10 min read
The Empty State Every RAXXO Tool Needs Before I Call It Shipped
A blank screen on day one reads as broken, not empty. The three-part rule I now write before…
The Lab · Written in the open · Tagged Design
Lab.
Working notes from the studio. The tools I build, the workflows I keep, the mistakes I paid for.
62 entries · latest 2026-09-03
Latest entry
Why Every RAXXO Tool Ships in Dark Mode First
A midnight screenshot showed a light-first build glowing like a broken browser tab. Why every RAXXO screen starts dark, and the one place it still breaks.
Read the entry
TLDR
This entry in one minute
- Every RAXXO tool is designed dark first and light second, not the other way around
- The studio's text color is an off-white, never pure white, because pure white against black caused a halation effect that made small type shimmer on OLED screens
- Dark mode breaks in exactly one place if I am not careful: App Store and store screenshots shot on a black background disappear into a dark listing page
All entries · Design
9 min read
The 404 Page I Almost Shipped Without Testing
A 404 page that looked finished on a laptop buried its own exit button on a phone. The…
9 min read
Why Every RAXXO Tool Skips the Loading Spinner
A blank spinner made a fast preview panel feel broken. The shaped-placeholder rule that replaced it, and the…
9 min read
Why I Test Every RAXXO Tool on My Phone Before My Desktop
Desktop-first testing hid layout and copy problems because the biggest screen forgives the most mistakes.
10 min read
The Product Page I Write Before a RAXXO Tool Is Finished
Writing the product page while a tool is still half built catches scope problems and weak features weeks…
9 min read
How I Decide a RAXXO Tool Needs a Redesign, Not a Patch
A patch fixes one report. A redesign answers the same complaint from four different users, and I only…
9 min read
The Shared Snippet That Almost Broke Three RAXXO Tools at Once
One loose string match in a shared Liquid snippet quietly changed two products I never touched, and rewrote…
9 min read
Why I Don't Run Discounts on RAXXO Tools
No countdown timers, no markdowns, no sale banners. Why a flat price beats a discount for a one-person…
10 min read
The Accessibility Pass Every RAXXO Section Gets Before It Ships
A screen reader on my own store taught me the accessibility pass every RAXXO section now runs before…
9 min read
The Error Message I Rewrite Until a Stranger Understands It
The three-part shape every RAXXO error message has to pass, and why a repeated support question gets fixed…
9 min read
The Onboarding Screen I Rewrote Three Times for OhNine
Three failed attempts at OhNine's first-run screen taught me the one-sentence test every RAXXO tool's onboarding has to…