Smart Interface Design Patterns: the illustrations

Early in 2022, Vitaly Friedman, founder of Smashing Magazine, launched a course to teach the best UI practice on the web, using examples that have been carefully hand-selected over 15 years.

Vitaly and I had previously collaborated on a fantastic adventure; the design of Smashing Book 6.

In the light of this beautiful collaboration, he asked me to join the launch of a prized project he had been working on for long time: the Smart Interface Design Patterns courses.

After reviewing the material he shared with me, I couldn't help but notice that all of the videos had been recorded in a beautiful kitchen, and that each course opened with a handwritten title on a blackboard.

I liked this setting, and felt that I could smartly develop a beautiful story using the kitchen as a metaphor.

I kept the dark colour of the blackboard, on which the entire story takes place. Then I imagined each video as a ‘recipe’, packed with useful advice and examples (aka, ingredients!) knowledgeably presented by the master ‘web-chef’, Vitaly Friedman.