Dogs of the Sunshine Coast
A data story and map of dogs from the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Read the full post
DiDoesDigital
Recent content on DiDoesDigital
Latest posts
Stress Test Data for Web Projects
Break designs by stuffing them with test data and mock images so you can build more resilient websites. Read the full post
30 Day Chart Challenge 2025
Exploring Australia through data in 30 days. Read the full post
Learn Zod by Example
Learn Zod by browsing examples and exploring other sources of information. Read the full post
Zod Type Parsing Functions
Learn all of the primitive validations and Zod type parsing functions to parse a web form. Discover other parsing functions and schema methods to add to your toolkit. Read the full post
Customising Zod Error Messages
Customise the Zod error and issues to improve your developer experience when debugging and the user experience. Read the full post
The Essential Functions of Zod Validation Pipelines
Write Zod pipelines to coerce, validate, preprocess, refine, and transform data in complex schemas to produce reliable, typed results. Read the full post
Learn Zod So You Can Trust Your Data and Your Types
Learn how to wrangle Zod so you can trust your data and your types. Explore the main concepts, the playground, and a web form example. Read the full post
Gracefully Retiring a Website
Learn how to wind down a project, considering link history, domain squatters, costs, and maintenance. We can build a more resilient web. Read the full post
Set up a MacBook in 2024
How I set up a new MacBook laptop in 2024 Read the full post
CSS Print Styles for PDFs and Printing
Learn how to set up print styles for your website in the modern era. Read the full post
Diving Deeper Into Homebrew to Better Manage Packages on Your macOS Machine
Learn the most useful Homebrew commands, keep packages up to date, look up Homebrew terminology, and discover some excellent Homebrew packages. Read the full post
Add a Robots File, Custom 404 Page, and Open Graph Images to a Next.js Site
How to use a robots.txt file to control search engine access or block AI scrapers. How to create custom 404 and global error pages. How to add Open Graph social preview images to a Next.js blog. Read the full post
Add Google Analytics and a Sitemap to a Next.js Blog
How to add Google Analytics using @next/third-parties and a sitemap to a static Next.js blog Read the full post
Add a Favicon and Dark Mode to a Next.js Blog
How to add a favicon and system-wide dark mode to a static Next.js blog. Read the full post
Add an RSS Feed to a Next.js Blog
How to add an RSS 2.0 feed using the feed package to a static Next.js blog Read the full post
Add IDs and Links to Headings in a Next.js Blog
How to add IDs and links to headings in a Next.js blog using rehype-slug Read the full post
Add Syntax Highlighting in a Next.js Blog
How to add syntax highlighting in a Next.js blog using rehype-highlight Read the full post
Add Blog Navigation and Metadata Title Templates in a Next.js Blog
How to use a template for metadata titles, create an index list, and page navigation in a Next.js blog. Read the full post
Add Next.js Images in a Static Blog with MDX
How to use the Next.js Image component in MDX content in a Next.js blog using MDX components. Read the full post
Add Styling to MDX Content in a Next.js Blog
How to style MDX content in a Next.js blog using MDX components, CSS modules, and the Tailwind typography plugin. Read the full post
Add Site Styling to a Next.js Blog
How to add fonts, typography styles, colors, and global site styling to a Next.js blog. Read the full post
Add MDX and Metadata to a Next.js Blog
How to add MDX blog posts using @next/mdx and a metadata object to a Next.js blog. Read the full post
Book: Build a Blog Using Next.js
Build a static Next.js blog in 2024 with App Router, Tailwind, TypeScript, local MDX, RSS, and a sitemap. An introduction to building a Next.js blog in 2024 using all the latest practices. Read the full post
Set Up a Next.js Site and VS Code With TypeScript, Tailwind, ESLint, Prettier, and a Static Export
An introduction to building a Next.js blog in 2024 using all the latest practices. Read the full post
Neovim to VS Code
A vim power user's guide to getting started with VS Code. Read the full post
Can I Eat It Yet? A visual guide to seasonal fruit and veg
Introducing a visual guide to Australian seasonal fruit and veg. Read the full post
Living among snakes in Queensland, Australia
A visualisation of snake sightings in South-East Queensland, Australia. Read the full post
A Complete Rewrite: Stenography Lesson Generator in NodeJS
Rewrites are time consuming and oh so satisfying. Read the full post
Melbourne in 2020
A timeline of life in lockdown Read the full post
Talk: “When Virtual Dom Diffing Is a Little Too Clever” at ComponentsConf 2019
Virtual DOMs give us an excellent developer experience but their diffing algorithms can have surprising implications. This lightning talk looks at how double announcer regions work to support screen readers and when you might use the Web Speech API instead. Presented at ComponentsConf, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday, 10 September 2019. Read the full post
Talk: “UI Patterns for Design Systems” at the DesignOps Meetup August 2019
Stories that inspired a new book about patterns and design systems. Tales of how shared language can fast-track consistent design. Presented at DesignOps Meetup, Melbourne. Sponsored by Redwolf + Rosch. Hosted by MYOB. Read the full post
Talk: “Designing Recommender Systems” at Web Directions Design 2019
This talk at Web Directions Design 2019, Arts Centre Pavilion, Melbourne, considered the user experience design side of recommender systems. It explored outcomes like business impact, values, time to decision, and satisfaction. It covered designing for trust and experience, and how to improve recommender systems over time using machine learning and user research. Read the full post
Book: Practical UI Patterns for Design Systems
Diana MacDonald wrote the book, “Practical UI Patterns for Design Systems: Fast-track Interaction Design for a Seamless User Experience” as a guide to help people figure out the fundamentals of interaction design. Read the full post
Talk: “Design for Coders” at the Web Meetup August 2018
This talk at the Web Meetup August 2018, Melbourne, exploring how coders might bootstrap their design education. Read the full post
Build Your Own Steno Keyboard: It’s Easier Than You Think
If you’re interested in learning stenography, and you’re not sure what keyboard or stenotype machine to invest in, here you’ll find details about what’s involved in assembling a suitable mechanical keyboard. I hope this helps you decide if this is a good option for you. Read the full post
Talk: “Should I Really Bother Learning to Code?” at Web Directions Design 2018
This talk at Web Directions Design 2018, Arts Centre Pavilion, Melbourne, explored the perennial question of whether designers should learn to code. Read the full post
CSS Browser Frame for Screenshots
This stylised CSS browser frame lets you present better screenshots by giving them context. Read the full post
Trickle List
The “trickle list” is an idea I first heard about in Michael Lopp’s book, Being Geek. It’s a list of activities that might only make a small difference individually, but over time the trickle builds to a constant stream of meaningful progress. Read the full post
Code for Designers
Design and code work hand-in-hand to produce memorable digital products. Read the full post
Design for Engineers
Design and code work hand-in-hand to produce memorable digital products. Read the full post
Plover for Stenographers
Plover is the world's first free, open-source stenography program, which translates chorded key strokes into meaningful words. Read the full post
Typey Type for Stenographers
Typey Type for Stenographers is a typing app designed specifically to help stenography students learn steno faster. You can learn briefs and improve your stenographic speed and accuracy using tailored education options, including tight feedback loops so you learn to fix misstrokes immediately. You can effortlessly track progress in your brief vocabulary and rapidly increase in steno skill. Read…
The Versatile Duck
The versatile duck gives you metaphors good for any situation. Read the full post
The Real Reason I Switched From QWERTY to Stenography
Since 2008, I’ve had intermittent pain in my wrists, elbows and upper body from occupational overuse. In 2015, the CIO asked me if I’d heard about stenography… Read the full post