LMNT

You know, it would not seem so terrible for developers to distribute via the App Store if Apple had put any effort into making the App Store the best way—not just the only way—to distribute apps.

The primary reason Apple is being required to change their policies for specific businesses or countries is due to their own monopolistic behavior. They could’ve simply not found themselves in this situation.

It still blows my mind how little the App Store has improved over the last decade. It’s barely changed. Almost every bad thing about the App Store still exists. And almost every good thing that happened for app distribution and payment methods is just the result of regulation.

Apple did this to themselves. But regulation is only one step in the right direction. Apple already made off with trillions of dollars in profit. Isn’t the damage already done? Sure, prevent more damage, but—I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

In my life as an artist, one belief really stands out: When I create for myself, I don’t have anyone to satisfy but me.

No one else can meaningfully appraise my personal work. I alone know what I want to make, and only I can judge whether it achieves that standard or not. Feedback from others rarely feels applicable, because it’s not for them. It’s only for me.

Every day, I see new things. And every day, I’m inspired by those things. Every little thing I see shifts my perspective, shaping what I think looks good and what doesn’t. I curate this influence all the time, building on years of deliberate exposure to specific influences. The result is my own taste.

Of course, everyone does this to differing degrees and about different things. My thing is drawing shapes. It’s illustration, in a very specific way. And what I do is a little bit of a science, but mostly art. It is the product of a constantly-evolving life experience that no one else can possibly replicate, let alone ever fully know.

Working at The Iconfactory fifteen years ago gave me early validation from people I respected most in the field. And at Apple after that, designing for Steve Jobs—his approval represented a peak—an unattainable bar that once I had cleared, I realized I no longer needed external validation at all. It freed me to create without constantly seeking the opinions of others.

Instead, I rely on my own perspective. Clients hire me because they trust that perspective, and I consistently deliver work that feels in line with that. For my personal work, it’s just more potent. Designing for clients has to meet some criteria that I didn’t get to set myself, but if there’s no client, there’s no expectation beyond my own.

Because of this, external opinions often feel irrelevant. What I make reflects what I believe is good, beautiful, or meaningful, and that understanding comes from a place no one else has access to.

I know that online culture has actively encouraged public reactions and feedback. And while some may find value in public appraisal, I don’t seek it.

My work is validated by me.

Japan really only has one rule: Don’t inconvenience others.

But when you’re a foreign tourist, you’re not necessarily aware of all the ways that might be happening. By adapting to Japan—rather than expecting Japan to accommodate you—your visit will be smoother for both you and everyone else.

Use a Suica card to pay for things, follow the flow of people, avoid eating on the go, put your luggage in a coin locker, learn a couple Japanese phrases, and simplify your language.

While most places accept credit cards—sometimes even Apple Pay—you might not want to rely on it. Running a card manually takes a lot more time than everyone else spends paying for their stuff.

It’s a good idea to have some cash on you, but you don’t need cash for most things. Sifting through unfamiliar coins with a cashier—while others are waiting—is not desirable. When you have a pocket full of coins, go buy something from a vending machine.

You can pay for almost anything with a Suica card. If you have Apple Wallet, hit the plus button, add a transit card, and load money onto it directly from Apple Wallet. If you make Suica your express transit card, paying at a shop is as easy as saying “Suica de onegaishimasu” or simply “Suica de.” Staff will probably respond, “touch please,” while gesturing to the touchpoint.

In short, use Suica as your default payment method, with cash and card as your backups. And when paying with cash or card, place it in the tray on the counter.

Cities and train stations can be very crowded. Watch how people move. Crowds walk like schools of fish swim. People navigate together to specific exits or transfers. If you stay aware, you can move with groups going in the same direction you are.

In train stations, floors and stairs have arrow stickers for the direction of traffic. Sometimes, you can even walk along sticker paths to specific trains. On escalators, stand on the left and walk on the right. In Osaka, it’s the reverse.

To find the right train, platform, or exit, signs are above paths and on walls when exiting trains, in both Japanese and English. White or black signs point to train lines, whereas yellow signs point to exits. Map apps often tell you which numbered train car will be easiest for you to transfer or exit. That’s advice worth taking.

People go to work before 9am, and leave work after 6pm. Avoid those times and you’ll be avoiding the most crowded trains. If you do find yourself on crowded trains, embrace being a sardine. Even if it looks like no one else can fit, more people will board the train. So move inward to make as much room as possible for more people.

Wear your bags in front of you to avoid unintentionally bumping people with them. Put luggage on the racks so your bag doesn’t occupy space a person could be standing.

Exiting busy trains is a combination of gently pushing and saying “sumimasen.” When everyone seems to be trying to get off the train, you should too. Step out and to the side of the door so you aren’t in anyone’s way. Then, jump back on.

