Shovel is a design and development studio specializing in e-commerce experiences looking to elevate their digital footprint. We have a track record of building design systems from the ground up across DTC products where brand experience is inseparable from the purchase experience

Game designer Frank Lantz calls video games “operas made out of bridges,” combining the technical complexity of engineering bridges with the artistic complexity of composing operas. — Tiger Dingsun, [The End is Not the End] (https://www.are.na/editorial/the-end-is-not-the-end)

“Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo” - Steve Jobs on web design freelancers

Act as if the future of the universe depends on what you do, while laughing at yourself for thinking that your actions make any difference.

I had to Google how to get images out of a Google Slide deck. You right+click save them into a panel called 'Keep' and then have to reverse Google Image Search them to find the original hi-res.

Design like rent is due

Bruce Lee on responsive design - "Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot."

believe code heart screen bit slimy reflection rage contained buffer

To me, there is a certain beauty in the singular, unobscured intention of an individual who creates a website to share themselves with the world.

I disagree that we have the answers. I believe we have standards for what makes a good answer and it’s our job to hold clients to that standard. It’s like how a college professor can’t write the essay that you can write, but they can definitely hold you to a certain standard to communicate your ideas and beliefs.

The designer and the engineer must be able to work by drawing with a stick in sand. Everything beyond this is a conflation of their work with the embellishment and industrialization of their work.

Even the language we use to describe ourselves online needs prodding: those who tend websites as worlds, gardens, and rivers, might be invited to evaluate what they are looking to carry from these real-world spaces. If language is world-shaping, why limit ourselves to the borders and failures of the offline, where existing words and languages might exacerbate inequities? Why limit the mythology of the internet rather than write new ones? - Chia Amisola, "On Domain Naming"

Given the state of the planet, things* being: - Resilient - Adaptable - Accessible - Maintainable … is more important than being convenient. Resilience entails resistance to damage and unforeseen conditions, and therefore [lower maintenance costs](https://www.are.na/block/24169553) and fewer repairs, which are inconveniences that cannot be externalized any longer. Adaptability means being able to deal with changing conditions in a graceful way, leading to fewer situations where things need to be re-evaluated or re-invented. Accessibility means general openness to a wider spectrum of perspectives, abilities and personalities, leading to greater net value being generated. This is a worthwhile trade-off against individual convenience of a small number of "ideal" users. Maintainability means the ability to be repaired and cared for without specialized or – worse – proprietary equipment or know-how. This minimizes artificial inconveniences and freedoms serving economic purposes. *Defined as any gadget, tool or product, both digital and physical.