Building Grasshopper
What happens when you give an augmented designer a weekend and Claude: building a free, open-source mentoring platform through human-AI collaboration.
Natan Santolo
Free-range Design Leader
I design things, and lately I build them too.
A decade of leading design teams taught me one thing: most products don't fail because the pixels are wrong. They fail because nobody actually understood the people using them. So that's the work, research, strategy, and the messy organizational change it takes to make a company listen.
Lately I'm obsessed with a quieter question, how designers and AI work together once you strip away the hype. I wrote The Augmented Designer about exactly that: AI as a way to amplify your judgment, not replace it.
And because I think we should build what we wish existed, I built Grsshppr, a mentoring platform that belongs to the community, not to a growth chart. It's where I coach on startups, UX, product, and design. Pull up a chair.
There's no such thing as final.
Thoughts
I Went to Fusecon and the Most Provoking Idea I Heard Was About a Potato
When a dinner conversation about potatoes sparked more insight than an entire day of AI presentations, I realized what's been missing from conferences lately.
I Saw Chapter 2 and I Can't Wait for Chapter 3
A Thai dancer, a chat window, and the most compelling case for human-AI collaboration I've seen on stage. This is what augmentation looks like when it's done right.
The Calendar Invite That Almost Drove Me Mad
When a simple calendar invite caused existential panic, it became the perfect example of why context matters in UX design. A practical exploration of user perspective and human-centered design principles.
I Wrote A Book For Designers About AI
The moment I knew I had to write this book happened during what should have been a routine coaching session.