Yearly blog archives

2023
1. A newsletter manifesto that benefits readers & publishers
  
  26 July 2023
  
  Last summer, I started a newsletter — yeah, about three years or so later than everyone else — but I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that a) I’m still going with it, and b) wow, I genuinely love putting each issue together. I’d even go as far to say that it’s my favourite form of communicating with my “audience” (urgh, horrid term, but you know what I mean), given the current state of social media.
2. The big book announcement
  
  29 June 2023
  
  As a handful of friends and subscribers to my newsletter will already know (hint hint), I’m writing a book. It’s called Universal Principles of Typography and it’s going to be published by Quarto in spring 2024.
3. I have a logo now
  
  26 April 2023
  
  At the end of last summer, I attended the very first Letter Luvvers event and met Emma Luczyn, who did a talk on her hand lettering work. Her presentation was fantastic, we had a great chat afterwards, and not too long after the event, I figured that Emma would be the perfect person to create something I’d been mulling for a while: a logo.
4. 2022 in review
  
  07 February 2023
  
  Continuing my annual tradition of recapping the year just ended, here’s my look back on 2022. As always, this type of post is mainly written for the benefit of my future self, but because I personally enjoy reading other folks’ yearly reviews, perhaps one or two of you might like this, too.
2022
1. The final Google Fonts Knowledge drop of 2022
  
  01 December 2022
  
  The year’s almost at its end, but we’ve got one last Google Fonts Knowledge drop for you, and, although I’m biassed... it’s a really good one. In my opinion, it builds upon what we launched for Q1, Q2, and Q3 with some well-rounded content that really takes the resource up a notch.
2. I designed myself some festive cards and you can buy them, too
  
  15 November 2022
  
  I’m happy to announce that I’ve finally achieved a career-long dream and designed myself some cards for the festive season. Next month, I’ll start sending them out, and I’m also putting some up for sale, too.
3. Google Fonts Knowledge Q3 content drop
  
  03 November 2022
  
  We’ve just dropped a load of new content on Google Fonts Knowledge! 15 new articles and 9 new glossary terms, to be precise. Here’s a post with a quick breakdown.
4. This site’s type is now variable
  
  28 September 2022
  
  I’ve been writing and editing a lot of content about variable fonts for Google Fonts Knowledge recently, so I figured it was high time my own website switched over to use the variable version of Ohno’s Degular. And now it’s live — you’re reading text set in it right now. Lucky you.
5. Google Fonts Knowledge Q2 content drop
  
  21 July 2022
  
  Today marks Google Fonts Knowledge’s second content drop of the year and I figured it was worth a quick post to cover all the newness.
6. Google Fonts Knowledge Q1 content drop
  
  07 April 2022
  
  When we launched Google Fonts Knowledge at the end of last year, I mentioned that it was “just the start of something much larger” and today, we’re making good on that promise: our first content drop of 2022 has gone live on the site. We’ve added 21 new glossary definitions, four new articles, one heavily updated definition, and numerous small tweaks throughout the existing content. Oh, and Google Fonts Knowledge is now open source thanks to a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence!
7. 2021 in review
  
  01 February 2022
  
  2021 was a weird one. Again. But we were very fortunate: the challenges of lockdowns and homeschooling aside, my family avoided the worst effects of the pandemic. I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time with my kids, I worked for the entire year on Google Fonts Knowledge, and I released a healthy amount of music, both my own and, via my label, from others.
2021
1. Google Fonts Knowledge
  
  07 December 2021
  
  Google Fonts Knowledge — the project I’ve been building with the Google Fonts team over the course of the past year — launched today. GFK is a library of educational content designed to enable designers and developers of all skill levels to choose and use type with purpose.
2. Our home studio
  
  08 October 2021
  
  Back in April, we had a family of squirrels trying to make a home in the roof the outbuilding in our garden, which just so happens to be our home studio. We managed to remove the squirrels (humanely, I’ll add), but at the time I was starting to get pretty paranoid about the studio burning down if they started to chew the wires, so I figured it’d be a good time to take some photos of the space as an insurance precaution — but also because it was finally ‘finished’; i.e. we’d got it looking pretty much the way we wanted it after a few years of gradually refining the room.
3. Release, Change, Rift
  
