Rune Madsen
@runemadsen.com
I explore code as a design material. Co-founder of @designsystems.international. Author of programmingdesignsystems.com. Former New York Times, O’Reilly Media and ITP NYU.
Reposted by Rune Madsen
“A source that cannot be verified or remain consistent is useless.”
Shout this sentence from on high.
Shout this sentence from on high.
So Google AI is no longer telling us Mary Shelley and Jane Austen were sisters. That doesn't mean it's now 'right' or 'better'. It's just different, and there's no way to know why. New stolen material uploaded? Manual intervention? A source that cannot be verified or remain consistent is useless.
July 22, 2025 at 12:47 PM
“A source that cannot be verified or remain consistent is useless.”
Shout this sentence from on high.
Shout this sentence from on high.
Reposted by Rune Madsen
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
July 10, 2025 at 7:47 PM
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
Reposted by Rune Madsen
If you design digital products, I beg you to read these paragraphs 🙏
From @designsystems.international's [Product Design is Lost]
designsystems.international/ideas/produc...
From @designsystems.international's [Product Design is Lost]
designsystems.international/ideas/produc...
July 9, 2025 at 1:11 PM
If you design digital products, I beg you to read these paragraphs 🙏
From @designsystems.international's [Product Design is Lost]
designsystems.international/ideas/produc...
From @designsystems.international's [Product Design is Lost]
designsystems.international/ideas/produc...
Reposted by Rune Madsen
@runemadsen.com on the subtle ways design tools shape how we think and what we make. ow.ly/ntWU50Wn2C0
July 9, 2025 at 7:30 PM
@runemadsen.com on the subtle ways design tools shape how we think and what we make. ow.ly/ntWU50Wn2C0
Reposted by Rune Madsen
A good article from @runemadsen.com reminding us that our tools shape our creativity.
"the growing monoculture in digital design where everything starts to look and feel the same, not because of shared intent, but because of shared constraints"
"the growing monoculture in digital design where everything starts to look and feel the same, not because of shared intent, but because of shared constraints"
We've used Figma almost daily since the early days of @designsystems.international, and it's a core part of our creative process. Still, I've noticed that it's starting to change how designers work. I tried to unpack that idea in the piece below.
designsystems.international/ideas/when-f...
designsystems.international/ideas/when-f...
When Figma Starts Designing Us / Design Systems International
The subtle ways in which design tools shape how we think and what we make
designsystems.international
July 9, 2025 at 7:15 AM
A good article from @runemadsen.com reminding us that our tools shape our creativity.
"the growing monoculture in digital design where everything starts to look and feel the same, not because of shared intent, but because of shared constraints"
"the growing monoculture in digital design where everything starts to look and feel the same, not because of shared intent, but because of shared constraints"
Reposted by Rune Madsen
"The goal isn’t for designers to adopt engineering practices, but to bring distinct perspectives through an interdisciplinary way of collaborating."
I really appreciated this little piece from @runemadsen.com. designsystems.international/ideas/when-f... (1/6)
I really appreciated this little piece from @runemadsen.com. designsystems.international/ideas/when-f... (1/6)
When Figma Starts Designing Us / Design Systems International
The subtle ways in which design tools shape how we think and what we make
designsystems.international
July 8, 2025 at 9:19 PM
"The goal isn’t for designers to adopt engineering practices, but to bring distinct perspectives through an interdisciplinary way of collaborating."
I really appreciated this little piece from @runemadsen.com. designsystems.international/ideas/when-f... (1/6)
I really appreciated this little piece from @runemadsen.com. designsystems.international/ideas/when-f... (1/6)
Reposted by Rune Madsen
This is a much more eloquent way of what I've been screaming to anyone that will listen.
Figma is siloing so many designers in to a specific way of designing, in a field who's lifeblood is exploration, creativity & expression.
Our industry is so ripe for fresh, new (or a return to old!) tools.
Figma is siloing so many designers in to a specific way of designing, in a field who's lifeblood is exploration, creativity & expression.
Our industry is so ripe for fresh, new (or a return to old!) tools.
We've used Figma almost daily since the early days of @designsystems.international, and it's a core part of our creative process. Still, I've noticed that it's starting to change how designers work. I tried to unpack that idea in the piece below.
designsystems.international/ideas/when-f...
designsystems.international/ideas/when-f...
When Figma Starts Designing Us / Design Systems International
The subtle ways in which design tools shape how we think and what we make
designsystems.international
July 4, 2025 at 3:19 PM
This is a much more eloquent way of what I've been screaming to anyone that will listen.
Figma is siloing so many designers in to a specific way of designing, in a field who's lifeblood is exploration, creativity & expression.
