I think Dustin is a supremely talented designer, and I find his writing generally engaging, but remain perplexed by how everything he posts, no matter how mundane, flies to the top of HN.
It's probably a combo of the fact that he's YC alum, his articles are also an experiment in art directing every single individual post, plus you don't find a lot of designers that exhibit the hacker mentality of tinkering with stuff in public to see how it works. As a designer, the natural instinct is to wait until something is fully baked and say "ta da! look how pretty this is!" rather than show a work in progress.
That's what makes Mark Boulton's Drupal work so interesting as well:
Most of his articles are great examples of web design that greatly enhance a reader's experience. I think that the importance of good design is often overlooked. I've always admired the design of YC startups, which I believe has made for more enjoyable experiences. After all, design is one of the three things YC mentions.
"How do we choose who to fund? The people in your group are what matter most to us. We look for brains, motivation, and a sense of design. Experience is helpful but not critical."
yes, he's got good PR here ;-D from comments on some of my previous comments, I'd suggest flagging any posts that you do not like :)
Pasting here for convenience - (by robg)
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If your account is less than a year old, please don't submit comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. (It's a common semi-noob illusion.)
That's what makes Mark Boulton's Drupal work so interesting as well:
http://www.d7ux.org/