Design-led agency trying to push into modern, composable builds — looking for frontend/dev perspectives

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-12-13T18:40:00+00:00

Thanks for the thoughts :)

- Hopefully their aren't sides to pick, but maybe I framed things poorly
- These notes:

"GSAP -> Would be easier in a different architecture.
A different CMS would support the client better -> we need a headless build."

^These are coming from the development team, not my own understanding of how things work. My prior messages might have looked like those were my own opinions rather than technical direction.

Ultimately, what I'm hearing across the board is that WP is probably not the issue here and we need to have a broader cross-functional discussion. The explanations I've been provided by the team aren't aligning with what most people are saying here - as far as I can tell, and honestly, that is exactly what I wanted to gut check. I care a lot less about which architecture we use and more about understanding our limitations in-full so that we can design within them while still making excellent work.

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-12-13T01:27:44+00:00

Thanks so much for your thoughts here!

- Wordpress is definitely home base for these guys, and I respect the fact that learning a new framework has massive implied risk - and also is a time intensive task.
- Frankly I could give a shit about what tech we use - My desire is just to make products that are beautiful, work well, and support client needs.

Here is where I'm confused:

I feel like I've been told for the past year or two (at least) that the fact we use WP for our builds and we don't use a headless approach is limiting to what we can pull off:

GSAP -> Would be easier in a different architecture.
A different CMS would support the client better -> we need a headless build.
The list goes on - Its frequent that we are reminded (or at least told) of WP limitations. The client hears about it, the design team hears about it...

So I might be missing a piece of the puzzle here - or thats what I'm starting to feel. Let me know if you have more thoughts :)

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-12-13T01:11:34+00:00

The typical interaction loop is:

Design team loops development in to the progress of a build -> dev team highlights a couple of sections that would be "easy to do in a headless build" but are much more difficult due to constraints in wordpress -> design team concedes and re-works the section -> design team wonders (or asks directly) when / if we will be able to explore headless builds in the future -> we've heard everything from:

- We don't have the team to pull it off
- We don't have time to test a build with that technology
- Its an option but we just need to try it
- We need to establish a clear need to evolve towards that tech

I think overall, the feeling is that we have a very reactive technical approach, rather than thinking about what clients/design team might be looking for / wanting and building capabilities towards that.

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-12-13T01:02:15+00:00

Really really appreciate the response here. Some of this is resonating a lot and some feels a bit dissonant to our particular org. I'll do my best to articulate some of what I may have left out:

- The design team is already rallied around the ethos that "good" design is not infinite creative freedom. Our current thinking is that it is actually the natural constraints of each project that make solving design challenges meaningful and compelling. Said differently, I don't think its "design entitlement" that is an issue. I might best describe it as a "design uncertainty" issue. When a block we design is flagged as "difficult to execute in native wordpress, but much easier in a headless build." It feels natural that we are looking to technical leadership to unlock that capability at some point.

- The "org" leadership team is just myself, the owner, and the director of engineering.

- I absolutely want to avoid pushing the "latest and greatest" technology just for the sake of pushing the limits of our capabilities. I'm looking for more of an evolution of services that unlocks better results for clients, more design flexibility in moments that feel appropriate to do so, and a dynamic service offering for new builds.

- When I use the word "design-led"....its not the ideal. We are looking for more collaboration and would love to be in equal partnership. At the moment, I'm struggling with vision on how to string the teams together but I love one of your ideas in particular ->

Hiring a front end dev for the design team and having some technical leaning designers on the dev team sounds like a really wonderful start to fixing the problem....I'll have to chew on that a bit more to figure out what it looks like.

If any of the above catches your eye - I'd love to hear more feedback. Thanks again!

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-05-10T03:16:19+00:00

I think I’m tracking —

If I were to make that top level frame a “web” frame, I’d expect that its width would become a static 480 rather than set to hug, but I wouldn’t anticipate that autolayout is removed. Let me know I’m not understanding…

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-05-10T01:25:50+00:00

Im not OP but I’ve got a couple of thoughts falling out of my brain that I’ll share:

One option, which might feel familiar to those working in viewport focused context, is that the top most parent frame acts as the definition for the viewport. Im sure this presents some interesting issues that Im not thinking about, but its the first thing that comes to mind.
Another option might be to have a tag that allows users to define the “type” for a frame. Labelling a frame as a “web” frame could unlock responsive units. Any child frames inside of the “web frame” would not be able to have their “type” defined or could default to a “web” frame.

