A personal blog about design, travel and life as a software user.
Like so many teens before us, my childhood friend Chris and I were absolute idiots. We considered it suitable to document our idiocy using a camcorder that Chris had gotten for his birthday. The video resolution was as low as 320 × 240 and the sound quality was horrendous. In the beginning of the millennium, with this novel way to visually record our shenanigans, we kept a finger on the pulse of…
It's 02:07 and I can't sleep. I thought that my insomniac nights are over but apparently not. My mind isn't racing like it used too, I have better control over my thoughts than I ever had. It's more like there's a steady energy level that doesn't seem to stagger. I do get tired and falling asleep is as easy as it's ever been. But once fallen asleep, I don't actually sleep, I'm inert but my energy…
I don't know why. I just thought having random emojis appear in my website's footer seemed appropriate. I actually didn't think of this myself. It was the random emoji of my favourite designer/artist's website that inspired me to do this (but in her case not random in the sense that it's a randomised emoji but rather that I just thought the idea of having an emoji in the footer in the first place…
I'm envisioning a project, which shall support me in the mission to see more of my friends. The issue is that currently, in order to meet my friends, I have to coordinate with them a time and place, often weeks in advance. We are all adults with busy lives and many of my friends are parents, too. Meeting impulsively in a life that is made up of appointments and errands seems to become more and…
There's something wrong with my phone. It's incredibly old (iPhone 12, released in 2020, got it in 2022), but that isn't even the worst of it. What's worse is its battery life—you can imagine after so many years of use. But worst of all is its limited storage capacity. I wonder who at Apple thought 64GB was good enough for a smartphone in the 2020s. While this did force me to become an app…
I've mentioned in my three years bloggoversary post , that I never run out of writing ideas. Over the years, dozens have accumulated. This is something I'm thankful for. However, a million writing ideas without discipline of execution are really just that: ideas. My (notorious) drafts folder (yes, I have one too) is full of these writing ideas that oftentimes consist of nothing more than a…
I have found an elegant way to revive old blog posts of mine. The issue is that (new) visitors of my website are more likely (if at all) to read the more recent posts of mine. In order to combat that, I've introduced little promotional texts for some of my older posts below my profile picture on my website's home page. It's yet another—kind of stupid—feature that is based on randomisation. They…
I love my vacuum cleaner robot. Originally from China (yes, it's a Roborock), and altough he has a female voice, we've been affectionately calling him "Robo" and referring to "him" ever since we've got him. I've tried out some of the available voices (back then when I was still serious about learning Spanish 🥲). But in the end, I've always returned to its German, female voice. It's nothing…
The 90s were the decade of collectibles! Most present in my memory are the Aqua Balls, rubbery heads which you could soak in water and squirt it out again through a small hole. There were dozens of different faces to collect: a football, a frog, maybe a zombie? They came packaged in shiny aluminium bags. I loved the mystery of buying them—you never knew which one you'd get. This kind of mystery…
Three years and counting! Keeping up a habit for this long is quite uncommon for someone who gets as easily distracted as I do. Especially with a mind as busy (we'll get to that). Writing is still treating me nicely. It allows me to thoroughly explore my mind. I never expected that writing would do this for me. As a matter of fact, I have only learned this after writing for some time. In the very…
We were spending the day at my in-laws, when we discovered the CD collection of a long lost era. These were our picks: The Original Soundtrack of the Fifth Element, "If you're Feeling Sinister" by Belle and Sebastian and a self-burned CD that had only "Chicane" scribbled on it. I couldn’t believe that people still had CD drives in their households, but my mother-in-law proved me wrong. CD…
I‘m breathing everyday life again. It's a breath of fresh air, considering that I have only recently returned from a trip that lasted four and a half months. After weeks of travelling—of packing, of unpacking, of arriving in new places , of getting used to new environments—I was grateful to have some stability again. Routines made a comeback! There's exercise for instance. I've reached a point,…
