Stop adding touch screens to everything
Touch screens are versatile and intuitive, but in some scenarios, they can be dangerous and unfitting. A look at where the lazy default choice is making things worse.
Max van IJsselmuiden
Writing on design, product, and technology.
Latest posts
Productive procrastination
Productive procrastination is real. But understanding why we avoid the work we actually love might be the key to getting more of it done.
I create and therefore I am
What a pretentious title. I am aware. But it fits.
I tried reading a book every week in 2025
I set an ambitious goal to read 52 books in 2025. I read 36. Here's what made the cut.
Apple trapped me in their ecosystem — and I love it
Apple won by building a system where every device seamlessly works together, from auto-unlocking my Mac to my doorbell appearing on the nearest screen.
'Atomic Habits' on one sheet
A friend said James Clear's book could have been one sheet. Here's that sheet.
You'll start noticing this effect everywhere
A cognitive bias where you notice a specific concept more frequently after recently becoming aware of it. And yes, you'll notice it after reading this.
The dangerous comfort of AI answers
Large Language Models are sophisticated pattern-matching tools, not truth machines. The difference matters more than most people realise.
Artificial, not intelligent
How rushed and unwanted AI features are making software worse and more expensive.
Apple's Liquid Glass: When aesthetics beat function
Apple's new transparent design system has obvious readability issues that Apple's own design standards should have caught.
How to turn getting water into rocket science
A coworker dared me to make a cup of tea using our new office water boiler. Challenge accepted.
University wayfinding: A master class in confusion
I went to meet a professor of Human-Computer Interaction at a university. The irony was not lost on me.
Food delivery fiasco
Moving house, hungry, and the app delivered to my old address.
The Scissor Paradox
Scissors sold in packaging that can only be opened with scissors.