Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 12/08/2026The Polish road sign font is quite unique, especially its clipped “e/ę” 091
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 27/07/2026The Children's Railway in my hometown Dnipro turned 90 this summer. As a birthday gift, I designed, printed, and sent traditional thick paper tickets. Here's the full story, day by day: cv.zaytsev.io/projects/chi... 040
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 27/11/2025I agree. Even had the comma in the first draft, but in the UK they traditionally omit punctuation in statements like that, so I decided to remove it. Otherwise I’d have probably kept it. 010
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 18/11/2025Piece of an unfinished project — v2 of my Dnipro tram map. In v1 (cv.zaytsev.io/projects/dni...), it isn't obvious where the city center is. The big ring grabs way too much attention. In v2, there's a subtle grid with central streets and green areas, which makes finding the center much easier. 000
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 11/11/2025I wanted a budgeting tool that wouldn't force me to add extra stuff (categories, accounts, etc.) each time I added an expense. I also wanted tracking to be meaningful. Knowing I spent $97 on coffee last month was useless. I just wanted to stay within my means. That's exactly how it works in Sintra 111
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 31/10/2025In 2019, my friend and I built a budgeting service. It's called Sintra. We barely marketed it, and it's been quiet for a while. But people still find it and tell us they love it. So we've been working hard to add an English version to make it accessible to more people. Can't wait to share it soon! 030
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 18/08/2025нам якось подарували старий радянський слайдоскоп, переглядати через нього плівку на стіні було надзвичайно радісно 100
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 31/07/2025Kyiv this morning. Another inhumane missile attack by the Russians 020
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 08/07/2025Working on a personal timeline and having some fun with @astro.build, CLI scripts, and @raycast.com script commands. Here, I'm quickly adding an entry with some content, type and date (today by default). Then, Cursor is automatically opened so I can edit the entry. 040
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 21/05/2025Tap water isn't drinkable in Ukraine, so it makes sense to clearly show that the water at this location is safe to drink. 040
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 12/05/2025Working on service signs. Half of them are already done! I’ll share details and before-and-after comparisons soon. 120
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 07/05/2025Added a custom instruction to ChatGPT to list my English mistakes at the end of each answer. Very helpful so far! 030
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 29/03/2025Some updated additional plates for our road signs. 🔗 roadsigns.in.ua/posts/additi... (in Ukrainian) 010
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 27/03/2025My hometown Dnipro, my favorite city in the world, was on fire last night due to a russian attack. It's so painful to me that our civilization is failing to stop this :/ 171
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 13/02/2025Thanks! Listening to your episode reminded me of this article: www.oneusefulthing.org/p/getting-st... Infinite patience is such a great feature of LLMs 010
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 04/02/2025Me: Gave up on LinkedIn, haven't visited, posted anything, or had any meaningful engagement for a while. LinkedIn, in its hypocritical glory: 040
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 01/02/2025One of my favorite little things at home — Slice Mini Cutter. It’s a joy to open parcels with it 120
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 31/01/2025A personal weird tradition of mine: looking for Hungarian names in the end titles of movies I watch 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 31/01/2025Rendering a component with the old sign, new sign, title, and theme switcher using just `<Comparison sign="3.2" />`. I love Astro ✨ 020
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 23/12/2024Wrote about two push notifications from the banks I use. Same purpose, but one makes me love the bank, and the other makes me 🤦♂️ 🔗 cv.zaytsev.io/articles/two... 122
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 19/12/2024I found the culprit! Line 195 of your CSS, `display: none` for the button. It applies to the second list item, so when you ⇧+Tab to reveal all the toasts, the browser skips it and focuses on the first element. 120
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 18/12/2024Release day! Finished the first version of the Collection page for our new road signs project. I'm thinking of it as a Panini album where new stickers are gradually added. Some are harder to find than others 😅 roadsigns.in.ua/collection/ 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 12/12/2024WIP: Put together a JSON file with road sign data, and working on a collection page to showcase our design progress 💫 #withastro 021
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 11/12/2024Try Transloadit (disclaimer: I work there). You can use AWS/Google models, experiment with some files and integrate it into your workflow. It supports different languages and voices. I've just tried to convert your recent book review to MP3, here's how it looks and works: 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 10/12/2024Just tried Safari’s “Hide distracting items” feature for the first time. Fun experience 😄 I usually close pages like this immediately, but wanted to read an article recommended in @thorstenball.com’s newsletter, where I often find great reads 120
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 10/12/2024💯 Reminded me of this bit from Oliver Burkeman's “Four Thousand Weeks” 151
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024And the Bonus award goes to Spotify — for completely ignoring macOS standards on icon shape for years. You’ve got to think outside the box, they say. 000
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024You can learn more about this project at cv.zaytsev.io/projects/chi... Thanks for reading! 🙌 (18/18) 010
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024I searched for printers to print 10,000 tickets. Many declined. But a small local typography was willing to help. They'd never done anything similar, but they handled two challenges: printing unique numbers, and punching a hole in the center of each ticket. I was very happy with the result. (15/n) 100
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024I wanted to make the first batch of tickets on time — to have them ready for the railway's birthday. I couldn't find a typography who'd cut and punch them for me, so I did it myself at home (with a lot of help from my wife, @marin-k-a.com ❤️) (14/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024About a week later, the ticket design was ready. I knew the most crucial part was thick, high-quality paper — and I also wanted that pre-punched hole in the middle, like on some old tickets (13/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024I didn't have a ticket design yet, but learned it had to resemble Edmondson tickets (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonds...) to honor tradition. And no matter the design, ticket punchers were a must. So I ordered some and tested them on a random ticket. (Apologies for the noise in the video!) (12/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024The new ticket window information looked like this (10/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024After fitting everything in and making a few adjustments, I ordered the printing on PVC. I was lucky with the printers — they promised high-quality printing that would withstand direct sunlight for a long time. And they kept their word. (9/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024I needed to know someone working there to help implement all these changes. I was lucky to meet Oleksandr Boiko, a senior instructor, who was open to the improvements and happy to help. The new timetable looked good when it was fitted! (8/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024I started sketching ideas and testing full-size prints. I was super inspired and learned that the railway would be celebrating its 80th birthday. I was preparing some good presents. (7/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024For example, some information at the ticket window was written on A4 pages placed in plastic files. Even worse, instead of proper tickets for such an adventure, the cashiers handed out nothing more than plain boring receipts. (6/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024This timetable also didn't fully use the entire surface area where it was placed. It screamed for a redesign, and it was waiting for me. I didn't know anyone working here, but I knew I could make a change. I felt like Amélie from the 2001 movie. (4/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024Any good interface designer would probably feel an itch to redesign this table the moment they saw it. So many repetitive elements. So much visual clutter. (3/n) 110
Alexander Zaytsev @zaytsev.io · 06/12/2024It was the train timetable for the Dnipro Children's Railway, located in one of our central parks. This railway lets children gain practical experience in a real railway environment, and the trains there are big and authentic — not cheap plastic replicas. (2/n) 110
