Rockturn is a knowledgebase for digital product design. Find your next wave.
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Dive right in!
Built for discovery
Rockturn has curated more than 1,500 insights on methods, principles, and techniques for product management and design. With so much knowledge to explore, you’re bound to discover something you didn’t know you didn’t know.
Our 630K-word content database would fill more than ten 250-page books at 250 words per page.
Clear & simple
Rockturn decodes industry jargon, turning complicated or obscure terminology into practical knowledge for design problem-solving. Rather than just define a term, we explore it’s relevance, origins, and potential in a structured way:
Meaning
We start with a clear and concise explanation of what the concept is about and why it matters to design.
Usage
Next, we identify some real-world applications that demonstrate how the concept is used in practice.
Origin
Every topic has a backstory, so we look at when, why, and how it came about and has evolved over time.
Outlook
Finally, we offer some speculation about future implications and trends to help keep you ahead of the curve.
Explore what matters most to you
Rockturn’s unique Design Dimensions offer a fresh perspective on the complicated nature of design, acknowledging that we are each drawn to different parts of the process, finding inspiration and challenge in distinct phases of product development. By mapping content across five interconnected dimensions, Rockturn provides a nuanced exploration of design’s diverse roles, catering to varied interests and strengths within the field.
Browse topics by Design Dimension
Attract
Design as a magnet that captivates using an identity and presence that resonates with the target market.
Influence
Design as a lever to drive conversion and adoption of products and features that add value for customers.
Enable
Design as a guardrail for consistency, driving seamless, reliable experiences at every customer touchpoint.
Deliver
Design as a beacon for continuous improvement, optimizing performance to enhance customer retention.
Transform
Design as a crucible for innovation, driving research that shapes evolving notions of value and viability.
More ways to filter topics
Knowledge Domain
Practical Utility
Experience Level
…try combining filters for precise results.
Connect all the dots
Discover related ideas and unexpected parallels as you navigate from topic to topic through a vast network of conceptual connections. There are no dead ends on Rockturn. Every topic you explore leads to an array of related links and search suggestions designed to feed your curiosity, boost your creativity, and increase your confidence.
Try it...
Search “connect” on Rockturn and discover 70+ topics on connection, connectedness, and connectivity — from IoT and C10K to semantic web technology and knowledge graphs. Just one of the thousands of ways exploring a simple concept on Rockturn can reveal a wide range of practical insights.
Why Rockturn was built
Waves of change have disrupted how design gets done.
Standards have stabilized
Workflows have automated
Outputs are AI-generated
Designers who adopt a surfist mindset will ride these waves to greater confidence and influence. Rockturn aims to enable more designers to think like surfists.
Rockturn has a vision for the future of design—one where practitioners evolve beyond artifact creation to become strategic partners in shaping business outcomes. AI plays a role in that.
“Rockturn embodies the insights I’ve gained over two decades spent building and leading design teams through digital transformation. It was founded on the belief that a designer’s most valuable contribution is not in the output they generate but in their ability to form connections out of abstractions—connections that help shape business strategy and drive desired outcomes. In an era of accelerating digital disruption, designers are looking for more dots to connect as they envision a future increasingly shaped by AI-generated content. That’s the surfist mentality. That’s who Rockturn was built for.”
Brian Williams
Creator of Rockturn