A journey of craft built on trust, confidence, and focus

One year ago, I joined Linear as a designer, excited but uncertain about what lay ahead. Linear’s reputation for craft and velocity was both inspiring and intimidating, and I wondered whether I could live up to their high standards. Over the past year, I’ve not only learned more than I could have imagined about design, collaboration, and trust, but I’ve also been able to contribute to some incredible projects—redefining the UI, improving workflows, and exploring entirely new surfaces. Each project has challenged me to grow while leaving an impact I’m proud of.

This post is a reflection on those lessons, the challenges I’ve faced, and the growth I’ve experienced during my first year at Linear.

The power of focus

At Linear, I’ve found a rare kind of playground, a place where focus and clarity are genuinely built into the culture. With less than three hours of meetings per week, I’ve had the space to fully immerse myself in design work: exploring ideas, refining interactions, and polishing details. It’s not just about having fewer meetings. The async-first culture fosters trust and precision in communication, which results in less distractions and more intentional work.

In my first week, diving into the Linear UI redesign, I realized how powerful this focused environment could be. Without the constant need to over-communicate or ‘prove’ productivity, I could pour all my energy into the craft itself. Over time, this environment has allowed me to work with a sense of calm and purpose, even when tackling high-stakes projects.

Collaboration as a dialogue

Collaboration at Linear feels like a true dialogue. Engineers don’t just execute designs, they actively shape the experience by challenging ideas, asking thoughtful questions, and pushing for better solutions. That dynamic creates a process where both sides elevate their craft, working together to reach a shared standard of excellence.

One of the most unexpected things about collaboration at Linear is how much engineers push for design excellence. It’s not just me handing off work, it’s a dialogue. They ask for more details, challenge interactions, and push the design to an even higher standard. That back-and-forth has been incredibly rewarding because it’s not just about getting things done, it’s about making sure what we create feels seamless and exceptional. We push each other and the work is better because of it. Collaborating with engineers with a strong taste on how the experience should feel, whether it’s micro-details or entire flows, is just gold when building software. You have someone to talk to when experimenting with new ideas or polishing transitions.

The time available each week to do actual work is well-balanced with the velocity at which the team operates while maintaining high standards. This is due to the level of people working here, with lots of experience, taste, and skills.

Working on the new UI and features like Swimlanes, Document diffs, Initiatives and [secret projects #1 and #2], I experienced how every conversation—whether about a flow, an interaction, or a subtle visual detail—could take an idea further. That shared sense of ownership and care is what makes collaboration here so rewarding.

Navigating imposter syndrome

Imposter syndrome has been a recurring theme for me throughout this past year, especially in the early days. Starting out with a high-visibility project like the Linear UI redesign, I felt the weight of expectations. Not because anyone doubted me, but because I doubted myself. Over time, I’ve come to see those moments of doubt not as something to eliminate, but as part of the process. Signs that you’re growing and pushing yourself into new territory.

For me, navigating those moments meant grounding myself in what I could control: sticking to my routines, focusing on the work, and trusting the process. Sometimes, it’s as simple as doing the work and letting the results speak for themselves. Sharing these feelings with colleagues also made a huge difference. Those honest conversations reminded me that imposter syndrome is a shared experience, not a personal flaw.

At Linear, the scale of the impact we aim for can amplify those feelings. We’re building tools that shape how teams work and that comes with a sense of responsibility: to live up to the team’s high standards and genuinely improve people’s workflows. Balancing that pressure with purpose has been one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned this year.

Experiencing imposter syndrome has taught me to accept feedback—both positive and constructive—with openness and to lean on my teammates for perspective and support. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s also a reminder that the work you’re doing matters. Over time, I’ve learned to reframe it as a driver for growth, reflection, and improvement, and that’s been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.

Knowing how and when to recharge

Recognizing the need to recharge is crucial in maintaining creativity and productivity as a designer. For me, this involves engaging in various playgrounds beyond my daily work at Linear. My personal website is a space where I explore new technologies and express my style, while side projects like little apps/websites, Figma and Framer plugins, and Raycast extensions, keep my creativity flowing.

