Essays and notes · since 2019
Mostly on grid paper first, and usually in the morning. The long version is in The Grid Paper Year.
Everything, in order
The Undo Button Is a Moral Position
9 min
The most generous feature in any piece of software is the one nobody puts on a landing page.
Software That Waits
2 min
A pencil has never once asked me whether I'd like to turn on notifications.
Against the Badge
2 min
I once counted fourteen red badges on my phone before breakfast, and not one of them was urgent.
A Studio of One
2 min
When I left my last job, I thought the difficult part would be finding clients.
Pricing the Afternoon
2 min
An hour is a strange thing to sell, because nobody buys one on purpose.
The Grid Paper Year
2 min
Grid paper is the cheapest design system ever made, and it has never crashed.
Reading in the Margins
3 min
The best conversations I have ever had with a book happened in its margins.
What the Tram Taught Me About Latency
2 min
Nobody in Lisbon complains that tram 28 is slow. They complain when they can't see it coming.
Notes
Note
Made a list of tools I have used for more than five years. Every single one opens fast and says nothing when I'm not using it.
Link
Still the best argument for putting notes beside the text. Most of what this site does with sidenotes started here.
Quote
“I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.” Blaise Pascal, 1657.
Note
Year two of answering email on Thursdays. One client now does it too. Small wins.
Link
I keep a channel of interfaces that feel calm. It's the closest thing I have to a mood board.
Note
Turned off every badge on my phone for a week. I did not miss a single thing that mattered.