iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 08/09/2026

Cannot believe we're still doing this in 2026

A form input. Label is "Last Name (required). User has filled out "Grayson Nanz". An error is visible below the form field: "Invalid value. Please enter letters only."

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 03/05/2026

The comments on this are incredible

A comment from user ikidd that says "Do they give you the lobotomy before your initial job orientation at Microsoft, or after? I wonder if you have to use up vacation days for the recovery time."

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 02/05/2026

Wow, can you believe I found this mysteriously empty and completely quiet wing of the airport to hide out in? What are the chances? 😂

A selfie of Kat, sitting alone at a now-abandoned ex-Spirit Airlines gate

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 01/05/2026

Another great #StirTrek! Always one of my favorite conferences, and this year is no exception ❤️🖖🏻

The escalator up to the movie theater where StirTrek is held

A presentation (in this case, with speaker Ed Charbeneau) on the movie theater "big screen"

A sign that says "StirTrek" from the speaker dinner

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 09/04/2026

Absolutely diabolical Microsoft Teams notification

A push notification from Teams saying "Meeting Recap: Apr 3, 9:00 AM. See when you were mentioned"

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 05/03/2026

This is who you're asking to build your UI component library.

Baby Kathryn, being held by her father, with her hands on the keyboard of an early-90s-era PC. She is looking up at the monitor, but alas, she cannot yet read. The photo is slightly yellow with age.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 24/02/2026

Just arrived in Montreal and excited for ConFoo tomorrow!!

Scene of a snowy Canadian landscape from a plane window

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 24/02/2026

I desperately need one of these "HAVE YOU DISCONNECTED?" stickers

A yellow sticker with red lettering reading "HAVE YOU DISCONNECTED?" on a Signature Aviation plane refueling vehicle

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 18/11/2025

We should absolutely be having more tech conferences in planetariums

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 18/11/2025

Let's gooooooo #ReactSummitUS 🙌🏻 I'll be moderating the discussion room "Growing to Senior & Tech Lead" at 2PM this afternoon, so if you're here come swing by and yap about career paths with me!

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 18/11/2025

Happy Cloudflare is Down on React Summit Day to those who observe

A screenshot of the Cloudflare error page on the React Summit website

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 09/11/2025

Greetings from the Progress office, where the work is mysterious and important

A long, corporate hallway with white walls. At the end is a door that opens into a dark room. A green exit sign is above the door.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 30/09/2025

Bonus edition: "That would be...illogical, captain."

Kathryn, with one eyebrow quirked while looking at a laptop.

Spock, with one eyebrow quirked while looking at Kirk (probably)

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 30/09/2025

got some picures back from KCDC which means it's time for another installment of Weird Faces I Made While Speaking

Kathryn making a kind of grimace while holding a microphone, standing behind a podium with a laptop.

Kathryn making a very skeptical and concerned face while holding a microphone.

Kathryn looking down at her laptop with distaste while standing behind a podium.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 30/09/2025

every hotel should be required to disclose how close they are to the train tracks.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 22/09/2025

Didn't even manage to hold off long enough to take a photo. Maybe I need to work on my patience in this coming year. Shana tovah, y'all 🍎🍯

A round loaf of challah bread studded with raisins sits on a wooden cutting board. Next to it is a bread knife. The loaf is missing a corner.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 21/09/2025

Shout out to the guy who put these stickers on all the gas pumps at the local grocery store

A photo of a gas pump nozzle in a car, refueling. The nozzle handle has a bright red sticker on it that says "FOR RECTAL USE ONLY" with an icon of a pair of shorts. The sticker has been placed immediately above where the text "Improper use may cause a hazardous condition. Refer to posted warnings" is printed on the handle.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 21/09/2025

Well damn, if I knew all I had to do was "sudo rm -rf congestion" this could have been a lot easier.