Right around the time of Trump's re-election, I discovered European Alternatives , a page dedicated to—well—European software alternatives. It was the first time I reconsidered my software choices in terms of origin. With that in mind, I was taken aback when I checked the apps I had installed on my phone. They had US and Silicon Valley written all over them. Now what about these European…
I find myself in a world where online content lies guarded behind gates of ad-infested websites. Today's process of looking up information isn't all that straightforward. While you would assume that the human experience matters most, much rather, search on the web is optimised for search machines (what a life) in an attempt to lure curious users into ad traps. Like a piece of cheese to be placed…
I feel very much okay. Life's not so bad right now: Spring has finally arrived, I spend a lot of time with friends, I get plenty of exercise and being without a job has its positive sides too (mostly not having to work). I expected to feel much worse returning from a months-long trip in Asia to the reality of everyday life. A part of me believes that this is all thanks to my newfound optimistic…
No YouTube in the morning , while I'm still in bed. Not even having "reach for my phone" to be the first thing I do after waking up. I won't be placed into said categories any longer. I want none of it! I remember a time, far away in a distant past, when I banned my phone from the bedroom. A bed is for sleeping after all. But then, what really defines a bedroom? Only lately I realised that my…
All I really wanted was to send a message to a friend. But obstacles to this seemingly simple undertaking where deviously hidden everywhere I looked. My mission was treacherous to begin with. When everyone and everything starts shouting at you once you enter the place, how are you really supposed to focus ? How are you to do what you set out to do? So here I was, on Instagram , but unlike what you…
As you might not have noticed, my website now offers you to choose a theme according to your liking. Inspired by Max Böck's website , I wanted my themes to follow a theme (ha!). While the themes on Max's website take inspiration from Mario Kart 64 tracks (there's Koopa Beach, Choco Mountain and Rainbow Road among others), I wanted a similar vibe, following another 90s obsession of mine: The…
I pushed open the glass door. In an instant, a dozen juvenile Filipino heads turned our way. After travelling for a month in the Philippines, I've gotten used to the looks. As a foreigner with light skin, a cool basketball cap, and a large backpack attached to my body, attracting attention is predetermined. As soon as they appreciated our presence, they turned back to sipping on their coffees,…
How can RSS be both (to quote Homer Simpson): ...the cause of–and solution to–all of life's problems? Without RSS (therefore: feeds) how would addictive (and often manipulative) social media work today (problem)? Without RSS (and feed readers) how could we escape the world of manipulation and advertising? (solution) To RSS! 🍻 Reply by email
Phones are tools. And they were always meant to be tools. Originally, mobile phones were build to make phone calls while on the go–something that we tend to forget in this day and age. The BlackBerry added emails to the mix. The iPhone combined the essentials of the iPod with the capabilities of a mobile phone. Suddenly, you didn't just make phone calls, but listened to music, took photos, wrote…
Isn't it ironic how the GDPR is meant to protect users' privacy rights and yet, all the average user does is blindly accept them, just to get rid of the annoying banner? It's already a design flaw that it's the more prominent button of the two that lets you accept cookies, when actually it's not in your best interest. Additionally, for the longest time, rejecting cookies required (at least) one…
It's remarkable how little time I spend on YouTube nowadays, considering that there used to be a time when: ...I woke up in the morning... (so far so good) ...reached for my phone... (first mistake) ...to open up the YouTube app... (second mistake) ...and let myself get dragged into a stupor of algorithmic self-indulgence... (thirst mistake) ...while allowing this to be the first thirty minutes of…
My mind is a mess. Hundreds of unorganised notes to self are waiting to become part of a system. Dozens of podcasts that I once planned to listen to but apparently won't. Several emails every day, that follow a supposed clever categorisation system but disappear into oblivion if I don't check them daily. An endless stream of content, constantly feeding my restless mind with more, when clearly, it…
I've only really started to appreciate the existence of seasons, after I returned from a trip around the world . In many places I've visited, seasons aren't as nuanced as they are in the temperate zone of Central Europe or they just don't exist at all. In Southeast Asia, you really only have rainy and dry season. In other places like Colombia's Medellín, you have eternal spring. So here goes a…
