Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 08/09/2025I design software to automate work in cybersecurity, but I feel good about it because I know it's either: a) Work a human can't do b) Work teams don't have the bandwidth to handle, or c) Work that sucks, that people are happy to delegate In other words, work worth automating. 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 08/09/2025Picasso drew the same bull 11 times before he got it 'right.' Between 1945-46, he started with realistic, detailed drawings and ended with just a few simple strokes. Each drawing necessary to reach the next. You can't shortcut your way to simplicity. You have to earn it. 110
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 02/09/2025I’m back from a much-needed summer break with a new essay on Mac Miller’s Small Worlds and the quiet emptiness behind “having it all.” Part personal story, part cultural reflection, and a reminder of what makes life feel real. www.unknownarts.co/p/mac-miller...unknownarts.coMac Miller and the Hollow Promise of SuccessOn wealth, work, and why comfort without connection leaves us empty 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 12/03/2025My 18-month work sabbatical is coming to a close this week. I’m going to write a debrief soon covering: 1) My sabbatical experience as a whole 2) My recent application and interview processes So I’m curious: what questions do you have? 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 07/03/2025If the people most equipped to thrive with AI are generalists with small teams, having an entrenched generation of specialists on big teams optimizing to preserve their own careers will be a big blocker to progress. 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 07/03/2025"Content creator" and "software creator": the two most essential jobs of tech's next era. 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 06/03/2025Writers used to be like painters, spilling words on a blank canvas. Now, they're becoming more like sculptors, carefully carving away AI-generated words to reveal the essence hidden beneath. 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 06/03/2025The visual side of software design will crossfade to the user. They will collaborate with AI to create their preferred UI for a given software service. To enable this, professional software designers shift toward designing the systems and interactions that make that collaboration possible 110
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 05/03/2025Building and tuning your AI's knowledge context and the tooling around it to support your workflows and outputs is probably the highest leverage thing any creative can do right now. 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 04/03/2025So much for "everyone's a designer." With ai, it's more like "everyone's a client." But as any designer will tell you, good clients are just as rare. 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 04/03/2025There's a whole lotta knowledge in the Unknown Arts archive just waiting to be discovered. 171 articles – multiple books worth of guidance – to help creative builders thrive. All FREE! 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 03/03/2025Exploring using textures that have surfaced in my @midjourney feature images in my brand logo. 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 02/03/2025Visual exploration for my recent article "AI is a Prism, Not a Source" 110
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 02/03/2025I’ve let creative projects guide my way across disciplines over the course of my 12+ year career. From advertising to engineering to design to writing, I always followed my excitement, built my way forward and ended up with a career that’s unique and my own. www.unknownarts.co/p/the-projec...unknownarts.coThe Project-Driven LifeFor creative builders, life is a series of projects, not a career path. 020
Reposted by Patrick MorganCommunication Arts @commarts.com · 20/02/2025@patrickmorgan.org on the end of design certainty. ow.ly/FEZG50V3vWk 031
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 23/02/2025AI is a Prism, Not a Source www.unknownarts.co/p/creativity...unknownarts.coAI is a Prism, Not a SourceExploring the new dynamics of creative flow 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 17/02/2025This week's article "The End of Design Certainty" is resonating. 110
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 16/02/2025"AI doesn't respect our craving for certainty. It doesn't wait for us to fully understand it before showing results. And the more we try to force it into rigid, explainable, deterministic workflows, the more we suffocate its potential." www.unknownarts.co/p/the-end-of...unknownarts.coThe End of Design CertaintyWhy AI forces us to embrace emergence instead of clinging to control and understanding 071
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 10/02/2025How do we create user-centered experiences when our users aren't human? Wrote about OpenAI Operator and the emerging greenfield space of AI-first interfaces in this week's edition of Unknown Arts.👇 www.unknownarts.co/p/when-ai-ta...unknownarts.coWhen AI Takes the Driver's SeatOpenAI Operator and the shift to AI-first interfaces 000
Reposted by Patrick MorganCommunication Arts @commarts.com · 05/02/2025@patrickmorgan.org lists eight design breakthroughs defining AI’s future. ow.ly/TiQi50UU8Bl 011
Reposted by Patrick MorganJH @jafonh.bsky.social · 05/02/2025uxdesign.cc/8-design-bre... Great bird’s eye on how UI patterns in AI developed and how design technologists are using themuxdesign.cc8 design breakthroughs defining AI’s futureHow key interface decisions are shaping the next era of human-computer interaction 101
