Charlie Deets
Designer at The Browser Company working on Dia, previously on the Human Interface Design team at Apple and the fourth designer at WhatsApp.
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What they believe
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In utility-style apps especially, practical decisions sometimes end up being the most valuable and the least disruptive for people coming from something else.
But when working on utility style apps especially, sometimes the practical decisions end up being the most valuable and cause the least interruption of like user experiences if they're coming from something else.
youtube.comSaid 29 Jul 2026This on korrents
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Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 18 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
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In utility-style apps especially, practical decisions sometimes end up being the most valuable and the least disruptive for people coming from something else.
But when working on utility style apps especially, sometimes the practical decisions end up being the most valuable and cause the least interruption of like user experiences if they're coming from something else.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
Simple, practical decisions executed at a really high level often give a feeling of confidence in the experience.
if you have these simple practical decisions that are executed at a really high level, I think it gives you a feeling of confidence often with like the experience you're interacting with.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
It is really important that people have a framework of thinking of their own for what they want to do with design, because tools are changing rapidly and it is easy to be pulled into a tool that then guides your path.
it's really important that people have like a framework of thinking for themselves defining what they want to be doing with design because like as you know tools are changing rapidly around us and it's very easy to get pulled into the tool and the tool guides your path of like what you're doing more
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
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Holding a framework of your own becomes thematic across your work, so people know what you want to do and you get the kind of work you want.
I do really think over the course of a lot of different work that you make if you really have something like that, it starts to be thematic through your work and then like people know what you want to do and you'll get the type of work that you want to be doing.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
A designer's edge now is pulling things back, making them simpler and more understandable, because everyone can kind of execute right now.
I I can pull things back. I can make it simpler. I can make it more understandable for the user. And yes, I care about making sure that button works exactly right or whatever. And I could have went in in there and fixed it. But if I keep staying like on this end of the equation where I'm thinking in this realm, I'm more novel over there than I am in the execution realm cuz like everyone can kind of execute right now.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
Communication is also a skill of design, more than anything: being able to communicate quickly and set the boundaries of what is being done, what is not, and how far to take it.
Communication is also a skill of design more than anything. And being able to communicate quickly, get it through, like set the boundaries of what we're doing, what we're not doing, like how far to take it.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
Design is kind of going to turn into making more successful decisions.
Because that's the thing that I think is the highest value of me in the future is like if I could make more successful decisions, then I think that's kind of what design is going to turn into.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
Decisions often require an extra level of awareness than you expect, and taking a beat to reconsider the deeper set of options before deciding sometimes prevents you from going down a bad path.
often decisions require an extra level of awareness than you even expect, right? Like it may seem simple in the moment, but you at least taking a beat before the decision and like reconsidering the deeper set of options every time prevents you sometimes from pigeon hauling down into a bad path.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
Apple goes back to the beginning better than anyone else, partly because its one-year release cycle makes that disruption an expected part of the process.
this is something I think Apple just does better than anyone else. And I think it's partially because of sort of this like one-year release cycle thing. It's like at any point in that cycle, you can kind of be like, is this really the right way? And you can go back to the beginning and it's like people kind of almost expect that disruption as part of the process.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
If you hold on to a product's values through its life, people will believe in it and trust it.
I saw like, oh, if you hold on to those values through a product's life, people will believe in it. They'll like trust it, right?
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
The counterpoint to simple design is that people want fewer tools a lot of the time.
I think the counterpoint to simple design is that people want less tools a lot of the time if I can do it in notion I'll do it in notion cuz I already use notion
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
Sometimes the obvious solution is the right solution.
we also have this like counter opinion which is like sometimes the obvious solution is the right solution.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
Impulsiveness in decisions can be problematic, but impulsiveness in design should be facilitated all the time: try the random thought and go down that path.
this is the counterpoint to my impulsive conversation earlier, which is like impulsiveness in decisions can be problematic in the way that you can make bad decisions. But impulsiveness in your design is actually something I think you should facilitate all the time because trying out like one random thought pops into your head, go down that path.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
The small quality moments come from wasting time: if you are not playing or messing around, you won't come to them.
I think it's it's just about wasting time I guess I I would describe it I can stay on task I have these things that are really important and I have to get them done because you know the company has goals and like all these things are moving things forward, but if you're not playing or you're not like messing around, you won't come to those moments.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
Presenting well means aggressively guiding the conversation to a point where everyone is on the same page, giving context as fast and as clearly as possible.
I have a pretty particular strategy for presenting information, which is I really aggressively guide the conversation to a certain point. Like I want people to be on the same page when they're having the conversation. And that often requires me giving context as fast as possible, but as clear as possible to get people up to speed with where I'm at.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
It is more important to pose a question to be answered, so that by the end of the conversation everyone can agree it was answered.
But like, but it's more important that I provide a question to have an answer to so that at the end of whatever conversation we're having, we can all agree that we answered that question.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
Reduce the information you present to the essential points; people will ask whatever they need to fill in the gaps.
I try to reduce the information that I'm presenting down to just like the essential points because people are going to ask whatever question they need to know to fill in the gaps.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
People really appreciate collaborative designers who are willing to work with you and come to it with excitement.
people really appreciate collaborative designers, people who are willing to work with you and whatever you're thinking about, but also, you know, coming to it with like an excitement.
Charlie Deets - Designing the internet computer Said 29 Jul 2026
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Where they publish
Site charliedeets.com Personal site: work, timeline, photos and writing.
Short essays on his design principles (Simple design, Choosing the obvious solution, Death by papercuts), case pages for his work at Apple and WhatsApp, a timeline that runs to 2026, photos, and a links page of interviews and press.
Link verified 4 Oct 2026.
x.com @charliedeets His X account.
Not read here (x.com shows a login wall to a logged-out reader); listed because both his own site and the Dive Club description point to it.
Link verified 4 Oct 2026.
Interviews As a guest Long-form interviews on other people’s channels, chosen and not exhaustive.
His own voice by his own participation: interviews he chose to sit for. Dive Club’s hour on designing Dia, his personal design principles, simplicity, craft details and presenting design work.
Link verified 4 Oct 2026.
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