Maggie Appleton
@maggieappleton.com
Design engineer playing with AI and hacky prototypes @githubnext.com
Adores digital gardening, end-user development, and embodied cognition. Makes visual essays about design, programming, and anthropology.
📍 London
🌱 maggieappleton.com
Adores digital gardening, end-user development, and embodied cognition. Makes visual essays about design, programming, and anthropology.
📍 London
🌱 maggieappleton.com
TFW you talk to Claude to sharpen your idea and it’s like “yes, of course you have this idea. Bret Victor put this idea in your head a decade ago”
I am a stochastic Bret Victor parrot.
I am a stochastic Bret Victor parrot.
February 9, 2026 at 4:39 PM
TFW you talk to Claude to sharpen your idea and it’s like “yes, of course you have this idea. Bret Victor put this idea in your head a decade ago”
I am a stochastic Bret Victor parrot.
I am a stochastic Bret Victor parrot.
The meta-machine continues to grow of its own accord
February 4, 2026 at 2:21 PM
The meta-machine continues to grow of its own accord
Designing designs < designing custom machines for designs
February 4, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Designing designs < designing custom machines for designs
Someone pointed out dark mode didn't work on my website (a huge oversight!).
Claude implemented dark mode in <10 mins. But the diagrams in my latest post still looked weird since I designed them on light backgrounds.
But they're SVGs so it was easy to prompt a bit more and get dark/light versions
Claude implemented dark mode in <10 mins. But the diagrams in my latest post still looked weird since I designed them on light backgrounds.
But they're SVGs so it was easy to prompt a bit more and get dark/light versions
January 25, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Someone pointed out dark mode didn't work on my website (a huge oversight!).
Claude implemented dark mode in <10 mins. But the diagrams in my latest post still looked weird since I designed them on light backgrounds.
But they're SVGs so it was easy to prompt a bit more and get dark/light versions
Claude implemented dark mode in <10 mins. But the diagrams in my latest post still looked weird since I designed them on light backgrounds.
But they're SVGs so it was easy to prompt a bit more and get dark/light versions
I have Gas Town derangement syndrome and spent the last few weeks writing thousands of words on agent orchestration patterns; how they shift our bottlenecks and force us to ask whether and when we should stop looking at code
maggieappleton.com/gastown
maggieappleton.com/gastown
Gas Town’s Agent Patterns, Design Bottlenecks, and Vibecoding at Scale
On agent orchestration patterns, why design and critical thinking are the new bottlenecks, and whether we should let go of looking at code
maggieappleton.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:26 PM
I have Gas Town derangement syndrome and spent the last few weeks writing thousands of words on agent orchestration patterns; how they shift our bottlenecks and force us to ask whether and when we should stop looking at code
maggieappleton.com/gastown
maggieappleton.com/gastown
The London Future of coding meetup came back last night!
Now renamed to "the feeling of computing". More context on the name change: feelingof.com/the-name/
I handed over running it to @todepond.com, @mimireyburn.bsky.social, and Chee. They're doing great – same energy and wild demos as always
Now renamed to "the feeling of computing". More context on the name change: feelingof.com/the-name/
I handed over running it to @todepond.com, @mimireyburn.bsky.social, and Chee. They're doing great – same energy and wild demos as always
January 23, 2026 at 9:59 AM
The London Future of coding meetup came back last night!
Now renamed to "the feeling of computing". More context on the name change: feelingof.com/the-name/
I handed over running it to @todepond.com, @mimireyburn.bsky.social, and Chee. They're doing great – same energy and wild demos as always
Now renamed to "the feeling of computing". More context on the name change: feelingof.com/the-name/
I handed over running it to @todepond.com, @mimireyburn.bsky.social, and Chee. They're doing great – same energy and wild demos as always
Extremely funny. The author is a New Zealander so has a finely tuned taste for wry sarcasm
Also features this banger John Updike quote: “celebrity is a mask that eats your face.” Unsurprisingly about Sheryl Sandberg.
Strong recommend. Not the exaggerated tell-all I expected. Much better.
Also features this banger John Updike quote: “celebrity is a mask that eats your face.” Unsurprisingly about Sheryl Sandberg.
Strong recommend. Not the exaggerated tell-all I expected. Much better.
January 22, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Extremely funny. The author is a New Zealander so has a finely tuned taste for wry sarcasm
Also features this banger John Updike quote: “celebrity is a mask that eats your face.” Unsurprisingly about Sheryl Sandberg.
Strong recommend. Not the exaggerated tell-all I expected. Much better.
Also features this banger John Updike quote: “celebrity is a mask that eats your face.” Unsurprisingly about Sheryl Sandberg.
Strong recommend. Not the exaggerated tell-all I expected. Much better.
I am going to need three more brains to process the current rate of change in any reasonable fashion.
January 20, 2026 at 12:28 PM
I am going to need three more brains to process the current rate of change in any reasonable fashion.
I hadn't tried out Nano Banana for diagrams yet so I had a little play. Wonderfully promising and hilariously crap in the details. So close and yet so far.
