Books are judged by their cover.

The way something is wrapped absolutely matters. Your conversation with the recipient begins before they touch your creation. Time and effort are our most valuable resources, behind printer ink. Spending yours, if nothing else, tells your recipient that you cared.

Accessibility-tag your PDFs, add aria-labels to your site, add an easily grabbable pull tab to your packaging, and align your layouts for ease of reading. In more general terms, take a minute to experience your creation from the lens of its recipient. In the tango that is the experience of your creation, make every touchpoint an exhilarating and joyous twirl.

In a world of quarterly calls, OKRs and KPIs, and product trimmings in the name of cost optimisation (see: enshittification), a little love and care for your creation’s recipients is all it takes to establish your penthouse space in their mental real estate. Add that feature for the hell of it. Include that useful frontier technology because it’s cool.

Historical disputes aside, Mahatma Gandhi said to “be the change you want to see in the world.” As creators we possess this unique power to effect change directly. Your creation is your conduit for change.

If you’re disillusioned with the product space presently, let this be your call to arms. The next time you make something for a fellow human to experience, spend a little of your most precious resource to make them aware of your care and attention. I promise they’ll feel it at every touchpoint. In other words, you should sometimes sweat the small stuff.

Till the next one,

- Yuvraj