I’m a UX designer, and my favorite design tool is now the "Delete" button.

Hi PH.

I’m Lily, a UX designer and a founding member of a startup.

When I first started in this industry, my default state was "Yes." Yes to new features, yes to endless micro-interactions, yes to spending days perfecting a bento grid for a product that hadn't even been validated yet. I thought my value was tied to how many beautiful things I could produce.

But over the years, my perspective has completely flipped.

I’ve realized that the most catastrophic UX failure isn't a clunky navigation bar; it’s building a flawless flow for a product that nobody actually needs. I’ve shifted my entire focus away from "pixel-pushing" and toward brutal, data-driven market validation. If the math doesn't prove the market exists, I simply refuse to open Figma.

It’s less glamorous than designing trendy UI, but saving my team from building "ghost towns" is the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done.

Just dropping by to share this realization with fellow makers who have also learned to love the ugly truth of data over the beautiful lie of a mockup. Keep building the right things.