I'm not a good bookmarker. Ever since the aeons of my web browsing history (aka the year 2000), I've collected bookmarks. I've found wonderful things out there. Oh man, I certainly have. But do you think I actually held on to those fine bookmarks from bygone days of an unspoiled web? With so many Windows reinstalls in between? With so many bookmark exports I forgot to do? With so many browser…
There is no such thing as a "between jobs" phase, goes the old thinking. As you decide to quit, you simply look for a new one, while still working in your old job. You send out applications at the end of a long work day in order to make sure not to have this dreaded transition phase. Switching seamlessly from job A to job B is the goal. Now imagine this: you're somewhere in the mountains, deep in…
Off the top of my head, I can only really think of a handful of software products that I have been using for a considerable amount of time which still stay true to their values. One of such tools is Bear , a beautiful Markdown-enabled note-taking app that I have been using for more than 8 years today. It's a tool that seems immune to enshittification, that didn't let itself get carried away with…
Remember, when I reached the point in time when, eventually, I had to reinstall Windows (after years without a clean reinstall) but a sudden inspiration had me install Ubuntu instead, and after I did, I immediately realised that I'm not ready to go back yet, so I just reinstalled Windows 11? No? Well, the reason why you don't remember is because I haven't told you yet. Anyway, that's what…
"It should be around 500 euros", he said. "I beg your pardon?". I thought I didn't hear right. We had plumbers in our flat, servicing our gas boiler. "Wait, I'll calculate it for you", he offered. There was no melody in the way he talked. He spat out the words as if speaking a foreign language. It was hard to follow his explanation as he spat and spat relentlessly. Then, he pulled out his phone…
During a busy autumn many years ago, when the client's bullshit hit particularly hard, I felt pretty burned out. Poisoning your mind with the client's ideas and processes can put a strain on you, suffocate you and suck out your purpose and ultimately make you wonder: Why am I doing this again? Deep down, I always knew that the consulting business is not a world that I would ever feel comfortable…
I'm overly excited to announce the filter button of my dreams. With over a hundred blog posts written, I decided it's time to tag every one of my posts and see what comes out. The result is an attempt to organize my thoughts and break them down to filterable tags: User Experience Accessibility Travel Small Web Productivity Blogging AI/LLM Writing Emoji Insomnia Work An added benefit: a framework…
A wise man named Simon once told me that blog posts can come with their own soundtracks. It feels like this happened many years ago, in a place so remote that it must have been on the other side of the world. Come to think of it, it wasn't that long ago, but the remoteness of the matter is accurate. My girlfriend Sophia, my friend Manu and I had only just set off on this adventure that took us to…
Mistral must have had a bad day. I had it create a table with two columns listing all tracks from the 2000 album "The Eminem Show" and their respective producers. First it claimed, it can't create a table. As compensation, it showed the information in an ordered list instead. The track listing looked correct at first glance, especially since it showed the tracks in the original track order of the…
Hullo! Here I am, lounging on the couch, watching TV shows. It's a typical Sunday afternoon and my laptop is sitting at a distance on the table, unreachable from my lounging position. A couple of weeks ago, I made it a habit to connect my wireless mechanical keyboard for lazy afternoons such as this, to serve as remote control. But having to use my wireless mouse too is a nuisance (and rather…
The Breakup Letter is a tool I have learned about from the TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother. In one episode, Ted reveals that whenever he ends a romantic relationship, he writes a letter to his future self listing his motives for breaking up. In case he ever misses his ex, this way he can remind himself that getting back together is not a good idea. The Breakup Letter as a tool isn't limited to…
I'm lost in corporate fog. Everyone goes: "We have to make an impact!" "We have to secure relevance!" "We have to create value!" What is everyone talking about? It used to be different When I started, things were different. A small design agency with around 30 people. That's the company I joined. Of course, it had only previously been bought by a big corporate enterprise with more than 700K…