Our industry is so ripe for fresh, new (or a return to old!) tools.
Figma is siloing so many designers in to a specific way of designing, in a field who's lifeblood is exploration, creativity & expression.
Our industry is so ripe for fresh, new (or a return to old!) tools.
We've used Figma almost daily since the early days of @designsystems.international, and it's a core part of our creative process. Still, I've noticed that it's starting to change how designers work. I tried to unpack that idea in the piece below.
designsystems.international/ideas/when-f...
designsystems.international/ideas/when-f...
When Figma Starts Designing Us / Design Systems International
The subtle ways in which design tools shape how we think and what we make
designsystems.international
July 4, 2025 at 1:50 PM
We've used Figma almost daily since the early days of @designsystems.international, and it's a core part of our creative process. Still, I've noticed that it's starting to change how designers work. I tried to unpack that idea in the piece below.
designsystems.international/ideas/when-f...
designsystems.international/ideas/when-f...
Reposted by Rune Madsen
Things are disastrous, but we’re hoping that learning together, celebrating public knowledge + the gloriously noncompliant, can be ✨✊❤️🩹🌱. We’re hosting our first zoom info session this Friday at noon ET; sign-up @ the bottom of the page:
June 17, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Things are disastrous, but we’re hoping that learning together, celebrating public knowledge + the gloriously noncompliant, can be ✨✊❤️🩹🌱. We’re hosting our first zoom info session this Friday at noon ET; sign-up @ the bottom of the page:
Reposted by Rune Madsen
Besøgte @marcelfard.bsky.social og @moltke.bsky.social i DRs radioprogram Prompt til en snak om AI og billeder. Lyt med her: www.dr.dk/lyd/special-...
April 3, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Besøgte @marcelfard.bsky.social og @moltke.bsky.social i DRs radioprogram Prompt til en snak om AI og billeder. Lyt med her: www.dr.dk/lyd/special-...
Reposted by Rune Madsen
asked a bot whether it would prefer to fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses
WELL
WELL
April 3, 2025 at 8:55 AM
asked a bot whether it would prefer to fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses
WELL
WELL
Reposted by Rune Madsen
"The team spent countless hours scouring Google Maps, combing through the 40,000 islands one by one to find the studio’s geographical alphabet. Their efforts have resulted in a sculpted wordmark." This feels very Nina Katchadourian.
Bond’s wordmark for the world’s largest archipelago takes its shape from island formations
The Helsinki-based studio’s destination identity for Saaristo pays homage to Finland’s wild landscape.
www.itsnicethat.com
March 12, 2025 at 5:15 PM
"The team spent countless hours scouring Google Maps, combing through the 40,000 islands one by one to find the studio’s geographical alphabet. Their efforts have resulted in a sculpted wordmark." This feels very Nina Katchadourian.
Reposted by Rune Madsen
Since the start of COVID, the number of people reporting a disability soared. Yet the majority of the world acts like COVID is over, and Long COVID doesn't exist.
March 10, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Since the start of COVID, the number of people reporting a disability soared. Yet the majority of the world acts like COVID is over, and Long COVID doesn't exist.
18F did some of the best digital work in government. This is so sad.
18F, a digital services unit inside the General Services Administration, has been completely laid off, according to an email I’ve seen. The email says that 18F was deemed “non-critical” and the decision was made with the “explicit” direction of the administration and GSA leadership.
March 1, 2025 at 12:14 PM
18F did some of the best digital work in government. This is so sad.
Reposted by Rune Madsen
Those currently in power are “among the very worst human beings this 🌏 has ever produced—the most uncaring, the least intellectually curious, the most disconnected from their own humanity, the most gleefully malicious + deliberately destructive, with an all-consuming greed @ the ctr of their being”
The Worst and the Dimmest
It's not a coincidence that we're being led by the least qualified monsters available; it's a deliberate strategy. Facing the Worst - a series about directional alignment.
www.the-reframe.com
February 16, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Those currently in power are “among the very worst human beings this 🌏 has ever produced—the most uncaring, the least intellectually curious, the most disconnected from their own humanity, the most gleefully malicious + deliberately destructive, with an all-consuming greed @ the ctr of their being”
I couldn't make up a better story to describe Microsoft than the fact that Azure Key Vaults (that is meant to store environment variables) does not support the use of underscore in variable names.
February 12, 2025 at 9:20 AM
I couldn't make up a better story to describe Microsoft than the fact that Azure Key Vaults (that is meant to store environment variables) does not support the use of underscore in variable names.