A box of medicine labeled "SudoGest Nasal Decongestant"

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 18/09/2025

Good morning from @squiggleconf.com! First talk was already so, so good. It feels like such a treat to just get to attend a conference and not have to speak or work a booth, haha 😅

A picture of the stage at SquiggleConf showing the title of Anthony Fu's talk ("Make Tools That People Love") while he is interviewed by the host

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 15/09/2025

if i were still on twitter, i'd retweet this; instead you get this poor quality screenshot. happy Call the Midwife season 14 drop day, to all who observe

A tweet from Kathryn Grayson Nanz: "Call the Midwife is baffling. There's no schedule for the US release, it just appears on Netflix with no warning. The characters change so often that I can't remember anyone's name. This season includes the 2023 Christmas special. I will watch every episode within 48 hours."

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 13/09/2025

I know it means "are you still considering buying it" but I checked it out from the library, devoured it one sitting - and holy shit yes, am I ever absolutely still thinking about it. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be thinking about this one for a long time, Kindle automatic notification system.

Kindle push notification that reads 'Still thinking about this book? "Kindred" by Octavia E. Butler'

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 21/08/2025

The vibe difference between these guys is so stark, they simply cannot be considered the same emoji

The salute emoji as seen in Microsoft Teams

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 15/08/2025

Officially DONE with grad school 🙌🏻

A screenshot of the Degree Summary from the student portal. It reads: "Awarded: Master of Science. Degree Date: 08/08/25. Curriculum Information: Primary Degree. Program: Information Technology – MS. College: Computing and Informatics. Major: Information Technology. Major and Concentration: Software Syst Design & Engr.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 09/07/2025

It's true. All my funniest bits get workshopped in the sibling chat first

A text message sent to Megan: "which, also, I hate the way discord is used now. The children yearn for forums"

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 01/07/2025

Cannot help but feel like Netflix is kinda missing the entire point of Squid Game

The ad shown at the beginning of every Squid Game episode, where the text "Presented by Experian: Your Big Financial Friend. A BFF for Life" is set across from the large piggy bank from Squid Game that money gets added to when people are murdered.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 17/06/2025

Extremely similar, except mine are file folder organizers. I've also gotten less precious about putting the really great ones on my car.

Two side-by-side file folder organizers, covered entirely with stickers

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 17/06/2025

Snuck away on lunch break to catch the local life drawing studio session. It's good for the soul to make stuff NOT on the computer, at least every now and again.

A graphite, charcoal, and pastel portrait of a middle aged woman, drawn on tan paper

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 17/06/2025

Stuff good enough that I made exceptions to my "no swag" rule: - The Github pennant and "Dark Mode" shoelaces (!!) - A handful of enamel pins. If you've seen my backpack, you get it. - This WorkOS "Enterprise Ready" cap. Beam me up, Scotty.

Black shoelaces with white text that say "Dark Mode"

Four enamel pins: two from Makeswift and two from Figma.

A black cap that says "Enterprise Ready."

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 17/06/2025

I've tried to cut down on the amount of (mostly junk) swag I bring home from conferences, so instead of stuff I'll usually just grab a sticker. And the RenderATL sticker haul was no joke.

A pile of overlapping stickers from various tech companies, scattered across a desk.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 14/06/2025

Had such a fantastic time at #render2025 🧡🍑💻 ...but also, I think I'm gonna sleep for a week, holy shit

Kathryn and Roxy taking a selfie in front of the RenderATL stage

Alyssa, Kathryn, Abbey, and Kayla taking a selfie at the rooftop party

A photo of Alyssa, Kayla, Richard, Abbey, and Kathryn in front of the Atlanta skyline at sunset

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 05/06/2025

i know this doesn't matter at all in the grand scheme of "why Teams sucks" but it drives me absolutely crazy that the close / min / max buttons are so uncomfortably close to the edge and not aligned with literally anything else. give 'em a little breathing room, damn

The close, minimize, and maximize buttons on the Teams desktop app for Mac. They are not aligned with literally anything else in the interface.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 02/06/2025

The coundown is into single digits and I'm starting to get seriously hyped for Render! Who else will I see there? 👀

