Writing

Long-form essays on technology, business, design and human behaviour.
Shorter, rawer notes live on the Journal.

Latest writing

28 Jun 2022DifficultSometimes a woman described as “difficult” is simply occupying a position of authority people are not accustomed to accepting. A short quote worth sitting with.Thoughts
1 min 13 Jun 202215-inch MacBook AirReports of a 15-inch MacBook Air and a possible 12-inch MacBook suggested Apple was preparing to broaden the MacBook line beyond its familiar display sizes.Technology
2 min 11 Jun 2022McDonald’s De-Arched.After leaving Russia, McDonald’s arches disappeared but much of the menu remained. The replacement identity shows how recognisable a brand can be even when.Marketing
2 min 02 Jun 2022Just How Long Should Alt Text Be?There is no magic character limit for alt text. Good descriptions depend on the image’s purpose, context and the information a screen-reader user actually.SEO
2 min 25 May 2022Instagram Sans TypefaceInstagram Sans gives Instagram its own typographic voice, with a custom type family created by Colophon Foundry as part of the platform’s broader brand refresh.Design
1 min 25 Feb 2022ApopheniaApophenia is our tendency to find meaningful connections in unrelated things—a useful concept for understanding how motivation can turn coincidence into a.Psychology
2 min 24 Feb 2021M1-Specific Malware DetectedGoSearch22 became one of the first pieces of adware compiled specifically for Apple Silicon, showing that the M1’s new architecture was never going to remain.Security
1 min 12 Jan 2021This year wasn’t unprecedented2020 felt unprecedented, but many of its crises had been predicted for years. The failure was not a lack of warnings; it was our willingness to ignore them.Thoughts
1 min 12 Jul 2020Career Cold Start AlgorithmInformal networks reveal how organisations really work. The people whose names repeatedly surface in difficult situations often matter more than the org chart.Business
1 min 11 Mar 201510 Reasons Why Designers Prefer the MacWhy are Macs so common among designers? Hardware, typography, software, consistency and culture all contribute to Apple’s unusually strong hold on creative.Thoughts
5 min 15 Jul 2014What Does Full-Stack Anything Really Mean?“Full-stack” is increasingly attached to designers and developers, but the useful meaning is breadth: understanding enough of the whole product to connect the.Thoughts
2 min 06 Jan 2012Go out and do something ordinary!Good startup ideas rarely appear while brainstorming for something cool to build. Go live an ordinary life, notice real frustrations and solve one of them.Business
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