Studio Notes.
Short, practical notes on brand, web, social, AI, and the tools small business owners actually touch. Tutorials in the foreground; news and perspective pieces as they happen.
Browse by skill
Pick the thing you're trying to get better at. Tutorials are the bulk of what's here; news and takes mix in when they fit.
AI & Design
Claude, Figma AI, Firefly, and what AI is actually changing in the design workflow.
Canva
Brand Kit, Magic Studio, templates, and practical Canva workflows for non-designers.
Figma
Variables, auto-layout, Dev Mode, and Figma basics for people who don't use it full-time.
Adobe
Express, Firefly, Acrobat, and the Adobe tools that actually matter for small teams.
DaVinci Resolve
The free pro video tool. Including the Resolve 21 photo editor, the Cut page, and export presets.
Automation
Make, Zapier, n8n, Notion. Real workflows, no hype.
Web & Discovery
Performance, SEO, GEO, Google Business Profile, schema. The unglamorous stuff that moves the needle.
Design Fundamentals
Hierarchy, typography, color, layout. The stuff small business owners consistently get wrong.
State of Craft & Industry
Where design and creative work are heading. Career shifts, taste, the agency model, craft vs. generation.
What I’ve Learned
Lessons from building real projects. What worked, what didn’t, and what it might mean for your business.
Latest
New notes, news reactions, and perspectives. Chronological, most recent first.
What Building Ruck Authority Taught Me About Adding Layers
A month of building a content site that grew into a content engine. What I added, in what order, and why each layer earned its keep.
Claude Design Just Launched. Here's What It Actually Does.
Anthropic released a new tool today for making designs, decks, and one-pagers from a description. What it does, who it's for, and if it's worth your time.
DaVinci Resolve 21 Beta Is Out. Here's What's Actually Worth Your Time.
Blackmagic dropped the Resolve 21 public beta with a new Photo page, eight AI tools, and camera tethering. A practical walkthrough of what matters if you're a small business doing your own content.
The Node-Based Photo Page in DaVinci Resolve 21
Resolve 21's new Photo page brings node-based grading, RAW editing, and Lightroom-style library management into one free tool. A deep dive into how it works and when it actually replaces Lightroom.
Set Up Your Canva Brand Kit in 20 Minutes
How to set up Canva's Brand Kit so your colors, fonts, and logo are already loaded every time you start a new design.
Build a Month of Social Content in 45 Minutes with Claude AI and Notion
Use Claude to generate post ideas, organize them in Notion, and batch your captions once a week. The system handles the deciding so you can do the making.