Open-Source & Peer-to-Peer Software

Billions of people now rely on technology from just a small group of companies. As our lives become increasingly dependent on digital tools, we must re-examine our relationship to them. I’m interested in helping to build a diverse ecosystem of software and services that puts control back in the hands of users.

Projects

Beautiful Web Type

Jan 2012–presentAn on-going project to document the very best open-source typefaces. A completely new version was released in Oct 2018.

Mnfst.io

Aug 2014–Sep 2016Trustless publishing platform using PGP-signed messages. Created with Mike Burns. This video shows a brief overview of the project.

Avalanche

Apr 2014Allows users to distribute PGP-signed photos via mesh network. Created with Mike Burns and Rebecca Meritz during a hackathon on Ekskäret.

Essays

Who Needs Foundations?

08 Nov 2021I’m thinking about cryptocurrency, but also everything else.

What happened to ebook innovation?

26 Aug 2018Due to pervasive DRM and closed ecosystems dominated by Amazon and Apple, the possibilities of ebooks are nowhere near fully realized.

Designing self-sustaining systems

14 Dec 2015Technology and design both share a concern for creating solutions to problems. What causes them to diverge is a matter of ethics.

Beautiful code does not make a beautiful product

27 Mar 2013If the purity of a codebase would suffer from a change that enhances the experience of users, then the code should suffer.

The advantages of design in the 21st century

14 Feb 2013A summary of the paper ‘A Cautious Prometheus? A Few Steps Toward a Philosophy of Design’ by Bruno Latour.

Design & Hacking

22 Nov 2012In order to meaningfully shape the future, design must challenge and overturn entrenched systems, not simply create new packages for yesterday’s ideas.

Don’t Make Me Wait

08 Nov 2012Web-based apps that match the speed and responsiveness of native apps are better for users, but they require more investment from product and engineering teams.

The Design of Design

09 Oct 2012An overview of several main ideas from Fred Brooks’ book The Design of Design.

Further Reading