The Contour
A scenic route
Twenty-five years of walking into industries I knew nothing about and working out what makes them tick. I write some of it down here.
The Peacocks tail
Everyone knows peacocks have ridiculous tails. And yes, I’m talking about birds again. Their tail is a terrible idea. It’s heavy. I don’t understand how they can fly with it. It’s a flag that says EAT ME to every fox
That's how the light gets in…
In Islamic calligraphy there is a convention as old as the form itself. However refined the hand, the calligrapher leaves one small deliberate imperfection in the finished work. An irregularity in a letter, a break in the geometry, visible
Where are all the fish?
I made a swift box last bank holiday weekend.
Less, but better.
Now strip out the word “design” and replace it with “AI.”
I know Kung Fu…
I genuinely think there is something awesome about the first time AI does something you didn’t think was possible. I don’t mean like “oh that’s clever”, I mean that is most-excellently - AWESOME. Like so good you want to tell someone. Immed
This one's about lemons…
In 1970, a young economist called George Akerlof wrote a paper about used cars.
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger?
Work it harder, make it better…
There is something defiant about a string quartet. (Bear with...)
Yeah, bot no, but yeah, bot…
I sooo can't believe you just said that!
I was cc’d on an email exchange last week that I keep thinking about.
Let's talk about Margaret
I've spent twenty-five years walking into industries I didn't know. Luxury fashion, refugee operations, global sports, insurance, beer. Figuring out what actually makes them work. I spent some of my career making wooden automata and some as