The latest posts from this Eleventy boilerplate. 2026-10-05T15:04:52Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/feed Stuff & Nonsense wunderbar@stuffandnonsense.co.uk 2026-10-05T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw40-26/

Moonwalk Audio and I started talking about a new website design about six months ago, but our calendars didn’t line up until now. Plus, I made time to work on designing the PDF version of Standout designs for the Web.

2026-10-05T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/when-layouts-affect-book-editing/

While designing the PDF version of Standout Designs for the Web, I discovered that spreads can make parts of my manuscript redundant. But those words can still matter in a reflowable ebook. So I’m editing one book in two different ways.

2026-10-04T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/unfinished-business-145/

This week on Unfinished Business, Andy and Rich are back on their every two week schedule and kick off by talking about the books they’re both writing. They discuss Andy’s plans for his new Standout Designs for the Web, while Rich gives an update to his second edition of his classic Web Typography.

2026-09-29T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw39-26/

Since we came back from holiday, we’ve been attempting to spend equal time on work and home improvements. But last week, I found it difficult not to press ahead with book production. I suppose decorating will have to wait.

2026-09-23T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw38-26/

Last week was a little chaotic, with new windows installed throughout our cottage. But I still managed to get plenty done, including real progress on my upcoming book, Standout Designs for the Web.

2026-09-14T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw37-26/

We’ve been away from the studio for the past five weeks and on the road around southern Germany. Now, I’m back and easing myself into work with a new website design for an author.

2026-08-28T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/the-ridiculous-goo-between-my-ears/

I really enjoy recording podcasts, both my own ([One Footer in the Grave](https://onefooter.show) and [Unfinished Business](https://unfinished.bz)) and guesting on others. Brad Frost just released an episode of his [Waking Up Excited](https://wakeupexcited.show) podcast with [me on it](https://overcast.fm/+ABQYIvePR0k), and it’s the podcast I’m most proud of making.

2026-08-17T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/sinar-saw-the-future-coming-but-the-future-had-other-ideas/

Sinar saw digital photography coming decades before it transformed the industry. So why did one of photography’s most innovative companies struggle to survive it? I have some ideas.

2026-08-04T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw31-26/

Last week I found myself with time to tackle the second phase of my Stuff & Nonsense website upgrade.

2026-07-28T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/four-things-that-made-my-eleventy-website-faster/

My website wasn’t slow. At least, it didn’t feel slow. But after moving it to Netlify and taking a closer look at the numbers, I realised I was asking browsers to do more work than they needed to, and I was serving far more data than I thought.

2026-07-27T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw30-26/

One more week until we break for August, so last week was all about tying up loose ends with Lockrose and Portico Investments

2026-07-26T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/swapping-a-lightweight-image-for-an-animated-svg/

I’ve been on a mission to improve performance since [I migrated this site to Eleventy](/blog/migrating-from-statamic-to-eleventy/), especially after I realised I was burning through bandwidth once I moved to Netlify. Some of the biggest offenders were the animated illustrations I use across the site. They look great, but they ain’t cheap.

2026-07-26T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/unfinished-business-143/

Oh, deary me. It has been a while, I've got to say. Sorry about that. In this episode of Unfinished Business, Rich and I catch up after far too long and fill each other in on what’s been happening in their worlds.

2026-07-19T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw29-26/

It’s a couple more weeks until we break for our August break, so I’m trying to finish off my work on Lockrose and Portico Investments.

2026-07-14T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw28-26/

I have a couple of smaller projects to work on before we close the studio for the August break. I started one of them, for property investment consultants Portico Investments, last week.

2026-07-13T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/webp-to-avif-gotcha/

I mentioned earlier that I’ve been replacing the WebP images on my website with AVIF to reduce file sizes and decrease bandwidth usage. But when I started converting my portfolio images, I noticed something odd. Some weren’t smaller—they were bigger. Sometimes much bigger.

2026-07-12T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/switching-my-website-images-from-webp-to-avif/

The images on my website have changed formats several times over the decades. JPEG, PNG, and GIF were designed in a very different era of computing, and their compression methods reflect the technology available at the time. Formats such as AVIF, HEIC, and WebP use newer techniques which can preserve more apparent detail while storing less information.

2026-07-05T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/the-camera-that-took-me-places/

For years, I said that one day, when I could, I’d buy the camera that played such a big part in my early career. After 35 years or so, this Sinar P2 5x4” camera is finally mine.

2026-07-01T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/project-companion-changemakers/

Designing a bilingual website for the Open University by making politics feel welcoming, approachable, and relevant to a new generation.

2026-07-01T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/project-companion-lockrose/

Lockrose wanted to reach new markets without losing the credibility they’d built in the energy sector. Here’s how I designed a website that helped them tell a bigger story.

2026-07-01T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/project-companion-verkehrsteiner/

How I helped a Swiss transport planning consultancy communicate specialist knowledge more clearly through editorial design, illustration, and thoughtful typography.

2026-06-29T00:12:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw27-26/

Every Monday, I write about what I worked on during the previous week. I’m back in the studio for a few weeks and pushing to get a few client projects over the line before we head off to Germany again in August.

2026-06-29T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw26-26/

In this series of weekly posts, I write about what I worked on during the previous week. Now, I’m back from mainland Europe after a long drive back from northern Italy over the weekend. We’d decided to extend our trip by an extra week, taking in stops in Switzerland and France along the way, which meant fitting in work where I could.

2026-06-26T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/tracking-down-a-nasty-netlify-bandwidth-burner/

Most days, my website sits there quietly, publishing writing, showing off my work, selling a few products, and generally behaving itself. But today, I got an email from Netlify telling me that, although my migrated website was only days old, I had already burned through 50% of my allocated monthly bandwidth.

2026-06-21T00:00:00Z https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog/last-week-in-the-studio-cw25-26/

In this regular series, I write about what I worked on during the previous week. I’m still in Germany, away from the studio, and I’m missing my space a lot. There’s a big part of me that loves travelling, but an equal part that craves the familiarity of my home workspace.