Better Interfaces Need
A Little Mud

Last autumn, I rebuilt our reading room around three materials: bark, moss, and ink. The palette looked unruly on paper, but readers found the rough edges faster than the polished ones.

Let the surface tell the truth

The change was not nostalgia. It was a practical decision to let each surface announce its job: green for wayfinding, gold for memory, and mud-brown for the quiet work between them. Clarity arrived wearing muddy boots.