Daniel Burka

This year’s FFConf is shaping up to be genuinely unmissable. So …um, you know …don’t miss it: https://2026.ffconf.org/ I’ll see you there! 🔗 https://adactio.com/notes/22807

We just launched a massive overhaul of the Healthicons.org website. New UI, new filters, and better mobile design overall.

Dear Indian friends... if I say that an event is at noon, does that mean: A) 12pm B) A vague time in the early afternoon C) Something else?

Good writers are incredibly necessary to society because they can find the story in the mundane. And we need a lot more fucking mundane around here.

Want a sneak-peak of a brand new, beautifully designed tool for policy makers to make better decisions? Check out the latest @hardproblems.com newsletter — we feature a new app called Forest. The video has never been seen before and is really cool. newsletter.hardproblems.com/p/design-for...

I did a very unusual podcast interview last week — Alen Faljic interviews founders 'on the couch' to talk about what it's like to be a founder and to discuss your biggest fears. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXBF...

We just published a new article on Hard Problems. Elyce shares the best websites for tech people and designers who want to do meaningful work on problems like healthcare and climate change. Find the best communities, the best content, and great resources. www.hardproblems.com/articles/web...

What are the best climate-related newsletters? Any particularly for designers or technologists? I really like the Our World in Data "Brief" newsletter but I'm looking for others. ourworldindata.org

We just started a new series where we interview design teams that work on gnarly problems. Our first interview was with Resolve to Save Lives. Their design team is trying to help save lives from heart disease around the world. Who we should interview next? www.hardproblems.com/articles/des...

We just shared several amazing opportunities for designers on the job board: - Senior Product Design at Our Future Health (genomic research) - Graphic Designer at Great British Energy (nuclear energy) - Head of Creative Studio at State Library Victoria in Australia. www.hardproblems.com/jobs

Want to be depressed? Search Google Images for: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"

If you're buying a new Mac laptop these days, which model? I'm just doing coding, web stuff, recording a podcast (not doing heavy video editing), and a little Figma. Help?

I have a friend who is looking for ROI arguments for inclusive and equitable design practices. Do you have articles and evidence that you use to make the case for inclusive design? Healthcare examples would be particularly powerful. Thx.

I just wrote a new book review. Why Design is Hard is really good!

I love using Slack, but it might have the most convoluted Settings/Preferences/Workspace/Dev interfaces of any web app. It makes Google's admin tools look organized and that's saying a lot.

There is a famous quote about design from former Jaguar and Tata motors head, Ralf Speth: “If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.” Nowhere is this more true than in healthcare. www.hardproblems.com/articles/hid...

Our team at Hard Problems has pulled together our favorite books that will help you on your path to working on gnarly problems. www.hardproblems.com/articles/boo...

Shaboozey's country album is legit very good. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_I...

Damn, sorry to hear Kavinsky died. Take care of your hearts, people. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...

So, I guess you're supposed to stretch now? Tore my Achilles while playing basketball...

A designer complaining that their job is full of “solved problems” is like a doctor saying they only want to treat novel diseases. The job is mostly not finding new cures. It’s helping teams adopt what’s likely to help in their context.

We published a new article on Hard Problems.

I can't be the only one who finds the countdown clock on 2-Factor Auth apps stressful, right? 😬

Fun little game. Guess the World Cup winner by different categories. I got Life Expectancy and Happiness right and CO2 emissions very very wrong. www.dataguessr.com/world-cup-20...

Our job board now has email alerts. Filter jobs by your location and criteria and you'll receive daily email updates. www.hardproblems.com/jobs

Self portrait in Toronto.

We just made a huge update to Hard Problems. Please share with anyone who is looking for more meaning in their work.

I added 30 new jobs for designers, copywriters, and PMs who want to work on health, climate, education, and public services to the Hard Problems job board today: www.hardproblems.com/jobs

Each morning, I spend 45 min searching for design and product jobs at orgs that actually make the world a bit better. E.g., today I saw that Genomics England is hiring a senior service designer. I think we already have one of the best job boards for designers: www.hardproblems.com/jobs

I just ordered a cappuccino in NYC and it was... drum roll... $10.89 plus tip. That, my British friends is an £8 coffee... plus another dollar tip.

See you soon, NYC ✌️

This article on Minimum Viable Ethnography by Erica Hall is such a treasure. She explains how simple revelatory ethnographic research can be. I highly recommend you give her approach a try. Read Erika’s Article: https://medium.com/mule-design/minimum-viable-ethnography-a047e9358df0

Over at the newsletter I wrote about the unholy scourge that is "CEO said a thing!" journalism:

Anyone have advice where to stay in Hong Kong for a few days in March?

Great team. Great company. Spread the word for this excellent opportunity.

"If we do a great job, whose life do we improve and how?" is the most critical question a UX professional can answer about their work. Far too many UX folks have no idea how to answer this about their current work. They're lost in a world of "improving the product" and not the people they serve.

An excellent content design leadership position at one of the most interesting tech projects in the UK: the not-for-profit genetics project Our Future Health. apply.workable.com/j/A2032FE81B...

Interesting event coming to London on Nov 27 for people interested in design and entrepreneurship. Organized by CIID. www.eventbrite.com/e/discover-y...

Starting without a plan feels risky, so we gather requirements. We aim for certainty when we understand the least. Great products are an art of discovery, not perfect planning. What matters most is building and learning quickly. www.timcheadle.com/plan-for-lea...

Japan House in London has a wonderful exhibit right now featuring pictograms. The 3D renderings of pictograms are especially cool. (ends in a month, so hurry!) www.japanhouselondon.uk/whats-on/pic...

Does the news reflect what we die from?

See you in a few minutes, Brighton.

Design tip: stop using jargon I used to think that using words like “cognitive load” made me sound smart. But a lot of people don’t know what it means. So when explaining your design to your teammates, use simpler and clearer descriptions like:

Come join all of us in Brighton on Sept 17-18. Support a great homegrown conference!