karolina

ex-founder, product designer, writer, photographer, pilates enthusiast • polish-australian 🇵🇱 🇦🇺

Website: https://karolinaszczur.com
Location: narrm (melbourne)
Pronouns: she/her

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npub1sphx2z60t5yhl66clzl2nwsu2c5u7whjap7e49t45n4jwy64yd5qdy638l

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[email protected]

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nprofile1qqsgqmn9pd846ztladv0304fhgw9v2w08tewslv6j466f6e8zd2jx6qpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dszg4jsy

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nostr.land

nos.lol

relay.damus.io

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npub1sphx2z60t5yhl66clzl2nwsu2c5u7whjap7e49t45n4jwy64yd5qdy638l

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Last Notes

2026-07-14 08:36:07 GMT

✍🏻 Against design system federation
I’ve been thinking about design operational models for years. I’ve seen enough now to call it: federated design systems don’t work—they threaten product cohesion, and set teams up for failure.
#design #designSystems
https://karolinaszczur.com/journal/against-design-system-federation/

2026-07-11 05:29:34 GMT

How we speak matters, as language further legitimizes how we see the world.
I’ve heard all sorts of “AI” anthropomorphisations, including “AI”-centric vernacular used to replace common phrases (“I blanked” → “my brain dropped some tokens”; I don’t even).
@npub15xv…0jms and Nanna Inie have a great guide on how to speak about “AI” without amplifying capabilities and humanity it doesn’t have.
https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/how-to-talk-about-ai-without-adding-to-the/

2026-06-15 20:22:30 GMT

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I really appreciate you directly speaking to the conflict of your ethical stance vs work mandates and evaluating if there’s anything in the technology that advances the goals you’ve set. many of us are in this position, so even sharing openly makes me feel less alone ♥️

2026-04-22 06:08:08 GMT

I’ve been privy to the weeks of research and experimentation that culminated in @npub12en…aqn4’s map implementation.
not only it’s so much better than many janky, JavaScript based maps I was forced to use in the past, I also wish more people cared about details as much as this does ♥️
https://front-end.social/@benschwarz/116445796505977800

2026-04-11 03:33:34 GMT

”The hectobillionaires have begun their final assault on the last, best parts of what's still open, and likely won't rest until they've either brought all of the independent and noncommercial parts of the Internet under their control, or destroyed them.”
@npub16sj…va89 on the existential threat to the open web:
https://www.anildash.com/2026/03/27/endgame-open-web/

2026-03-16 08:53:17 GMT

what if greg davies hosted the oscars

2026-03-12 01:53:37 GMT

all of those companies are framing mass firings as “AI productivity gains”, when in reality they’re correcting their hyperscale hiring decisions.
all while “AI” fails to realise any improvements, but hey it’s a much better story.
♥️ to those affected.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/12/atlassian-layoffs-software-technology-ai-push-mike-cannon-brookes-asx

2026-02-10 05:20:03 GMT

Queensland wants to legislate “from the river to the sea” as hate speech. Can’t make that shit up.
Australia will do anything to not condemn genocide because if it did, then they’d have to reconcile genocide on their own soil.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/08/queensland-pro-palestine-slogan-ban-proposed-hate-speech-laws-ntwnfb

2026-01-17 20:48:25 GMT

@npub16sj…va89 has been on absolute fire lately, but pickled brains absolutely sent me:
“ I talk to young founders these days and for them, there’s no other world than the Trump world. I ask them what inspired them to go into tech and they say they read Marc Andreessen’s manifesto, they read Peter Thiel’s books, and I think, “Oh, your brain’s cooked.” They come in pre-pickled. But everyone else who could have told an alternate narrative has been hounded out of the industry.”
https://sf.gazetteer.co/theyve-pickled-each-others-brains

2025-12-19 02:41:30 GMT

📣 @npub1qkh…5ygg, who’s poured so much into the front-end and design community through co-running CSSConf and JSConf Europe, needs our help.
His family home nearly burned down (luckily with nobody getting hurt) and needs significant, specialist repairs to be liveable.
If you can spare any amount, please donate. The goal is ~USD30k. Let’s make sure it's met before the end of the year ♥️
https://zrzutka.pl/p2t9va

2025-12-11 07:38:46 GMT

this website is exactly what the internet exists for. 💯 wholesome
https://neal.fun/size-of-life/

2025-11-22 01:03:26 GMT

“Steve Jobs promised us computers as ‘bicycles for the mind’; what we got instead are assembly lines for the spirit.”
—Evgeny Morozov (source: https://thebaffler.com/latest/capitalisms-new-clothes-morozov)

