Writing

Longer, thought-through pieces on frontend architecture, React, and building software with AI.

Three layered design-system tiers (swatches, tokens and a UI card) inside green guardrails, with an AI cursor approaching

Oct 2, 2026 · 6 min read

Why You Need a Design System, and Why AI Just Made It More Urgent

A design system is three layers of tokens plus guardrails. What it's made of, when you need one, and why AI agents make building it first more urgent.

Eight aging, cracked code slabs struck by a green lightning bolt, with IOU slips piling at the base

Sep 21, 2026 · 4 min read

What an 8-Year-Old Codebase Taught Me About AI's New Speed Expectations

AI lets teams ship 5-10x faster, but nobody is pricing in the debt. What an 8-year-old Backbone codebase taught me about speed, planning and engineering.