life, work, etc.
Henrique is one of the many designers working at Automattic who are helping to make WordPress a well designed space for creators. The themes he and the theme design team speak for themselves. One of my favorite parts of working on open source is the “patches welcome” mindset, meaning if you want to improve something, make something better. As Henrique puts it:
“WordPress isn’t just a platform to adapt to—it’s one you can help shape.”
Read the rest on automattic.design.
Another great trip in Sedona, AZ. Mostly photos of my bike leaning against red rocks and Bethany taking pictures.
ScanOps is a really cool project by Andrew Norman Wilson based around Google Books accidents while scanning. Fun distortions and inclusion of hands from the people doing the work.
We launched a refreshed Woo brand today. All created and designed in-house! (I sometimes forget how rare that is or why you would want to outsource this type of work.) Proud of the four-person design team who made this happen. At Automattic we like to do things iteratively, so stay tuned for more. I’m especially excited for the animation work.
Postage stamp, passport stamp. From @blankspac_e.
Advice on writing from the late David Lynch from a 2021 interview on daydreams and ideas in ArtReview.
I write to remember. I always say: write down the idea in such a way that when you read it again the idea comes back in full.
There’s a quote I often refer to when talking to new designers or anyone who makes things. That beginning phase, that sometimes last much longer than you think, when you know what you’re creating doesn’t match your taste.
Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, and I really wish somebody had told this to me.
All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But it’s like there is this gap. For the first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making isn’t so good. It’s not that great. It’s trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but it’s not that good.
But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you. A lot of people never get past that phase. They quit.
Everybody I know who does interesting, creative work they went through years where they had really good taste and they could tell that what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be. They knew it fell short. Everybody goes through that.
And if you are just starting out or if you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Do a huge volume of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week or every month you know you’re going to finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you’re going to catch up and close that gap. And the work you’re making will be as good as your ambitions.
I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It takes awhile. It’s gonna take you a while. It’s normal to take a while. You just have to fight your way through that.
—Ira Glass
A huge focus of 2024 for me was biking. I prioritized it, planned trips around it, set weekly mileage goals, and as a result put in 1,000+ more miles that previous years. A few days before Christmas, I saw there were a few group rides created called Chill500 for the annual Festive 500 challenge Rapha puts on. I immediately responded with “I’m in!”
The idea is to bike 310 miles (500km) in the 8 days from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve. You have to average 39 miles a day to make it work. Its a stretch even in the nicest weather. In the winter, its a huge challenge. Machiko planned a “chill” version meaning that rides started at 11am and were at a more chill pace. (Most group rides by Rapha are crazy fast.)
I had taken the full two weeks off and had loose plans to rest and reset after a tough few months at work. I had zero concrete plans the first half of the break and figured what a better time to focus on a really tough, physical goal with a group of supportive people.
It turned out to be an amazing end of the year. I met some new friends, rode in new places, challenged myself physically, and mentally felt better than I have in months. I even finished a day early. Don’t get me wrong – it was mostly type 2 fun. The weather was pretty awful and there were days I didn’t want to go out at all. I rode in the dark, in the pouring rain, and until I couldn’t feel my hands or feet. I’m so sore. But I’d do it all again.
I am taking a week off biking to snowboard and relax in a cabin. Happy New Year! Time to set new goals for even more time on bikes with friends in 2025.
Here’s all the rides:
I was fortunate enough to go to Tokyo for work this past week. The design, cleanliness, and attention to detail at scale was unlike anything I’ve experienced. Very inspiring.
