Summer 2026 has been a whirlwind. I think it’s time to pause and just breathe for a moment. So much has happened – and there’s so much yet to come.

I was reminded by WordPress that this little blog, Life in Pixels, is turning 20 next year. That makes be feel simultaneously old and momentarily dazzled by the ceaseless pace of time. This space has always been my little refuge amidst the tumultuous waters of cyberspace, and I intend for that to continue. Perhaps a retrospective on that is in order, but again –– I need to catch my breath.

At least this time I have a verifiable excuse for the lack of words (both here, and in my other projects and things, like work on the mystery novel). Between lots of travel, work, wrangling with existential thoughts wrought by that two-letter doom-generator, I yearned for the blank page of the WordPress editor as a respite.

UX Camp Amsterdam

In early July I participated in UX Camp Amsterdam, a one-day “unconference” hosted by AmsterdamUX. The concept: there are no spectators, only participants.

I ventured out of my comfort zone by volunteering to host a session – a talk about the connection between architecture and UX. I surprised even myself with this decision. It was daunting – presenting a 20min talk in a new country, to a group of strangers… but the organising team were really encouraging and everyone at the conference were extremely friendly and passionate about design. It was energising and reassuring to see how alive design is, and re-enforced my belief that community and conversation is paramount in this age of disconnection.

But it did entail a lot of agonising over slide design and my talk content. A majority of the two months leading up to the event saw me either thinking procrastinating about writing the talk, nudging images pixel by pixel to get them positioned juuuuust right… or practicing.

Travel

I nearly missed UXCamp, because a day before the event, we were returning from a concert in Brussels. And it just so happened that this was a nightmare weekend for the southern Dutch rail network –– a series of faults around Rotterdam led to immense cancellations, delays, and mounting anxiety within as I contemplated not making it home in time. Thankfully, we made it (after a 2hr train journey that ended up taking 9hrs).

Then, at the end of July/beginning of August, Manali and I travelled to London (my first time on a Eurostar, rocketing through the Channel Tunnel) where we spent time with my parents, celebrating my dad’s 60th. It was my second time to London, and this time I got to properly explore the city (that first time was a fleeting one-day stop on a whirlwind Eurotour back in 2010). I even got to watch The Odyssey *as Nolan intended*, on the massive BFI IMAX screen. Best film of the year for me.

Trains, trains and more trains (not that I’m complaining! They were, after all, my first transportation fixation as a child, well before I became a certified #avgeek). We took the LNER from King’s Cross up to Edinburgh (unfortunately not from Platform 9 3/4). Four hours later, and we unlocked another country.

Scotland is absolutely stunning. Edinburgh is a charming city jam-packed with culture. We were there just before the Fringe festival, and there were adverts for shows plastered across every available urban surface. I’d love to return for the Book Festival one day.

It was also so refreshing to experience undulating landscapes (after living in Flatland for so long). We took a coach tour into the Highlands, and whilst I didn’t spot the elusive creature of the lake, we got to take in the endless expanse of Loch Ness. The crisp air and serene scapes formed the perfect setting to catch my breath after a stacked first half of ’26.

Design notes

It seems like everyone has a hot take on that two-lettered hottest of topics at the moment. I glimpse my LinkedIn feed and all I see is a lot of people saying a lot of things without saying anything at all. We’re living in a world of abundant content, but the substance is thin.

So somewhere amidst preparing for UXCamp, attending a plethora of design meetups, and trundling along endless railways, I decided to try something new. Like I mentioned earlier, I want to continue maintaining this sacred space of contemplation, this last bastion of reflectivity against the wall of noise cluttering social feeds. Every post on these platforms clamours for attention with the now all-too-familiar patois and rhythm of generative writing. Social feeds like LinkedIn like this kind of drivel. It’s what drives engagement.

But I like the quietness this blog offers. It’s not unlike a serene Scottish village perched amidst the rolling hills of the Highlands, at the edge of a vast and glassy loch. A space outside the bustle of catchphrases and emoji-riddled engagement baits.

A space where I can interrogate the things in tech that are bothering me.

And so Design Notes was born. It’s a series I’m starting where I aim to periodically post musings on design and tech, with deep dives and slower contemplative pieces that seek to cut through the hype, dissecting the sociotechnical implications of this new age.

I posted my first entry already. And I have a backlog waiting to be refined. So watch this space (or my Instagram or LinkedIn for links to the pieces when they’re up).

An autumn of wordsmithing

Between Design Notes, working on the third draft of my mystery novel, and a potential revisit to the dystopian world of Devanagari (my first novel), this is shaping up to be a wordy autumn. Which suits me fine. I find that the cooling of the air and the browning of the leaves inspires a desire to pick up my pen and delve into my imagination.

I’ve been bouncing ideas for a re-worked version of Devanagari with Manali, and the more I talk about these ideas the more intriguing they’re becoming. Whereas that first draft left me a little dazed and confused, I find these fresh ideas lending a clearer shape to the narrative, bringing me closer to what the story wants to be. I’m considering doing it as a short story as well – I miss the format, and I think the tighter space gives me just the right restrictions to be more creative. Let’s see how that shapes up; if it’s deemed good enough, you might spot it here.

The next post will most likely be a Design Note that’s been gnawing at my brain for weeks now… ever since I watched Ronny Chieng’s Harvard commencement address and was inspired by his message. The words are in transit from my Leuchtturm to the screen. They’ll arrive here soon.