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Newsletter · 28 August 2026
10 lessons from 14 years of designing products
This is me talking through the ones that cost the most to learn, and what each of them actually changed about the way I work.
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Hi there,
Welcome to the first newsletter. I’ve spent 14 years designing products for all kinds of companies and a handful of fintech and blockchain venture studios, and this week I finally wrote down the ten lessons that really stood out for me.
If I had to pick one, it’s the first one. Design isn’t optional. It’s business strategy.
It underpins all the rest and I believe if you don’t do design, you don’t have a business.
I’ve also got space for new work from 1 September. If you’re building something and need a product guy to make things happen, just hit reply.
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The full detail in a PDF
Fourteen years designing products and running a business, all packaged into ten lessons of the biggest things I’ve learned in that time.
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Inspiration
Worth your attention
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Case study
Slower can be worth more
Growth.Design on labour perception bias: showing the work makes the result feel more valuable. A progress screen that explains itself beats an instant answer nobody trusts.
Take a look
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Site of the week
Speak the engineer’s language
A wind, solar and hydrogen company with an award-winning site: illustrated components, data you can actually read, motion tuned to the hardware. Niche B2B is not an excuse for a template.
Take a look
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AI this week
New security measures after the OpenAI leak
A full timeline of how OpenAI’s research agent broke out of its sandbox and hit Hugging Face. If you are wiring agents into your product, the guardrails are a product decision, not an afterthought.
Take a look
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Design this week
One good output proves nothing
NN/g on evaluating AI features: multiple inputs, repeated runs, confidence intervals. The demo that impressed the room is an example, not an evaluation.
Take a look
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If you're a Head of Product, a founder, recruiter or a team lead and you need a lead product designer on the team, drop me a line.
United Kingdom · GMT+1
● Available for projects
Mon–Fri, 9:00 – 17:30
Engagements
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Russ Hepton
Flat 3,
223B High Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
United Kingdom
BN7 2AF
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Products for Humans Ltd is a company registered in the United Kingdom · Company number: 08654264 · VAT number: 506005048
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