Making
I’ve always found that thinking and making are difficult to separate. Ideas tend to change once they meet reality. A sketch reveals something a conversation didn’t, a prototype exposes assumptions, and a finished piece often ends up saying something different from where it began. These posts are about that process of making, where understanding grows through creating rather than simply thinking.
Related topics
All essays in Making
- Bringing things to life 8th of July 2026 I’ve always imagined them as little sketches rather than photographs. Partly because they give me an excuse to draw, but mostly because I think they communicate the ideas better.
- The quiet evolution of this site 21st of April 2026 I wanted to document how I manage this site now, and how that process has gradually changed over time. Underneath it all, the principles are much the same: keep things simple, stay close to the files, and make posting easier with each iteration.
- The simple joy of iterating 16th of April 2026 It suddenly struck me that I'm free to play with my websites, to test out ideas, explore techniques, think and re-think things. And thats just what I've been doing.
- Updating all the things 16th of January 2025 Play, tinkering and experimentation OR Friction and inaction redux.
- Switching to Eleventy 24th of September 2021 As foreshadowed I've moved the site's generator over to Eleventy, so I now have no excuse not to write more.
- Branding success 14th of July 2020 My first experience of running a branding project happened in my teens, before I was even aware of branding as a thing. What's more, it was a measurably successful project in its own right – though not in any way I could have expected.
- Design is uncomfortable 28th of May 2020 Design is uncomfortable. At least I frequently find it uncomfortable. Anyone who has sat in front of a blank page will know something of this.
- Nothing new 28th of May 2020 In my work there is always an urge to tread new ground, to discover, to create what’s never been created or seen before. However, that's often not what is needed, and there's the often quoted fact that everything is a remix, that there is nothing new under the sun.
- Perfect is the enemy of good 17th of January 2020 Launching boldwise.co.uk taught me that progress beats perfection, and that a good site can grow into something better once it finally exists.
- A cry for craft 9th of October 2015 I've been thinking recently about stats driven design. This is where site, or page, usage patterns inform the position, style and contrast of elements to, for example, increase the number of people who sign up for some service.