January 12, 2026 at 9:42 AM
I hadn't tried out Nano Banana for diagrams yet so I had a little play. Wonderfully promising and hilariously crap in the details. So close and yet so far.
Figuring out a workflow to make Claude better at creating diagrams and illustrated explanations.
By default it is pretty crap - see this example. Labels overlap. Arrows in the wrong place. Text too small.
But it's also decent at identifying what's wrong once it takes a screenshot.
By default it is pretty crap - see this example. Labels overlap. Arrows in the wrong place. Text too small.
But it's also decent at identifying what's wrong once it takes a screenshot.
January 11, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Figuring out a workflow to make Claude better at creating diagrams and illustrated explanations.
By default it is pretty crap - see this example. Labels overlap. Arrows in the wrong place. Text too small.
But it's also decent at identifying what's wrong once it takes a screenshot.
By default it is pretty crap - see this example. Labels overlap. Arrows in the wrong place. Text too small.
But it's also decent at identifying what's wrong once it takes a screenshot.
A little January update: I am very tired, overwhelmed by all the agents, eating too many hobnobs, and willing myself back into the mindset of someone who knows how to research and write useful things.
maggieappleton.com/now-2026-01
maggieappleton.com/now-2026-01
January 2026 | Maggie Appleton
Maggie's digital garden filled with visual essays on programming, design, and anthropology
maggieappleton.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:22 PM
A little January update: I am very tired, overwhelmed by all the agents, eating too many hobnobs, and willing myself back into the mindset of someone who knows how to research and write useful things.
maggieappleton.com/now-2026-01
maggieappleton.com/now-2026-01
This is utterly unhinged in the best possible way. High praise for running a tour of the plane while it's a quarter-built and mid-flight.
steve-yegge.medium.com/welcome-to-g...
Some choice excerpts.
steve-yegge.medium.com/welcome-to-g...
Some choice excerpts.
January 3, 2026 at 8:30 AM
This is utterly unhinged in the best possible way. High praise for running a tour of the plane while it's a quarter-built and mid-flight.
steve-yegge.medium.com/welcome-to-g...
Some choice excerpts.
steve-yegge.medium.com/welcome-to-g...
Some choice excerpts.
Applies to some tools, but this is where fine design makes a difference.
Code is cheap to prompt, but the real bottleneck to good products is thinking through 99,999 design decisions and considering every edge case.
DIY-ing your own tools will teach you how hard beautiful, thoughtful design is
Code is cheap to prompt, but the real bottleneck to good products is thinking through 99,999 design decisions and considering every edge case.
DIY-ing your own tools will teach you how hard beautiful, thoughtful design is
I think this is exactly the math that is going to drastically change the small SaaS landscape
why would I pay monthly for <tool> when the same cost (maybe less!) can make that and also anything else I need
why would I pay monthly for <tool> when the same cost (maybe less!) can make that and also anything else I need
I pay $100 a month for Xero (accounting software), and I do wonder if upgrading to Claude Code Max for a month or two would pay for itself to write a robust replacement.
It probably won’t get bank feed imports right, but that’s broken in Xero for some accounts anyway.
It probably won’t get bank feed imports right, but that’s broken in Xero for some accounts anyway.
December 30, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Applies to some tools, but this is where fine design makes a difference.
Code is cheap to prompt, but the real bottleneck to good products is thinking through 99,999 design decisions and considering every edge case.
DIY-ing your own tools will teach you how hard beautiful, thoughtful design is
Code is cheap to prompt, but the real bottleneck to good products is thinking through 99,999 design decisions and considering every edge case.
DIY-ing your own tools will teach you how hard beautiful, thoughtful design is
Context windows out to thwart all our beautiful dreams
December 22, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Context windows out to thwart all our beautiful dreams
One day I will write an ethnography about developers and their relationship to time. Specifically, speed. And milliseconds.
December 18, 2025 at 11:52 AM
One day I will write an ethnography about developers and their relationship to time. Specifically, speed. And milliseconds.
If you put the word “Montessori” in front of anything in baby land you get to add 50% to the price.
“Montessori feeding bibs” - £10
“Montessori chair” - £100
“Montessori nursery” - £10,000
“Montessori feeding bibs” - £10
“Montessori chair” - £100
“Montessori nursery” - £10,000
December 9, 2025 at 5:40 PM
If you put the word “Montessori” in front of anything in baby land you get to add 50% to the price.
“Montessori feeding bibs” - £10
“Montessori chair” - £100
“Montessori nursery” - £10,000
“Montessori feeding bibs” - £10
“Montessori chair” - £100
“Montessori nursery” - £10,000
New idea guy idea.