  28 September 2021
  
  My new EP, Release, Change, Rift, came out on Observant yesterday and this is a big one for me: apart from some remix duties, a few appearances on compilations, and of course my split EP with Decka on Unterwegs, this is the first ‘full’ Other Form release on a label other than Unknown Movements.
4. 2020 in music
  
  27 April 2021
  
  Yeah, I know: publishing an end-of-year review nearly five months into the next year is kind of daft. But, in the spirit of my end-of-year wraps of the past, this is more for my own personal posterity, and I’d like to controversially suggest that there were actually some good things that emerged from the maelstrom of 2020 — at least in terms of music.
2020
1. Getting things done with TODAY ▼ + SOON ▶
  
  12 October 2020
  
  Inspired by Jeff Sheldon’s Analog project and my recent desire to move to-do lists into the physical realm, I designed my own card-based productivity system, ready to print via Moo. Here’s a bit about it.
2. Behind the scenes of Maido’s rebranding
  
  07 July 2020
  
  A detailed look at the process that went into gently evolving the brand of the agency I worked at up until the pandemic. Type nerds, read on.
3. A redesign at last
  
  25 June 2020
  
  Hello and welcome to the new elliotjaystocks.com — which is not just a redesign, but also a full rebuild. In fact, it’s the most substantial re-think of my personal site in about a decade, and the first time the site has had a portfolio section in a good 15 years or so. My plan is to delve into some of the site’s details in further blog posts, but today I’ll attempt a loose-ish overview. Humour an old man, won’t you?
2019
1. Tempo: not just another email client
  
  17 September 2019
  
  My interest has been piqued by email app Tempo, which I’ve been trying out in beta for the last few months. With the product imminently coming out of beta and the approaching launch of their mobile app, now seems like a good time to reflect on this intriguing new contender.
2. MacBook What?
  
  26 March 2019
  
  As I made my bought my shiny new MacBook Air, it struck me just how confusing it is to buy an Apple laptop in 2019. Even the myriad options of hardware configuration aside, the very naming itself — the actual brand of the MacBook Air — seems somewhat confused.
3. MacBook Air unboxing
  
  22 March 2019
  
  I just bought one of those new MacBook Airs with the Touch ID thingy. Thoughts to follow; meanwhile, here are some unboxing photos for the nerds.
4. An open letter to Jacob Rees-Mogg
  
  17 January 2019
  
  You and I could not be further apart.
2018
1. Doing one thing a day; or, a calendar plan that’s actually productive
  
  10 April 2018
  
  A couple of years ago, I wrote an article called ‘Working for half a day to be more productive’, and while my intentions were good, that piece suffered from a problem that has affected many of my writings on the subject of getting-things-done: I wrote the piece without having actually settled into the very routine about which I was enthusing, and — lo and behold — I no longer follow my own recommendation, having failed to stick to such a rigid schedule.
2. Gwen
  
  22 February 2018
  
  At around midday on Thursday 22nd February 2018, Sam and I said hello to our second daughter, Gwen River Stocks.
3. The arrogance of the HomePod
  
  19 February 2018
  
  With Apple’s HomePod finally arriving in the hands of pre-order customers last week, recent news headlines about the device have been dominated by reports of the device leaving unsightly marks on customer’s wooden countertops.
2017
1. Music consumption in the era of smart speakers
  
