Category: Uncategorized

  • Theme resources

    I don’t know about you, but I find so many good resources around themes lately that I feel I am constantly juggling links and saving things in the best way. I wanted to solve that a bit as I prepared for a talk this week, so I created a GitHub repo and have begun filing…

  • The implications of set forced play spaces in work

    I was listening to the Post Status podcast this week where Cory Miller and David Bisset discussed creating time for play within work. I write this not thinking they were advocating for what I disagree with, but the podcast inspired me to share my perspective. Creating space for play absolutely resonates; we learn through play…

  • People see content not terms

    Naming can get very complicated. Often labels are put on things, and heated views are delivered around what should or shouldn’t be called. When it comes down to it, what is essential is to observe how someone will use the experience, what they will think of and then name from there. Most of the naming…

  • Patterns empower

    One of the most frequent things someone says when creating something using WordPress is I ‘want it like this’. They look at a site and want something, but then they are stuck. The ‘how’ seems far, and the chasm across implementation is vast. Creating is just too complex, and often the end result is one…

  • Seek the sketching state

    Sketching state is where everyone in product creation is collaborating enough and sharing enough that sketches work. All too often, spending lengthy time coming up with a complete prototype can be far too time-consuming. Passing pixel precision backwards and forth limits the flow and stops that spark of creativity. However, it’s not a state that…

  • Opening your project for contributions

    So you want to open source your project for others to contribute? That’s great, but where do you start? With a few things to consider, you can start on the right path from the start with contributions and avoid some of the common first step problems. This guide is a minimal viable opener if you…

  • Theme creation is now easier

    The way that themes have evolved within WordPress has made creating them easier. That feels like a bold statement, but it’s true. Themes have been on quite a journey from their origins of simple files through to complex compilers, frameworks and now have come back almost full circle with more levels, options for creation and…

  • Designers grow in open source

    When design is mentioned in open source, it’s often as a scarce resource, one yearned for or maybe hasn’t had an easy time. I think this might be problematic and needs changing. Designers can use open source projects as a growth opportunity and learn in a space that is accessible. I would go as far…

  • The importance of testing early and often

    This week saw the release of WordPress 5.8 ‘Tatum’. It’s a huge milestone on the full site editing journey, the new WordPress experience’s grand adventure. With every release comes a pause, a moment to reflect, yet it’s important to consider testing continually. We all create this experience together by testing and finding the problems, the…

  • Technical words matter

    Words matter; we put labels on things, we put labels on each other. Those labels lead to judgements. The ways we judge what capability someone has or hasn’t in something technical only tend to lead to harm, I’ve found. It’s a way to limit before you even know someone, and that’s one way to block…