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Keren

@kerenrbell.bsky.social
32 followers 100 following 187 posts

I like Design and love Good Design. I have a blog about design which I’d love if you read: kirby.pika.page (It’s a little heavy on Apple topics. Sorry, they often design good.) They / Them

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Reposted by Keren
Chris Coyier @chriscoyier.net · 15/09/2026
The Four Tiers of Tab Importance Arc is the greatest web browser ever, and has been tragically moved-on-from by The Browser Company of New York-come-Atlassian. I've been back on it the last month or so though.... chriscoyier.net/2026/09/15/the-four…
chriscoyier.net
The Four Tiers of Tab Importance
Arc is the greatest web browser ever, and has been tragically moved-on-from by The Browser Company of New York-come-Atlassian. I've been back on it the last month or so though. It's still very usable as they keep the Chromium version updated. I just really like it. It's so good. My second favorite is Zen because...
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
when openai makes a crappy little charm with a screen for the Dots Agent thing they should call it the Dot Comm Bubble send tweet
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I wanted to take a closer look at the iPhone Duo's opening and closing animations, beyond just applauding how sick the effects look, and how they actually contribute to the User Experience of folding and unfolding an operating system kirby.pika.page/posts/the-ip...
kirby.pika.page
The iPhone Duo’s windows into Liquid Glass - Quibbletown by Keren
With the reveal of the new iPhone Duo1, I was delighted to see how iOS was adapted to accommodate the strange, shifting nature of a folding display. How do we communicate the weird turns and tumbles o...
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Reposted by Keren
Ky @ky.fyi · 16/09/2026
Meta and X have been quietly downranking external links for ages, but we're now entering a new era of open hostility toward the open web. It's a great time to build your own website, free from any billionaires demanding a tithe for things that have always been free.
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
what was the big idea here, 4AM self
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Funnily enough, seems the safe region on the right also affected the contents but not the boundary of the dynamic island on this display, making for some odd asymmetrical dead space youtu.be/ZlMvbjknrIg?...
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Reposted by Keren
Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Documenting more Apple Intelligence V1 oddities, I wanted to properly capture how half-assedly "More Intelligent Siri" was implemented in terms of interaction design, just before OS27 presumably fixes it tomorrow. kirby.pika.page/posts/quibbl...
kirby.pika.page
Quibble: The specifics of how 26’s Siri scrolling worked - Quibbletown by Keren
In a previous post of mine from before WWDC25, I discussed1 how Siri is too easy to dismiss, its responses too fragile and how I longed for a more complete “destination” for Siri chats.My wish will be...
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Reposted by Keren
Louie Mantia, Jr. @lmnt.me · 14/09/2026
Design Drought lmnt.me/blog/design-...
lmnt.me
Design Drought
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Documenting more Apple Intelligence V1 oddities, I wanted to properly capture how half-assedly "More Intelligent Siri" was implemented in terms of interaction design, just before OS27 presumably fixes it tomorrow. kirby.pika.page/posts/quibbl...
kirby.pika.page
Quibble: The specifics of how 26’s Siri scrolling worked - Quibbletown by Keren
In a previous post of mine from before WWDC25, I discussed1 how Siri is too easy to dismiss, its responses too fragile and how I longed for a more complete “destination” for Siri chats.My wish will be...
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I'm RUMMAGING through these hands-on demos of the fold and can't find an answer- what happens when you close the Duo with two different apps in split view?
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Look at how offset the identical Safari toolbars get on the different sides! I get that this space *will* effectively be reserved for this top-right area, both open and closed, so this might be fine in actual use, but I feel like that new status bar indicator is so damn big and loud...
iPhone Duo, open with two near-identical Safari windows in Split View. On the left half, Safari's toolbar is flush with the rounded top corner of the display. On the right half, that toolbar is offset by a large display of the current time, wifi, battery and cellular connection indicators, by about a fifth of the display's height.
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
LOVE this effect the phone does when you fold/unfold. The extended area dips into the water of the device, and clears back once your motion finishes. Really cool touch. Will it get old? I don't care. I like it.
The iPhone Duo slightly folded, progressively blurring and lowering the opacity of the left, moving, screen's content, tilting the visuals in 3D to "still be flush with" the right screen.
