I've realized the trap with AI isn't that they produce bad writing, but that they let you skip figuring out what I actually think.

Here's how I use AI in my writing.

arun.is/blog/ai-enha...

Yunnan II · Kunming Kunming was the best first impression of Yunnan with its mild weather, delicious food, and rich history.

Second part of my series about visiting Yunnan, China.

arun.is/blog/yunnan-...

Naoto Fukasawa’s without thought catalogs A look at the without thought workshop catalogs by Naoto Fukasawa and how observation is so important to design.

A look through some rare books by my favorite designer.

arun.is/blog/without...

Issue 86 of my monthly newsletter is going out on Monday. Subscribe here:

arun.is/subscribe/

Agents, Meet the Figma Canvas | Figma Blog Starting today, you can use AI agents to design directly on the Figma canvas. And with skills, you can guide agents with context about your team’s decisions and intent.

Does this new thing not work? www.figma.com/blog/the-fig...

Yunnan I · Homebase, Shanghai Shanghai is my home base in China — and this time, I finally figured out why. A few days, a handful of places, and a tension I didn't expect to find running through all of them.

arun.is/blog/yunnan-...

On running: principles and gear A pre-dawn run through Lijiang's old town, and the gear, principles, and philosophy behind how I train.

The gear and principles behind how I run

arun.is/blog/on-runn...

Just saw your redesigned site. Looks great!

Introducing arun.is 3.0 How I turned four years of incremental improvements into something focused and coherent.

Redesigned my personal website and wrote some words about it.

arun.is/blog/arun-is...

Volkswagen ID. Buzz

We have had the ID. Buzz for a few months and it has been a dream.

It still brings a smile to our faces every day. We took a long road trip recently and had far more fun than we did last roadtrip in a luxury SUV.

Kanazawa IV · An interlude in Tokyo After a week in Kanazawa, we returned to Tokyo, the city in Japan I know best.

Last issue of the series of photoessays about my trip to Kanazawa arun.is/blog/kanazaw...

I turned on the vertical tabs experimental flag (afaik only available on beta and canary at the moment)

1. go to chrome://flags/#vertical-tabs
2. switch "Vertical Tabs" to "Enabled"
3. go to chrome://settings/appearance
4. change "Tab strip position" to "Side"

I tried so many browsers recently and landed back in Chrome, but with vertical tabs

Kanazawa III · The old How the actions of the ruling clan in Kanazawa centuries ago lead to it surviving WWII.

Part 3 of my series about why Kanazawa is my favorite place in Japan so far.

arun.is/blog/kanazaw...

Kanazawa II · The new Why did a mid-sized city on the Sea of Japan become a place where contemporary culture flourishes alongside five centuries of tradition?

Exploring the new in Kanazawa arun.is/blog/kanazaw...

Kanazawa I · On the way A Ferrari designer's train delivered us to a city where Pritzker Prize architecture coexists with centuries-old samurai districts. We had no idea what we were in for.

Part one of a series about why Kanazawa is my favorite place in Japan so far

arun.is/blog/kanazaw...

The year in review: 2025 This year has been a return to the routines that once defined how I lived my life

Thank you everyone for making 2025 so great. arun.is/blog/2025-ye...

Creative Savannah A photo journey the creative landscape that is Savannah, Georgia.

Words and photos from Savannah, Georgia. arun.is/blog/savannah/

Hello, Liquid Glass I've made a wallpaper inspired by the icon Mac "hello" and Liquid Glass.

Made a wallpaper inspired by Liquid Glass and the classic Mac “hello” arun.is/blog/hello-l...

Charleston's historic fabric Photos and thoughts from a short family vacation to one of America's oldest cities

Photos and thoughts from a family trip to Charleston, SC.

arun.is/blog/charles...

MYNUS Simple and beautiful to the max. We pursue functional, minimalist designs born from the "aesthetics of subtraction" that thoroughly eliminates unnecessary elements.

Remind me of MYNUS www.mynus.jp/en

Will let you know when it is possible!

Five years of the arun.is newsletter My learnings after five years of writing the newsletter.

Learned a lot from five years of my newsletter. Here’s to five more.

arun.is/blog/five-ye...

Love it! I may have to steal this idea

My DIY modular charging station How I built a modular USB charging station with a focus on material honesty.

Made a little charging station to tame the mess of cables around the house. arun.is/blog/diy-mod...

Milwaukee's many faces A family trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin showed me the surprising mix of old and new, urban and rural that this city has to offer.

Photoessay of the beautiful cultural spots I visited in Milwaukee arun.is/blog/milwauk...

Aesthetics over upgrades With devices lasting longer, I now have the unique opportunity to hold on to older designs I love the most.

With devices lasting longer, I now have the unique opportunity to hold on to older designs I love the most. arun.is/blog/aesthet...

Designing wearable tech history I've designed some shirts inspired by technology history.

I wrote about the T-shirts I have been designing. arun.is/blog/tech-t-...

insanely great! by Arun Venkatesan Homage to the product that started the personal computer revolution.

Made an insanely great T shirt

cottonbureau.com/p/5UQTE8/shi...