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20+ years of building products, companies and teams in technology from Fortune 500 firms…
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Charles Adler shared thisHappy Birthday Kickstarter ✌️ ❤️ 🥰Charles Adler shared thisIt’s our birthday 🥳 For 17 years, Kickstarter has been a place where ideas find their people, and where creators bring them to life. Thank you to the creators and backers who make it all possible. To many more. 🥂
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Charles Adler reposted thisTHIS! Always do the dishes!Charles Adler reposted thisThere are two kinds of people after dinner: Those who ask, “Can I help?” And those who are already doing the dishes. One sounds helpful. One is. This plays out on every team every day. Don't wait for permission. Do the dishes.
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Charles Adler reposted thisSome of the most iconic products in history were built in stealth. Dieter Rams works from a principle of reduction: eliminate everything that does not serve the work. Steve Jobs was obsessive about secrecy not as a PR tactic but as a creative discipline. This decision within GOB to enter a temporary season-long stealth mode came from a major catalyst - In attempting to design a very specific product to pair well with our debut product, the 100% bio-based earplugs, we created an innovation that has huge potential far beyond a singular product. Instead of stretching the team to its max, we decided to take a short pause from selling in order to bring these innovations to our customers faster, more efficiently, and with a refreshed broader vision. Once we asked the question out loud: "What if we turned the tap off to go all-in on this instead of incremental shifts and edits" ... we knew it was the right move. We plan to share behind-the-scenes development of what's coming, keeping our community tight, and launching with the same relentless transparency you know us for. I plan to share more via Substack soon on this decision process in case anyone is curious! Stay close! https://lnkd.in/g5uJJpMbCharles Adler reposted this🟢TODAY IS A BIG DAY IN GOB LAND.🟢 As you know, we started with earplugs. But our mission has always been far larger. We've spent years developing the research, expertise, and the conviction that nontoxic single-use products aren't a niche - they're the future of an entire category. Right now, we have the opportunity to broaden this vision, taking that foundation we’ve built somewhere it's never been. We are going into stealth mode today, on Earth Day, to go all-in on development to bring these new innovations to you. We'll be back with something much bigger in a few short months, while sharing some peeks behind the curtain along the way. We can’t share too much, but what we can say for sure is that what we have coming is something that no one else has been able to unlock. If you love our earplugs, you are going to love what is coming. Stay close. We will be sharing opportunities to be our earliest customers. You’re not going to want to miss out. Trust us.
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Charles Adler shared thisCharles Adler shared thisA couple of weeks ago, I stood next to a bike lane in Paris and counted 30 cyclists go by in 30 seconds. The city has completely changed over the last decade–not just with bike lanes, but car-free streets in front of schools, parking spots replaced by trees, and an "urban forest" in front of City Hall. In my latest piece for Fast Company, I wrote about how the mayor over the last 12 years, Anne Hidalgo, led one of the fastest street redesign campaigns ever attempted in a major global city. Critics said some of the changes weren't realistic, and she faced steep opposition from drivers. But Hidalgo pushed forward anyway, and the city is now greener and air pollution has dropped by at least 50%. Here's how it happened: https://lnkd.in/gbHWFBaR
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Charles Adler shared thisOn point.Charles Adler shared thisAllow me to tell you a story about an administration who was hellbent on ending advancements in renewable resources and prioritized investments in oil, gas, and coal. They stopped all environmental support and environmental science groups, halting progress. That administration took over a country purely for oil, started a war, and... managed to make oil and gas more expensive than it has EVER been. And in doing so, made plastics and anything made from petrochemicals surge in pricing... Leading to... 📣 renewables and bio-based solutions becoming the more reliable option after all. If anyone wants to dive deeper into the numbers: https://lnkd.in/gRU5SuXT
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Charles Adler reposted thisCharles Adler reposted thisI am a day late! but here, nonetheless to shout from the rooftops about this: 200 of us are posting on the same day, to amplify one of the most extraordinary founder pipelines in venture. The companies represented in Diversify have collectively raised over $1B in venture capital. On May 6, we are coming together for a special exhibit at the SFMOMA San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where our portraits will be hung. Here is a link to the gala/event this May! - https://lnkd.in/gAgJBe-8
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Charles Adler reposted thisCharles Adler reposted thisVery excited to share our latest Baukunst report on how AI is transforming manufacturing (link below👇). Members of the Baukunst collective, startup founders, and guest experts, including leaders from manufacturing giants like NVIDIA, Flex, Tesla, Rivian, and Apple, stepped up to share both questions and experiences working with AI. We explored how AI is being used by some of the world’s largest contract manufacturers and best startups, ranging from agentic procurement and negotiation to AI-assisted industrial engineering and humanoid robots. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/gg4rVdVm Huge thanks to guests + speakers: Spencer Huang David Autor Ranjit Vidhani Braden Ball Helen Wang Aaron Slodov Jeff McAlvay kishan chalumuri Roy E. Bahat Josef Waltl
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Charles Adler reposted thisCharles Adler reposted thisThree ways I used AI this month: 1) Wrote Python to pull Strava data and weather into my Obsidian daily notes. Styled it with custom CSS. 2) Fixed a five year old QMK firmware bug on my mechanical keyboard. C code and JSON included. 3) Iterated on my Tour Divide note taking prototype in Figma. Dabbled with some Xcode and Swift. Here's the thing, I'm not technical... I hardly understand what I just wrote but I was able to make and fix stuff. And not once did it try to add an extra finger to anything. It's a tool, folks.