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Reposted by Keren
Ben McCarthy @benricem.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The neural engine can now feel pain
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I’ll be true to the nasty hypeperson I am and liveblog too, why not. Surprise and Shine is a classic cheesy tagline. Honestly some of the best part of apple product reveals is the cheesy taglines. “Mmmmm, power” was crazy
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
“…even though much has improved, the rapid rate of technology change outpaces the advances in design” - Don Norman, 2013’s revision of The Design of Everyday Things. buddy, you aint seen the half of it
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
My two cents for the folding iPhone name are that the only precedence for a “foldy name” Apple used before is Folio, and iPhone Folio is kind of a sweet name
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Reposted by Keren
Dustin Mierau @mierau.me · 19/07/2026
Nothing reminds me of how we've lost the plot more than helping family and friends install, fix, or setup a machine. macOS is bad. iOS is bad. iPadOS is bad. watchOS is bad. the Web sucks. Windows awful. It's all just so bad. Still. All of it. We've failed. Keep adding adding adding. Ugh. (sorry.) ☠️
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Good Enough @goodenough.us · 16/07/2026
You can now add custom code across your entire Pika site. This should open up a ton of new capability for the techies of Pika! 🎉 pika.pika.page/posts/custom...
pika.pika.page
Custom Code - Building Pika Out Loud
Pika has offered the option for custom CSS since the beginning. Many of you who are a bit more technically inclined have been asking us to support custom scripts and other code on your site. If you’re...
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Reposted by Keren
Quiche Industries @quiche.industries · 14/07/2026
Starting today, Quiche Browser disables AI overviews in search results by default, out of the box. Compare how much space and time they waste. I love the web too much to let that nonsense bury links to real websites made by humans. Why no other browser does that is beyond me.
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Some thoughts on the Creator Economy™, user retention in social media hell, and a possible respite for all involved. kirby.pika.page/posts/readin...
kirby.pika.page
Reading Lists and Links in Bio - Quibbletown by Keren
As a person with a modest passion for archivability of internet ephemera, I find the single-link-in-bio model to be so, so tormentful. How could a creator ever confidently say “check...
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
You really need to trick Figma Motion into working in a way it hopefully will allow more easily in the future, but, it's possible to do synchronized constant loops. Maybe I missed something easier?
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Voncamper @groovevoncamper.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I enjoyed my time in Figma designing fictional smartphones Wish I could start a smartphone company so I could bring these creations to life
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
See, but it’s not that Figma added “no code required” shaders. It’s no code Allowed. AI is being used to let designers touch code, but they’re actively discouraged from learning to read and write it. I know that’s not Figma’s priority, but, not a fan.
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
New Figma announcements seem wonderful, especially Figma Motion. The more I can stay in the Design canvas without hopping in and out of tabs, just switching modes, the happier I am
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Reposted by Keren
Myke Hurley @myke.social · 23/06/2026
Unveiling our enamel pin design, featuring the Designed in California mascot 'Steve the Bearcow' Read more about how this little guy came to life. www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
The Designed in California enamel pin design of a bear with cow spots (akin to Clarus the Dogcow) on a version of the California state flag
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Reposted by Keren
Marcin Wichary @aresluna.org · 19/06/2026
Here’s a new, super-interactive essay I wrote about making interactions really great for repeated use, motor memory, and so on. I just… love this kind of stuff? I don’t know. My hope is that you’ll fall in love with this, too. *a big screen very, very recommended* aresluna.org/show-your-ha...
aresluna.org
Show your hands honor for the strange power they bring you
On designing finger-friendly interactions
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Reposted by Keren
Design Spells @designspells.com · 19/06/2026
Camera opens from the dynamic island in pico cam
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Before Apple “upgrades” Image Playgrounds to a perfectly passable prompt-to-image app, I wanted to take a critical look at its current state and just how baffling this app was, beyond “The Models Are Bad”- and really questioning the UX of this mess kirby.pika.page/posts/a-good...
kirby.pika.page
A Goodbye To Image Playgrounds, An Absolute Nightmare - Quibbletown by Keren
I hate AI generated images. Not a bold or unique position, but to some surprise, I used to love them. Years ago. In 2020, I was publishing a niche webcomic...
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
This was Apple's answer to the ChatGPT image generation craze of '23-24 btw
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
WIP Desktop, as I prepare my eulogy for Image Playgrounds (Beta)
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
re:last repost, Natalia's tutorials on Nil Coalescing were probably the most useful resource I kept finding when learning how to do SwiftUI for Meshmaker, from window layout and look, the About window, to the very outline of the Mesh code exports, so it's awesome to see her take on the idea
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Reposted by Keren
Natalia Panferova @natpanferova.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
I've built a macOS app for designing mesh gradients. Tintly generates gradients from pasted color palettes and lets you adjust control points visually. It can export images, SVGs, CSS, and SwiftUI code. It's now available on the Mac App Store: apps.apple.com/us/app/tintl... #macOSDev #IndieDev
Screenshot of Tintly, a macOS mesh gradient editor. The interface shows a colorful mesh gradient with editable control points, a color palette import panel, and export options for images, SVG, CSS, and SwiftUI code.
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Reposted by Keren
Parker Ortolani @parkerortolani.com · 11/06/2026
This is such a beautifully written, delightfully heartfelt piece. I really appreciate the takes here. The human element, critical enthusiasm rather than simply cynicism, and of course the changing landscape after a life spent following the company. And holy moly, what an incredible shot.
