Josh Puckett
Designer, advisor and investor; co-founded the design practice Iteration and the apprenticeship studio Upperstudy, after leading design teams at Wealthfront, Dropbox and Groupon.
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What they believe
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However fast LLMs are trained on ever-larger datasets, much of what matters lives in the stories, mistakes and habits of individual practitioners
As fast as the hyperscalers are training LLMs on ever-expanding datasets, I think much of what matters lives in stories, mistakes, or habits of individual practitioners.
joshpuckett.meSaid c. 2026This on korrents
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The best use of faster tools is to take the limited scope that is really essential and execute it to a bar people have never seen, instead of creating more scope.
what I think we should all be trying to push towards now that we have tools that help us like go, you know, further, and we can get there faster, and we can explore more surface area. And we should use them for things like this. So, instead of creating more scope, right, how do we take the limited amount of scope that is really essential and just execute it to a bar that, you know, folks maybe haven't have never seen before
youtube.comSaid 12 Mar 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
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25 September
12 March
From one piece Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care 15 beliefs · youtube.com
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Their words
you should be using these new technologies to explore more broadly and go deeper as a result, not just try to do more things or other things, but take what you have and really distill it, refine it, again to its essence, and that's how you make something great.
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Their words
Controversial statement, I think Figma is still really important, but I think what most people use it for is like wrong. The problem with trying to use it to dial in things at full fidelity in Figma is Figma's a lie. It's not your actual code base.
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korrents.com
People often think that collaborating with AI takes something more advanced than is actually needed.Their words
I think folks often think that maybe what you need to collaborate with AI or get it to do something for you is like more advanced than like what is actually needed.
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korrents.com
Building intuition for what works and what does not comes from taking a lot of shots at the goal.Their words
Just take a lot of shots at the goal, right? That is how you start to build your intuition for what works great, what doesn't work great.
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Their words
what do you do with that time? That's where I think designers are uniquely valuable in terms of being able to really think about and push like, okay, what would the ultimate version of this experience be?
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korrents.com
AI compresses a designer's ability to reach for ideas that used to be far out of grasp.Their words
So what AI has enabled is like it compresses your ability to, you know, to reach, right? So it brings those ideas that used to be like way up there.
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korrents.com
After exploring a range of options, reaching a world-class level of execution means going deep on one that works.Their words
once you have one that feels like it works, if what your goal is is to demonstrate what I hope or what I think of as like a a bar setting or like kind of a world class level of execution, you just have to go deep.
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Their words
that builds trust, that builds like perceived value, your affinity to this product increases because it works just a little bit better or differently than you expect it to. And you can apply that everywhere, right? SaaS products, fintech products, whatever it is.
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Their words
that's like really the purest form of of design, where they're solving a problem, which is like, great, you need to eat food, we need to make food for you, and you pay us for that food. But, they're wrapping it in an experience that makes it feel so unique and so differentiated.
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Their words
you should be fighting for what you think is right, not trusting anyone else. Cuz if you do, you're going to dilute that idea and it's going to be worse, most likely.
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Their words
I think that's what makes everything we think of as great design, great design, is it's just really distilled and concentrated into what makes it great, right? And everything else that's not important, that's a nice-to-have, cut that, right?
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korrents.com
It is probably hard for a designer to edit their work too much, even though a sauce can be reduced too far.Their words
I think it would be hard for you as a designer to edit your work too much. It's like you're cooking a sauce, right? And you're trying to reduce it, you're trying to concentrate flavor and make it thicker. You can take it too far in, you know, a cooking world, but in the design world, I'm not sure that you can.
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korrents.com
Practicing restraint is becoming more important as many different things can be done quickly.Their words
it's becoming more important to practice restraint as I can do so many different types of things quickly for the first time ever
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korrents.com
Making something as well as you can and as simply as you can sums up much of what great design is.Their words
just make it as well as you can and make it as simple as you can. And I think that sums up so much of what great design is in a lot of ways
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Their words
what I think we should all be trying to push towards now that we have tools that help us like go, you know, further, and we can get there faster, and we can explore more surface area. And we should use them for things like this. So, instead of creating more scope, right, how do we take the limited amount of scope that is really essential and just execute it to a bar that, you know, folks maybe haven't have never seen before
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16 December 2022
29 October 2018
3 November 2017
20 March 2017
13 June 2016
11 May 2016
19 November 2014
3 May 2014
30 April 2014
9 April 2014
8 January 2014
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 27 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
However fast LLMs are trained on ever-larger datasets, much of what matters lives in the stories, mistakes and habits of individual practitioners
As fast as the hyperscalers are training LLMs on ever-expanding datasets, I think much of what matters lives in stories, mistakes, or habits of individual practitioners.