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Charles Adler reposted thisCharles Adler reposted thisHey friends — If you've ever found inspiration from Colossal, we could really use your support this month. As an added bonus, we're giving away an art-packed trip to Philly! Become a member this week at any level and you'll automagically be entered. Thanks for considering! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gYKGphAr
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Charles Adler reacted on thisCharles Adler reacted on thisLast week I had the fortune of presenting at Stripe Sessions on behalf of the team at New Generation. We’ve gone for the last three years and it’s always a highlight (my co-founder Adam Behrens is also a Stripe alum), but this year was extra special getting to take the stage. The talk focused on the practical implications of agentic commerce and what it means for merchants as AI becomes a new interface between customers and brands. We also revealed Commerce Agents — an industry first, and a glimpse into the future of online commerce. We’re deploying these agents with some of the world’s most well-known brands, and we’re seeing applications across retail, banking, consulting, insurance, travel, and many other verticals. Grateful to Stripe for the opportunity, and h/t to Katie Dill and the design team for all the work behind the scenes to make it such a wonderful event! Posting a link below if you want to check out the recording.
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Charles Adler reacted on thisCharles Adler reacted on thisAbout to kick off The Decision Stack book launch in London together with Barry O'Reilly and Artificial Organizations ! We have 125+ leaders (and twice that on the waiting list!) coming to talk about leadership and strategy in the AI era, hosted by Few&Far and Planes Studio. If you couldn’t make it - grab our books and we’ll host more events in future I’m sure!
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Charles Adler reacted on thisCharles Adler reacted on thisSome public art is meant to stop you in your tracks. Some quietly becomes part of the neighborhood. This mural wraps the corner of a building in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood near Elston and Armitage. The piece was designed to feel simple, direct, and visible from multiple directions as people move through the city. Over time, it became part of the streetscape itself. Something commuters, neighbors, cyclists, and pedestrians encounter in everyday life. Full project: https://lnkd.in/gRJiWxF7
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Charles Adler reacted on thisCharles Adler reacted on thisI'm excited to announce IN BETWEEN DAYS, a two-day online summit about creativity, technology, and change. I'll be leading the event along with my colleague Brendan Dawes and special guests, presented by Anamorph and Chance Operations. More info here: https://lnkd.in/e_EcxPwv Like a lot of you, I'm trying to stay focused and creative in some very uncertain times. AI and new technologies are radically changing how ideas are made, shared, and valued. For many of us, it’s not just a new set of tools, it’s a disruption to our process, our livelihood, and our identity. And it’s unfolding alongside a wider sense of social and political instability. So how do we move forward from here, and where does creativity fit in? At a moment when the rules are being rewritten, creativity matters more than ever. It’s not just self-expression; it’s how we process uncertainty and imagine alternatives. This gathering brings together a multi-disciplinary group of artists and thinkers—designers, photographers, musicians, filmmakers, writers, and more—to explore how we can navigate the chaos of these days and reimagine the role of creativity in shaping what comes next. What does it mean to create in an era where human-made work feels increasingly devalued? How do we build a sustainable creative life when most forms of media are controlled by massive corporate entities? And what are the practical techniques, strategies, and tools we can use to maintain creative momentum? We’ll explore these questions with your input, ideas, and experiences at the center of the conversation. And we'll showcase a group of artists finding ways to make meaningful, original work (digital and physical) in this new landscape. We’ve got a fantastic line-up of guest speakers which will be announced soon. Register now for early bird pricing and a special gift: https://lnkd.in/e_EcxPwv Saturday, June 6th and Sunday, June 7th Streamed live online, 1pm to 4pm EST each day (18:00 to 21:00 UTC) plus a virtual afterparty Sunday. Video of all sessions will be archived for attendees to watch afterwards. I’ve spent the past 20 years interviewing designers, musicians, architects, artists, and others about their creative practices. Now I want to hear about your creative life, and hopefully together we can find some answers to the challenges we’re all facing now. Hope you can join us!
