Happy New Year. I couldn’t be more thrilled about 2025 and what’s next with the playbook. I hope your 2025 is shaping up to be just as exciting.

Design has never been just a job for me; it’s been a survival strategy, a passion, and, at times, therapy.

For years now, I’ve been throwing down random notes—personal observations, educated guesses, and raw knowledge I’ve gathered over the course of my career.

Following Snap’s announcement of Zenly being shut down in 2022, I poured some of those thoughts into two widely shared Medium articles (Part III is still due…). Writing those turned out to be a proof of concept—showing me that maybe, just maybe, people might care about what I have to say.

I promised myself I’d write more.

But before I even started, I embarked on an even more exciting adventure with friends: amo. It’s been an amazing and humbling experience. One that comes with hard-learned lessons and challenges.

Fast forward to today, and those notes are still piling up. It feels like the right time to turn them into something real—a newsletter that’s now fully part of my new ventures.

Why the playbook.

When I started in design more than a decade ago, there weren’t any tutorials or guides to help me navigate the craft or my career.

I got my start by literally filling pixels, one by one, in a 16x16px Photoshop canvas for the first Behance text editor UI. I’ll save that story for another time, but my point is: I wish I’d known where to look or what to read to become a successful designer.

Even now, I get asked the same questions over and over:

• “Can you jump on a quick call for some career advice?”

• “What’s your secret to designing products people love?”

• “Are you available for a quick coffee?”

It’s flattering, but unsustainable—and honestly, not the best way to provide value at scale.

So yeah. The playbook.

It’s my way of giving back but also creating something deeper—a space for connection, dialogue, and growth. An attempt to share guidance, insights, and tools with a personal angle and transparency.

I could have named it The Grind or The Hustle (though I hear that one’s taken?), but this name felt just right. Ballsy? Sure. Arrogant? Not really. It’s a paradox—because there’s no actual playbook for design or startups. The rules are unwritten, constantly changing, and often meant to be broken.

It’s about helping you thrive in design, helping you navigate the appealing yet messy waters of startup life, and beyond.

What you’ll get.

The playbook will start as a bi-weekly newsletter, with the potential to evolve. Long term, I don’t expect to be the sole author of the playbook. In the meantime, here’s what you can expect:

• Actionable advice on design and startups.

• Stories and lessons from my journey.

• Insights you won’t find in any traditional design publications.

• Cool things that inspire me, and friends.

• Some playbook projects that might get built in public in the future—two apps are already in the works, plus another small but cool designer thing.

It won’t stop there though. I’m planning to create a community space—a place where we can discuss, debate, and learn together. Whether it’s sharing tips, breaking down challenges, or exploring the latest trends, this will be a space for connection and growth.

Thanks for the support, see you soon with the first real post.

How does 2025 look like for you btw?

Julien.