Author: Simon Li

Designer

6 Years and 300 Illustrations Later

This is a long overdue reflection: It was supposed to happen last year. Having been away from this blog for so long made me realize how valuable writing was to me. It was a form of self-reflection and self-discovery. I missed the sense of groundedness after writing a piece, and I wanted to relive that feeling, and so here I am, writing again, starting with the topic of illustration.

The Journey

My illustration journey started in 2018. I decided then to create roughly one piece per week, which amounts to about 100 illustrations every two years. By the end of 2024, I’ve uploaded 300+ illustrations to Instagram. After 6 years of practice, here are how my best works for 2024 and 2023 look like.

Best works for 2024 (left) and 2023 (right)
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5 Principles That Stuck with Me After Reading Universal Principles of Design

Universal Principles of Design is a book that I should’ve read earlier as a product designer. It gave me new perspectives in thinking about the tricky design problems or situations I encountered in the past, and new ideas on how to approach a design project in the future. Below are 5 principles that stuck with me after I read this book.

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How Can We Become Lucky?

What I’ve Learned from Reading Antifragile

If something is antifragile, not only does it not break in the face of chaos, stress, shock or volatility, but also overcompensates and gain from them. The book Antifragile by Nassim Taleb explains this very interesting phenomenon, and is full of nuggets of wisdom.

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If Product Design Is Not Figma, Then What Is It?

This article was written to help product designers better explain to non-designers the value of design. Junior designers or people who aspire to become a UXer should also be able to gain a deeper understanding of design through this article.

Overview

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