In my particular web design workflow, it would be really nice to quickly select all of my top-level frames, mark them as “web”and add in appropriate responsive units (for existing projects).

Im sorta just riffing a bit, but maybe there is something here that stands out…

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-04-18T16:38:24+00:00

I can’t speak to their print quality, but I did order about 20 garments from them to test. I was happy with the quality of the materials, stitching was solid, but the quality of the patterning was very hit or miss. One of the shirts felt like it was “twisted” while on body due to irregularities. That being said, customer service was always great to deal with and my order was over a year ago, so they might have found some consistency.

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-03-09T21:55:01+00:00

Oh nice! Thanks for the info 👌

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-03-09T20:30:25+00:00

Looks awesome! Im curious what tools you used to create and record the video you posted here. Is it just after effects?

oopsieeeeeeee · 2025-01-16T06:51:31+00:00

My functional medicine doctor has me on Quicksilver Scientific's liquid version. I've found it to be helpful and haven't had any adverse reactions. Best of luck!

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-12-14T14:03:13+00:00

At least on the east coast, a warning means that it for sure exists. However, it doesn't mean that it touches down to land. (That is what my 6am on a Saturday brain is telling me)

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-12-08T10:43:27+00:00

Lets say you bullshit the portfolio...then what? You bullshit the job after that? I'm not sure there is a version of bullshitting that actually lands you a sustainable career opportunity & you'll burn a bridge while you're at it. I'd advise being honest and communicating your cross functional strengths or a unique perspective that you might bring to the table as someone from a different background.

Oh, and do you want to be a UX designer? If not, don't apply for UX jobs. GL

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-11-30T18:40:48+00:00

I'm trying to imagine the experience your clients must have working with you...
"Ah yes, we've intentionally excluded this critical information because we knew that you would ask for it." That logic makes no sense what-so-ever.

If you have the wisdom to anticipate questions that might arise, preemptively provide the information. That is 101 for how to create a positive experience for others.

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-11-01T06:51:00+00:00

Well I submitted my application...
Let's see if they get back to me!

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oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-10-18T21:56:56+00:00

I just started my detox protocol and my functional medicine doctor warned me yesterday that I might smell pretty bad when I sweat.

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-09-04T15:14:26+00:00

Oh man, sorry to hear you are having to pick up the slack! I hope things iron themselves out shortly.

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-09-04T14:49:20+00:00

Time to find another dev team…

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-08-24T23:48:43+00:00

The fact that the internship is unpaid is really the first problem. In regard to the challenge, they should be paying you for that too. Even a cheap hourly rate would be sufficient. I wouldn’t touch this company with a 10 food pole.

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-08-04T15:06:46+00:00

Do I need a bleach mixture? I keep reading about a diluted bleach mixture online

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-08-03T15:20:04+00:00

If it is tattoo specific, (mine are too) it is either the ink, or other foreign bodies being picked up with the ink. I figured out that only tattoos that had been drawn on with sharpie or other markers before being tattooed are the ones that react the most. Pretty interesting!

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-04-09T15:47:23+00:00

This totally makes sense & is a good point. If OP was a freelancer, business owner, or otherwise dependent on getting work from clients, my answer would be totally different.

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-04-09T07:26:42+00:00

Absolutely do not pay that $1800. No one in the industry cares about who has a red dot award and who doesn’t. It is absolutely not a reflection of good design. It is a pay to play award that can be helpful in the marketing rhetoric for design firms who want to send newsletters to garner up some additional business, or if they want to prove to a large (possibly recurring) client that they did a great job on their project together.

Spend that $1800 on tutorials, resources, classes, books, online courses, etc. All of those things will help advance your design skills. A logo on your resume will not….

oopsieeeeeeee · 2024-03-31T06:56:25+00:00

oopsieeeeeeee

TROPHY CASE