Writing by Bruno Mota on design, decisions, and the system underneath the surface.
A Leap of Faith in AI: How Michelangelo’s Moses Got Horns
A 4th-century translation error gave Michelangelo's Moses horns. What that mistake teaches about trusting AI's confident, invisible decisions.
How a Fighter Jet Built the Bilbao Museum
Frank Gehry had a problem that architecture could not solve. In the nineties, he wanted to build curves that no architectural tool knew how to describe.
A Naval Battle from 256 BC Changed Our Business Model
In 256 BC, off Cape Ecnomus on the southern coast of Sicily, what many historians consider the greatest naval battle in history took place.
Your AI Sub-Agent Process Is 100 Years Old
In 1983, Steve Jobs tried to explain what made computers magical.
Figma: Specialists in Epicycles
For centuries, astronomers used Ptolemy's geocentric model, with the Earth at the center of the universe. When astronomical observations didn't match the theory, scientists didn't question the theory. They…
Fibonacci, Cannonball Trajectories, and the Price Your Brain Already Calculated
You've probably been there: you found a product at a great price in a store you don't know. No physical location, no references, no way to tell if it's legitimate. How much more are you willing to pay for…
The design value is no longer on the screen. It’s on the quality of decisions.
There are some questions that many designers feel, even before they formulate them out loud: What will the future be like? What do I need to do to stay relevant? Is design still relevant? The honest answer…
On Delegation and Micromanagement
There is a tension that almost every manager and lead eventually faces: how much space should I give my team? How far should I push autonomy? How do I avoid micromanagement without giving up quality, speed,…
The design system as a decision-making system, not a visual prison
I recently read John Cutler's article "Minimally Viable Consistency", and the concept immediately connected with my day-to-day work because it touches on one of the most persistent misconceptions in…