On Being An Elder Said c. 2026
Open source is as much a community philosophy as a licensing concept
‘Open source’ is as much a community philosophy as it is a licensing concept.
On Being An Elder Said c. 2026
Senior people should speak up against cruelty and dishonesty, because speaking out is much riskier for the young
I think modeling good behavior should be a given, but I think it’s equally important to admonish those demonstrating cruelty, dishonesty, exploitation, or behaviors that otherwise lead to a deteriorating culture or community. One reason why this is particularly important for those with seniority is that when you are young, it is much riskier for a variety of reasons to speak out.
On Being An Elder Said c. 2026
Show 24 more
Experienced people should use their access to connect, refer and sponsor newcomers, not just give advice
Elders should use their access and resources to connect, refer, sponsor, and otherwise hold the door open rather than just offering advice from the other side.
On Being An Elder Said c. 2026
Experienced people in an industry should make themselves available to those coming up
Whether it’s answering emails, reviewing portfolios, or just listening and encouraging, elders should make themselves available to others.
On Being An Elder Said c. 2026
Each generation should speak honestly about its mistakes so they are corrected rather than calcified into harmful traditions
Every generation inherits both the advances and sins of the one prior. I think it’s important to speak honestly about that, and humbly share what we got wrong and the mistakes we made so we can correct them and move forward rather than calcify the status quo into harmful traditions.
On Being An Elder Said c. 2026
Experienced people should not treat their knowledge as complete, especially amid rapid innovation
It is far too easy to regard the knowledge you have as an elder as complete, especially with all of the rapid innovations happening now. Old dogs should still learn new tricks.
On Being An Elder Said c. 2026
What makes someone an elder is service to those coming next, not seniority
Being an elder is less about simply age, and more about turning that time, access, judgement, experience, and refined ability into a way of being that enables those who are coming next. It is this service, not seniority, that makes you an elder.
On Being An Elder Said c. 2026
A scathing public reply is rarely the best way to effect change
I’ve lately seen what I feel is an increase in egregious public behavior, but have to remind myself that the best way to effect change is rarely a scathing reply, as good as that might feel in the moment.
On Being An Elder Said c. 2026
The best use of faster tools is to take the limited scope that is really essential and execute it to a bar people have never seen, instead of creating more scope.
what I think we should all be trying to push towards now that we have tools that help us like go, you know, further, and we can get there faster, and we can explore more surface area. And we should use them for things like this. So, instead of creating more scope, right, how do we take the limited amount of scope that is really essential and just execute it to a bar that, you know, folks maybe haven't have never seen before
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
Making something as well as you can and as simply as you can sums up much of what great design is.
just make it as well as you can and make it as simple as you can. And I think that sums up so much of what great design is in a lot of ways
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
Practicing restraint is becoming more important as many different things can be done quickly.
it's becoming more important to practice restraint as I can do so many different types of things quickly for the first time ever
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
It is probably hard for a designer to edit their work too much, even though a sauce can be reduced too far.
I think it would be hard for you as a designer to edit your work too much. It's like you're cooking a sauce, right? And you're trying to reduce it, you're trying to concentrate flavor and make it thicker. You can take it too far in, you know, a cooking world, but in the design world, I'm not sure that you can.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
What makes everything considered great design great is that it is distilled and concentrated into what makes it great, with the nice-to-haves cut.
I think that's what makes everything we think of as great design, great design, is it's just really distilled and concentrated into what makes it great, right? And everything else that's not important, that's a nice-to-have, cut that, right?
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
Designers should fight for what they think is right rather than trust anyone else, because trusting others will most likely dilute the idea and make it worse.
you should be fighting for what you think is right, not trusting anyone else. Cuz if you do, you're going to dilute that idea and it's going to be worse, most likely.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
A great restaurant may be the purest form of design: it solves a problem, feeding people, while wrapping it in an experience that feels unique and differentiated.
that's like really the purest form of of design, where they're solving a problem, which is like, great, you need to eat food, we need to make food for you, and you pay us for that food. But, they're wrapping it in an experience that makes it feel so unique and so differentiated.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
Details that show care build trust and perceived value, and affinity for a product increases when it works a little better or differently than expected, in any kind of product.
that builds trust, that builds like perceived value, your affinity to this product increases because it works just a little bit better or differently than you expect it to. And you can apply that everywhere, right? SaaS products, fintech products, whatever it is.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
After exploring a range of options, reaching a world-class level of execution means going deep on one that works.
once you have one that feels like it works, if what your goal is is to demonstrate what I hope or what I think of as like a a bar setting or like kind of a world class level of execution, you just have to go deep.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
AI compresses a designer's ability to reach for ideas that used to be far out of grasp.