2025-09-29 22:18:26 GMT

what do y’all use to deploy your #11ty projects and would recommend as a platform? i need to get off nazicel* asap
(*vercel)

2025-09-25 22:04:16 GMT

happy hades day to those who celebrate

2025-08-08 09:45:52 GMT

today in how capitalism ruined everything: I couldn’t use my dad’s e-bike because you need a SUBSCRIPTION TO SHARE A BIKE
fucking no notes

2025-08-01 19:56:44 GMT

“The idea that your job should be the primary source of meaning in your life is an elaborately made trap, designed to make you a loyal worker who uses the bulk of their intellectual and creative capacity to further their own career.
If remote work gives us anything at all, it gives us the chance to root ourselves in a place that isn’t the workplace.”
I’ve been working remotely for decades not because I hate offices (I do), but because I can live better with less work.
https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/remote-to-who

2025-07-16 00:46:22 GMT

I’ve been having these exact conversations for a while; the burnout, disheartening job searches, ghosting, blatant lack of respect, traumatising managers. No matter how much you do, it’s not enough.
@npub170v…4e4y nails this down beautifully:
“That system isn't broken; it's functioning exactly as designed. Filtering. Discarding. Erasing. Only now it's worse, powered by algorithms and anxiety fuled urgency that have made human experience disposable.”
https://brilliantcrank.com/you-are-not-your-job-search-redux/

2025-07-16 00:22:57 GMT

Consent is critical for the future of the web, and it’s now in high demand, as expertly described by @npub16sj…va89.
It’s not accidental that white, privileged men, who run the tech industry, have so little regard for it.
In the context of feminist writing: they’ve never learned it. Everything was always for their taking; they felt entitled to women’s bodies, so why wouldn’t they feel entitled to everything else? Sky is the limit when you think you’re king.
https://www.anildash.com//2025/05/27/internet_of_consent/

2025-07-10 20:55:57 GMT

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what if… we wrote a joint blog post
I have so much beef, now that I’m quite deep into Figma attempting to create alignment. Grid doesn’t mimic css grid, no flexible units, no OKLCH… friends. this is not okay

2025-07-10 20:18:57 GMT

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just this week I was having a convo about how we align handling sizing to code (think rwd, container queries). I said we don’t because there’s no way to use percentages or any other fluid unit 🙃

2025-02-11 20:34:17 GMT

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I don’t know, still plenty people at zuck empire despite an even worse record

2025-01-10 01:09:01 GMT

me, 15 years ago: oh, this app is free, how neat!
me, today: ok, how are these fuckers mining my data

2025-01-06 21:48:34 GMT

“HTML is the most significant computing language ever developed. Underestimate it at your peril.”
I’ve been saying this for 10+ years and being endlessly mansplained by mediocre developers who will be receiving this pure gold article by @npub1ay2…7hak from now on.
https://www.wired.com/story/html-is-actually-a-programming-language-fight-me/

2025-01-04 22:53:29 GMT

*chef’s kiss*
https://getfullyear.com/

2024-12-11 05:14:59 GMT

fucked around and found out https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/10/24318350/automattic-restore-wp-engine-access-wordpress

2024-12-10 06:29:15 GMT

how do I even begin to explain that over a decade of devaluating design and frontend as disciplines coupled with the JavaScript frameworks pure disregard for the web platform resulted in absolute dogshit interfaces being the norm

2024-09-18 07:30:48 GMT

at my new job we use whimsical instead of notion and I’m quite enjoying it!
especially as a tool for project alignment, mind mapping, and flowcharts. it made documenting and collaborating on architecture and systems decision making so much easier than notion ever did.
https://whimsical.com/

2024-08-31 22:42:20 GMT

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that sounds hilariously on brand for him. thank you for the context!
do you use it? i guess one could repost to multiple networks but that just sounds like work

2024-08-31 22:37:41 GMT

I’ve been sceptical of bluesky (because dorsey) and haven’t used it yet. their latest moderation features are impressive though.
i do have too much social media fatigue to set up another account somewhere. but if they keep outpacing masto on community management, I’d consider moving.

2024-07-25 20:59:23 GMT

me, in my 20s: flying is so exciting!!
me, in my 30s: why would anyone ever get on a plane

2024-05-17 07:36:33 GMT

2000s: can’t believe i have no space left on my hard drive to store my things
2010s: can’t believe i don’t need hard drive space because all my things are in the cloud
2020s: can’t believe all my things are used to train an ai without my consent, better store it on my hard drive
full circle strikes again