One of the most rewarding things about almost any craft is the realisation that (within reason) the more time and love you pour into anything, the better it gets.

Here’s an example from yesterday’s experiment: a visual timeline of the design of a select element.

Yesterday at 4pm, I was here. I was reasonably proud of that so I shared it on Bluesky:

About one hour later, it had evolved into this:

Later that day, I spent a bit more time on it, and ended up with this version that I posted in this very same blog:

Today I shared that with a very good (designer) friend, but looking at it with fresh eyes it did not feel right. So I spent a bit of time and did this:

Tomorrow I’ll probably look at that and think of something I can improve, but it feels way better and more finished than the first version. The key, of course, is to know when enough is enough and be aware of diminishing returns.

I shared this evolution with my friend, and I’ll quote his reply because I think he nailed it:

In today’s product design context, the care we put into our work is a form of self-care.

Amen to that.