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Charles Adler reacted on thisCharles Adler reacted on thisAnd just like that our area's monthly graphic design meetup is in almost here! This one is a morning session at Forty Weight/Greenstar on Cascadilla St. in Ithaca at 8:15am. We usually wrap by 9:30. Amazing poster design from recent-ish transplant Curtis Jinkins, aka Neighborhood Studio (link in comments)! See y'all soon.
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Charles Adler reacted on thisCharles Adler reacted on thisToday, I'm announcing something I've been quietly building. (Link in comments)✨ It's called Little Archive. It moves your kids' Seesaw photos into Google Photos, with the captions, dates, and teacher notes preserved. If you have a kid in preschool or elementary school using Seesaw, you've probably tried to download the photos. You get a zip file. Inside, the photos and captions don't stay together. The teacher's notes — the things they wrote about your kid that day — are nowhere near the actual photo. Most parents either give up, or upload the photos and lose the rest. Little Archive fixes that. You upload the export, it puts everything back together, and your photos land in your own Google Photos library with the captions baked in. About ten minutes. $12.95, one-time, no account. I built it after downloading my twins' Seesaw exports and realizing the photos would just sit in a folder forever. I figured if I had this problem, other parents probably did too. I'd love your help spreading the word 💕
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Education
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Illinois Institute of Technology
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Presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Design for pushing the practice and profession of design forward through the founding of Kickstarter and Lost Arts.
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Volunteer Experience
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Executive Board Member
Design Museum of Chicago
- Present 12 years 4 months
Arts and Culture
Support strategic development of this fledgling cultural institution, advising on fundraising, leadership, curation, community, and brand.
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Advisor
American Library Association
- 1 year 1 month
Education
Supporting long-term strategic efforts through advising the Executive team. As a child who found safety, creativity, self expression and frankly, other worlds, I'm deeply inspired by the work of the ALA, and hope my efforts continue to do the same for future generations of children and adults.
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Juror
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
- 1 month
Arts and Culture
In 2013 I was invited to participate as a Juror for the Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards. It was an honor to be amongst an amazing cadre of designers from various industries - fashion, architecture, product design, graphic design, and myself representing interaction design.
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Juror
Architizer
- 4 years 1 month
Arts and Culture
I have participated annually as a Juror since 2013 for the coveted Architizer A+ awards. It’s been an extraordinary honor, as a non-Architect, to have been asked repeatedly to engage in a discipline I am deeply fond of.
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Mentor
Techstars
- Present 9 years 10 months
Science and Technology
Support and mentor Techstars entrepreneurs during each class cycle and typically beyond.
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Board Member
AIGA New York
- 2 years 1 month
Arts and Culture
Support AIGA NY with strategic development for a two year term. Primary mission and related initiatives were in supporting and defining a new AIGA in light of Designs ever changing definition. Most critically, the design organizations relationship to web/internet/mobile technology. Led the effort to reimagine, launch and build operations for support for a new AIGA NY website.
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Scott Parker
With no affiliation, sharing this as I know it will be good. Peter Merholz's ideas have been instrumental in my shaping of design teams. As iF Design point out here - the right environment around the design team is key to producing a successful team. The role of the leader is to create that environment.
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Chris Mann
Most deep tech brands lead with complexity. Quantum breakthroughs. AI models. Patents and roadmaps. But luxury brands learned long ago that the story of craft matters more than the craft itself. Taste isn’t about elitism—it’s about restraint. It’s knowing what not to show, what not to say, and when to let silence do the work. As deep technologies like AI and quantum computing move from the lab to the world, the companies that lead will be the ones who communicate with elegance, not excess. Because when everything is powerful, taste becomes the real differentiator.
