Campfire
Answering questions from readers about design, freelancing, building skills, switching careers, and anything else that makes you scratch your mind.
When to use radio buttons vs. drop-downs?
🔥 Campfire 33: Two important input controls are radio buttons and drop-down menus. Both can be used interchangeably when user input is required.
Creating a scalable data table component in Figma
Campfire 32: Data is meaningless unless it can be visualized and acted upon. The success of future industries will be a combination of advanced data collection and improved user experience, and the data table will represent a large portion of this user experience.
Improving the readability of content cards
🔥 Campfire 31: Content cards are a popular way to organize content in app design. Cards allow users to browse high-level information while consuming samples before clicking on the card to get the full details.
Recommended books for designers of all levels
🔥 Campfire 30: Regardless of your education, you must understand the fundamentals of the field. These books will provide you with that solid foundation, allowing you to think differently about design and inspire your next design project.
Is it valuable to learn to code as a designer?
🔥 Campfire 29: Learning to code is invaluable if you want to be an outstanding designer. You start thinking about problem-solving in new and abstract ways.
Campfire 28: How to show your clients you’re an expert designer without saying it?
As I’m starting my freelancing business, how do I show my clients that I’m an expert? Ideally, I don’t have to tell it verbally.
Campfire 27: Is it okay to say "no" to the client?
🧭 Weekly discovery: How money changes the way you think and feel; on Apple Notes for productivity, and more.
Campfire 26: How to uncover your customer’s needs, so you know what to design next?
Great designers use questions to identify opportunities, reveal underlying needs, and understand user context to help teams and stakeholders make better decisions.
Campfire 25: Practical time-management tip for product designers
As product designers, we’re all familiar with white space. The term is directly associated with design, but I was wondering why don’t we apply such design principles to our own lives?
Campfire 24: How to find your target audience as a freelance designer?
As a freelancer, it's your job to define your target audience rather than allowing it to define yourself. Then, once you've identified your target audience, you go after them, track them down, and persuade them that you're the ideal designer for them to work with.