  20 December 2017
2. One year with the Google Pixel
  
  03 October 2017
3. Advanced Typography in Berlin
  
  14 June 2017
4. So, I have a record out
  
  11 May 2017
5. Advanced Typography for the Web & Print
  
  21 March 2017
2016
1. Lagom magazine vs. 2016
  
  21 December 2016
2. One week with the Google Pixel
  
  04 November 2016
3. Google Pixel unboxing
  
  24 October 2016
4. I’m making a huge, hardcover 8 Faces book — here’s why
  
  17 September 2016
5. The Apple-Google shift
  
  20 August 2016
6. A post-Brexit world
  
  27 June 2016
7. Do the right thing tomorrow
  
  22 June 2016
8. Working for half a day to be more productive
  
  14 March 2016
9. The new studio
  
  24 February 2016
2015
1. That was 2015
  
  30 December 2015
2. Goodbye, Typekit
  
  21 December 2015
3. 1 month with the Apple Watch
  
  02 June 2015
4. Joli sleeve for MacBook
  
  29 May 2015
5. MacBook (2015) unboxing
  
  20 May 2015
6. 1 day with the Apple Watch
  
  02 May 2015
7. Thea
  
  30 April 2015
8. Lagom #2 is out now
  
  26 March 2015
2014
1. Pay your contributors
  
  19 December 2014
2. The new eBay vs. physics
  
  09 December 2014
3. Insites: The Xmas Special 2014
  
  27 November 2014
4. Confessions of an independent publisher
  
  06 October 2014
5. You can now buy Lagom, our new magazine
  
  01 October 2014
6. So what actually is the UK?
  
  19 September 2014
7. A lament for the iPod Classic
  
  15 September 2014
8. Goodbye Digest, hello Lagom
  
  05 September 2014
9. Viewport Industries has now closed for business
  
  02 September 2014
10. On digital publishing in 2014
  
  12 August 2014
11. Google’s Material Design
  
  26 June 2014
12. Typekit updates for CC 2014
  
  20 June 2014
13. Advanced web typography: Responsive web typography
  
  09 April 2014
14. Advanced web typography: Justification & hyphenation
  
  09 April 2014
15. Advanced web typography: Kerning
  
  08 April 2014
16. Advanced web typography: A recap on OpenType features
  
  08 April 2014
17. Say hello to Skull Tubes
  
  31 March 2014
18. A lament for Readmill
  
  29 March 2014
19. Celebrating non-venture-backed companies
  
  05 March 2014
20. This is not 2013 in review
  
  03 January 2014
2013
1. CSS Regions and Edge Reflow
  
  27 September 2013
2. Digest is out now
  
  14 August 2013
3. Digest’s typography & grids (part 1)
  
  07 August 2013
4. My new magazine: Digest
  
  29 July 2013
5. Countdone is now available in the App Store
  
  26 June 2013
6. 3 reasons I’m excited about WWDC 2013
  
  04 June 2013
7. Hello, Typekit
  
  23 May 2013
8. Studio diary 2013: part 2
  
  15 May 2013
9. You should come to ConfShop
  
  10 May 2013
10. Typographica’s favourite typefaces of 2012
  
  18 March 2013
11. Beware the free, invisible service
  
  14 March 2013
12. Responsive web design: the war has not yet been won
  
  01 March 2013
13. Coming soon: Countdone for iOS
  
  21 February 2013
14. Designers I would recommend
  
  08 February 2013
15. Somerset to San Francisco in pictures
  
  03 February 2013
16. Studio diary 2013: part 1
  
  09 January 2013
2012
1. 2012 in review
  
  31 December 2012
2. Thirty-three
  
  18 December 2012
3. Quatro
  
  13 December 2012
4. A new model for the musician-to-listener relationship
  
  28 November 2012
5. Hammer
  
  22 November 2012
6. A conversation with Erik Spiekermann
  
  20 November 2012
7. Typecast joins Monotype
  
  30 October 2012
8. Music collections in the era of the cloud
  
  24 October 2012
9. So, this is what I missed
  
  19 October 2012
10. What did I miss?
  
  17 October 2012
11. Thank you
  
  23 September 2012
12. Why we created Insites: The Book
  
  21 September 2012
13. Good riddance, PayPal
  
  04 September 2012
