iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Last week, I spoke at the West of England Design Forum at @bristolbeacon.bsky.social, alongside folks from Koto and Reed Words. Wonderful organisers, generous audience, incredible venue, and beautiful photos (by Chris Giles)… thank you, all! Such a pleasure.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Solidarity shoutout to all parents of UK 11-year-olds trying their hardest to hold it together on the eve of their child starting high school. I'm going to be a mess tomorrow.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I love that @hicks.design has built his own music app, that it builds upon his many experiments with mainstream music services, that he documented the process so thoroughly, and that he's so eloquently articulated his reservations in using AI. Lovely work all round, mate.

hicks.design

Jacket App - Hicks.design

A music app that almost does everything I want it to? Too good to be true?

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Lovely to see a new website from Suitcase Type (whose Tabac superfamily I used for Lagom a few years ago): www.suitcasetype.com

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Has anyone tried opening an existing Claude Code project in Claude Design? The disconnect is bizarre. You can change things, but they don’t get pushed back to the main project — they exist in a weird limbo or duplicated files.

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Reposted by Elliot Jay Stocks

Yep! Type Foundry @yeptype.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I keep 60+ neo-grotesks on hand. Fewer than a third have vertical metrics that actually center a label on a button. Here’s how to spot the ones that do—and 10 Inter and SF alternatives that qualify. yeptype.com/article/inte...

yeptype.com

How to choose a UI font (and 10 Inter alternatives)

Tired of Inter being everywhere? Two real criteria—cap-centered vertical metrics and a tall x-height—for choosing a UI font, plus 10 alternatives from independent foundries.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

This makes for an amusing and sobering read. “No external dollar of profit has entered this system. Nobody outside the circle has paid for anything useful. [...] It is a group of friends standing in a circle, each handing the next one a ten dollar bill.” /via @densediscovery.bsky.social

webaligo.bearblog.dev

Tokenomics are Coming

tokenomics There is an old joke about a man who sells ten dollar bills for five dollars each. When asked how the business is going, he says it is booming,...

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

[1/7] For the last 6 months, while searching for a Spotify alternative, I’ve tried all the streaming services, slowly writing a blog post about my experience with each. Now that post is finally live! And here’s a brief thread if you’d like the main points summarised. (Views are my own, obviously.)

elliotjaystocks.com

Elliot Jay Stocks | The search for a Spotify alternative

Elliot Jay Stocks is a designer and author, usually doing something with typography

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I made a better way to buy my books: go to elliotjaystocks.com/books, hit “Buy directly from me”, then select your region. Unfortunately, shipping rates are high and I can’t compete with Amazon. But you do get the books themselves at a discount, straight from my stash, and signed (if you want).

A screenshot of elliotjaystocks.com/books, showing a modal active where the user can select their shipping region.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

New on Adobe.Design: a short piece by me on using grade to elevate typography. Grade before might at first seem like weight, but where weight serves to differentiate (adding emphasis and contrast), grade’s purpose is to unify (bringing consistency to text that looks different when it shouldn’t).

adobe.design

Keeping type consistent in changing conditions

Grade is a subtle typographic adjustment that preserves visual balance across shifting contexts

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

This morning I published the latest issue of my #typography newsletter — the first for a while, but also probably the last until after the summer. Inside: new fonts, new sites to find fonts, type-specific tools, inspiring lettering portfolios, and loads more. You can read it online here:

elliotjaystocks.com

Elliot Jay Stocks | Summer fonting

Elliot Jay Stocks is a designer and author, usually doing something with typography

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Reposted by Elliot Jay Stocks

⭑ salma @whitep4nth3r.com · 03/07/2026

Hi, friends. The last 6 years have been a blast, but I just don't like being on The Internet anymore. I'm leaving DevRel, and I wrote a little bit about why. Look after yourselves, and each other. Love, Salma

whitep4nth3r.com

Goodbye, forever, probably.

I’m leaving developer relations and developer education. Rather than disappear completely unannounced, I wanted to tell you why.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

The Fine Specimens book tour has come to an end, and my last pop-up newsletter, covering the final stop in Paris, is almost ready to go out. (Turns out I had more to write than I thought.) Ahead of that, here’s a little photo montage, as per this little tradition. What a lovely few days.

A montage of photos taken at and around TypeParis Now26 in Paris, May 2026, showing various street scenes of Parisian cafés and brasseries and passages, a table full of Fine Specimens and Universal Principles of Typography for sale at the conference, Flavia Zimbardi speaking on stage, close-ups of beer and coffee, a selfie with Sebastian Carewe, and the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I find myself flip-flopping daily between enthusiasm for AI and despair at AI — although I guess one is excitement about tech potential, and the other is cynicism about the industry itself. Either way, the negative effects are real, and @ethanmarcotte.com is always articulate in his criticisms.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Long shot, but does anyone have any contacts high up (ish) at Three, the UK mobile network? Got a serious account issue they’re refusing to resolve, and it’s been going on for months. (Ah, for a simpler time, when I could just name and shame them on Twitter and get an instant response.)

