Sets · Collections as case studies
Four sets, one career
A set groups the cards that belong to one kind of work, with the thinking that ties them together. Open a set to read it like a case study.
4 cards
Brand Set
Identities, type systems and posters for people who sell something real: coffee, bikes, festivals, magazines.
Read the set →
2 cards
Product Set
Apps people keep: a heart-rate app that explains itself and an offline map for cold hands.
Read the set →
2 cards
Code Set
Open-source tools I write and maintain: a build tool that fits on one screen and a type playground.
Read the set →
2 cards
Stories Set
Self-initiated work: a year of one coastline in print and a film series shot between midnight and six.
Read the set →
03 · How a set is built
A set is a case study you can shuffle.
01
Same problem, different clients
Cards join a set when they answer the same question in different places: how to make a brand survive a real shop, or an app survive a month.
02
One idea that carries
Every set has one idea that runs through its cards. It’s written at the top of the set page, so you can judge it in a minute.
03
Numbers on every back
No card joins a set without a result. If a project didn’t move a number, it stays a sketch, not a card.
04 · The binder
Or skip the sets and sort everything.
05 · Trades
What a set looks like from the other side of the table.
Remy kept the sun our father drew and made it look like it belonged in 2025. Our regulars noticed the coffee, not the change.
Inês Halden
Managing director, Halden Roasters
The first designer who asked why people deleted the app instead of what colour the graph should be. Retention more than doubled.
Mateo Sarr
Head of product, Pulse Health
Nine issues later we still haven't needed to call Remy back, which is the best thing I can say about a system.
Lena Brandt
Editor, Field Notes Quarterly
?
No. 011
Start a new set with me.
Some of my favourite sets started with one small card. Tell me what you’re making.