SwiftUI
The SwiftUI Detour
Since SwiftUI is the future of Apple development, I wanted to experiment by rebuilding some of my UIKit views with it.
Shawn Hickman
Design
Why Your Design System Isn’t Working
This is a webinar I did with Amanda Kalk back in the spring for Think Company. About When it comes to implementing a design system, success is an eternally moving target. Evolution and maintenance are critical over time, but how do you recognize the catalysts and symptoms that mean your
Interviews
Creators Campfire Podcast Interview
I was interviewed for the Creators Campfire podcast the other day and had a great time. We chatted about Sofa, app development, and more. If you prefer to listen as a podcast, you can do so here.
Design
Understanding Design Systems
As part of my work at Think Company, I did a webinar for people new to design systems. It goes over what design systems are, the value they bring to teams and organizations, and the foundational knowledge you’ll need before starting your own system. Resources Mentioned Design Systems * Google’
Sofa
Thinking Through Custom Items in Sofa
I recently added the ability for people to save custom items to Sofa. This post outlines the thinking behind the feature and how it works. Two of the main reasons people find Sofa so enjoyable to use are the rich display of the various media types and the mixing of
Posts
Moving from Gatsby to WordPress
For the past year or so this site has been running on Gatsby.js. Gatsby is a static site generator built with React. I had built some stuff with it at work and decided to give it a try for my personal blog. The process ended up being too tedious
Sofa
Implementing iOS 13 Dark Mode Settings in Sofa
In iOS 13, people will be able to choose a light or dark “theme” that will apply system wide. Regardless of what you think about dark mode, apps that don’t adopt this will stick out like a sore thumb. Luckily, Sofa already has a dark mode, but I needed
Posts
How to Make Expandable Elements Less Confusing
Expandable elements are extremely common across desktop and mobile apps. So common in fact that you might be wondering why I’m spending time writing about this. Things that are common are not always well understood. A well-designed expandable element comes down to the placement and rotation of the caret
Posts
Things to Keep in Mind When Designing Native Mobile Apps
You’ve been designing web apps for years, and you’re a total pro at it. Well done! Now you have to design your first native app and you’re not quite sure where to start. Don’t worry. The good thing is most of your web design knowledge is
Posts
Design System Resources
This is a list of resources for design systems. Hopefully, it will be as helpful to you as it is to me. This will be updated as I come across more design system goodies. System Examples These are examples of design systems that I reference frequently. Either for their content,
Posts
Tom Bihn Synik 22 Research
I’m looking at purchasing a Tom Bihn Synik 22. These are resources I’m collecting to help me decide if I should purchase. I’ll be updating this resource as I come across more info. Written Reviews & Forum Discussions * Synik 22 / 30 Questions & Answers * Review: Tom Bihn
Sofa
Fixing Sofa’s Tight-Coupling Problem with Coordinators
Sofa was suffering from a tight-coupling problem between view controllers. I discovered this while trying to refactor my massive controllers. I stumbled upon the coordinator pattern, which ended up being a great solution. A quick note I’m a beginner when it comes to iOS development, and the coordinator pattern