was built this way.

Skip a step and you’ll build twice.

(Repost ♻️ if this hits home.)

P.S. Which step do you usually skip first talking or testing?

Senior UI/UX Product Designer | UX Strategy | Figma

I once told a junior designer:

“You are better than me.”

She froze.
Then shook her head.

But I meant it.

Her instincts fast.
Her ideas were fresh.
Her courage fearless.

We spend so much time chasing recognition that we forget how powerful respect can be.

Better designers don’t diminish you.
They define what’s next for you.

When you respect greatness without envy, you create room for your own.

Respect over recognition. Always.

P.S. Who’s one designer you quietly respect more than anyone else? Tag them.

If I could go back 10 years…

I wouldn’t change the tools I used.
I wouldn’t change my niche.
I wouldn’t change my style.

Instead?

I’d only change one thing.
I’d start designing badly… sooner.

Because every “ugly” design, every failed concept, every 3-hour layout that still looked wrong…all of it built the instinct I have now.

That instinct?
It’s why I can deliver a clean result in 20 minutes today.

The minutes are visible.
The decade is invisible.

And that’s the part that matters most.

Stop trying to be perfect.
Start trying to build your years.

Because once your decade is strong…
your 20-minute magic becomes inevitable.

(Repost if you wish you started earlier ♻️)

P.S. What’s the earliest design software you ever used?

I rarely write posts like this. (Please read.)

Because this one… hits deep.

There’s a quiet suffering in the design industry nobody talks about enough.

Designers with years of practice… still feeling invisible.
Designers with real talent… still apologizing for their prices.
Designers with serious skill… still losing work to “someone cheaper.”
Designers who give everything… still fighting imposter syndrome daily.
Designers with burning ambition… still wondering if they’ll ever be seen.

Let me keep this short:

If you’re a designer, feeling undervalued right now you’re not alone. 
Every good designer has been there.

If you’ve ever questioned your worth you’re also not alone. 
Every great designer questions themselves.

If you’re silently hurting because your talent isn’t seen please know: 
the world is full of clients who will see you.

The pain is real. But it is not permanent.

You’re building a career people don’t understand…
until they desperately need you.

Stick around. Your breakthrough is coming.

(Repost if someone needs this reminder ♻️)

P.S. Leave a comment not for engagement, but for solidarity.

Every designer eventually realizes this:

You don’t need more tools.
You don’t need more plugins.
You don’t need more fancy software.

You need a better eye.

And your eye is shaped by principles of design.
Not by features.

Once I understood that, everything changed:

• My work finally had rhythm
• Spacing started to make sense
• Visual decisions became intentional
• Layouts stopped feeling “accidental”

And suddenly… my work looked cleaner without adding anything new

The day I stopped chasing trends and started studying why designs work…
Was the day my growth finally clicked.

Your career changes the moment you stop decorating
and start designing with principles.

P.S. Did you have a moment when design suddenly started making sense?

taplio

The Battle

Adam Silver

Pavle Lucic

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreAdam Silver's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScorePavle Lucic's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Adam Silver

Pavle Lucic

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Adam Silver's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScorePavle Lucic's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreAdam Silver's LinkedIn Performance