468 - Jenny Wen

Jenny Wen is a designer at Anthropic where she is helping lead design on Claude, a next generation AI assistant.

She was previously Director of Design at Figma where she helped bring FigJam to market. She also worked on Slides, Community, as well as many other initiatives in her time there.

On her recent role switch: 

I'm also returning to IC! I believe that design leadership in this era demands us to be excellent at crafting products *and* teams. I love embracing this fluidity.

Twitter (X) → https://x.com/jenny_wen
LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/jennywen
Bluesky → bsky.app/profile/jennywen.ca

Jenny's Workspace Tour

Workspace Items

• Fully Jarvis standing desk
• Apple MacBook Pro (14” M4)
• Apple Magic Keyboard
• LG UltraFine 22” Display
• Logitech c920 webcam
• Bose QC35 II headphones
• IKEA VATTENKAR monitor stand
• Evoluent Wireless Vertical Mouse (it’s ugly as hell, but it’s the best vertical mouse for wrist problems)
• Grovemade wool mousepad
• Rhodia dot pad
• Herman Miller Aeron chair, bought secondhand from Beverly Hills Chairs
• HydroFlask 40oz water bottle

Furniture

• CB2 Gwyneth Loveseat
• Article Heron floor lamp
• Rug is vintage from Revival Rugs
• MUJI digital clock
• Old CB2 ladder bookshelves
• Oil painting of the SF MUNI by Chris Duke

Digital Tools

• iA Writer for scratchy notes
• Notion for journaling and more serious docs
• Figma and FigJam, obviously
• Claude as my go-to AI companion
• Microsoft To Do for task management

What is the most recent item that you've added to your workspace?

I... haven’t added anything new to my workspace in a while! In fact, a lot of my hardware is stuff I’ve had for years and that’s still alive and kicking. Maybe the last thing was a big monstera I got at The Sill sample sale a few months ago.

How do you spark creativity?

I love getting all ideas out there, including the bad ones. When I’m designing, I try to draw out every idea. No matter how incremental, or how much I know it won’t be a good idea. Staying in the flow of creating and getting the ideas out tends to lead to places I never expected.

Workspace-wise, I love to fill my space with objects that feel deeply personal and joyful. I have notes from my coworkers hung up, a poster that my team made for a work anniversary, art from places I’ve visited or traveled to, thrifted mugs, etc. These things make me I feel like the space is truly my own and a place where I can do my best work.

What does your typical day look like?

Since I’m on the east coast and I have a lot of coworkers on the west coast, mornings tend to be quiet. I try to have my coffee in peace — reading a bit on my Kindle before I crack open my laptop. Then, I’ll spend the morning with heads down time, trying to avoid Slack as much as possible.

Afternoons tend to be more meeting-heavy, but I also like to carve out an hour or two at the end of the day to reflect and follow up on stuff.