Designing in the running app

For most of my career the design file was the source of truth. Lately it has become a sketchbook, and the real decisions happen in the app itself.

When I built Songmark I stopped drawing screens after the first week. Every question I had about spacing, motion or empty states got answered faster by changing a value and running the build.

What changes

You stop debating edge cases in comments, because you can see them. Long titles wrap, slow networks stall, and dark mode either works or it doesn’t.

It also changes what you show people. A thirty-second screen recording of the real thing settles more arguments than a polished mockup ever did.

The best review I get is someone using the build on their own phone without me explaining anything.

Figma is still where I explore. The difference is that I leave it much earlier.