Hey friends,

While I don’t love the cold, I DO love the hot drinks, fuzzy clothing, and the excuse to wear as much flannel as I want that comes with winter.

Thinking Too Hard 🤔

As a developer, it often feels like we’re there to “just build the thing.” Show up, read the specs, solve the tech challenges, and make it work. But that’s only part of the job.

When I was faced with a blank canvas as a designer (in ye olden days), it could be difficult to decide where to take the project. Sometimes, just a SLIVER of an idea was enough to provide enough surface area to start engaging with the work.

As developers, our job can start much earlier with proactive collaboration. When a project starts, read the brief, consider the options, seed some ideas with your design team... and then step back. You have more visibility into what’s possible than the designers do — so share those ideas! You just might open up new possibilities and provide some of that initial surface area.

Interesting Web Bits 🍜

Web Stuff

• The new text-grow property is crazy!
• I don't think this is new, but I love PostHog's OS-themed homepage.
• Some really interesting CSS math to create a clipped faux-3D perspective on Amit Sheen's Deep Card Conundrum.
• Since we're all doing 2025 wraps, Chrome does a 2025 CSS Wrap.

Other Stuff

• Detroit gets a RoboCop statue.
• Cal asks, "Why is the internet becoming TV?" along with the semi-obvious answer: moonaaay monay MOOOONEEEEY. 💰
• (Very) Short story: Mr. Scratch.
• Huh, Victorian Christmas cards sure were weird...
• Fran Sans, a font inspired by the destination signs of San Francisco rail vehicles.
• Jeff Huang discusses his text-file productivity.

Weird, Watch, and Play

• 😜 Neal does it again with his new Size of Life.
• 😜 So they found a bunch of cassette tapes and uploaded the audio.
• 📺 Snow crystals on soap bubbles!
• 📺 White Out is a neat watercolor animation... collage ... thing? It's neat but hey, WARNING: LOTS FLASHING COLORS (don't watch it if that'll trigger something for you).
• 📺 Watch this beautiful demonstration of ebru (paper marbling in Turkish).