The value, or lack thereof, in bidirectional linking

From today’s issue of Casey Newton’s Platformer: In short: it is probably a mistake, in the end, to ask software to improve our thinking. Even if you can rescue your attention from the acid bath of the internet; even if you can gather the most interesting data and observations into the app of your choosing; […] August 25, 2023

Ten years of Wildfire Studios

August 21st marks the tenth anniversary of Wildfire Studios — my freelance studio. I never dreamt I’d be designing UIs, making websites, taking photos, and writing copy for ten years. To be honest, I never dreamt I’d still be in business after ten years! When I started freelancing, one year before I coined the business Wildfire Studios, […] August 21, 2023

Scaling SVGs without scaling their strokes

A forewarning: Unfortunately, I am going to share a roadblock I ran into, rather than a solution. I am sorry if this post is a bit of a downer. Recently, I was working on a website for a client that included vector images of maps. The maps look something like this. These are vector maps […] August 18, 2023

Oppenheimer and the reason movie theatres are disappointing

I finally got tickets to see Oppenheimer in 70mm IMAX later this month. I’m excited about seeing a theatrical presentation on film, which is a surprising rarity in Canada these days. Over the past few years, I’ve gone to the theatre less and less often. Less than a decade ago, I was going once every […] August 10, 2023

Library bans in Mississippi

Via Austin Kleon’s newsletter: Overdrive/Libby, a digital service that lets you take books out from your local library electronically, has been banned in Mississippi for those under 18. (The age of consent is 16, if you’re wondering.) Texas is next. If any Canadian politician tries this, I will write so many letters and make so […] July 28, 2023

When a design is in doubt

When in doubt, the answer is simple: reduce, reduce, reduce. Didn’t Dieter say the best design is as little design as possible? Probably still true. Probably true of words too. (Edited for brevity.) March 10, 2023