Your 'impossible' project is waiting for you – here's how I found mine

Hey, friends!

“I’m just not a technical person,” I’d tell myself in meetings, whenever the conversation gets technical.

For over five years, I've thrived as a product designer across startups and big tech

But the moment engineers started talking technical constraints, I’d nod along, waiting for the part where I actually knew what was going on.

My brain shuts down.

But I’ve always wanted to learn how to code. I mean I tried.

I signed up for Codecademy and finished a few lessons, but forget about it a week later. Without a real reason to keep going, it felt like learning a language I’d never actually speak.

Then something happened that changed my point of view.

Will be sharing the whole journey below 💗

Before that, this week I came across a lot of interesting design tools and knowledge that you may find useful:

〰️ A toolbox for designers
〰️ UX is now PX design?
〰️ Getting hiring managers hooked in 30 secs
〰️ Figma Slides

☁️ news & trends

Did Duolingo just replace ‘UX Design’ with ‘PX Design’ ?
uolingo just made a major change by replacing "UX Design" with "Product Experience (PX) Design" across their company. This isn't just a name change…it shows how a leading tech company is rethinking the role of design. This move might signal a bigger shift in how the entire industry approaches design work.

It takes 30 seconds to reject your portfolio 😢
Hiring managers skim fast—your portfolio needs to hook them instantly. I’ve been sending this newsletter from ADPlist to a couple friends who are in the job market. Clear storytelling and strong visuals make the difference between a pass and a second look.

Decision fatigue — oddly inspiring
Ever felt stuck choosing between too many good design ideas? This breakdown of decision fatigue in design is a reminder that constraints can actually fuel creativity.

🪐 launches & tools

Where I find the latest/coolest design tools
Tool & Tea curates the best AI apps for video, productivity, sales, writing, design — I have this this bookmarked on my browser!

Figma Slides (or Flides) now out of beta
As a regular user, I’ve found these 2 features super helpful:
1. Prototype embedding - so you can interact with your prototype while presenting
2. Rehearse plugin - tracks timing for each slide, understand where to trim or expand your points

Site of Sites is the new Dribbble — inspo for unconventional web design
I’ve been scrolling through the unconventional web design here to spark inspo! It’s food for the brain and the eyes!

🌼 Didn’t really plan to make an app (but I did??)

Back in February, I posted a Valentine’s Figma prototypes , expecting people to people to play around with the template.

But instead people:

They didn't just like the design — they wanted to use it…like really use it. 😲 They thought it was already an app!

And that was the spark changed everything.

From my unsuccessful coding online courses, to having an actual project that reaaally interested me, something was different now.

Suddenly, coding wasn’t just this abstract thing anymore. I had to really learn development because I wanted to build this.

And here’s what I’m realizing: Being a technical person was never about ability.

It was about why. 

When you care enough about building something, your brain rewires itself. It pushes through roadblocks. It makes connections faster. It actually remembers things.

It wasn’t smooth sailing tho. Had to fix some bug issues 😭

Buuut, after all the trial and errors, littlevintagephotobooth.com came to life!

So if you’ve ever told yourself, “I could never do that” — you absolutely can.

You just need a project that makes you want to figure it out badly enough.

On the next newsletter, I’ll share the resources that finally clicked for me. But for now, I want to hear from you:

❓ What’s that one project that might make you brave enough to cross your own invisible wall?

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See you on the internet 🌐,

Marisa | @meshtimes