Making Aura
A few notes on turning a visual instinct into a small, useful product.
I have always liked the point where technical work becomes visual work. Aura started there: as a small attempt to make a particular feeling repeatable without sanding away everything that made it interesting.
Start with the feeling
The useful part of a tool is not its list of controls. It is whether those controls help someone arrive somewhere they could not reach before—or reach it with less friction.
For this project, that meant keeping the process simple enough to disappear. A strong starting point, room to make it your own, and no unnecessary ceremony.
Build the smallest honest version
My favourite products tend to feel obvious after they exist. Getting there is rarely obvious. The work is mostly removing: fewer decisions, clearer language, and a tighter idea of who the thing is actually for.
Make the promise small enough to keep, then keep it exceptionally well.
That is the standard I am trying to carry into the next thing I build.