Alan B Smith
@alanbsmith.bsky.social
👨💻 Principal Design System Engineer
🥃 Carb & cocktail fan account
🏔️ Boulder, CO
🅰️ Arsenal FC
⚽️ Il calcio é della gente
🥃 Carb & cocktail fan account
🏔️ Boulder, CO
🅰️ Arsenal FC
⚽️ Il calcio é della gente
Pinned
Alan B Smith
@alanbsmith.bsky.social
· Nov 7
Casual Chat - Alan B Smith
calendly.com
Hello 🦋!
I keep an open calendar to connect and keep up with friends in tech. Feel free to book some time if you’d like to talk design systems, strategy, frontend engineering, cocktails, baking, or just to say hello.
I’m also happy to chat here sync, if you’d like.
calendly.com/alanbsmith/c...
I keep an open calendar to connect and keep up with friends in tech. Feel free to book some time if you’d like to talk design systems, strategy, frontend engineering, cocktails, baking, or just to say hello.
I’m also happy to chat here sync, if you’d like.
calendly.com/alanbsmith/c...
Made some cinnamon rolls. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, friends. ❤️🎄
December 25, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Made some cinnamon rolls. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, friends. ❤️🎄
I have never needed a week off so badly. HTTP 503: Alan Unavailable ✌️
December 19, 2025 at 11:53 PM
I have never needed a week off so badly. HTTP 503: Alan Unavailable ✌️
Italian espresso martini. Cheers, friends.
December 13, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Italian espresso martini. Cheers, friends.
Don’t get caught up in the silly design system debate on whether design or code is the “real source of truth.” We all know the authoritative source of truth is actually a spreadsheet.
December 12, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Don’t get caught up in the silly design system debate on whether design or code is the “real source of truth.” We all know the authoritative source of truth is actually a spreadsheet.
What happened to Spotlight Search across MacOS and iOS? It used to be excellent, and now it's almost unusable.
December 12, 2025 at 6:26 PM
What happened to Spotlight Search across MacOS and iOS? It used to be excellent, and now it's almost unusable.
A fool-proof remedy for Sunday scaries at our house: Oatmeal raisin cookies 🍪
I keep the recipe here: github.com/alanbsmith/r...
I keep the recipe here: github.com/alanbsmith/r...
December 8, 2025 at 2:21 AM
A fool-proof remedy for Sunday scaries at our house: Oatmeal raisin cookies 🍪
I keep the recipe here: github.com/alanbsmith/r...
I keep the recipe here: github.com/alanbsmith/r...
100% this. We keep as much of Canvas out in the open as possible because we believe our open source model makes us better. We also would not be where we are today without the inspiration we’ve received from other OS design systems.
Keep shouting for more open source systems. It’s worth the fight.
Keep shouting for more open source systems. It’s worth the fight.
It's my, "Old man yells at cloud moment". I'm here to complain about design systems going private and why it's dumb.
pjonori.blog/posts/public...
pjonori.blog/posts/public...
Public design systems are worth it
It’s incredibly valuable to make a design system available to all–no matter what the bean-counters say.
pjonori.blog
December 4, 2025 at 3:21 PM
100% this. We keep as much of Canvas out in the open as possible because we believe our open source model makes us better. We also would not be where we are today without the inspiration we’ve received from other OS design systems.
Keep shouting for more open source systems. It’s worth the fight.
Keep shouting for more open source systems. It’s worth the fight.
One day you wake up and you’re the last of the design system old guard. Weird feeling.
December 3, 2025 at 7:54 PM
One day you wake up and you’re the last of the design system old guard. Weird feeling.
More of the USWNT is playing European football, and it shows. The caliber of the squad has grown so much from a couple years ago.
December 2, 2025 at 1:03 AM
More of the USWNT is playing European football, and it shows. The caliber of the squad has grown so much from a couple years ago.
Late night pie prep. 🌙 🥧
November 27, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Late night pie prep. 🌙 🥧
Sheesh. We’ve been publishing workday/canvas-* packages to npm for years using tokens without a problem. But moving to OIDC we ran into some obscure errors. One of which was our repo is *technically* Workday/canvas-kit not workday/canvas-kit, and that capital W really matters.
November 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Sheesh. We’ve been publishing workday/canvas-* packages to npm for years using tokens without a problem. But moving to OIDC we ran into some obscure errors. One of which was our repo is *technically* Workday/canvas-kit not workday/canvas-kit, and that capital W really matters.
I'm just a man, sitting in front of a static asset service, waiting for it to replicate.
November 21, 2025 at 12:12 AM
I'm just a man, sitting in front of a static asset service, waiting for it to replicate.