Top text: "Welcome to cirque de Render"
An image of Kathryn Grayson Nanz with her name and the title "Speaker" immediately underneath
Bottom text: "UI Designer & Front-End Developer – Progress Software"
Three text boxes: "Design", "Render ATL 2025", :June 11-13, 2024, Atlanta, Georgia"

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 29/05/2025

We all knew I'd eventually find a way to make this Star Trek themed

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 28/05/2025

Today's clock design. I figured out how to adjust the white balance on the monitor (to tone down the blue light) and now it's a lot more cozy 💛

A clock face displayed on the Divoom Pixoo64 monitor, with art of the Master Sword from Zelda in the background

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 27/05/2025

Definitely one of the coolest speaker gifts I've ever gotten (thanks @vueconf.us)!

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 24/05/2025

Yes! So my coworker and I are VEEY much this way, which is what I was thinking about when I replied. She's the big dreamer and (surprise lol) I'm the structured one. We literally had a conversation about exactly this just a couple weeks ago while planning an accessibility day livestream event

Coworker asks: "OK, wait, what if...
It just occurred to me-what if we included both Al-generated captions and a human transcriber during the stream? It would be a powerful, real-time illustration of our entire theme: the importance of combining Al with human expertise to create truly accessible experiences. And answer the question, is Al there yet?"

Kathryn responds:"I like the high level idea, but I'm a little hesitant because (a) I don't want the human captioner to feel like they're being tested / challenged - what if they "lose"? | would feel uncomfortable being asked to code against an Al in real time. (b) I think it might be distracting for our listeners who actually need the captions for understanding the content

That sounds, to me, like a separate idea for another medium - maybe a video where we can run a recording that was live captioned through an Al generator after the fact and share the results?"

Coworker: "you always gotta reel me back down to earth.. huh
when you gonna join me in space"

Kathryn: "Have fun up there, Rocket Man"

Coworker: "lololol"

Kathryn: "I'm more of an Earth Girl myself Imaooo"

Coworker: "Nah bra, you can't breathe up here, but there are starsssssss" (Kathryn reacts with laughing emoji)

Kathryn: "But we meet somewhere in the stratosphere and create some cool shit, I think"

Coworker: "agreed. And I could never come up with the thoughtful concerns you do, I just literally cannot see the details, so grateful for you."

Kathryn: "And vice-versa I love seeing the stuff you come up with when you dream big
(Coworker reacts with heart emoji)

I never would have even bothered to invite those reach guests, tbh. I mentally wrote it off. But two said yes!

I would have invited our regulars back on for a perfectly adequate stream and called it a day. You pushed it further"

Coworker: "lol whereas I am a little shocked I only got two!

We really are on two different
ends. But I agree, it makes for better content."

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 23/05/2025

Hello from #200OK where I got possibly my favorite question to date on my "How to Ruin a UI" talk: "I'm a designer and I want to make my relationship with the developers on my team as bad as my user interfaces; what can I do to screw them over, too?" 😂 😂

Picture of the stage at 200OK from a few rows back

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 16/02/2025

But, on the plus side, I guess I have Elon Musk's email address now. Lmk if there's anything you want me to send his way

The email address that sent the spam email under the name "Elon Musk" which is (of course) an absolute string of nonsense

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 16/02/2025

Just got the best spam email I've ever seen.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 04/05/2023

Shoutout to the person who left this incredible bookmark in the library book I checked out. 10/10 no notes.

A hand is holding a trading card sized illustration of a tentacled monster woman in front of an open book. The illustration is highly detailed.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 01/05/2023

Gotta say, the Stir Trek registration boxes are pretty excellent 🙌🏻

A branded box for the Stir Trek conference, overflowing with swag.

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Kathryn Grayson Nanz @kgrayson.com · 27/04/2023

Double chocolate chip cookies, fresh out of the oven. The D&D group doesn't know it yet, but they just rolled a nat 20 on their snack check. Alt: A close-up shot of said cookies resting on a cooling rack.

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