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👨🏻💻 Andy Budd
GV (Google Ventures) have a long history of hiring former designers and design leaders to support their portfolio companies. Folks like Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Kate Aronowitz, Daniel Burka, Braden Kowitz, Vanessa Cho, and Tom Hulme. In my latests podcast interview, Kate Aronowitz explains why this is, and what designers bring to the table. Interestingly it's not about craft, but rather the way they see the world with a beginners mind.
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Michael Riddering
I've anticipated today's episode for a long time... b/c we get to do a deep dive into the new era of design at Stripe with their Head of Design Katie Dill 👇 We talk about prototyping, collaboration, hiring, and everything they're doing to push past the status quo (including a tour of Katie's favorite design details on the new site). it's a good one :) 🎧 https://lnkd.in/gmXtjtcm
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Chris Halaska
I've designed for billion-user products at Google, mobile banking at CBA, and now run a studio working across AI and Web3. The one thing that transferred across every context: taste. Not a visual style. Not a preference for minimalism or bold color. Taste as in the ability to evaluate whether a design decision is right for the specific product, audience, and moment. At Google Photos, "looks clean" wasn't a strategy. At CBA, the trust signals that worked in consumer tech fell flat. In Web3, the patterns are being written in real time. Each context forced me to recalibrate what "good" means. That recalibration is how taste gets built. Not from one project or one style, but from hundreds of decisions across different industries, users, and constraints. AI will keep making production faster and cheaper. The premium will go to designers who consistently make the right calls about what to build and how it should feel. If you want to build taste: study products outside your industry, ship work, watch real users, and seek honest feedback. It compounds quietly. But it's the thing clients pay for, even when they can't articulate why.
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AIGA Chicago
What do you get when you add UX + UI + AI? All will be revealed in the next installment of AIGA Chicago's Design in the Age of AI series: Gleb Kuznetsov, Chief Design Officer of Brain.ai, will bring Chicago a special sneak peek at the future of interface design—direct from the Bay Area labs where it's being written. Spoiler alert: we're talking new tools and new experiences driven by the same badass human designers at the helm. 📍 – Institute of Design at Illinois Tech 🗓️ – August 26 🎟 – https://buff.ly/XtW1OZ6 #AIGAChicago #DesignInTheAgeofAI #DesignTalk #ChicagoEvents #FutureOfDesign
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Charles Haggas
At Brightscout, we use PERT to estimate scope. PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) factors best case, worst case, and most likely outcomes to give us a weighted estimate. It helps us plan with precision and deliver with confidence. Rigor isn’t red tape. It’s how we protect timelines, budgets, and trust.
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Robert Fransgaard
This is what investing in AI in design looks like. As with many other job families, the design industry focuses on what might the impact of AI be: will it lower the quality with slop? Will it replace humans? Etc But I don't see much focus on to understand and really capitalise on the potential AI brings to design. We are largely treating it as any other tool: a way to get incrementally better. At best it's a short course for the designers, at worst it's expecting designers to already know how to use it. But AI has the potential for making radical shifts and leaps. I'd love to hear, and learn, from anyone who is making significant strides to drive AI transformation in design.
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Paul Boag
I had a conversation recently about the balance between data and creativity in design. You probably know the story about Doug Bowman leaving Google because they wanted to test 41 shades of blue for a link color. It's become a cautionary tale in our industry, and for good reason. If you only listen to testing, you end up with something very competent but very uninspiring. Every decision backed by data. Every choice justified by numbers. And somehow, the end result feels... fine. Just fine. I've made this mistake myself more times than I'd like to admit. I've hidden behind "the data says" when I should have trusted creative judgment. It took me embarrassingly long to realize that testing should inform design, not dictate it. Data is brilliant at telling you when something doesn't work. It's rubbish at telling you what would be remarkable. A/B tests can optimize a button, but they can't dream up something users didn't know they wanted. So that's where I've landed after years of overthinking this. Use research to understand the problem. Use creativity to solve it. And maybe don't test 41 shades of blue unless you genuinely want to watch your best designers walk out the door. #UXDesign #UserExperience #DesignLeadership
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