Bits&Newsletters #1: Pencils, stickers, and lists of links
Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hey friends,
I’m starting a newsletter for my new-ish web design & dev business, Bits&Letters. (This is it, you’re reading it.) You’re getting this email because we’ve crossed paths online or IRL at some point, and I’d love to keep in touch and occasionally share what I and B&L are up to, plus some links and — if necessary — pictures of my dog.
(If you already know this isn’t something you want in your inbox, no worries! You can go ahead and unsubscribe, no questions asked, no hard feelings.)
Some quick updates
I can’t believe it’s already freaking September. This year, we’ve launched nearly a dozen projects for six clients, with 3-4 more expected before EOY. Most recently: Blood Sweat & Tears and PFA - Peabody Fine Architects.
I gave a talk about how I use AI at Decoupled Days — here’s a recorded version (since the event's video/audio hasn’t been released yet), along with some links & notes.
As promised, here's my dog, also surprised to hear I started a company
Bits and what now?
If we haven’t chatted in a while, this may be the first time you’re hearing that I started a company.
Bits&Letters is a boutique digital agency. But just as there are French bakeries specializing in only one type of croissant, B&L specializes in building certain kinds of websites for growing companies and their marketing teams, and I’m trying to bring some fresh ingredients and techniques to the typical web-agency menu:
Sites as systems, not brochures — Every project is built around a design system, a thoughtful content strategy & CMS setup, and the kind of publishing architecture you just don’t have to worry about even as your site scales.
Prototypes over mockups — Websites are software, not brochures, so clients should see working code as early as possible. Clients love this because they can start thinking about and reacting to how their site feels in a browser in weeks, not months.
Design engineering as the standard operating model — No handoffs, no middlemen. Designers can code, developers have design chops, and both interface directly with clients.
This month, my “new” company celebrated its first birthday (we took on our first clients in September of last year), though I’ve been fortunate to have enough work that it took until this summer to launch the brand properly. Jesse & Hannah from Trust Design Shop created a gorgeous logo, color scheme, and set of visual elements for B&L:
I’ve put the new brand system to work on the website, and in preparation for fall conference season, I’ve also ordered B&L’s first-ever swag. In addition to logo stickers, I had thought it’d be cool to put the brand on something folks can use to write or create, so I’m having pencils made. And, being a card-carrying member of r/pencils, there’s only one kind I’d go with:
I saw a Bluesky post recently with a photo of a 1999-era beige PC with a Best Buy Y2K reminder sticker on it. Y2K things are hot right now, for some reason, and “turn your computer off” seems like good advice for 2025 (not to mention hilarious), so I’ve also printed a small batch of these:
Too late.
Lastly, this one's just for me to wear at our upcoming events—both a walking billboard and an elaborate dad joke:
IYKYK
Want a B&L Blackwing or some stickers? Please send me your mailing address, and I’ll mail you some, free of charge.
And that's all I’ve got for now, but I'm aiming to send one of these weekly on Fridays, so if you liked this, just watch your inbox.
Hit reply and let me know what you're working on lately!