Balancing my dominant visual sense as a designer, I find recharging in tactile experiences like building LEGO sets, tinkering with mechanical keyboards, or engaging in drawing. These activities provide a refreshing contrast, creating a virtuous cycle that fuels my passion and keeps my work dynamic and inspired.

Incorporating these creative ingredients into my routine is not optional; it’s a fundamental part of my job. By regularly engaging in these activities, I ensure a steady flow of inspiration, preventing creative fatigue and maintaining high-quality output. Just as a dish requires all its ingredients for the best flavor, my work thrives when I maintain this balance of energy, inspiration, and skills.

Designing for impact

I had already been a dedicated Linear user before I joined the company. Since early 2020, I’d been using it as a tool for my personal projects, agency work, and startup collaborations. I thought I understood the tool, but seeing how Linear uses Linear from the inside has been a completely different experience.

What stands out is how everything flows naturally. Not because of rigid processes, but because of a solid foundation built on shared principles and a clear mission. By hiring people who align with those values, the team creates an environment where decisions feel instinctive, and momentum translates into velocity and quality. It’s been inspiring to see how this foundation drives the work, and even more rewarding to contribute to it.

Another aspect that I love is how passionate and meticulous people are in this company, how each detail counts, how the experience should match the Linear standard and bring it even higher. Operating as a 60-person company while delivering this much impact for PRD teams genuinely feels good. Slack messages and tweets from customers and fans are a good reminder to do your best to step up at your craft.

Projects shipped

This past year, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a range of impactful projects that highlight the diversity and depth of the design challenges we tackle at Linear. In my career update post, I wrote:

While I don’t have any crystal ball, I think it’s relatively easy to say that the next months will be intense, and I’m more than ready to be part of it.

I was right: my first project was the new Linear UI. I relied on Karri’s previous explorations during the Autumn, followed by my own explorations, then a lot of design tests, to finally bring it to life in a couple of weeks with the EU team. Here you can learn more about the why of this redesign and the behind-the-scenes.

I also had the pleasure with Andreas to share more about our process during a Figma “In The File” livestream, hosted by Luis Ouriach. We even shared some of the Figma utility plugins I developed for the design team, this one helping to handle themes creation and updates.

I made smaller contributions to Timeframes with Romain and Kenneth, polish details and edge-cases of Swimlanes with Maciek and Nan, and bring Attached Project Views to life with Sebastian.

Then, I joined Nan, Adrien, Andreas, and Paul on Initiatives to explore alternatives for the description and projects list, and think about the next features to bring to this new surface of the product.

I polished the Linear-to-Linear migration assistant with Kenneth. This helped reduce the CX team's workload during customer calls and eliminated their need to rely on an engineer for this action.

More recently, I worked with Sagan, Maciek and Alex to bring subscriptions to documents inside Linear and add the ability to show changes between versions.

I also developed three internal Figma plugins that enhanced the design team's productivity:

• a data population tool for mockups for issues, projects, and teams

• a theme importer that synchronizes our Figma variables with our codebase

• an icon export utility, that turns exportable svg into ready tsx components

These projects, along with smaller contributions like refining edge cases, quick fixes, and improving user interactions, have been some of the most rewarding parts of the year. And as we move forward, I’m excited to dive into entirely new explorative surfaces within the product.

Reflection and looking ahead

As I reflect on this past year at Linear, what stands out the most is how much it feels like a true playground—not just for exploration and creativity, but for doing your best work. It’s a place where you’re constantly challenged, where collaboration pushes you to level up, and where learning happens every step of the way.

Linear has been that playground for me, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. With even more exciting opportunities on the horizon, I’m ready to continue building, learning, and pushing boundaries in the year ahead.

If anything above resonates with what you aim for a place to work at and people to work with, know that we’re hiring so feel free to send me a DM if any of these roles suit you (we have other engineering positions):

• Principal Designer (North America)

• Creative Lead (North America)

• Senior/Staff Product Engineer (Europe + North America)

Thanks to Karri Saarinen, Julian Lehr, Daniel W. Smith, Kenneth Skovhus, Hassan Boujnikh, and Rémi Bonnet for reviewing this post.