If you see a train arriving at the platform while you’re on your way to it, don’t run. There’s a good chance the next one is just 3 minutes behind it. It’s not worth rushing if you’re going to hold up the train and make the doors close twice. Instead, take the opportunity to find a vending machine and have a drink.

Most places don’t have English menus. If you don’t see one, it’s easier to just open your translation app and snap a photo to translate the text. Don’t be afraid to point to the item you want to order. No one’s going to judge you for it.

Most people know that vegetarian means no meat, but don’t know that vegan means no eggs, milk, or honey. No one knows what gluten-free means. Instead of using these terms, just say what you can’t eat. However, be prepared to hear that you can’t make any substitutions. Order something else.

Everything you see on a menu is everything they have. Asking for things you don’t see on a menu is probably putting a little unnecessary pressure on the staff.

Coffeeshops usually open after 10am, and breakfast isn’t a meal people have outside their homes very often. If you’re looking for that, find something in advance, because you probably won’t find it simply by strolling around.

There’s no country-wide ban on drinking alcohol outside. So you can get a drink from a convenience store and drink it at the park! However, not everywhere has an alcohol vibe. While I’ve seen people drink on the train before, I wouldn’t do it. Other traingoers might be in shock.

As far as eating on the go, while some people have bottled tea on them or eat onigiri while walking, it’s fairly rare. People avoid it because if they make a mess, someone else has to clean it up. No one wants to be that person. Be tidy.

You won’t find trash cans on the street, but you can sometimes find them at train stations, shopping malls, and convenience stores. Keep in mind though, trash and recycling bins found at vending machines and konbini are offered for items purchased from those places. Be considerate of that.

Lots of shops and restaurants are too small to be rolling your suitcase around. Keep them at the hotel, have them sent ahead of you, or put them in a coin locker.

Coin lockers are in many larger train stations and tourist-heavy locations, even at some museums. But be sure you remember where yours is. The last thing you want to be doing is hunting down which coin locker location in Kyoto Station has your suitcase in it.

When leaving a shop, you can say “arigatou gozaimasu.” No one will really look down on you for saying just “arigatou,” but it’s really just for friends or people you’re close with.

If you’re leaving a restaurant, instead of saying “arigatou gozaimasu,” you’ll want to say “gochisou sama deshita,” which means “thank you for the meal.” If you can’t spare the extra syllables, you can just say, “gochisou sama.”

As a foreigner, no one expects you to bow, but it can be a nice thing to do if you don’t overdo it. A small nod suffices in most situations. If you’re obviously a foreigner and meeting Japanese people in Japan, they’ll probably extend their hand for a handshake rather than bow anyway.

Lastly, simplify your language. Even though everyone studies English in school, few are fluent. Assume the vocabulary everyone has is a lot less than yours.

I find that people who speak English as their second language are more effective at communicating with others who speak English as their second language, just because they often share the same vocabulary.

Japan is a collectivist society, which means that people give everyone else priority over any one person. That’s different from many Western societies that are individualist, where individual freedom is the priority.

In Japan, it’s better that you to adapt to everyone than for everyone to accommodate you.

I sincerely hope that this helps anyone who travels to Japan. I’m sure it would’ve helped me to hear some of these things before I first visited!

This past week has been rough. It’s been tough to be online lately. There’s an overwhelming, dreadful feeling that washes over me whenever I unlock my Mac or iPhone. A heavy sigh, then, “What now?”

It’s always something. There’s always something. Someone’s always up to something. And it’s not good. It never is. And it won’t be ever again. It’s not so much that everything suddenly broke. It’s more like a bookshelf crashed into another bookshelf. Every shelf brings with it a hundred books. Each one is not only damaged by the fall, but contributes to the destruction of the next hundred books. One after another.

It’d be too simplistic to merely call this “depression.” And I don’t think I’m particularly depressed. I just think—in many ways—I’ve run out of patience. I don’t have patience for people who can’t determine right from wrong. I don’t have patience for any legal or justice system. I don’t have any patience left for war and genocide. I’m fresh out of it.

But that’s not all. I don’t have an excess of energy. I have a finite supply every day. If one of those things catches me early enough in the day, I could burn through all the energy I have before lunchtime. I could find myself in the afternoon struggling to do what I actually wanted to do that day. And the answer to that is never to be keeping up with every terrible thing.

And time. Time is almost all we have in the world. It’s our only resource. I can’t really do more than one thing at a time. I can’t divide my attention between two things. One will always suffer, while the other succeeds.

