I received some rare SPAM today offering web design services Hello, I noticed your website and thought a modern redesign could enhance its impact. We focus on clean layouts, faster loading speed, and mobile-friendly designs. Shall I share some samples? Warm regards, [REDACTED] Nice try! I have near perfect scores on...

This has to be one of the most popular bags of all time. Manufactured in Sweden in the 1960s (not mine, obviously) and visible on virtually everyone on the commute, this hardy rucksack is big enough for everything I need without being overly big. I've been after a Mustard one for ages and spotted this for £8 on...

Following in the footsteps of Alex and Joel, here's my contribution to the Great Genre Debate™. What is your favourite genre? Fantasy. There's a lot of sub-genres from Sword-and-Sorcery to Historical Fantasy, contemporary Urban to the encompassing world building of High Fantasy. I much prefer contemporary urban...

When I was a kid, my dad did an A-level in photography for funsies. He used this beautiful Praktica LTL. At the time I had no idea what that even was. Fast forward 30 years and I'm the photographer and that Praktica has sat in my dad's attic… until now. He popped round one weekend in mid-January and dropped off his...

9th March - 15th March I started reading Tomi Adeyemi's "Children of Blood and Bone" this week and I'm really enjoying it. I'll save a more detailed analysis for a proper review when I'm finished but, amongst other things, I'm really appreciating the world building. Another busy week at work. Organising epics into...

For as long as she can remember, James's connection with her twin has gone beyond intuition - she can feel what he feels. So when Johnny is killed in a tragic accident, James knows before her phone even rings that she's alone - truly alone - for the first time in her life. I knew I liked this book when I realised I...

A bout of bacterial tonsillitis recently necessitated a course of antibiotics. I had to take them 4 times a day at regular intervals. I did some maths and settled on 06:30, 11:30, 16:30, and 21:30. I have a terrible habit of ignoring Todoist notifications and I didn't want to clutter the family task list with my...

Especially for those not familiar with the process of design, it can be tempting to see things like discovery and wireframing as obstacles to be cleared before you get to the fun part, designing the visual identity. Unfortunately, many designers are also guilty of this! Nic Chan Nic's article makes an important...

2nd March - 8th March Happy International Women's Day to all women I sat down next to a woman who was reading on the train and pulled out my own Kindle. She glanced at it, said "snap!", and clinked hers against mine like wine glasses. blossom-against-blue-sky season – where everyone takes the same hopeful shot and...

Once there was a mermaid called Amelia who could never be content in the sea, a mermaid who longed to know all the world and all its wonders, and so she came to live on land. Once there was a man called P. T. Barnum, a man who longed to make his fortune by selling the wondrous and miraculous, and there is nothing...

23rd February - 1st March The dog is lying in a parallelogram of golden sunshine streaming through the patio doors across the tiled floor of the kitchen. Her eyes are closed and is still as death; only her gently heaving chest tells me she is alive. That and the way she is immediately behind me, awake and expectant,...

Happy March! Here are a few photos from my phone from the last month with neither rhyme nor reason to the theme. Thanks for reading this post via RSS! Let me know your thoughts by sending me an email: rss@thomasrigby.com.