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

This review perfectly sums up Widow’s Bay: “[…] a horror-comedy that manages to be both an incredibly funny and dense laugh-out-loud joke machine and a genuinely scary and menacing fright fest. Neither generic marker takes precedence over the other; they are mutually, ecstatically intertwined.”

newrepublic.com

Widow’s Bay Is a Menacing and Hilarious Mash-up

At a time when much TV recycles familiar formulas, the Apple TV series feels like something new.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

The Adobe Fonts design team launched a fun little side project last week: Glyph Finder! It allows you to see how the design of a specific character varies across a random selection of different typefaces from the Adobe Fonts library. labs.fonts.adobe.com/projects/gly...

A screenshot of Glyph Finder: a website where the user can input a Unicode code point and see it rendered in a variety of different fonts from the Adobe Fonts library

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

I recently had the pleasure of chatting to Diana Varma on her Talk Paper Scissors podcast. This was my second time on the show and once again, she asked some great questions. Thanks for having me, Diana! (You can listen to it from wherever you get your podcasts.)

talkpaperscissors.info

307: Fine Specimens with Elliot Jay Stocks of Adobe Fonts

I love a beautiful book about typography (who doesn’t?!) and this one, that we’re about to get into, is a BEAUT! Our guest today is Elliot Jay Stocks and I am obsessed with his other book (Universal P...

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Reposted by Elliot Jay Stocks

Robin-Yann Storm @rystorm.com · 29/05/2026

When folks say they have 10x'd their productivity with AI, most of the time this is what is actually happening:

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Well, the time has finally come: tomorrow is the fifth and final date of the Fine Specimens book tour! I’ll be selling and signing copies of the book (and UPoT) during the breaks of @typeparis.com, as well as speaking on a panel at the end of the day. If you’re there, please come and say “salut”!

A list of 5 tour locations, dates, and venues for the Fine Specimens book tour: Bristol on 10th March, Brussels on 1st April, Düsseldorf on 27th April, London on 14th May, and Paris on 30th May.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

It‘s hard to believe that Type&Faces — which was stop #4 on the Fine Specimens book tour — was already nearly two weeks ago. A huge thanks to the team for having me talk and letting me sell copies of the book. And of course to everyone who came! Such a lovely crowd. Pop-up newsletter coming soon!

A montage of photos taken at Type&Faces in London, May 2026, showing Elliot talking on stage with his slides on screen, and signing copies of Fine Specimens, with people looking at copies of the book.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I always love reading @aresluna.org’s thoughtful analyses of software design, but this one really stood out: “The engineers decided to change the logic to increment the tone [caused by power converters] in precise few steps resembling a musical scale, rather than allowing it to rise continuously.”

unsung.aresluna.org

“Some say it sounds like an alto saxophone.” – Unsung

A blog about software craft and quality

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I was about to do a recap post for the London leg of the book tour, then realised I hadn't yet posted the Düsseldorf one! I'm so grateful to @marcthiele.com for letting me tag the tour onto @beyondtellerrand.com, Amy for handling payments, and @charismagic.bsky.social, who took most of the photos.

A montage of photos taken at beyond tellerrand in Düsseldorf, April 2026, showing Elliot selling and signing copies of Fine Specimens.

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Reposted by Elliot Jay Stocks

Kagi HQ @kagi.com · 19/05/2026

Hi hello we are Kagi and we do not do this 👇

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

The first blog post I’ve written for Adobe.Design has just gone live! It’s all about optical sizing: where the concept originates, why size-specific type is important, and how to implement it with the latest variable fonts in desktop apps and on the web. Hope you enjoy it!

adobe.design

The old typography is new again

Born of analog typesetting constraints, optical sizing is once again relevant in digital design

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

This new round() function in CSS is super interesting, especially when presented so helpfully by @ishadeed.com. The baseline grid could be perfect for doing ‘proper’ drop caps on the web. (FYI, @jakegiltsoff.bsky.social !)

ishadeed.com

Better fluid sizing with round()

Using the round() function to get a more predictable fluid sizing.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

I’m sad to see an increasing number of conference websites that only link to speakers’ social profiles. Apparently a speaker having their own website is so undervalued, it’s not even worth putting it on the page.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

London! This Thursday, it’s stop 4 on the Fine Specimens book tour. I’ll be speaking at Type&Faces about the making of the book and will be selling copies there, too. The event has nearly sold out, so grab a ticket while you can! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/typefaces-...

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Anyone else testing the Mimestream iOS beta? I’m frustrated because... it’s too good! I was planning on de-Googling my email soon and Mimestream on macOS was the main thing holding me back, because it’s such a great (but Gmail-specific) app. Now it’s on iOS, too, there’s *another* reason to stay. 🤦‍♂️

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

So excited to be speaking at Type&Faces in London next Thursday! I’ll be talking about the making of Fine Specimens and will be selling copies of the book there, too. Come along!

eventbrite.co.uk

Type&Faces - May

Join us for a fun evening about letterforms! Hear from our inspiring speakers, and chat to other creatives interested in type and design.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

I’m really late to this, but the RYBitten project by @meodai.bsky.social is nothing short of stunning. Check it out if you have any vague interest in colour — or just like very cool websites. (via @jakegiltsoff.bsky.social)

rybitten.space

RYBitten

RYBitten is a color tool and library for exploring painterly, RYB-inspired color mixing, gamut presets, and palette generation on the web.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Okay, it’s done. After around six months of trying every major music streaming platform out there and settling on the surprisingly good Qobuz (which is leagues above the rest), today I’m finally cancelling our Premium Family plan on Spotify. (A blog post on this is coming!)

