I design things, and lately I build them too.
- The book The Augmented DesignerA field guide for designers who want to understand how AI can amplify their work — not replace it.
- Jul 2026 Building GrasshopperWhat happens when you give an augmented designer a weekend and Claude: building a free, open-source mentoring platform through human-AI collaboration.
- Oct 2025 I Went to Fusecon and the Most Provoking Idea I Heard Was About a PotatoWhen a dinner conversation about potatoes sparked more insight than an entire day of AI presentations, I realized what's been missing from conferences lately.
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.
The Augmented Designer
Natan SantoloThe Augmented Designer
A field guide for designers who want to understand how AI can amplify their work — not replace it.
- I The AI Landscape 9 min
- II How AI Works 9 min
- III Designing for AI Systems 12 min
- IV AI Tools for Design Workflows 9 min
- V The Future of UX 9 min
- VI Your Journey Begins 3 min
The Index
10 articles · 2012 to 2026- 2026 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.
- 2025 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.
- 2025 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.
- 2025 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.
- 2025 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.
- 2016 Scrolling performance How I fixed janky scrolling UIs, and the mental model I still use to keep interfaces smooth.
- 2016 Awesome Web Components Why web components still matter, where they shine, and how to use them without forcing them everywhere.
- 2016 Angular Switchery A practical case study on wrapping a UI library inside AngularJS without breaking two-way data flow.
- 2013 Currying with JavaScript A practical introduction to currying, and when it helps you design cleaner JavaScript APIs.
- 2012 Todo App with Chico UI A small historical demo that taught me enduring lessons about UI libraries, scope, and product focus.
The snake still lives here
"Create what you wish existed." So I made this website where you can play snake with the arrow keys, enjoy!