8 min read
Viral AI Photo Trends of 2026 (With the Exact Prompts)
The toy-figure, Chibi, film-look, Y2K and scrapbook AI photo trends of 2026, with the exact prompt templates I…
The Lab · Written in the open · Tagged Design
Lab.
Working notes from the studio. The tools I build, the workflows I keep, the mistakes I paid for.
73 entries · latest 2026-09-25
11 min read
CSS Scroll-Driven Animations: 6 Patterns I Ship in 2026
CSS scroll-driven animations in 2026: 6 copy-paste patterns using animation-timeline scroll() and view(), zero JavaScript.
9 min read
CSS :has() in Production: 6 Selectors That Replaced JavaScript Across My Sites
Six :has() selectors deleted roughly 240 lines of JS across my sites
10 min read
Why I Standardized on Phosphor Icons Across 15 Repos (And Cut 60% of Icon Bundle Size)
Five icon systems across 15 repos created visual drift and 84KB bundles in the worst Next.js app.
9 min read
View Transitions API: 5 Patterns I Use Across RAXXO Sites in 2026
Same-document transitions wrap state changes like filter chips and tab switches in a single startViewTransition call.
8 min read
Designing AI Thumbnails: 6 Layout Rules That Survive 1024x576 Crops
AI image models love the center, so design your thumbnails around that bias instead of fighting it
7 min read
Motion Design Tokens That Actually Compose: Durations, Easings, Choreography
Three-tier motion tokens: primitives like --ms-200 and --ease-out-expo feed semantic and component layers, never the other way around
8 min read
OKLCH-First Color Systems: 5 Patterns and the Wide-Gamut Wins
OKLCH gives you perceptual uniformity, so a 5% lightness change reads as a 5% lightness change at any…
8 min read
5 Type Scales I Use in 2026 (And the One I Quietly Dropped)
Major-third 1.250 stays my default for product UI because it scales without drama
9 min read
Magnific vs Topaz vs Krea: Which AI Upscaler Actually Works
Topaz wins on photo fidelity for portraits, product shots, and any source where the original detail must survive
10 min read
Freepik Just Rebranded as Magnific: What Changes for Solo Creators
Freepik renamed itself to Magnific on April 28, 2026, unifying its asset library, upscaler, and 40+ AI models…
11 min read
CSS Anchor Positioning Is Production-Ready: 5 Patterns
5 production CSS Anchor Positioning patterns: tooltips, dropdowns, inline edit popovers, context menus, follow-cursor labels. When to pick…