Wakey Wakey
Headed onto my roof before 5am (thank you, early sunrise) for a few minutes to catch this color.
Blog
LMNT
Louie Mantia writes LMNT, designs icons for Parakeet, makes playing cards for Junior, and creates fonts for Crown.
Latest posts
Omiyage
Tonight I left my apartment, walked down to the station, tapped my phone at the gates, went down some more stairs and stood in front of train car 4 door 3. I took the train to Nihonbashi, walked through the station, weaving through people and shopping areas, through a business tower, up an escalator in a book store, and out the front door onto the street. I walked a couple blocks, took a right,…
Ume Soda
Japan has very different fruit preferences when it comes to flavored soda. Melon is a super popular flavor, despite being completely uncommon in America. Cherry soda, on the other hand, which is pretty popular in America can be found virtually nowhere in Japan. I don’t think much about plums, which is probably dumb. But recently I discovered that ume soda has almost the same flavor profile as the…
When Did You Get Into Disney?
It’s inevitable. Whenever I meet someone for the first time, it will come up that I love Disneyland and visit the parks at least once a month. And their question is always about when it all began for me. So I show them this photo. That’s me, when I was a baby. The answer is that it’s always been a thing. I think my mom made sure of it! When I recently asked her for some more photos from my…
Server Migration
When I woke up on Saturday at 4am to use the toilet, I made the mistake of picking up my phone. Instead of sleeping, I opened a conversation from the day before. I clicked a link to Parakeet only to find the website wasn’t loading. I went to this blog’s URL and found it similarly did not load. And then all the rest of my websites, none of which would load. I threw off my covers and headed…
Perceived Stability
App icons that conform to the bounds of a squircle are no different from the millions of constraints that define the macOS and iOS platforms we design and develop in. Of course it is an Apple-defined constraint. Most platform guidance we follow to make apps are Apple-defined constraints. Do not forget: we design and develop apps within the macOS container. We have to acknowledge that space when we…
Tamago Sando
I’ve lived in Japan for three years now, and today is the first time I’ve had a tamago sando from 7-Eleven. I go to 7-Eleven often. Maybe a few times every week. That's a lot more than I used to go to my local convenience store in Portland, even though it was the same proximity from home. 7-Eleven is where I buy milk, bread, and eggs. When I moved here, I went to 7-Eleven nearly every morning to…
Guava Soda & Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
Back on my bullshit. This guava soda is good, maybe too sweet? But these “New” (new to Japan) Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? Guys, these are not “Flamin’ Hot.” They are barely spicy. Also, they’re not even red! So I guess that is “New.”
Yoshikami Senjafuda
Went up to Asakusa on a shopping mission, but the shop was closed. Yoshikami turned out to be a worthwhile consolation prize, because hayashi rice was available! I asked the guy behind the counter if I could stick my senjafuda to the wall, and he took out rag to wipe down a spot for me. Given the shadows of stickers from days past, I assume mine will one day get removed too, but I guess it’ll…
Meiji Jingu
Just passing by on my way to get jerk chicken from a nice friend.
In the Battle for Attention
Slop is gaining ground. Low-quality content, including AI-generated trash, is advancing on all fronts for attention. Whether it’s encouraged competitive behavior on social media or regurgitated content gobbled back up and spit back out via LLMs, we’re reaching a point very quickly where our attention is being spent on shit we never should’ve seen in our entire lives. I’ve long-held a belief that…
Flat Meat Fry
In The Mandalorian and Grogu film, there’s a food pod where Martin Scorsese’s character serves up sandwiches, and just knowing it was a Jon Favreau film, I figured he brought in Roy Choi to help. Roy was the culinary advisor for another Favreau film, Chef , one of my absolute favorites . Sure enough, in the end credits, he was listed as a culinary advisor. The pair put up a video about making this…
Torigoe Matsuri 2026
Last week, the neighborhood started preparing for 鳥越祭り (Torigoe Matsuri) , setting out 新鮮 (shinsen, offering) in front of the 浅三 (Asakusabashi san-chōme) mikoshi. When the weekend finally came, we put on our matsuri clothes and headed to the shrine. This is Ayano’s first time participating in a local matsuri that required matsuri clothes, which we got in Nihonbashi for her last week, including…
Laufey
Went to see Laufey in concert, which was super fun. But the truth is that I was there to see my friend Xanthe playing in the string quartet portion of the band. Sometimes, I’m genuinely amazed with what people I know do.