14. Review: Doxie Go WiFi scanner
  
  01 August 2012
15. Has adaptive design failed? Of course it bloody hasn’t.
  
  23 May 2012
16. Tomorrow’s web type today: from Qaegkvwyz to Qaegkvwyz using stylesets
  
  15 May 2012
17. Tomorrow’s web type today: Say it With a Swash
  
  14 May 2012
18. Tomorrow’s web type today: Expert subsets for css in 123
  
  12 May 2012
19. Tomorrow’s web type today: The fine flourish of the ligature
  
  10 May 2012
20. The cloud-centric Mac set-up: 8 months on
  
  10 April 2012
21. Ideas of March 2.0
  
  15 March 2012
22. Responsive Summit
  
  28 February 2012
23. Better background images for responsive web design
  
  15 February 2012
24. Review: Mantis Stand for iPad
  
  10 February 2012
25. Dog days
  
  25 January 2012
26. A better Photoshop grid for responsive web design
  
  20 January 2012
2011
1. 2011 in review goals for 2012
  
  29 December 2011
2. Announcing Insites: The Book
  
  21 December 2011
3. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
  
  16 December 2011
4. 8 Faces #4
  
  06 December 2011
5. Viewport Industries & The 2012 Experiment
  
  17 November 2011
6. The typography-out approach in the world of browser-based web design
  
  07 October 2011
7. Steve Jobs
  
  06 October 2011
8. Help us raise $35,000 for clean water in Ethiopia
  
  30 September 2011
9. The Kindle Fire
  
  29 September 2011
10. Review: ColcaSac MacBook Air 11" sleeve
  
  22 September 2011
11. Extensis’ Web Font Plug-In
  
  13 September 2011
12. Choose your web fonts wisely
  
  01 September 2011
13. The relevance of the baseline grid
  
  24 August 2011
14. Profiled in Computer Arts Projects
  
  23 August 2011
15. I'm redesigning Smashing Magazine
  
  18 August 2011
16. 8 Faces #3
  
  17 August 2011
17. A note about my new Mac set-up
  
  09 August 2011
18. A cloud-centric software licence
  
  25 July 2011
19. Three things
  
  08 July 2011
20. Font-weight in the age of web fonts
  
  07 July 2011
21. The Email Charter
  
  04 July 2011
22. First impressions of Google Plus
  
  30 June 2011
23. Free HTML / CSS for type & palette proposals
  
  24 June 2011
24. Get away from your desk
  
  02 June 2011
25. CSS transitions & media queries
  
  31 May 2011
26. Authentic Jobs UK
  
  26 May 2011
27. Using TextExpander to conquer email
  
  11 May 2011
28. Tracked
  
  06 May 2011
29. Posthumous posting
  
  05 May 2011
30. A preview of Codex: the journal of typography
  
  27 April 2011
31. Introducing: Insites
  
  21 April 2011
32. Time away from email
  
  18 April 2011
33. An open letter to Dropbox
  
  10 April 2011
34. A cloud-centric Mac set-up
  
  05 April 2011
35. Allow yourself a sick day
  
  24 March 2011
36. Using web fonts in desktop design apps
  
  22 March 2011
37. Ideas of March (a return to blogging)
  
  21 March 2011
2010
1. 2010 in review goals for 2011
  
  27 December 2010
2. The best web conferences of 2010
  
  22 December 2010
3. The search for the perfect media centre
  
  22 November 2010
4. 8 Faces #2
  
  10 November 2010
5. Hardboiled Web Design by Andy Clarke
  
  19 October 2010
6. The fine art of saying hello
  
  15 September 2010
7. Win a special edition of 8 Faces
  
  17 August 2010
8. MoviePeg alphabet
  
  09 August 2010
9. On publishing
  
  28 July 2010
10. 8 Faces #1 now available to pre-order
  
  16 July 2010
11. 8 Faces: very, very soon
  
  09 July 2010
12. EP 2 is on its way
  
  28 June 2010
13. Starkers 3.0
  
  21 June 2010
14. Perfect Harmony
  
  21 June 2010
15. Pulse news reader for iPad
  
  11 June 2010
16. Back up
  
  10 June 2010
17. Steve Jobs on Flash
  
  30 April 2010
18. The inevitable failure of e-readers
  
  24 April 2010
19. Web designers who can't code
  
  18 February 2010
20. First thoughts on the iPad
  