No, I didn't turn 100 years old. My blog didn't turn 100 either (that would be impossible for so many reasons). But with this post my blog turns 100 posts old! And I wanted one word that could sum it up. So my blog turns 100 today–in a way. Hooray, Hooray, Hooray! 🎺 Reply by email
Travel blogging refines, structures and narrates personal experiences of travel. While I'm out there in the middle of it, all I can really produce is the raw, incoherent version of these experiences. Travelling requires my whole-hearted attention. The impressions of a trip alone keep my mind busy. There is so much to a foreign culture, to a foreign geographic area, to a foreign society. Writing a…
It's been almost a year that I have properly built something for my website. And now, a simple button is keeping me up at night. Even though you might expect this from a user experience designer, I don't spend my nights racking my brain over the mere implementation of a filter button. There something else about this button that's agitating me. Sleep is overrated The longest I ever went without a…
Microsoft slaughtered Skype, integrated its remains into the "Free" version of Teams and called it a day. If you look closely, you'll notice what a sloppy job they did. Two of the coolest features of Skype revolved around landline capabilities. For one, Skype allowed you to make calls to landlines all around the world via data (Skype to Phone). The other allowed you to purchase international VoIP…
Music has never sounded better. Writing comes naturally. The thoughts are back on. Great ideas appear by the minute. Insomniac nights make a comeback too. It's no wonder I can't find rest. There's too many thoughts to explore, too much to process. But that's a small price to pay in order to gain access to this special place in my mind. Leaving behind a wasted mind, that's been exposed to everyday…
My friend Anthony and I were sitting on the stony beach of seaside resort Brighton, on our England reunion trip. We were deep in conversation, when a couple of children sitting behind us started throwing pebble stones. I have a feeling that they were aiming for us. It was so funny that their parents sat just next to them, completely unbothered. They didn’t explain to them that they could hurt us,…
Good news! Everyone can be a creator now! All thanks to a little, magical tool called "Generative AI". With just a single sentence—or you know, not even that—you can create music, blog posts, illustrations, photography, videos, you name it! Unsurprisingly, also before the age of Generative AI, you were able to become a creator. Only before, it took effort. Nobody likes to work hard though! Today,…
With everything I have, I try to sleep as hard as I can. What I seem to forget is that sleep is a delicate matter that isn't supposed to be "hard" (quite the opposite). A matter not supposed to work under pressure. With all that effort—again, that's not supposed to be effort—I end up exactly where I ended up the night prior: at 1:45 AM. How did I get here? Falling asleep was so easy—always is—so…
My dad has always been an early adopter. When flat-screen tellys appeared on the scene, only days later we had one in our living room. The same thing happened when Blu-ray players emerged and before that: the DVD player. "Really, dad?", I wondered when one day, I observed the new device in the cabinet above the telly. Of course, I supported his mission to be up to speed with technological…
If you ever commit to writing a travel blog, describing a world trip that lasts 10 months, know this: it‘s a lot of commitment. There's so much world out there, so much detail to explore, so much to write about. Writing this travel blog feels like a never-ending mission. The trips that came after and are still waiting to be written about don't particularly support its completion. Four travel…
Far away from screens and laptops, an adventure awaits. Deep in the Balkans, in the border triangle between Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. The Accursed Mountains brought me there and a hiking adventure kept me. If you're out vacationing, you don't have to leave your phone at home. But it's paramount to remind yourself of the times when a potential emergency was the only justification to own one.…
It lies in the nature of a user experience designer to think in terms of Human-Computer-Interaction. And if I do, which I am, then natural language is what's next in the evolution of user interfaces. It seems to be the most natural way of interacting with well, computers? Machines? Services? Right now, as you can see, I struggle to describe this interaction. We're still interacting with computers…
Usability testing doesn't have to be complicated. Where are your users? Out there, of course. Chilling in the sun, enjoying life, probably longing for refreshment. Who are your users? Male? Female? Diverse? In their teens? Twenties? Thirties? If only you could pick them at will. Even without hiring a company that does the recruiting for you. Because they're out there. Waiting to be interviewed.…