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 02/02/20258 Design Breakthroughs Defining AI's Future www.unknownarts.co/p/8-design-b...unknownarts.co8 Design Breakthroughs Defining AI's FutureHow key interface decisions are shaping the next era of human-computer interaction 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 31/01/2025If you think 'GPT wrappers' are limited consider this: how many electric appliances do you own? Every one is just an 'electricity wrapper' that became a distinct product to serve different user needs. AI products will follow a similar trajectory and be as widespread. 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 26/01/2025The shock of AI surpassing human ability is coming for every creator. The question isn't whether we'll face the moment, but how we'll choose to define ourselves when we do. www.unknownarts.co/p/the-moment...unknownarts.coThe Moment AI Surpasses You—and What Comes AfterRecalibrating your worldview and learning to thrive when machines master what you do 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 22/01/2025much of last generation’s software UI existed to guide users on how to perform specific actions. with AI handling most actions, that UI will disappear, replaced by interfaces that help users focus on what they want, not how to do it. 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 20/01/2025I constantly use dictation with ChatGPT, so I prototyped a voice-driven workflow triggered by a Task that guides a daily standup routine using a custom GPT and Notion. 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 19/01/2025This week, I wrote about how I'm turning my AI conversations into reusable assets powering my creative workflow. 100
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 12/01/2025"Copilot" is starting to feel more fitting for the human's role than the AI's role 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 12/01/2025Computational thinking is the new literacy www.unknownarts.co/p/computatio...unknownarts.coComputational Thinking is the New LiteracyWhy software engineering still matters in an AI world 130
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 09/01/2025Fully personalized UIs will look worse on average because they aren’t trying to reflect a designer’s taste. But user satisfaction will go up because the UI is more aligned to the user’s preferences. 130
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 08/01/2025What does “sufficient human authorship” with AI work look like to you? 110
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 07/01/2025Every new year, I assess my tools: what's useful and what's clutter. Since many of you likely do the same, here's my current setup as inspiration—what's working, what isn't, and what I'm still exploring. www.unknownarts.co/p/my-creati...unknownarts.coMy Creative Stack for 2025The tools powering my experiments in AI, writing, and creative work 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 04/01/2025The brand I started for my writing now carries across basically all my public facing properties: - Newsletter - AI knowledge base - Portfolio website - Portfolio slides - Resume 020
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 03/01/2025Design has no universal laws—only principles that guide. Use what works, adapt what doesn’t. 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 02/01/2025It'll be tough to find the sweet spot for a true AI creative partner: open, supportive, and trusting while pushing me and challenging my thinking with *just enough* disagreeableness 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 02/01/2025The "modern" UI of the bank that powers so many startups... yeesh. 021
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 01/01/2025Tech jobs in the 2010s became the Wall Street jobs of the 80s 110
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 01/01/2025Zoom: a rare company whose brand becomes a verb and still fumbles the bag. 020
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 31/12/2024Feeling stuck? Go full Costanza in 2025: Do the opposite of everything you'd normally do and watch it turn your life around. 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 31/12/2024Short form video is a weapon of mass distraction 010
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 30/12/2024As a person who gets stuck in my own head a lot, AI has been super helpful because it gives me an immediate outlet for speaking my ideas and getting a response. It doesn’t need to be ‘right’ to be helpful. Just the process of explaining out loud unblocks more often than not. 020
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 30/12/2024To maintain authenticity, embrace imperfection. More important than ever with AI-assisted creative work. 100
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 29/12/2024The question isn't "Will AI replace creativity?" It's "How do we preserve human creative identity?" 000
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 27/12/2024A new wave of AI-enabled startups will never scale their human workforce. Instead, they'll effectively compete with established companies by leveraging AI teams. 100
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 27/12/2024AI UI design today feels like the early days of responsive design all over again. Back then, we faced fluid viewports; now, we're facing fluid data. In both eras, code prototyping becomes the secret sauce for great design. 020
Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 26/12/2024Are you Team Right or Team Left when it comes to AI assistants? 000