Links from around the web that I've found interesting lately...

We Don't Sell Saddles Here
The memo below was sent to the team at Tiny Speck, the makers of Slack, on July 31st, 2013.

The reason for saying we need to do ‘an exceptional, near-perfect job of execution’ is this: When you want something really bad, you will put up with a lot of flaws. But if you do not yet know you want something, your tolerance will be much lower. That’s why it is especially important for us to build a beautiful, elegant and considerate piece of software. Every bit of grace, refinement, and thoughtfulness on our part will pull people along. Every petty irritation will stop them and give the impression that it is not worth it.

That means we have to find all those petty irritations, and quash them. We need to look at our own work from the perspective of a new potential customer and actually see what’s there. Does it make sense? Can you predict what’s going to happen when you click that button or open that menu? Is there sufficient feedback to know if the click or tap worked? Is it fast enough? If I read the email on my phone and click the link, is it broken?

Inside Design: Rent the Runway
Very informative interview about the design process in a company called Rent the Runway.

You guys have a radically different solution to a very common problem—namely that flat-out purchasing is not the “only way.” How did you address that shift in your product?

When you look at the underlying problem, it’s not someone saying, “I need to buy something.” She’s saying, “I need something to wear.” Our customer recognizes that she wants to wear this dress once, so there’s no point buying it.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Teams
From the team who made Monument Valley! How great are those gifs??

How California Schools Are Using Art to Boost Achievement
Art is never just about art for its own sake. Studying it and learning it influences so many other things.

Little Big Details
A daily dose of design inspiration.

The 5 Coolest Things About The Revamped Smithsonian Design Museum
I want to go here.