From Front-End Insights to UI Gems: Join Me on This Journey

Reflecting on My Passion for Learning and Teaching

As many people do, I started thinking about my New Year resolutions, but this time I took a different approach. I spent a lot of time reflecting on what drives me, what I’m passionate about, and how I can build from there.

Once upon a time, I was teaching computer science at my local university and community college after landing a job in tech. I wanted to pass on the knowledge I was learning on the job — knowledge that the college and university weren’t quite covering. In addition, during my undergraduate years, I spent most of my free time tutoring. That’s when I realized what I’m truly passionate about: learning and teaching.

2024: A Year of Learning and Growth

2024 was a learning year for me. The work we did at LinkedIn over the year really pushed me to dig deep and use my fundamental knowledge of front-end development and UI. It also challenged me to think outside the box to create solutions that hadn’t been done before (or at least not solutions you could Google). Throughout all of that learning, I was able to (hopefully) teach others on my team and share little sprinkles of knowledge and obscure ideas about CSS and UI.

Announcing “UI Gems”

In 2025, I want to expand that spread of knowledge beyond my teammates in the hopes of reaching and teaching readers like you. That’s why I’m thrilled to announce a new weekly series: “UI Gems”. If you’re a designer, developer, or just someone who loves creating beautiful, user-friendly experiences, this is for you.

What to Expect

Every week, I’ll share a short, digestible post about:

• Lesser-known CSS properties and techniques that can simplify your workflow.
• Design tips that can help you make your interfaces more engaging.
• Tools, resources, or methods that are hidden in plain sight but can save you tons of time.

The idea is to shine a spotlight on those little details that often get overlooked but can make a big difference in your work. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, I hope these posts will bring value to your day and maybe even spark a little inspiration.

This will not be a textbook, so there won’t be a specific order to things. I’ll post about concepts and tools as they come to mind, and I’ll aim to make it a weekly habit. I also understand that some of the posts might cover basics or things you already know — or better yet, you might have even better ways to do them! If that’s the case, I urge you to teach me, too.

Coming Up: The Magic of clamp()

For the first post in the series, I’ll dive into the magic of CSS’s clamp() function — a powerful tool for creating responsive layouts and typography without media queries. Stay tuned!

A Personal Goal for 2025

Oh, and one of my personal goals for 2025 is to catch up on a lot of pure math that I left behind back in 2012 when I chose to pursue an engineering career. I’ve realized I truly love pure math — math for the sake of joy.

Let’s Uncover Gems Together

I’d love for this series to be a two-way conversation, so if there are topics you’d like me to cover or hidden gems you’d like to share, drop them in the comments below or DM me.

Let’s uncover some gems together! 💎