When an unknown number calls and I pick up, transcribe the first ~10s of the call. Use a local model to figure out who is calling and from where → save as a new contact:
"Liam from L&C"
"Maria from Santander"
"Nic from Forest Nursery"
Sincerely, someone who never saves numbers
When an unknown number calls and I pick up, transcribe the first ~10s of the call. Use a local model to figure out who is calling and from where → save as a new contact:
"Liam from L&C"
"Maria from Santander"
"Nic from Forest Nursery"
Sincerely, someone who never saves numbers
November 21, 2025 at 3:20 PM
New idea guy idea.
When an unknown number calls and I pick up, transcribe the first ~10s of the call. Use a local model to figure out who is calling and from where → save as a new contact:
"Liam from L&C"
"Maria from Santander"
"Nic from Forest Nursery"
Sincerely, someone who never saves numbers
When an unknown number calls and I pick up, transcribe the first ~10s of the call. Use a local model to figure out who is calling and from where → save as a new contact:
"Liam from L&C"
"Maria from Santander"
"Nic from Forest Nursery"
Sincerely, someone who never saves numbers
The new Oura app redesign is so beautiful it’s almost making me feel better about having norovirus.
November 12, 2025 at 8:02 AM
The new Oura app redesign is so beautiful it’s almost making me feel better about having norovirus.
First day of my new life at Github Next! @githubnext.com ✨
I've had my eye on this team for a long time, and it feels like the perfect moment to join them.
I've had my eye on this team for a long time, and it feels like the perfect moment to join them.
October 8, 2025 at 10:58 AM
First day of my new life at Github Next! @githubnext.com ✨
I've had my eye on this team for a long time, and it feels like the perfect moment to join them.
I've had my eye on this team for a long time, and it feels like the perfect moment to join them.
Tragic update: tiny human has developed personal preferences and a strong sense of agency over the world. Bottles are now verboten.
Baby giveth and baby taketh away.
Baby giveth and baby taketh away.
My tiny human just held a bottle and fed himself for the first time and I can feel the freedom flooding my body. God bless fine motor control.
September 22, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Tragic update: tiny human has developed personal preferences and a strong sense of agency over the world. Bottles are now verboten.
Baby giveth and baby taketh away.
Baby giveth and baby taketh away.
TFW you can't find any software that will let you track map locations connected to structured data in a table in one interface so you have to vibe code it yourself.
Felt, Airtable, etc. were all $100+/month for the right to do this. Lol, nope.
One day of GPT-5 vibe coding and problem solved.
Felt, Airtable, etc. were all $100+/month for the right to do this. Lol, nope.
One day of GPT-5 vibe coding and problem solved.
September 22, 2025 at 2:36 PM
TFW you can't find any software that will let you track map locations connected to structured data in a table in one interface so you have to vibe code it yourself.
Felt, Airtable, etc. were all $100+/month for the right to do this. Lol, nope.
One day of GPT-5 vibe coding and problem solved.
Felt, Airtable, etc. were all $100+/month for the right to do this. Lol, nope.
One day of GPT-5 vibe coding and problem solved.
Loving the concept and content on News Minimalist: newsminimalist.com
Using ML to rank news stories by "importance" (scale, impact, novelty, credibility, legacy) and gives you a feed of only high scoring items.
At first glance, better quality than the front page of the BBC, Guardian, or NYT
Using ML to rank news stories by "importance" (scale, impact, novelty, credibility, legacy) and gives you a feed of only high scoring items.
At first glance, better quality than the front page of the BBC, Guardian, or NYT
September 11, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Loving the concept and content on News Minimalist: newsminimalist.com
Using ML to rank news stories by "importance" (scale, impact, novelty, credibility, legacy) and gives you a feed of only high scoring items.
At first glance, better quality than the front page of the BBC, Guardian, or NYT
Using ML to rank news stories by "importance" (scale, impact, novelty, credibility, legacy) and gives you a feed of only high scoring items.
At first glance, better quality than the front page of the BBC, Guardian, or NYT
I think the best thing about having a baby is everyday you get to wake up with a baby.
August 16, 2025 at 6:11 AM
I think the best thing about having a baby is everyday you get to wake up with a baby.
I've wanted versioning on my digital garden for ages. Felt like a critical missing piece.
Making my own dreams come true over here.
Hard but fun to design this. These aren't automatically generated – I intentionally decide when to make new versions. Not every edit = new version. Only major updates
Making my own dreams come true over here.
Hard but fun to design this. These aren't automatically generated – I intentionally decide when to make new versions. Not every edit = new version. Only major updates
August 14, 2025 at 1:18 PM
I've wanted versioning on my digital garden for ages. Felt like a critical missing piece.
Making my own dreams come true over here.
Hard but fun to design this. These aren't automatically generated – I intentionally decide when to make new versions. Not every edit = new version. Only major updates
Making my own dreams come true over here.
Hard but fun to design this. These aren't automatically generated – I intentionally decide when to make new versions. Not every edit = new version. Only major updates
My tiny human just held a bottle and fed himself for the first time and I can feel the freedom flooding my body. God bless fine motor control.
August 7, 2025 at 9:13 AM
My tiny human just held a bottle and fed himself for the first time and I can feel the freedom flooding my body. God bless fine motor control.