In a lower-middle-class neighbourhood in Singapore you see families on the street. A father with the dog, a mother steering two kids toward the playground.

Login to tech Twitter and you’ll see posts bragging about 40k LoC per day from an unnamed YC member 😛. There’s some hilarity to it, but the vibe shift is real. At Jenni, we’re shipping 3-5x faster than mid-2025. I perpetually have unread notifications in our #shipped channel. Bugs go from reported to resolved in […] The post The Middle Way appeared first on Marc Astbury.

There’s a recurring take doing the rounds on socials. Thought leaders declaring that AI has killed the design process (e.g. Lenny’s podcast). I personally think they’re wrong. But more importantly, I think most people (including designers) don’t know what they mean when they say “design process.” When pushed for specifics what they’re actually describing is […] The post The Design Process appeared first on Marc Astbury.

When reading history it’s tempting to hold the question “is this person good or evil?” in mind. With Franco, Mussolini, and Hitler the answer is clear. More often it is not. World leaders must make decisions where there are severe costs regardless of which path they choose. Reading Deng Xiaoping and The Transformation of China […] The post Notes on Deng Xiaoping appeared first on Marc Astbury.

As was the case in 2023, I’m back in Yunnan writing the annual review. This time sitting in Matchbox coffee shop in Shaxi, the sky is pure blue and the farmers fields below are a dusty yellow. My fingers are freezing as I type but the pain is negated by the joy of wearing a […] The post Annual Review 2025 appeared first on Marc Astbury.