  28 January 2010
21. Starkers: HTML5 the future
  
  25 January 2010
22. Bristol bound
  
  23 January 2010
23. The Apple Tablet
  
  12 January 2010
2009
1. 2009 in review goals for 2010
  
  30 December 2009
2. Introducing: 8 Faces magazine
  
  23 December 2009
3. A pet project in the works
  
  18 December 2009
4. Branding The Money Pig
  
  09 December 2009
5. URL ABC
  
  27 November 2009
6. Ghostly Discovery
  
  30 October 2009
7. English lesson #1: it's / its
  
  13 August 2009
8. The Font-As-Service
  
  07 August 2009
9. Starkers grows up
  
  17 July 2009
10. ‘How to design a portfolio site’ screencast
  
  13 July 2009
11. Tutorial: Multiple single.php templates in WordPress
  
  09 July 2009
12. Win a signed copy of Sexy Web Design
  
  16 April 2009
13. Don't check work email outside of work hours
  
  27 March 2009
14. Announcing... EP 1. Come and get it.
  
  23 March 2009
15. Sexy Web Design
  
  19 March 2009
16. EP1: the details (and how to get it for free)
  
  15 March 2009
17. Web Directions North 2009
  
  17 February 2009
18. Studio diary: part 5
  
  05 February 2009
19. Studio diary: part 4
  
  30 January 2009
20. Studio diary: part 3
  
  20 January 2009
21. Design trends in 2009
  
  15 January 2009
22. Let’s talk money
  
  08 January 2009
2008
1. Goals, old and new
  
  22 December 2008
2. Studio diary: part 2
  
  15 December 2008
3. LittleSnapper
  
  11 December 2008
4. Studio diary: part 1
  
  02 December 2008
5. Write off that first hour
  
  27 November 2008
6. A quick word on advertising
  
  19 November 2008
7. Round-up of 2008 speaking events
  
  14 November 2008
8. Samantha Cliffe Photography
  
  24 October 2008
9. Speaking events in early 2009
  
  21 October 2008
10. Build your profile to get more freelance work
  
  13 October 2008
11. Why being freelance does not mean you have to work more hours
  
  06 October 2008
12. Starkers for WordPress 2.6.2
  
  18 September 2008
13. Thwart the design thieves feature in .net magazine
  
  01 September 2008
14. Death to IE6
  
  27 August 2008
15. Vote for my SXSW ‘09 panels
  
  13 August 2008
16. Bypassing the new Delicious site
  
  12 August 2008
17. Interview on Boagworld (and appearance on The BeerCast)
  
  16 July 2008
18. Introducing WooThemes; or, How you can own my WordPress theme designs
  
  09 July 2008
19. Tutorial: create a textured background image
  
  28 June 2008
20. iPhone 3G disappointments
  
  10 June 2008
21. A blessay about Twitter
  
  23 May 2008
22. Happy National Day!
  
  18 May 2008
23. Learning lessons
  
  07 May 2008
24. The to-do list problem & the ‘Things’ solution
  
  01 May 2008
25. Week one of working for myself
  
  26 April 2008
26. FOWD London 2008 wrap-up
  
  23 April 2008
27. Create the perfect logo feature in .net magazine
  
  03 April 2008
28. ‘A Gosling’ by Stuart Kolakovic
  
  26 March 2008
29. Speaking and teaching at FOWD
  
  12 March 2008
30. Want to help create the next version of elliotjaystocks.com?
  
  07 March 2008
31. Wordpress tutorial:how to apply a dynamic body class or ID
  
  23 February 2008
32. I’m leaving Carsonified
  
  20 February 2008
33. How can we stop the thieves?
  
  08 February 2008
34. Typesites
  
  07 February 2008
35. Free ‘Starkers’ Wordpress theme
  
  27 January 2008
36. Video on CommandShift3
  
  25 January 2008
37. Catastroph-IE
  
  25 January 2008
38. Kning Disk: beautiful Swedish design
  
  19 January 2008
39. Cooking With Beer, episode 1:‘Mussels in Hoegaarden with Chips’
  
  11 January 2008
40. Goals for 2008
  
  04 January 2008
2007
1. Round-up of 2007 speaking events
  
  25 December 2007
2. Tutorial: create transparent PNGs from your application icons
  
  19 December 2007
