Valarie Stuart

Don't want to be compared to Nazis? Perhaps be less Nazi-like

I opened my first Etsy store (waveloudly.etsy.com) a month ago, and it's been a rewarding and interesting experience.

Here's to moving on to month number two 🥂

Screenshot from X's What's Happening panel showing that Active Shooter is a Career topic.

I don't intend to make light of a tragedy. But X is so bad that if you're looking for a career change, they have ideas for you.

Desk with two computer monitors. One has art for a poster that says "Resist", and the other has a poster that says "Ready aim fire is a bad way to govern."

New project underway.

Because of [gestures wildly] all the things happening in the US, I'm creating a series of downloadable protest signs. I hope to be live on Etsy soon, then I'll build my own storefront.

Because in the US right now, shit is really fucked up and stuff. (That'll be a sign too)

Two pyrenees mix dogs looking out the window

Frankie and Gracie doing what they think is their job

Figma UI Kit: Shopify Dawn Theme Save countless hours building layouts in Figma with responsive desktop components for Shopify's Dawn theme sections. Component properties and variants replicate Shopify Dawn template and block options...

The UI Kit is available here: wavebrain.com/products/ui-...

Buy it once, and you'll still have access to future updates like the PDP when it's ready, even if the price increases.

A computer laptop, external monitor, and keyboard on a desk with Figma and Shopify open, showing in-progress work on new components for a Figma UI kit.

Starting the week working on new features for my Figma UI Kit for Shopify Dawn theme. I'm building a product component for the product details page, using slot system so you can customize layout without the need to detach the instance in a page layout.

Time-consuming? Yes. Fun? Also yes.

A screenshot from a Google Certificate training course on Coursera that says that "X (formally known as Twitter) is featured in this video."

I know Google is putting up this message in their Digital Marketing certificate course on Coursera because the bad man changed Twitter's name, but I prefer to think of it as a warning that the bad man's social media product will be discussed.

You know what 90s band I think of almost every day? Nine Inch Nails, every time I’m on the road behind a Kia. Is it just me?

Screenshot of a PageScreen Insights report showing the following scores for Mobile: Performance 92, Accessibility 100, Best Practices 100, SEO 100.

Screenshot of a PageScreen Insights report showing the following scores for Desktop: Performance 98, Accessibility 100, Best Practices 100, SEO 100.

TFW you optimize 19 images on a photography portfolio page and hit scores over 90 on PageSpeed Insights 💨

A tablet on a white desk in a light, airy environment with the Run for Paws website open on the screen.

Stock photography of cute dogs used in the Run for Paws website.

I recently started a concept single-page website for a charity 5K run for an animal shelter to upskill in Webflow.

In a real project, I'd use photos of adoptable dogs. Since it's concept, I've loved searching stock photos for adorable dogs.

Next up: exploring interaction animations.

Does anyone know why the Shopify Dawn theme has letter-spacing added everywhere? One of the first things I do is remove it, but maybe there's a valid UI reason for it that I don't know. We would want it for uppercase text, yes, but normally not lowercase.

DOGE logo from the official website.

Oh. Oh my goodness. Bless their heart.

Where to even start. How about somebody catch that poorly kerned Y that's gonna fall off the right side of this thing. Maybe put a third flag over there to catch it.

Awesome! There's a free preview file available at wavebrain.com, so you can try before you buy to make sure it's right for you, since there can be so many ways to accomplish things in Figma.

Computer monitor showing a Figma screen for the Wavebrain UI Kit for Shopify Dawn theme with the local variables panel showing.

New updates for the Figma UI Kit for the Shopify Dawn theme from wavebrain.com 🥳

• Support for more local variables
• Refactored collage component to use slots for unlimited layout configurations
• Support for card styles in blog post and collection lists
• and much more

Screenshot of a product page for a shelving unit, with product description that reads "The storage shelves are easy to assemble, and all parts are packaged for idiots."

This seems like a good feature for a shelving unit from Wayfair to have:

"The storage shelves are easy to assemble, and all parts are packaged for idiots."

My power is out due to work on the lines in my neighborhood. I will spend this time eating all of my ice cream so it doesn’t melt

My desk with Figma open on screen and my big dog next to my chair.

One of today's tasks is to add a couple of product design examples to my portfolio website. My big fluffy helper is ready if needed.

Mini photo studio set up for a product shot of a tea tin.

Home page for Shopify store selling tea, using the hero image shot on the photo studio.

A little something different today… quick shot for a new seasonal hero image to drop into a Figma layout for a Shopify concept store that I created when I was learning Shopify.

YouTube video by TD Sunshine Figma Slot Components | Component Properties step-by-step

Question for Figma users: are you familiar with using slot components? I'm updating a UI Kit, refactoring a component to use slots. Will this concept be new to most?

If you aren't familiar w/slots, this tutorial (not mine) really helped me get it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoVw...

My desk with Figma open on one monitor and Shopify theme customization open on another.

Working on updates to my Figma UI Kit for Shopify Dawn theme today. Adding support for the corner radius theme setting for section components. Fixing some bugs along the way. Minor release updates coming next week.

Hello world