Gareth Chainey

Essays

How AI is changing the way I design, build and test, written as I go.

  1. Screen recordings as HTML, not videoThe recordings on this site are the real page, recorded as HTML. The same clips both ways: up to 158 times smaller, and sharp at any zoom.
  2. Agentic user testingRemoving the friction of setting up user tests, and getting results you can trust when you design in HTML, not Figma.
  3. Using AI to Build the Tools That Make the ThingWhen an AI agent can build a tool in an afternoon, build the tools first. Three I built for a game, what each one told us, and why the same works for an app or a product.
  4. Opportunity sizing, but BalatroSizing a product bet like a hand of cards: people are chips, dollars are mult, and a growth loop is a joker.
  5. You Can Conjure Your Own Tools NowIn Figma, you waited for someone to ship the feature. With AI code tools, you build the creative tool you need in the moment you need it.
  6. The GUI Has to Earn Its PlaceI used to accept GUIs as the default. Now, if a chat interface could do it faster, the GUI feels like friction.
  7. How I Handle ConflictDisagreements aren't problems to avoid—they're opportunities to learn. Here's how I turn product debates into experiments.
  8. The Future is NowAI has fundamentally changed how designers produce their work. This is my journey from Figma to shipping real code.