3. Best of CSS Design 2007 / Top Blog Designs of 2007 / snap2objects interview
  
  13 December 2007
4. 24 ways
  
  03 December 2007
5. The iPhone can make you a better person
  
  30 November 2007
6. Always (mis)read the label
  
  22 November 2007
7. ‘Destroy The Web 2.0 Look’ @ Future of Web Design, New York
  
  13 November 2007
8. CSS Tutorial: better nav image replacement
  
  27 October 2007
9. Writeroom: minimalism at its best
  
  24 October 2007
10. A week in books
  
  12 October 2007
11. I’m speaking at Future Of Web Design, New York
  
  09 October 2007
12. A little story about Airbag Industries’ new Sundance Film Festival site
  
  05 October 2007
13. I’m speaking at SkillSwap Bristol
  
  14 September 2007
14. Win tickets to ‘iDesign’ next Tuesday
  
  11 September 2007
15. The new iPods
  
  06 September 2007
16. I’m speaking at the London Design Festival
  
  01 September 2007
17. Apple’s new iMac & keyboard
  
  08 August 2007
18. Feature in .net / Practical Web Design magazine
  
  26 July 2007
19. I’m speaking at Oxford Geek Night 3
  
  20 July 2007
20. 5 apps for a new MacBook Pro
  
  13 July 2007
21. Some pretty big news
  
  20 June 2007
22. Tutorial in Computer Arts magazine
  
  09 June 2007
23. Apollo at Adobe Live 2007
  
  06 June 2007
24. Transcending CSS by Andy Clarke
  
  10 May 2007
25. Thoughts on Coda
  
  24 April 2007
26. ‘Gimmi’ custom Photoshop brushes (v1)
  
  24 April 2007
27. Three mistakes Apple have made with the UK market
  
  26 March 2007
2006
1. Bonnie, 1994 - 2006
  
  30 December 2006
2. Christmas shopping: online, instore
  
  29 November 2006
3. Misunderstanding web standards
  
  09 November 2006
4. The joke that is IE7
  
  03 November 2006
5. iTunes 7: I take it back
  
  29 September 2006
6. iTunes 7
  
  17 September 2006
7. Pedantic Semantics
  
  05 September 2006
8. Beer heaven
  
  28 June 2006
9. This is the end…
  
  17 June 2006
10. A change of plan
  
  15 June 2006
11. Dracula unspectacular
  
  03 June 2006
12. Amsterdam > Prague > Vienna
  
  25 May 2006
13. Aboard the ship surreal
  
  22 May 2006
14. Brussels
  
  20 May 2006
15. New site!
  
  18 May 2006
2005
1. Waking up to trees
  
  05 September 2005
2. (Re)Thinking Aloud
  
  05 September 2005
3. On the deck
  
  05 September 2005
4. After the London bombings
  
  07 July 2005
5. Untitled
  
  26 January 2005

Looking for something you can’t find here? When relaunching this website, I decided to ‘de-list’ several articles I considered to be outdated / irrelevant / embarrassing. It’s possible they are actually still here and Google might be able to help you find them.

Latest music

Neanthe

My latest EP is out now on Robert Hoff’s tra-ma label. It’s available on all good streaming services, and of course you can support the label directly by purchasing it from the label’s Bandcamp.

Listen Buy

Lagom

Back issues still available

Lagom has officially come to an end and our online store is now, er, offline, but we still have some back issues available to buy. Please get in touch to arrange payment and shipping.

Buy Lagom readlagom.com

8 Faces

Still a few of these left, too

My first magazine 8 Faces ran from 2010 to 2014 before being collected as a book thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. Much like Lagom, we’ve taken down our online shop, but still have a handful of back issues available to buy. Please get in touch to arrange payment and shipping. Our blog’s still going, by the way.

Buy 8 Faces blog.8faces.com

Say hello

If you’d like me to advise on your project, speak at your event, write for your publication, or just say hello, please feel free to get in touch via email or reach out via social media:

@elliotjaystocks

@otherform / @otherformuk