Special edition: Featuring writer and designer Patrick Morgan
👋 Good morning from Los Angeles! I'm Nate Kadlac, and this is Plan Your Next—a Sunday newsletter that connects design, creativity, and how you prepare for your next thing.
What’s new?
Every now and then, I aim to unlock insights from entrepreneurs and creators who are chasing their next thing. This week, I’m honored to highlight, Patrick Morgan.
Patrick reached out via Twitter—and because he’s moving back to LA—we found some time to chat about our own next things. I found his story of balancing a full-time role while writing a newsletter similar to mine, and I thought he would be a perfect fit for sharing his journey.
Don't expect anyone else to fully understand why you need to pursue the next idea upfront.
Who is Patrick Morgan?
I'm Principal Product Designer at a cybersecurity startup and write a newsletter called Better by Design. I'm also an amateur singer/songwriter and endurance runner. So my days are usually some combo of: make something (design, writing, music), go run, hang with friends or family.
When was the last time you made an unexpected pivot in direction, either recently or in the past?
The last time I made an unexpected turn was when I switched from being a UI engineer into design.
I had joined a small startup that didn’t have any full-time designers and as the UI developer that cared the most about how the app looked and felt, I ended up making our designs.
After a few months of doing double duty, the founders let me hand off my development responsibilities and shift full-time into design. I still liked coding, but design felt like a more natural fit for me day-to-day. After making the switch, I stuck around long enough to build my portfolio and then made the move to a company with a larger, more established design team with good leaders I could learn from.
One main takeaway is to recognize and follow your own tolerance when it comes to picking your daily work. I looked around at the other UI engineers I worked with and realized that I didn’t share their fascination with the minutia of the technical implementation; I was fascinated with how the product felt to use.
Could I have been happy staying as a UI developer? Probably. But has design been an overall better fit for me? You bet.
A piece of advice you would offer someone who feels stuck in pursuing their next idea?
Don't expect anyone else to fully understand why you need to pursue the next idea upfront.
As a people-pleaser by nature, I know it's super hard to move ahead without some validation, but it's a trap. You just need to start making what you want to make and then as the shape starts to reveal itself people will start to understand.
What are you most excited about in the world today?
I'm really excited about the next wave of business and entrepreneurship opportunities for people with a creative technology skill set. To me, it feels like we're on the verge of a renaissance for folks who embrace building hybrid skills.
A favorite quote or piece of advice you live by?
A recent addition to my list of favorite quotes is this one by author and YouTuber John Green:
"I used to think art had to be great to be worthwhile; now, I only think it has to be to be worthwhile.”
In our data-driven culture, I feel a lot of pressure to rationalize every input and output of my creations. But often, the best and only reason to make something is simply because you want to see it exist.
What do you need help with?
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter Better by Design 😎
Where can someone find you online?
Follow Patrick on Twitter, LinkedIn, and subscribe to his newsletter
Want to see past featured guests? Read the short interviews of Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Andrew Barry, Paul Millerd, Rachel Krupa, Paul Woods, Jonathon Hillis, Heather King, and Greg Frontiero.
“You just need to start making what you want to make and then as the shape starts to reveal itself people will start to understand.” Such a helpful reminder! And one I felt personally called out by 😅 Really great interview.