Julien Martin - Why Amo's Design Hits Different

As software becomes easier to create than ever, what does it look like to truly differentiate with design?

Today's episode with Julien Martin (https://x.com/julienmartin_?lang=en) is an attempt to answer that question.

He was the Head of Design at Zenly, Snapchat, and Amo which is some of the most uniquely impressive consumer design I've ever seen.

Some highlights:

- Behind the scenes of early Amo explorations

- How the composition of design orgs is changing

- The unlock that led to Amo's unique visual language

- Julien’s advice for how to succeed in today’s job market

- The untold story of how Julien joined in the early days of Behance

- Why side projects are now the strongest signal when hiring designers*

- Andy Allen (https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/andy-allen) (referenced multiple times for his “not boring” article and Camera app)

- Off Market (https://offmarketjobs.substack.com/) (Julien’s talent agency for designers)

- Retro app (https://retro.app/) and Duolingo (https://www.duolingo.com/) (mentioned as inspiration)