Blog - Ben Guttmann

Balancing abstraction and detail. Or, why I love weather radar.

I don’t care that much about where the next train is; I only care about when it’s coming. I do want to know exactly how much flour is in the cake recipe, though. There's stuff you want to be simplified and stuff you don't. But weather often lives in the in-between.

July 17, 2023

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We're terrible at choosing photos for ourselves

Second only to tapping out new usernames, selecting a profile photo is one of the most common chores in our life of a thousand services. The problem is, we’re terrible at it. The Enlightened Idiot comes to the rescue once again.

July 10, 2023

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The how and the why of designing multilingual websites and apps

The web is made for everybody. In a moment where more and more of the internet is either being shut down or being put behind lock and key, it’s worth reminding ourselves that this smaller, more restrictive world is not how things are supposed to be. A major part of making the digital world accessible comes down to the base level: can everybody understand the words written on the screen?

July 5, 2023

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If it looks right, it is right

I just moved into a new apartment – and things are a little off. But in a weird way, that makes my building a lot like the Parthenon. In design, perfection is often not the goal.

June 26, 2023

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Just two things really matter in NYC

There are only really two things that matter to this whole city. If we get them right, everything else gets easier. If we ignore them, we are left struggling, trying to put band-aids on our problems. This is the simple recipe: First, more people should be able to live where they want to live. Second, more people should be able to get around without a private car.

June 20, 2023

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34 things I’ve learned in my 34th year

A baseball diamond isn't really a diamond. Ice cream is a health food. Sweat comes from our blood. The subway is more popular than flying. Wyoming barely has escalators. I've learned all of this and more – and now you will too.

June 12, 2023

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Betting against Apple is a bad bet

Yesterday, Apple unveiled something that everybody knew was coming, but nobody exactly knew what to expect. What we saw, the Apple Vision Pro, is a VR/AR headset that is, by first appearances, the most advanced product of its kind. But will that be enough? Meta's faced an uphill battle in this space, but I still don't think that betting against Apple is a good idea.

June 6, 2023

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The art and science of the perfect vacation length

It’s a big vacation week in America. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, and with it, millions of Americans are on the road right now – myself included. With paltry holidays and leave, America doesn’t do vacationing great. That being said, I’d argue that we could use what we do have better. Both science and my personal opinion say that we should prioritize two types of trips.

May 26, 2023

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So, you're graduating. Here's some advice.

After I wrap up my final lesson, I tack on a few minutes to talk about this very special moment in my students' lives. Here's what I say: this is the day the escalator stops. Nuances of personal circumstances aside, up until this point, life keeps pushing upwards and forwards. Not anymore – you have to figure out where life goes now. Since I can't answer that for you, I'll provide some others.

May 19, 2023

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Brands can't stay cool forever

The ceaseless march of time comes for us all, and it has come for these hallmarks of millennial culture. To varying degrees many of the things that were at one point nominally “cool” or at least somewhat popular are now, as the reigning tastemaking generation would call it, cheugy. Is there a way out of this coolness death spiral?

May 16, 2023

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