I don’t think the social media likes I received ever made me joyful. I don’t believe participants in online arguments have ever left those conversations happy. I doubt the dopamine was ever worth the hours spent to extract it. The comments. They’ve almost never been valuable. In the history of online comments, from forums to YouTube, to every social network humans have cobbled together, Internet comments have always been among the lowest-quality content available.

I can spend an hour watching a narrative TV show. I can spend an hour talking with a friend. I can spend many, many hours poring over art.

We are what we eat. If I spend my time consuming low-quality, low-effort things on the web, I will not only have wasted my time, I will have not gained any inspiration. Movies, TV shows, theatre, music, video games, paintings, and architecture inspire me and make me want to draw. Those things give me life. When I see the wonderful things humans are capable of, it makes me know how much I am capable of.

But when I see the terrible, stupid, meaningless drivel? I feel lifeless. Suddenly there’s nothing interesting to do or make. When I read depressing news, I don’t feel empowered; I feel defeated. I’m not inspired by tragic events. I can only be angry and sad, and while I know some great art has come from those feelings, it is not what motivates me.

We all have a chance to do so much more than doomscroll into eternity. We all have the option to reply kindly and give praise. We can all be grateful and thankful and humble. And it costs close to nothing. The reverse costs so much more.

After speaking with a friend at lunch today, I was reminded of how many people had written an email to tell me that I had inspired them. That something I’ve made or said inspired them to do something they care about. People made their own websites. They made an icon. Whatever it was, I realized I had the power to provide exactly the same thing I take from the world. And I can only do that if I sit down and use the time I have to make what I know to be good.

Maybe it’s social media that’s getting in the way. It’s demanding of my time and my energy. It distracts me. It takes me away from making. I can’t stop bad things from happening. I can’t stop people from picking fights on the Internet. I can’t stop unwanted replies. I can’t stop anything. The best I can do is make good things. And that’s what I want to do. It’s what I’m best at, and I want to maximize the amount of time I’m able to spend doing it.

Walking home from lunch, I was thinking about how this website is the thing I get to control. It’s the thing I get to build for myself. And I pictured this charmingly chunky logo with colors that feel like they came from a 90s elementary school teacher’s sweater. And the moment I finished it, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it: I was going to relieve myself from my social media accounts and give them to my website.

If I’m going to use social media, I want it to be in service of my website. I want to link to my website as much as possible because I want whatever I make to live here. I want my social media accounts to be LMNT, not Louie. I don’t want to post things I wouldn’t want to post to LMNT. If it’s not for my website, then it’s not for social media.

Maybe, hopefully, that one change will free me from spending so much time on social media, absolve myself from replies, and give myself the time to focus on the things I actually like to do. I want to make icons. I want to make playing cards and fonts. I want to experience things that inspire me to make those things. And I think this is the way.

I have already written more this year than ever before. I have already made more icons this year than ever before. This is not work to me. This is fun. Doing this stuff is what I wish I could do 100% of the time. If I give myself that time back, I know I can do even more.

Steve Jobs was notorious for not following rules. He drove his car without plates. He parked in the handicap spot at Infinite Loop. Many people assumed he didn’t use a badge.

But he did. I can personally attest that he carried a badge. While almost every employee had it pinned or on a lanyard, Steve kept his in his wallet. When badging in, he took out his wallet and held it to the reader.

After seeing him do it repeatedly, I started doing the same. Only one security person ever took issue with it.

I wish there were more browsers, and I wish they were more unique. I appreciate that Arc attempted to innovate, but their ego and hubris are a little frustrating. They believe their product is so great that everyone should use it, including their own family and friends. However, when they don’t, they are left feeling perplexed.

But I’m not confused why so many people don’t use Arc. I believe most users are not even considering alternative apps when the ones they use work fine. The browser wars are over, and the differences between browsers today are generally negligible. This is not Firefox vs. Internet Explorer. We live in a different era now.

In this era, Arc provides limited value for most people. The Browser Company can create Arc for the few individuals it works well for. However, if they want to develop something that appeals to everyone, there must be a genuine problem to address. It might be worthwhile to begin by questioning whether there is indeed a problem to solve at the moment.

What advantage, if any, does Arc offer to ordinary people? Is it possible that there may not be one?

When we develop applications, alternative apps, or update their designs, how much of it is truly necessary?

At some point, we solidified the layout of a calculator. If we change it too much, we diminish value rather than add to it. It might be time to recognize that we have solved some software problems, and the reason why all this stuff gets redesigned repeatedly is simply because companies don’t know what to do if these things have been solved already. How many designers, engineers, product managers, and even executives are merely trying to justify their jobs?

Is it possible that this explains what happened with Apple’s Photos app? The design wasn’t broken before iOS 18. And I don’t think browsers are fundamentally flawed now either.

Some things may not require redesigning. We might have simply figured them out.