Reposted by Rune Madsen
I'm so sorry I can't stop laughing. OpenAI, the company built on stealing literally the entire internet, is crying because DeepSeek may have trained on the outputs from ChatGPT. They're crying their eyes out. What a bunch of hypocritical little babies. Cry more, freaks.
www.ft.com/content/a0df...
www.ft.com/content/a0df...
January 29, 2025 at 6:01 AM
I'm so sorry I can't stop laughing. OpenAI, the company built on stealing literally the entire internet, is crying because DeepSeek may have trained on the outputs from ChatGPT. They're crying their eyes out. What a bunch of hypocritical little babies. Cry more, freaks.
www.ft.com/content/a0df...
www.ft.com/content/a0df...
Reposted by Rune Madsen
The visuals in this piece are excellent.
I'm sure the authors are hearing from all the dudes who think they're economically conservative and socially liberal.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
I'm sure the authors are hearing from all the dudes who think they're economically conservative and socially liberal.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
January 14, 2025 at 5:58 PM
The visuals in this piece are excellent.
I'm sure the authors are hearing from all the dudes who think they're economically conservative and socially liberal.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
I'm sure the authors are hearing from all the dudes who think they're economically conservative and socially liberal.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Rune Madsen
Washington Post's traffic has gone from 22.5 million daily active users in 2021 to about 3 million in 2024, per Semafor.
damn lol
damn lol
January 13, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Washington Post's traffic has gone from 22.5 million daily active users in 2021 to about 3 million in 2024, per Semafor.
damn lol
damn lol
I am writing an essay on why rigid planning is bad for designers, and I stumbled on this excellent book. It’s interesting to see how an initial observation from computer science became a much more significant idea related to the humanities too.
December 30, 2024 at 3:41 PM
I am writing an essay on why rigid planning is bad for designers, and I stumbled on this excellent book. It’s interesting to see how an initial observation from computer science became a much more significant idea related to the humanities too.
Excited to dive into this during the holidays
December 28, 2024 at 4:54 PM
Excited to dive into this during the holidays
Reposted by Rune Madsen
Don't think there is a better illustration of AI-in-everything-whether-we-want-it-or-not than an AI bro buying an AI toy for his child who played with it for a bit and then seemed singularly unimpressed with the AI and turned it off.
He keeps turning it back on, and she keeps turning it off.
He keeps turning it back on, and she keeps turning it off.
December 27, 2024 at 12:20 PM
Don't think there is a better illustration of AI-in-everything-whether-we-want-it-or-not than an AI bro buying an AI toy for his child who played with it for a bit and then seemed singularly unimpressed with the AI and turned it off.
He keeps turning it back on, and she keeps turning it off.
He keeps turning it back on, and she keeps turning it off.
“The entire academic enterprise, as it’s currently constructed, depends upon reifying power differentials between ranks and classes, keeping people hungry to advance, […] manufacturing all kinds of tests and rituals and administrative labor to deem people worthy of advancement.”
December 16, 2024 at 8:50 PM
“The entire academic enterprise, as it’s currently constructed, depends upon reifying power differentials between ranks and classes, keeping people hungry to advance, […] manufacturing all kinds of tests and rituals and administrative labor to deem people worthy of advancement.”
Reposted by Rune Madsen
“A City Is Not a Computer” by @shannonmattern.bsky.social
Small enough to fit in our pocket. Filled with big ideas about “smart cities,” the fragility of urban networks, and the algorithms, cameras & “other urban intelligences” that pervade city life: placesjournal.org/book/a-city-is-not-a-computer
Small enough to fit in our pocket. Filled with big ideas about “smart cities,” the fragility of urban networks, and the algorithms, cameras & “other urban intelligences” that pervade city life: placesjournal.org/book/a-city-is-not-a-computer
December 16, 2024 at 4:46 PM
“A City Is Not a Computer” by @shannonmattern.bsky.social
Small enough to fit in our pocket. Filled with big ideas about “smart cities,” the fragility of urban networks, and the algorithms, cameras & “other urban intelligences” that pervade city life: placesjournal.org/book/a-city-is-not-a-computer
Small enough to fit in our pocket. Filled with big ideas about “smart cities,” the fragility of urban networks, and the algorithms, cameras & “other urban intelligences” that pervade city life: placesjournal.org/book/a-city-is-not-a-computer
Reposted by Rune Madsen
We're investigating health insurance denials. If you want to share your insights, here's how:
Do You Have Insights Into Dental and Health Insurance Denials? Help Us Report on the System.
Insurers deny tens of millions of claims every year. ProPublica is investigating why claims are denied, what the consequences are for patients and how the appeal process really works.
propub.li
December 15, 2024 at 6:30 PM
We're investigating health insurance denials. If you want to share your insights, here's how: