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TLDR DESIGN 2026-09-17

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02OPINIONS & TUTORIALS

SIX COMMON MISTAKES IN DESIGN TOKENS NAMING

Weak design token names slow searches, inflate duplicates, and turn governance into guesswork, according to six recurring naming mistakes design systems teams make. Common pitfalls include naming tokens after components too early, baking current values like colors or pixel sizes directly into names, and reordering name segments inconsistently. Other traps are mixing casing and separators, using vague modifiers like "primary" without defined scope, and renaming tokens without a phased migration and alias strategy.

designtokens.substack.com4 min read

DESIGNING WITH CHILDREN, NOT FOR THEM

A free handbook from Save the Children Finland outlines how to co-design digital products with children rather than for them, through consent, play, and trust-building. Practical techniques include sitting at a child's eye level, using pictures and props instead of direct interviews, and capping group sessions at six children per two adults. Success is measured by how heard a child felt rather than what adults intended, since children lose motivation quickly and need visible, steady progress.

smart-interface-design-patterns.com6 min read

FOR THE DESIGNLESS

AI hasn't changed what designers do—it has changed who can attempt design, making creative tools accessible to people who previously lacked the knowledge or budget to create effective visual communication. The key distinction is between users who genuinely benefit from AI assistance, those whose handmade work is more authentic than polished output, and businesses that use AI simply to cut corners, with the greatest value coming from helping underserved users create better, culturally relevant designs through strong visual references. The future of AI-assisted design depends less on generating attractive visuals and more on producing work that reflects local context and authentic visual traditions instead of generic, homogenized aesthetics.

links.tldrnewsletter.com13 min read

03LAUNCHES & TOOLS

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handsontable.comTool

04MISCELLANEOUS

PRODUCT STRATEGY STARTS WITH WHAT YOU WILL NOT BUILD

Product strategy is defined by what a team explicitly refuses to build, not merely a revenue goal paired with a feature list. Marty Cagan calls the choice of which problems to solve the strategy layer sitting above both discovery and delivery, one most companies skip entirely. Three tools do the work: Playing to Win's nested choices, Rumelt's kernel as a fluff detector, and Biddle's Netflix-born DHM, while roadmaps merely sequence the bets.

uxcrush.com15 min read

THE DESIGNER WHO DREW CURSOR'S ICONS

Marek Minor, founder of Amsterdam studio Minor Adventures, spent a year hand-drawing Cursor's entire icon set of more than 600 icons in two sizes and styles. The set replaced Cursor's inherited VS Code Codicons, with Minor working closely with Head of Design Ryo through explorations like 156 versions of a single hamburger icon. AI helped him think through concepts and build companion tools like a migration dashboard, but he drew every icon by hand and still maintains the set today.

casestudy.club9 min read

HOW RECENT™ GAVE SPECTRUM ONE IDENTITY FOR MUSIC, WELLNESS AND PLACE

Spectrum's refreshed identity is built around three core pillars—Ritual, Pulse, and Body—which are woven into an interlaced "S" logo that symbolizes the festival's blend of music, wellness, and community. The flexible visual system uses a spectrum of purple hues, New Edge 666 typography, abstract gradients and halftones, and a practical pill-shaped information system that adapts seamlessly across signage, merchandise, and digital touchpoints. Rather than relying on clichés of Aruba or festival culture, the brand expresses the island through its content and experiences, creating a premium identity that can shift effortlessly between high-energy nightlife and calm wellness moments.

the-brandidentity.com5 min read