LIL DOLLY DESIGNS

Archive · 93 notes

Notes.

A slow accumulation of thinking on brand systems, web craft, typography, and the small quiet decisions that make a piece of work feel considered.

Updated when there is something worth saying. RSS feed at /rss.xml.

№ 093 On estimating in ranges Jun 2026 № 092 The hardest colour is grey Jun 2026 № 091 On tabular figures May 2026 № 090 Notes from a quiet week May 2026 № 089 Why I'm still on a static site Apr 2026 № 088 On hiring slowly Apr 2026 № 087 Quiet typography in 2026 Apr 2026 № 086 When type is doing the layout Mar 2026 № 085 The basics of web design, revisited Mar 2026 № 084 On forms that ask too much Feb 2026 № 083 Quiet redesigns Feb 2026 № 082 On matching things Jan 2026 № 081 What I read in 2025 Jan 2026 № 080 Books that shaped this year of work Dec 2025 № 079 Sending bad work back to yourself Nov 2025 № 078 AI and the brand designer Oct 2025 № 077 Picking a serif in 2025 Sept 2025 № 076 Stylesheets that age Aug 2025 № 075 On copying Jul 2025 № 074 Writing the first page Jun 2025 № 073 Designing for email Jun 2025 № 072 On information architecture for small sites May 2025 № 071 On personal sites that aren't on Substack May 2025 № 070 When the client asks for animation Apr 2025 № 069 The italic problem in display type Apr 2025 № 068 Reading: spring 2025 Mar 2025 № 067 When a brand outgrows its system Mar 2025 № 066 Colour at small sizes Feb 2025 № 065 First container queries Feb 2025 № 064 On the Figma plugins worth keeping Jan 2025 № 063 On taking the new year quietly Jan 2025 № 062 The work that didn't happen this year Dec 2024 № 061 Why I send something printed Nov 2024 № 060 On exporting cleanly Nov 2024 № 059 Designing a small commerce site Oct 2024 № 058 On running out of grids Oct 2024 № 057 Small studios and the deck problem Sept 2024 № 056 Pricing for small studios Sept 2024 № 055 Photography for small brands without a budget Aug 2024 № 054 Variable fonts in production, four months in Aug 2024 № 053 Variable fonts, finally Jul 2024 № 052 The case against hover Jul 2024 № 051 On reading old internet writing Jun 2024 № 050 The case for fewer materials Jun 2024 № 049 Restarting a notebook May 2024 № 048 Going quiet for a while Apr 2022 № 047 Three pages I keep redesigning Apr 2022 № 046 Type at small sizes Mar 2022 № 045 On invoicing earlier Feb 2022 № 044 When clients ask for a redesign and need a rewrite Feb 2022 № 043 On taking less work this year Jan 2022 № 042 Year-end notes, 2021 Dec 2021 № 041 On working with photographers Nov 2021 № 040 What 'fast' means now Nov 2021 № 039 On working with copywriters Oct 2021 № 038 Writing for the client to read aloud Oct 2021 № 037 Three colour pickers, and the wrong one Sept 2021 № 036 Mostly Inter Sept 2021 № 035 Site architecture is not navigation Aug 2021 № 034 On reading the manual Aug 2021 № 033 What I want from a design system Jul 2021 № 032 Dark mode without dark mode Jun 2021 № 031 On case studies that age well May 2021 № 030 A spring reading list Apr 2021 № 029 Designing without a homepage Mar 2021 № 028 When a logotype is enough Mar 2021 № 027 Three things I changed about the studio's process Feb 2021 № 026 On not redesigning everything in January Jan 2021 № 025 Closing notes for a strange year Dec 2020 № 024 Reading: late 2020 Dec 2020 № 023 The year of small print runs Nov 2020 № 022 What the studio buys from Klim every year Oct 2020 № 021 On rapid pivots and small brands Sept 2020 № 020 On ordering small batches of paper Aug 2020 № 019 Print at home, stop apologising for it Aug 2020 № 018 The necessary work of accessibility Jul 2020 № 017 The hidden cost of plugins Jun 2020 № 016 When the brand was wrong from the start Jun 2020 № 015 Web design when the brief keeps changing May 2020 № 014 On naming things May 2020 № 013 When clients send their own colours Apr 2020 № 012 Designing for a studio that has gone fully remote Apr 2020 № 011 Hand-coding in a Figma world Mar 2020 № 010 A 404 page that does something Mar 2020 № 009 On briefs that arrive in PDF Feb 2020 № 008 Notes on starting the year slowly Jan 2020 № 007 Year-end notes, 2019 Dec 2019 № 006 On not having a portfolio Nov 2019 № 005 Reading: late 2019 Oct 2019 № 004 What I want from a CMS in 2019 Sept 2019 № 003 Browser support is no longer the conversation Aug 2019 № 002 On the small print of small studios Jul 2019 № 001 First post Jun 2019