< Notes...

One of my ex-sister-in-law—yes, I have more than one—is an architect. Through her, during her college years, I was introduced to Les Corbusier, whose architectural design I have been in love with since. His exposed concrete, monolithic buildings are proto-brutalist, and I am a brutalism, and its simplicity, fanatic.

The Manrope font is not too shabby. I mean, I like it! My love for fonts, specifically monospaced, and sans serif, is an obsession: 98% of the time I inspect a webpage element it is to check what kind of font is been used.

Every once in a while while jumping from one site to another—starting from a link on Hacker News, more often than not—I come across what I see as a small oasis in the middle of a desert. This morning is PERSONALSIT.ES. It is a blogroll for tastefully designed personal websites. So many gems! 😍

Each day I become increasingly convinced that a website’s overall design matters less than the right choice of typography (fonts) and the quality of its content; these two elements are intrinsically linked.

Came across Alephic’s Writing page on Hacker News. I almost agree with everything, but this:

“A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences—just as a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”

Yes to the sentence, and paragraph and, perhaps, machine. But a drawing? There are no unnecessary lines in a drawing. Slightly off tangent, first time I heard of Alephic. There is a first time for everything, though.

Regarding this, I am also considering a format change. Leaning more towards a “bullet blog”. What is a bullet blog?

• Well, something like this, where one writes the things one wants to write using a bulleted list (maybe specially styled for the purpose?).
• More than one thing can be writen, either at once (when post is made), or added (by editing it) throughout the day.
  • Sometimes bullets can be children to parents, depending on their relationship. This isn’t needed, but it is there if suits purpose.
• Some entries might not have bullet entries at all. It is totally optional.

Not only I don’t have the technical ability, I don’t have the artistic ability to come up with something like this. It is amazing what’s being accomplished within a single div!

I decided to “Tonsky-rise” Notes today, because I grew a bit bored of the black and white. First “big” change in a while. Let’s see how long it lasts. 😂

It turns out Ubuntu font is quite pleasant, clean, and legible. I am such a sucker for fonts!

Updated my blog to version 4 (that link will initiate a download) on the Inter font. It is such a lovely font, and free!

I never thought, in a million years, that I was going to write this: when it comes to UI between Windows 11 and Windows 95, I prefer the later. You will not believe the memories “My Briefcase”, and “The Microsoft Network” brought to me!

The Guidebook has many more screenshots worth re-seeing.

What this company is doing is truly inspiring. Not only are they helping with the polluting waste problem we increasingly have, but they create beautiful looking things, useful things, out of discarded plastic.

➝ Via @claudrod.

Each day I discover a font that I like. Today is, so far (and I write so far because it is only early morning), “Quattrocento Sans”. So pretty, so crispy, so legible! I am in love!

I have become such a snob, and I feel bad about it. I can’t stand WordPress sites and, more often than not, I will simply browse away if I see the site is built with it. I want to change but it’s rather clinical. Please, help!

Dear lord, it’s such a pleasure to the eyes when I come across websites using Open Sans fonts! So easy to read, such a genuine pleasant experience.

Dieter Rams’ good design principles are so on-point, so beautiful, so simple, so everlasting. According to Rams, good design:

1. Is innovative: Design always develops in tandem with improving technology, and can never be an end in itself.
2. Makes a product useful: Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could detract from it.
3. Is aesthetic: Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
4. Makes a product understandable: It can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user’s intuition.
5. Is unobtrusive: Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools; they are neither decorative objects nor works of art.
6. Is honest: It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
7. Is long-lasting: Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years.
8. Is thorough down to the last detail: Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
9. Is environmentally friendly: Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment.
10. Is as little design as possible: Less, but better. Simple as possible but not simpler.

How many of those Apple follows? It isn’t a trick question, think about it.

By now it is settled that I love fonts. My thoughts have rambled around the topic more than once; my font collection is now at 1102. It might be surprising and, perhaps, inaccurate to say—because I am always discovering new ones that I like—but as of today, my first favourite (and the one currently in use here until further notice) is “IBM Plex Sans”, followed by “Inter”.

This is a good read. The OP makes sure the preamble is set before stating very valid points.

I am a designer because I want to solve problems. I want people to be less frustrated when they use technology. I want to make their lives easier. I don’t want to make anyones life more difficult. These two sentiments sound the same, but they are not. I find both are important to consider.

I am having a hard time perfectly aligning the icon at the begining of the timestamp on each note—timestamp that is also the permanent link for it—and it’s driving me nuts. To the point that I am seriously considering getting rid of it all together. Why was I made so fastidious?

A co-worker of mine reply when I told him I disliked our current enterprise web font, Gotham (yes, I am into fonts this week; it won’t last, I promise!): “It is a matter of taste, and yours is undisputable.” :rolling_on_the_floor_laughing:

While on the topic of fonts, I have to say that the Open Sans Pro font is extremely legible. It truly makes it a pleasurable reading experience, on sites using it. It is also open sourced.

Avenir Next is such an easy to read font! I wish it was decently priced, available to use on the web, and not ridiculously expensive as it is today.

Browsed to this website for the fun, stayed for the typography. Look at the legibility and beauty of that Garamond Premier Pro!

I have a general antipathy for the indented paragraphs writing style (that is, first line of each paragraph is indented). I truly dislike it, and very much prefer—and exclusively use—a block format.

It is not just that I don’t like it visually, it goes beyond that. I find the style hard to read. Maybe it is just the way my brain is wired.

These pair of scissors are, pretty much, all you will need in your kitchen. Build to last, they will sure be enjoyed during your life time, and passed down as inheritance. Truly an amazingly functional, long lasting, work of art.