Clarity

A lot of work that looks like design, strategy, or communication is really about closing the gap between what something is and how it comes across. When that gap narrows, things start to work. These posts are about that process. Seeing properly, explaining properly, and shaping things so they make sense, both to the people building them and the people using them.

Untangling Design Strategy

All essays in Clarity

  1. The cost of features 1st of July 2026 It's relatively straightforward to estimate the effort involved in building a feature, whether that's in time, money or complexity. Estimating the value it might create is much harder. But that's the more interesting question. What is a feature actually worth?
  2. Make it professional, make it pop 20th of April 2026 “Make it look professional.” “Make it look good.” “Make it pop.” None of these are especially clear design instructions. But they are often useful all the same.
  3. Obvious in hindsight 11th of September 2025 Good design often disappears into the background, leaving outcomes that feel obvious only in hindsight, even when the path there was anything but simple.
  4. Writing to think 27th of May 2022 I've been thinking a lot about why I write here, and what I get out of it, and I’ve realised it’s a handful of things.
  5. What is its job? 20th of May 2022 When a project gets stuck at the level of deliverables, asking ‘what is its job?’ shifts the conversation back to value, purpose, and outcomes.
  6. On asking why, copying, and outcome bias 12th of May 2022 I seem to go through a cycle of thinking I ask ‘why’ way too much, and then, shortly after, that I don’t ask ‘why’ nearly enough.
  7. The unknown knowns 9th of July 2020 Last month I suddenly realised I knew far more about a topic than I'd previously thought. This got me thinking about those unknown knowns — the things we don't realise we already know or understand.
  8. Where are you Siri? 24th of April 2020 I talk to my phone, my wrist, my iPad and, occasionally, my computer. I ask them to remind me of things, I ask what the weather will be like, I ask them to time something for me. Sometimes I ask them something more complex, and, sometimes, they help with that too.
  9. Cost, price, value 14th of April 2020 I find myself scribbling this diagram — Cost | Price | Value — and working through these ideas with people, frequently so I thought I’d write it up and share some brief notes here. I'm writing this as much for myself — to clarify my thoughts and have something to point people to — as to share.
  10. How to think about your next website 5th of April 2016 There are three things that I talk through with any client when I’m talking about websites: goals, launch, and 'the whole'.
  11. On design 12th of July 2012 Design is about problem solving - working within constraints to achieve a certain, set, and ideally measurable goal. However, the bulk of a designer's role is getting to that problem.

© Alex Magill