The Digital Third

I've always had ideas on walks. Most of them stayed there. Now I just come home and build them.

Everything I'm building is exciting...That's exactly the problem. Like a lot of creatives, I diverge. I explore. I chase the next shiny object because new territory is energizing. But at some point, everything on your plate is competing for the same finite energy. When I was at @theChrisDo's business intensive at Casa Dojo, each of us got one hour of focused coaching on one big problem. Mine was this one: too many directions, and not enough clarity on which one to lean into. So Chris had me lay out every initiative I'm running. Then he asked some questions that stood out for me: 1. Which one naturally energizes me? 2. Which one is the most scalable and sellable? 3. Which one supports my foundational income and cash flow? After reflecting, I realized that those can be three different answers. The one that lights me up isn't always the one that pays the bills. And the one that could sell someday might not be the one I want to spend my days on. This is difficult because there's no single right answer... it depends on the season you're in. - A season of profitability and scalability? Lean into what can grow and sell. - A season of lifestyle and flexibility? Protect your energy and your time. - A season of long-term building toward an exit? Invest in what compounds, even when it doesn't pay yet. Although more ideas and more discipline would help, it wasn't what I needed. I needed someone to pull everything onto the table and reflect it back so I could see it clearly. This is the biggest benefit that I've found in coaching and to have Chris filter my situation through his experience and lens was a huge privilege. If you're a creative with too many things going on, try this: list everything you're working on, run each one through those three questions, and ask which season you're actually in. Curious to know what season people are in right now...👇

A little promo video made by one of the challengers, Karim Saab, for an Arena match within the @neue_academy community. He went up against his teacher @niccolomiranda and all I have to say is that it was one of best speed builds I've ever seen. The amount of talent in this community is unreal. @stu_smith from @itsoffbrand was one of the judges and even he was impressed. More coming soon...

"How did you do that?" "INSANE." "That would've taken like—" That was the live reaction from a match from @TheDigitalThird's Arena match with @MagicPathAI.

If you haven't heard of this opinion yet, you better get used to it. Everyone's about to become a creative director if you're using AI for your designs. The ones who have a clear and concise vocabulary of what they want to create will be the winners. Clip from my last Arena match: building "Atelier Noir" a full luxury watch site, live in @MagicPathAI while the other builders watched. Develop your eye for good judgement and you'll do well in this next era. Check out what @just_kaz had to say 👇

I was on a sales call last week. My target was $30K. I closed at $10K. First-time client. I wanted to establish the relationship, so I accepted their counter with no pushback. I've sold creative services for years. Ask me last month, I'd have said I was solid at this part. Last week said otherwise. So I'm doing something about it, and inviting others in the same spot. In a month I'm hosting Chris Do in Vancouver: a full day on pricing, objections, staying in the conversation instead of retreating when it gets uncomfortable. Some part of me kept asking: shouldn't I already have this figured out if I'm the one hosting it? Honestly? I haven't mastered this. That's exactly why I booked him, rather learn from someone who has than keep paying tuition one deal at a time. Tomorrow, 4PM PT / 7PM ET, Chris and I go live to talk through it in the open. Bring your own sales challenges, wherever you get stuck. We're opening the floor for a live Q&A after.

I want to be upfront about something. I was nervous about this one. Normally when I run a competition on The Arena, it's well planned. I know roughly what's going to happen before we go live. The Gauntlet was the opposite. A format I'd never run, a brief that was honestly a bit unreasonable, and designers who had only a few days notice. There was no playbook. We genuinely did not know what we'd get. And it was risky because it wasn't just my reputation on the line. I had design legends like @niccolomiranda and @josephberry88 stepping into something completely unproven, live, in front of an audience. If it fell apart, their names were attached too. And I didn't want to misrepresent @MagicPathAI either, since they backed me to try something this new. But they all said yes anyway. And I think that says something about the moment we're in. This is the era to take the risk and run the experiment in public, even when you're not sure it'll work. The alternative is making safe, predictable things while the most interesting stuff happens to people willing to look a little foolish first. So we ran it. And what we got was pretty incredible. The setup: four designers on one team, one brief. Rebrand the entire NYC MTA subway with four deliverables: a brand identity system, a website, a web app, and an interactive asset. 45 minutes on the clock, live in front of thousands. A rebrand of this scale normally takes months. We gave them 45 minutes. Here's what I watched happen. Three built in Figma. @rlyupthere locked the logo and palette. Joseph worked on the website. @niccolomiranda prototyped a spatial web app, then wired up a live head-tracking demo on his webcam, controlling the subway map with his hands and head on stream. The room lost it. And @noormtir was the AI layer for all of them. She pulled everyone's Figma work into @MagicPathAI in real time, added motion, and built a folded interactive map that surprised everyone watching. While three of them built, she was multiplying all of it at once. That was my biggest takeaway. You don't need your whole team deep in AI tools. You need one person who is, and they become a force multiplier for everyone around them. I won't pretend what they made was a finished, client-ready deliverable. It wasn't. But the thinking, the speed, the way they moved together under a live clock was genuinely worth seeing. @AlexAperios was one of our commentators. He's someone other designers trust and respect. Even @designertom calls him "a secret weapon." At the end of the match he said: "To do what you've done in 45 minutes is insane. You'd spend weeks on something this impressive." If a first attempt with barely any prep looked like this, imagine the ceiling when preparation matches ambition. This is the future of design teams: humans and AI building side by side, one person amplifying the work of many, small groups shipping what once took months. We're at the very beginning of something special. That's what @TheDigitalThird's Arena is for.

We are LIVE!! youtube.com/watch?v=VTcAwz5D…

🔴 WE GO LIVE TODAY Match 1: Face Off @noormtir 🆚 @antongridz 10AM PT / 1PM ET / 7PM CET Watch + vote 👇

@MagicPathAI 2.0 just launched and we're giving away 3000 credits + a free month of their Pro account to 5 lucky designers. To qualify: →Repost this →Mention a designer friend in the comments Winners will be announced at @TheDigitalThird's Arena x MagicPath Match 1 this Thursday at 10AM PT. @noormtir ⚔️ @antongridz 30 mins 2 Players 1 Winner RSVP to vote for the winner LIVE👇

The Arena begins next week. New 3-Match Series with @MagicPathAI Starting Thursday, May 14 10am PT / 1pm ET / 7pm CET Match 1: Face Off — 1v1 live design battle. Brief revealed on stream. Watch live, vote for the winner. RSVP 👇

It's FINALLY happening. @TheDigitalThird's first community event 🎉 🎨 The Prompt-athon ⚡ Live AI image battles 💬 Community voting 😂 Ridiculous fun 🗓 Fri, Nov 21 — 11am PT 🎟 Free | 100 spots only Designers, dreamers, and prompt-wizards... let’s make some chaos. Details 🧵

The Arena is a design tournament series (think esports, but for designers). We’ve got matches, livestreams, and big community energy...and I need help behind the scenes. What I’m looking for: - Managing logistics & scheduling - Coordinating with players, guest judges, sponsors - Keeping comms + assets organized - Helping livestream days run smooth If you love turning chaos into order, geeking out on design culture, and want to be part of something special, let’s chat. Drop me a DM or tag someone who’d be perfect for this 👇

Elevating your Design with AI starts with Intentional Ideas and Research We share insights on how to use tools differently and make design ideas more intentional, focusing on research and strategic thinking, rather than just making.