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
To-do before OS27: document the absolute joke that is the current version of Image Playgrounds. It needs to be remembered. It’s a fascinating product. Even if the results were good, the interface choices are baffling
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
I need to formalize my opinions more but my general vibe on the Liquid Glass refinements on Mac is “what you did is awesome, but theres so much work left” the traffic lights look outdated, because theyre as flat as Big Sur made them. the Siri popup’s “close” and “expand” buttons make this stand out
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
I’m not the first to point this out, but Apple, you cheeky bastards. “We’ve been testing our ORIGAMI app for learning FOLDINGS and making sure our IPHONE APP looks great in OTHER SIZES and UNIQUE ASPECT RATIOS. Why? dont worry abt it bbgirl”
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Stream setup ready :)
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
What's the point of a WWDC bingo if you're only putting the obvious stuff on it?
WWDC26 Bingo:
Liquid Glass refined on Mac
Siri in da namic island baby
weird watchOS thing™
visionOS coughing up blood
suspiciously niche APIs
saying AI to mean ML
homeOS. don’t ask why
macOS Salinas. Mendotas. Albion. Fortuna. Tahoma. Somerset. 
AI make Shortcuts
iPadOS nothingburger year
Unfunny John Ternus bit
Funny Craig Bit
Shit Apple Execs Say (Free Spot)
Siri app is weird on Mac
lil finder :)
Our Friends At Google
More image playgrounds. Huzzah
fuck yeah man GENMOJI
Notes App thing
iOS wallpaper is ugly
Gaming on the Mac is so back /s
Failing to read some room
Siri rerereredesign
Nothing is really platform-specific
Apple Creator Studio mentioned
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
My one pre-WWDC speculation bit that I want out there on paper: If Siri does migrate to the dynamic island, which, sure, let's see, I doubt it but it's The Rumor, why not: Where is it going to glow? I'd imagine inside the island bubble, but it can't be all around, otherwise it hits the camera zone
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Reposted by Keren
Jason Snell @snell.zone · 04/06/2026
Just posted on Six Colors: Road to WWDC 2026: What’s a developer?
sixcolors.com
Road to WWDC 2026: What’s a developer?
Next week is WWDC, which has always represented Apple’s connection to its community of third-party developers, and in recent years has also served as the official start of Apple’s annual operating-system cycle.
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
IT'S A WRAP! kirby.pika.page/posts/swiftu... Thank you SO MUCH to everyone in the #SwiftUI community who reached out to join and share their thoughts- anywhere from frustrated at missing features to deeply comitted to staying hopeful, I think we all love what SwiftUI promises- and want more from it.
kirby.pika.page
SwiftUI Promiseth, and SwiftUI... - Swift Blog Carnival Roundup - Quibbletown by Keren
The month of May comes to a very busy end for me personally1, and with it closes our May edition of the Swift Blog Carnival, which I once again thank Christian Tietze greatly for offering me to host f...
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Spent a little too long screaming at a robot to get emotes to show up, but either way, proud of how I styled the actual look of this (potentially usable?) SwiftUI glassy stream chat window
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Just so it's on the record that I've been thinking this for years: MacBook Air M1 will be remembered as Product Of The Decade.
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Ran into weird, unexpected walls when trying to write a #SwiftUI view? let down by it? Or maybe delighted by how quickly you could ship something thanks to it? Despite it? Join the #Swift Blog Festival for May by writing a blogpost about your experience! kirby.pika.page/posts/where-...
kirby.pika.page
Where did SwiftUI leave you hanging? Join the Swift Blog Carnival for May! - Quibbletown by Keren
This is a call to join the topic-of-the-month for the Swift Blog Carnival! This month, we focus on the already-on-your-mind discussion about the limits you ran into with SwiftUI. The...
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George Black @george.black · 01/05/2026
Craig Mod’s essay on the iPad inspired me to write my own. Definitely not as good — but I’ve been thinking about the iPad’s identity crisis for a while now: george.black/2026/whats-a...
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Aniline Applications @anilineapps.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
If you want more details, there's a lot more in our announcement blog post here: And for the design geeks, Ben put together a deeper dive on how Indigo's UI has evolved since we started work on it, here: benricemccarthy.ghost.io/indi...
benricemccarthy.ghost.io
Indigo
I’ve long believed that social media is not about condensing the entire human experience into bite-size nuggets, fed to you endlessly. I think social media should exist to help you stay in touch with the people you care about most. And over the last few years, that seems to
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Alright, I'll bite. My experience as a very very new-to-Mac #SwiftUI user trying to make my app feel more at home over the past few weeks: kirby.pika.page/posts/is-my-...
kirby.pika.page
Is my SwiftUI app Mac-assed enough? - Quibbletown by Keren
For the past few weeks since “releasing” my first app to the public on GitHub1, I kept iterating and improving the app. Here’s a snapshot of it today: I’ve added several features, and however silly it...
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Keren @kerenrbell.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Honored to be in an mjtsai post among greats 🫶
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Design Spells @designspells.com · 02/05/2026
Permissions flow in Codex
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