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Fun / terrifying experiment with agents from Hannah Fry. Some interesting thoughts in this on how bad it could very easily go.

youtu.be

Why AI Agents are either the best or worst thing we’ve ever built

YouTube video by Hannah Fry

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

In an attempt to try all of the music streaming services and finish my long-in-the-works blog post about it all, I decided to try the meh-looking Qobuz. Not only am I surprised at how it answers pretty much every gripe I have with the others services, but @hicks.design’s theme makes it even better.

hicks.design

Qobuz Theme v1.2 for Qobuz Beta - Hicks.design

The Qobuz Beta for desktop brings with it some big changes, so I've rebuilt the theme to take these into account.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I’m back from Düsseldorf and I’ll be publishing the pop-up newsletter in the next couple of days, but somehow I managed to squeeze out an issue of the *regular* newsletter while on various trains. You can read it online here (but please consider dropping your email into the form at the bottom!):

elliotjaystocks.com

Elliot Jay Stocks | Positive tracking

Elliot Jay Stocks is a designer and author, usually doing something with typography

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Fellow writers beware! I got an email from a major publisher a couple of days ago and I was confused why it was so obviously written with AI. I had a brief exchange, as the responses seemed semi-legit, but something still smelled off. This is it:

writerbeware.blog

Watch Out For This Scam Impersonating Editors at Major Publishing Houses - Writer Beware

I’ve recently gotten a slew of reports of emails purporting to be from editors at Big 5 and other large publishers, in which the supposed editor expresses interest in the writer’s work and asks whethe...

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Don’t have a ticket to @beyondtellerrand.com, but want to come to the Fine Specimens launch party and buy a book directly from me? Email me or DM me here and we can make it happen. Stop number 3 on the book tour is in Düsseldorf next Monday! More details on beyondtellerrand.com/events/dusse...

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

For the last week, I’ve been using the Momotaro app (by @laszlito.bsky.social) to stop myself from constantly checking my phone and... it works! I can’t say enough good things about the app and I love its beautiful website, too. Another great recommendation from @densediscovery.bsky.social.

momotaro.app

Momotaro — Focus Timer

Momotaro is a focus timer app that helps you build deep concentration habits.

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beyond tellerrand @beyondtellerrand.com · 20/04/2026

7 days left. 7 more reasons to come to #btconf Düsseldorf 2026 🧵 1. Oliver Reichenstein 2. Community 3. James Victore 4. Typography 5. Kimya Gandhi 6. Craft 7. Conversations 27–28 April → beyondtellerrand.com/events/dusse...

beyondtellerrand.com

beyond tellerrand in Düsseldorf - 27–28 Apr 2026

beyond tellerrand is the affordable single-track event where creativity and technology meet. Taking place in Düsseldorf and Berlin these days with 500+ attendees each in a renowned, familiar and frien...

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Brussels (stop #2 on the Fine Specimens book tour) was incredible! Thanks so much to @waterstones.bsky.social for hosting us, Paddy for leading our conversation, and everyone who came (especially @maxvoltar.be, @drbparsons.bsky.social, Danny Calders, @matratype.bsky.social, and Kaat Vandenbroeck).

A montage of photos taken at the launch party for Fine Specimens in Brussels, Belgium, mainly of Elliot Jay Stocks talking or signing books at a table in the Waterstones bookshop. Photos by Tim van Damme, Doc Parsons, and Paddy Donnelly.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I hope my friends on Substack will once again consider leaving the service that gives a platform to abhorrent people like Andrew Tate.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Sad to see that I now have a bunch of trading / investment bros following me here on Bluesky, who — just like on Twitter in the ol’ days — are clearly only here for my surname.

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

I’m super-late sending out the 2nd issue of my pop-up newsletter about the book tour (a combination of a family Easter break, doing my back in, and catching up on some much needed sleep), but I think today might be the day. Here’s the link if you want to get it (pop-up = no online archives):

buttondown.com

Notes from a different (type)setting

A pop-up newsletter from Elliot Jay Stocks. Unlike Elliot’s main newsletter, Typographic & Sporadic, this one is focussed on short bursts of type-related travel. The next trip is the Fine Specimens European book tour, starting in March!

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Elliot Jay Stocks @elliotjaystocks.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Ever wondered why “was”, “am”, and “be” are such different words, despite expressing different tenses of the same verb, “to be”? @colingorrie.bsky.social goes deep in the latest issue of his linguistics newsletter (which is fast becoming one of my favourite weekly reads):

deadlanguagesociety.com

Why the verb “to be” is so irregular

The answer is six thousand years old

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