So what AI has enabled is like it compresses your ability to, you know, to reach, right? So it brings those ideas that used to be like way up there.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
When implementation gets faster, designers are uniquely valuable for what they do with the extra time, such as pushing toward the ultimate version of an experience.
what do you do with that time? That's where I think designers are uniquely valuable in terms of being able to really think about and push like, okay, what would the ultimate version of this experience be?
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
Building intuition for what works and what does not comes from taking a lot of shots at the goal.
Just take a lot of shots at the goal, right? That is how you start to build your intuition for what works great, what doesn't work great.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
People often think that collaborating with AI takes something more advanced than is actually needed.
I think folks often think that maybe what you need to collaborate with AI or get it to do something for you is like more advanced than like what is actually needed.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
Figma is still important, but using it to dial in full fidelity is probably the wrong use, because it is not the actual code base.
Controversial statement, I think Figma is still really important, but I think what most people use it for is like wrong. The problem with trying to use it to dial in things at full fidelity in Figma is Figma's a lie. It's not your actual code base.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
New technologies should be used to explore more broadly and go deeper, not to do more things, and distilling and refining to the essence is how something great is made.
you should be using these new technologies to explore more broadly and go deeper as a result, not just try to do more things or other things, but take what you have and really distill it, refine it, again to its essence, and that's how you make something great.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
So much of design is iteration and discovery: stumbling on something better by sticking with an intent for one more iteration.
that's a good example, I think, of so much of design is just iteration and discovery. I might have an intent, but stumbling upon something like this is is just sticking with it, right? And just going like one more iteration.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
When exploring, you want to feel in reality as quickly as possible what the result of your choices is.
the whole thing here is you want to be able to as quickly as possible feel in reality like what the result is of your choices.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
When working with AI, intent and being able to play with the outcome matter more than knowing the technical language.
What's more important there is like your intent and being able to play with the outcome.
Josh Puckett - Crafting interfaces with uncommon care Said 12 Mar 2026
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Where they publish
Site joshpuckett.me Their own page: who they are and the projects they make.
A short page listing their work and side projects: Interface Craft, Letters of Love, DialKit, and small font tools for the Mac. No feed.
Link verified 4 Oct 2026.
Site Interface Craft Their library on designing interfaces with uncommon care.
A working library of their notes on interface craft, much of it behind a sign-in. Listed as their project on joshpuckett.me.
Link verified 4 Oct 2026.
x.com @joshpuckett Interface design, craft details and what they are reading.
Where they post most: interface studies, notes on design craft, and the occasional reading list.
Link verified 4 Oct 2026.
Interviews As a guest Long-form interviews on other people’s channels, chosen and not exhaustive.
Their own voice by their own participation: interviews they chose to sit for. Dive Club’s hour with them on design and AI.
Link verified 4 Oct 2026.
GitHub joshpuckett DialKit and their other small design tools.
The code for DialKit, a floating control panel for tuning interface parameters live, and their other tools.
Recent
- dialkit — A library to help you dial in interface parameters of any kind 25 Sept 2026
- pasito — A tiny, themeable, dependency-free fluid stepper component. 4 Mar 2026
- bloom — A morphing pull-down button component for react. 8 Jan 2026
Show 12 more
- claude — A collection of Claude skills 4 Jan 2026
- pub — My public files 16 Dec 2022
- FramerModules — Modules that extend Framer.js 29 Oct 2018
- Ristretto — A simple status bar app to get ambient coffeeshop sounds 3 Nov 2017
- flex-grid — The simplest and smallest flex-box based responsive grid system in the world 20 Mar 2017
- SketchPlugins — A git repo for my Sketch plugins 13 Jun 2016
- testing 11 May 2016
- FSMirror — A quick iOS app to take advantage of mirroring in Framer Studio 19 Nov 2014
- FrameviewOSX — Native OSX app to view Framer prototypes 3 May 2014
- FramerWebView — A web viewer for Framer.JS prototypes 30 Apr 2014
- PRY — An app that sends device info to Quartz Composer 9 Apr 2014
- ColorTweak — A simple app to test various blurring and color combinations for image thumbs. 8 Jan 2014
Link verified 4 Oct 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
About the English under a post
Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.
The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.
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