I'm really glad we moved away from single component packages for our design system. It sounds nice, but it would have been such a pain to maintain.
November 15, 2025 at 12:00 AM
I'm really glad we moved away from single component packages for our design system. It sounds nice, but it would have been such a pain to maintain.
November 9, 2025 at 10:22 PM
I asked a group of managers how they handle shutting their brains off when they have long-running tasks that don’t resolve quickly. They told me to write things down when they come up and get more sleep.
I’m here to report they were unfortunately correct. Jerks. 😂
I’m here to report they were unfortunately correct. Jerks. 😂
November 3, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I asked a group of managers how they handle shutting their brains off when they have long-running tasks that don’t resolve quickly. They told me to write things down when they come up and get more sleep.
I’m here to report they were unfortunately correct. Jerks. 😂
I’m here to report they were unfortunately correct. Jerks. 😂
Earlier in my career I would get frustrated by not having access to an important meeting or document. Now I’ve learned that access to walled information tends to have an expensive entrance fee.
Access isn’t a privilege, it’s more responsibility.
Access isn’t a privilege, it’s more responsibility.
October 31, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Earlier in my career I would get frustrated by not having access to an important meeting or document. Now I’ve learned that access to walled information tends to have an expensive entrance fee.
Access isn’t a privilege, it’s more responsibility.
Access isn’t a privilege, it’s more responsibility.
End of the sprint + end of the month + end of the quarter is like a perfect storm.
It’s been a week, y’all.
It’s been a week, y’all.
October 31, 2025 at 12:41 AM
End of the sprint + end of the month + end of the quarter is like a perfect storm.
It’s been a week, y’all.
It’s been a week, y’all.
A Fall classic: the Flannel Shirt.
October 25, 2025 at 12:44 AM
A Fall classic: the Flannel Shirt.
I don’t say enough about the importance of frontend platform engineers — they are a tremendous force. We can only do so much as design system engineers, but FE platform amplifies our impact across our ecosystem. It’s remarkable what they can do.
I’m very thankful for solid platform partners. 💪
I’m very thankful for solid platform partners. 💪
October 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I don’t say enough about the importance of frontend platform engineers — they are a tremendous force. We can only do so much as design system engineers, but FE platform amplifies our impact across our ecosystem. It’s remarkable what they can do.
I’m very thankful for solid platform partners. 💪
I’m very thankful for solid platform partners. 💪
We wrapped up our soccer season today. I coach because I love it, but these gifts are nice too. 🥰
October 18, 2025 at 9:11 PM
We wrapped up our soccer season today. I coach because I love it, but these gifts are nice too. 🥰
It’s wild to sit in a parent teacher meeting and hear eerily similar feedback to what you received when you were a kid. Like oh yeah, my brain works that way too. And I definitely struggled with the same issues in school.
October 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
It’s wild to sit in a parent teacher meeting and hear eerily similar feedback to what you received when you were a kid. Like oh yeah, my brain works that way too. And I definitely struggled with the same issues in school.
These npm supply chain attacks have brought dependency bumps to and absolute standstill.
As someone working on a design system who desperately wants people to upgrade to the latest versions of our packages, this is a very frustrating setback. 😡
As someone working on a design system who desperately wants people to upgrade to the latest versions of our packages, this is a very frustrating setback. 😡
September 26, 2025 at 2:20 PM
These npm supply chain attacks have brought dependency bumps to and absolute standstill.
As someone working on a design system who desperately wants people to upgrade to the latest versions of our packages, this is a very frustrating setback. 😡
As someone working on a design system who desperately wants people to upgrade to the latest versions of our packages, this is a very frustrating setback. 😡
I read “Where the Axe is Buried” by Ray Nayler this year (which was great!), and then this happens — too real. #booksky
It’s a warning, not a manual, etc etc.
futurism.com/albania-diel...
It’s a warning, not a manual, etc etc.
futurism.com/albania-diel...
Leader of Albania Pelted With Trash for Appointing AI-Powered Minister to Cabinet
The virtual assistant Diella's "inaugural address" to the Albanian parliament was met with mixed enthusiasm by officials.
futurism.com
September 24, 2025 at 4:55 AM
I read “Where the Axe is Buried” by Ray Nayler this year (which was great!), and then this happens — too real. #booksky
It’s a warning, not a manual, etc etc.
futurism.com/albania-diel...
It’s a warning, not a manual, etc etc.
futurism.com/albania-diel...
Reposted by Alan B Smith
I wish I could clear my brain’s cache. I bet that’d feel so nice. tingly, probably.
September 19, 2025 at 12:42 AM
I wish I could clear my brain’s cache. I bet that’d feel so nice. tingly, probably.