The Polaris team creates tools, education and documentation that helps unite teams across Shopify to build better experiences. We created Polaris, our design system, and continue to maintain it. We are a multidisciplinary team with a range of experience. Some people have been at Shopify for over 6 y...

Mental models within an industry, company, or even a person, change constantly. As methodologies mature, we see the long term effects our choices have wrought and can adjust accordingly. As a team or company grows, methodologies that worked well for five people may not work as well for 40 people. If...

There’s a way to build a model for your life and the other demands on you. It doesn’t have to be 100 hours a week. It might not even be 40 hours a week. Whatever sustainable model you come up with, prioritize fiercely and communicate expectations accordingly. I’ve worked this way for three decades t...

ProxySQL comes with a powerful feature called query rules. The main use of these rules at Shopify is to reroute, rewrite, or reject queries matching a specified regex. However, with great power comes great responsibility. These rules are powerful and can have unexpected consequences if used incorrec...

A year ago, we announced our decision to place our bets, and our developer resources, on React Native. As you could expect, the move was met internally with a mix of excitement and apprehension, but a year later, we are still convinced that we made the right decision.