Yusuf Algan

Writing

Notes on product, design, and building things.

  1. · 1 min read

    At senior levels, the portfolio stops being the signal

    The more senior a designer gets, the less a case study tells you. What actually matters is whether they can operate.

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  2. · 1 min read

    Building Rawi, by intention

    Actions are by intentions. Notes on building a product in the margins of a full-time job — listening to users, iterating fast, small bets.

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  3. · 6 min read

    Why adoption, not technology, determines whether digital and AI programs succeed

    Most digital and AI programs underperform not because the tech fails, but because adoption never becomes the default way of working. Three patterns I keep seeing — and what changes when design enters early.

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  4. · 1 min read

    Would people still use it if the "AI" label disappeared?

    Any product built around a technology rather than a real problem burns out fast. Three questions to ask before you build.

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  5. · 1 min read

    Design is responsibility, not just recognition

    A designer's view — everything around us is designed, and when it's designed thoughtlessly, it rarely serves the human. A small example from Abu Dhabi's streets.

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