A uniquely creative designer and developer with over 15 years of experience. I primarily focus on Idea, Product and Brand.

Zachary Hayes - Designer + Developer

Lissajous curves, named after the French mathematician Jules Antoine Lissajous, are mathematical visualizations that represent the motion of two perpendicular harmonic oscillations. These curves are formed by plotting the coordinates of points that correspond to the simultaneous values of the two...

Lissajous Curves | Figma Community

https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/1232402036106953267/lissajous-curves

I find an incredible sense of comfort when I reach one of these thresholds and get to remind myself "yeah, your parents were right."

I Know Nothing - Zachary Hayes

WarpStream is building a streaming application for the cloud world they claim is cheaper and faster to operate.

WarpStream is building a cheaper, cloud-native data streaming service | TechCrunch

https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/14/warpstream-is-building-a-cheaper-cloud-native-streaming-service/

I added color to my portfolio because I had so much fun with it on a client project. Who knew. https://zchry.org/

Lukewarm take: People that require daily check-ins probably don't actually value talent or quality, they value control.

Sometimes I come across a designer new to me and I'm like hmm wtf am I doing. eg: https://mcknny.com/

Had a small little figma class for some coworkers.

My friend is opening a secret bar at his shop, so we made it weird.

My little figma plugin has been used by 1,300 people. That's crazy to me. 

https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/1232402036106953267/lissajous-curves

I love that the first opening line for every design subscription service is something to the effect of "freelancers are unreliable piles of shit" (paraphrasing). My brother in Baphomet, we're all still freelancers. We just get paid easier now.

Adobe not acquiring Figma is the best design news we've gotten all year.

My beer can for https://www.colorfactory.co/.

My confession is that I secretly fix things on client websites that they've messed up. Padding, colors, etc. Even many months after the fact. Because it drives me crazy.

One of my favorite projects that went absolutely no where: https://solipsismwow.com/

I don't animate much but I can only assume those that do immediately throw their computer out their window when one of the frames in the final render is off by 1px.

I get so bummed by every "new" piece of tech that just parrots the entirety of Apple's design language. You had a chance to do something new and unique, and you chose not to.

I think in 10-20 years there will be a premium on art and photography made before 2022-2023ish. A dividing line for the AI boom.

Design twitter feels like an echo chamber where the same 8 people are busy shouting everyday. Probably a lot of that is the algo's fault, but it's still boring. I miss ffffound.

Murdered my twitter account because fuck that fucking place. Noise, all of it.

The number of potential clients who reach out with the utmost enthusiasm, just to eventually ghost, sure is odd. I'd blame it on myself but this is before we even get on a call.

Unused branding concepts for https://www.stellar.bank/

AI is cool and all, but just as a general rule of thumb, you'll always be on the right side of history if you prioritize for humans over robots. Unless the robots erase the history books I guess.

I took up writing in a journal to justify buying a really expensive pen. #smart

You ever get really excited about something you're passionate about and then a wave of embarrassment comes over you because you're afraid of sounding pretentious? Especially with art and design.

You could have a gun to my head and tell me to charge more and I'd still find a way to charge less. 💀

Big design news: Kafka, our Dutch Shepherd born 9/30/23 (and Aurora, his buddy/pillow).

Heading out for a stroll, got my iPhone, Humane Ai Pin, Rabbit pocket companion, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, set to tackle the day!

This used to be my favorite place to sleep. Before local dorks got them removed.

There's nothing more annoying than getting feedback on unfinished work you've specifically cautioned was clearly unfinished.

I must not like designing enough to see the appeal of spending $3,000+ to attend Config 2024. If I was 20 it could make sense, but of course I wouldn't have been able to afford that when I was 20.

I need read.cv's explore page to merge with posts.cv for a cohesive social platform. MySpace for designers.

Free design / development services if you're doing meaningful wildlife and/or land conservation work in any capacity. No strings attached.

The cool part of working at an agency is you get to carry the entire weight of a project that brings in more than your yearly salary multiple times a year! Wait

The startup I've contracted with over the last 11 months raised $20m and I'm super stoked for them. Just the absolute nicest dudes. https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/14/warpstream-is-building-a-cheaper-cloud-native-streaming-service/

You know the subscription model has jumped the shark when their monthly fees are more expensive than most agency retainers.

2024:

Working on the road with Sam, Kafka and Aurora. 

Make design enjoyable again. 

Create meaning and value with my work. 

Align my talents with things I care about. 

Build something interesting.

Create more art.

Take more photos.

Posts.cv and the Figma community resources are two shining examples of how awesome the design community can be.

Design is depressing because the things that make me interested or excited about design usually aren't the things that interest or excite clients. They like familiarity and comfort. I like weird, wild and untested.

The emotional energy that gets tied up in potential clients and then exhausted in their unforeseen departure deserves its own word. Klopenschmidt.

The designer contributed to a real software project. Me, I'm the designer.

The older I get the more I realize I care less about designing than I do about creating. I learned how to design so I could create more things.

Twitter just with the best fucking engagement.