Xanthe
My friend Xanthe was in town just for a couple days, so we did what anyone would do: eat blueberry shave ice .
Datatapes, Vol. 2
Download icons from LMNT An expansion pack of 17 new Datatapes , featuring sigils and symbols ranging from mercenaries and criminal syndicates to scientific research labs and commercial spacelines found throughout the galaxy. Represent your data with marks seen in Star Wars stories, printed on the surface of ancient datatapes.
Volkswagen Type 3 Variant
Take a moment to appreciate this cute car. Don’t you want to take a road trip in this thing?
3rd Japanniversary
Well, it’s time for that annual blog post. I’ve been in Japan for three years now. In short, I love living here, and I’m continuing to embrace living in my own unique way. § New Opportunities Actually, just recently I had my first proper Japanese client. Even if it came by way of Italy, I had a meeting out in Yoyogi , did the work, and everyone’s happy. I hope there will be more opportunities to…
Death Star
These simple wall panels have been embedded in my mind since childhood. With the addition of a darker variant from Scarif and a “green lights” version inspired by the tractor beam console shaft, these three styles can seamlessly transition throughout the day as a dynamic wallpaper or switch automatically with light and dark UI. These go great with datatape hard drive icons . Download wallpapers…
Datatapes
Download icons from LMNT The Imperial data vault on Scarif contained thousands of datatapes, one of them being the plans for the Death Star. After the plans were broadcast to the Rebel fleet, they were transferred to a small datacard. Now you can represent your disks and servers using these same data formats from Star Wars , including datatapes that feature faction symbols emblazoned on the…
Yanagibashi Ajisai
It’s time! Here they are! Just look at these!
Moka Express
I’ve never had a coffee-at-home situation before, but I think I’m obsessed with this little guy.
Baby Ajisai
Almost time for the best flower!
Shinagawa-Futobashi
From my annual trip down to the immigration office.
Kakigori
It’s finally warm enough for Ayano to consider eating kakigori. I’ve been waiting for this.
Mini Stop Soft Cream
Believe it or not, this is my first Mini Stop soft cream, and I’m really sorry I’ve been sleeping on this. I got a banana-vanilla swirl. But please give special attention to the most incredible innovation of our time: the waffle spoon.
Torippie’s
I was just talking about how hard it’s been finding a good American-style fried chicken sandwich, and this place pops up. This is the current special item, a sour cream and onion chicken sandwich. A whole grilled onion slice on a fried chicken sandwich. Astoundingly smart and good. I couldn’t stop talking about how good it was when I was eating it and also several hours later. This is going to be…
DisneySea Birthday 2026
Another birthday , another DisneySea day . As far as crowds go, about the same as last year. But it never felt like we were waiting too long for anything because we avoided things with longer lines. For example, I skipped one of the Food & Wine Festival dishes, because it didn’t have a mobile order window. First up was pork with an apple-mustard sauce from Waterside Terrace in American Waterfront.…
Aqua Neue
Twenty years ago today, I made Aqua Neue , my very first “system replacement” icon set. It was a big step for me. For some reason, this was like a rite of passage. Making a system replacement set is a ton of work, because it requires a diversity of icons. It’s not just documents and folders, but also toolbar icons, sidebar icons, and trash cans. I was seventeen. I was just about to graduate from…
Vivaldi
I used Vivaldi in earnest for a few days. While I believe the intentions to be great overall, what I dislike about it seems to be the result of deliberate decisions, either fundamental or principled, that are unlikely to change over time. Upsides You can customize virtually anything about the UI. It’s not made by Apple, Google, or Microsoft. Downsides The default settings are geared toward…
City Roses
Still in awe about the abundance of flowers in a dense city environment.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Luka sent me a care package including Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It’s all I ever wanted, really.
