What if iMessage introduced a feature where the typing dots showed the length of the message? What if you could instantly fire someone who slacked you on PTO? What if Gmail gave you the option to unsubscribe from individual people? And what if Spotify locked Christmas music until after Thanksgiving? These are the questions Soren Iverson sets out to answer daily with his satirical Figma mock-ups of unhinged new app features.
Soren Iverson is a designer based out of Los Angeles. He has worked on pivotal features for Square and CashApp. His first taste of virality came from a joke he made about Spotify Wrapped. In the first few years of Spotify’s success with Wrapped, brands picked up on this idea left and right. In an attempt to make fun of the increasing number of companies who were summarizing their users’ years, Iverson tweeted what Wrapped would look like if brands like Starbucks, Robinhood, and Google Maps followed suit. These mock-ups went viral and Iverson ran with it, building his following as he continued to challenge himself to imagine unhinged features for popular apps.
Now, almost a decade later, these “what if…” exercises are the core of Iverson’s personal brand as a designer. He has now founded his own design consultancy firm and has so far released one app, Stompers. All the while, he still aims to post one new app design per day on X and LinkedIn. Iverson describes his approach to these mini-design challenges as: “What if a PM knew Figma really well and gave an app their most intrusive thoughts?”
Soren Iverson does an excellent job of making design practice fun. The only way to get better at product thinking, Figma, or any other skill is to keep doing it. Iverson teaches us that we don’t always have to be designing serious, or even practical solutions. So, if you are looking for a change of pace while also continuing to strengthen your design muscles, consider leaning into your more unhinged ideas. And let us know what you come up with!