Writing as Interface

We spend enormous effort designing interfaces. Layouts, components, interactions, animations. All of it in service of communicating something to someone.

But for complex ideas — the kind that require nuance, context, and careful reasoning — the best interface is still a paragraph.

The limits of visual design

Visual design excels at orientation. It tells you where you are, what you can do, and what matters most. It is essential for applications, dashboards, and tools.

But it struggles with depth. A card component can hold a title and a summary. It cannot hold an argument. A grid layout can organize information. It cannot develop a thought.

For that, you need prose.

Why Markdown works

Markdown is not a design tool. It is a writing tool. It gives you:

• Headings for structure
• Paragraphs for ideas
• Lists for enumeration
• Code blocks for precision
• Links for references

Nothing else. And that is exactly right.

The constraint of Markdown forces clarity. You cannot hide weak thinking behind a beautiful layout. The words have to do the work.

Building for writers

When we built this blog, we started with the reading experience. Not the homepage, not the navigation, not the visual identity. The paragraph.

Every decision flows from there:

• Font choice: optimized for long-form reading
• Line length: constrained to prevent eye fatigue
• Spacing: generous, to let ideas breathe
• Color: neutral, to keep focus on the text

The result is not impressive. It is not meant to be. It is meant to be readable.

That is enough.