Living in a Ghibli Movie
There are some moments, places, little scenes, times of day that really make me feel like I’m living in a Ghibli movie.
Spontini
After my first “Japanese business meeting” at Yoyogi the other day, I felt like I deserved an indulgent Milanese pizza lunch at Spontini. Gosh, it's so good and unlike other pizza around here.
Hohokam Diner
I love hand-painted signs. Going down a rabbit hole of who painted a nearby sign, I stumbled upon another they painted while walking around Harajuku.
Meiji-Jingumae
Mid-day, when you get the sun coming through the trees, through the canopy over the train station exit? Yeah, that’s the stuff.
BTS
Someone lost their BTS keychain. ☹️
Ham Sandwich
On the way back from lunch, Nob, Daikichi, and I spotted the “Ham Sandwich” kindergarten bus , which I hadn’t seen since taking Nikki to her bus stop in the morning, when I moved here nearly three years ago. 「懐かし！」 (Nostalgic!)
Burger Digest
I used to have a burger blog called Burger Digest , where I rated and reviewed the cheeseburgers I ate. And in large part due to nudging from friends, I’ve decided to relaunch it. That’s right, Burger Digest is back by popular demand! Burger Digest [RSS]
Cooper Sharp
There’s a sharp American cheese that’s become more popular for cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, and Philly is not behind on this. But they can only get Cooper Sharp by going to Philadelphia and bringing it back to Tokyo, so I always rush over whenever Kosuke and Tomomi return from trips.
Ayano’s Birthday
Ayano and I went to Disneyland for her birthday, and got there a little early because it looked busy. After getting a few character signatures in her brand-new autograph book, we next prioritized getting a birthday sticker. There were a few things on her list. There’s a cinnamon roll at Café Orleans that we had to get. (It was great.) And since we had got to Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 in our…
Pokémon Winds and Waves
Time for another entry in the Louie-redesigns-a-logo series. Like other entries, this is just for fun and to think visually. First, look at these close-ups, then read the analysis with comparisons below. The actual English-language logos for these games are very disappointing to me. The letters in Winds appear to have a whimsical serif motif, but the W is unlike the others, and the S has what…
Panda Express
After Splatoon shopping at the Nintendo store, we walked over to Panda Express in the rain. And Nikki, overwhelmed with the amount of food in her box, held it up to her head to demonstrate how large it is. Looks normal to me! And then it occurred to me: this may be the only place I’ve seen have American Chinese take-out containers in Japan.
Team Messy
Kosuke and Tomomi just returned from their Philadelphia trip, so naturally Ayano and I went to Philly their first day back. And it …was messy. But very, very good.
Skytree Sakura
Went out for a spontaneous hanami in Sumida park.
Happy Turn
You cannot possibly imagine the surprise on my face when a Happy Turn-themed train arrived on the platform. Inside they even had jumbo Happy Turn hung in the ad spaces, with loose powder in the wrappers. Happy Turn is a snack.
Got a Second?
The Clock app on iOS has barely changed since iPhone OS 1.0. And that's fine, because world clocks, alarms, stopwatches, and timers are pretty widely understood and don’t need constant redesigning. But there’s something odd, something that’s bothered me forever. There’s nowhere in the app to view the current time with seconds . The only place on iOS to view the progress of a minute is in the Clock…
La Cabina
So grateful to have this place nearby. I don’t know what I’d do without it.
The Mandalorian and Grogu
Not every day you see the Mandalorian and Grogu shopping for the Mandalorian and Grogu stuff.
Tokyo Vintage Fashion Week
At Tokyo Vintage Fashion Week, there was a lot to look at. But I couldn’t take my eyes off this Walt Disney World sweater.