Why Niche design
A few updates + a manifesto?
Now that the first batch of Niche design orders has arrived in the US and reached the first few dozen readers, I feel like sharing some updates.
But before I do that, let me republish the same preface I wrote for the zine. It’s part my personal journey, part reflection on the design community as a whole, attempting to distill the essence of why niche design exists at all.
I wouldn’t call it a manifesto per-se, but perhaps it does seek to manifest an alternative future:
Introduction to Niche design
Being a designer has meant a lot to me. I’m not sure whether I found design or it found me, but from a young age, it has been deeply intertwined with my identity. Through my youth and into adulthood, design has always been my thing.
Following the traditional path unknowingly, I landed in the tech world, which at first felt exhilarating. I can still vividly remember the smell of the first office I worked at and feel the energy that, at the time, seemed like a gateway into something different—into a whole new world.
For over a decade, I’ve worked at tech companies, which some would call startups. I worked as a full-time employee, as a freelancer, and joined early teams remotely, in shared offices, and in the notorious building rat holes. Some experiences were great, while others were merely decent.
During that time, I’ve seen the culture changing from the inside. Tech has eaten the world, including the design industry, and I realized that absorbing this bubble environment has made me develop my own fatigue with it.
Things have shifted.
The world has shifted.
And so have I.
What once was exciting became daunting. The anchor point, which has been the steadiest for me, started to dwindle. I began to feel disconnected, alienated.
What followed was a long unconscious research. I began exploring where design still feels alive—where it still flourishes. And by restarting my orbit, I started to discover small niches of those who have chosen to pursue the high road.
As a first step, I summarized my thoughts and feelings in a short blog post, originally called “Niche product design”. However, I soon realized there is a lot more to uncover.
For over a year, I’ve curated materials ranging from tweets to in-depth interviews with atypical designers and builders, and through them I’ve learned about unorthodox philosophies and work ethics across both the software and hardware worlds.
What you’re about to read is the outcome of that journey.
Niche design is an open call for those who seek meaning beyond metrics. It’s an invitation to rethink our culture through the way we shape it. It’s a contrast to the conventional tech-design playbook where clout is measured in fully booked calendars, hallucinated funding rounds, and inflated valuations.
Niche design proposes a different ethos—one that’s calm, intentional, and grounded in care. It asks not how big we might scale, but how deep we might go.
Some updates
I’m still figuring out the best way to ship orders to the European Union. Surprisingly, it’s been much harder to navigate than shipping to the US as a non-EU resident. That said, the path is (almost) made clear now. All it takes is just a little bit more patience :)
For my native Hebrew readers: I interviewed for the legendary Portfolio magazine! It really captures well the essence of the project and my perspective.
(You can browser-translate it if you’re curious; it reads okay-ish).
I’ve reached out to a few bookshops across Europe, and some have happily agreed to stock a few copies. More on that very soon.
I’m still thinking about hosting an online (behind-the-scenes?) gathering. The thing is that I’m not sure how to structure it, so in case you find interest in the idea of niche design or in self-publishing a printing matter, including writing, printing, or logistics, please let me know. (psst, you can always also email me too)
And to close on an aesthetically pleasing note, here are a few really good shots, taken by my gifted sister-in-law:
