More design restraints, please!

Written on January 29, 2025

Years ago, I wrote a little command-line app to journal. It took a single string and saved it to a simple text file. Kind of like tooting, but only to yourself.

I fell in love with the simplicity of writing a command-line app because it had constraints especially in terms of what you could visually.

Today I came across a site called Bookshelf Town. It is supposed to be a minimalist Goodreads replacement. And I love how much restraint it shows in terms of its design.

Instead of heavily relying on graphics it uses ASCII art as its main interface language — and I dig it so much.

Front page of Bookself Town

I love that it is minimal, restricts fancy interactions and focuses solely on being “a pleasant place to document your reads and share them with your friends.”

Stack of books in ASCII art

I’m inspired by this sort of constrained interface.

I hope in the future, to see more constrained design like Bookshelf Town on the internet. It is a breath of fresh air from the bombardment of boops, bops and zings that social media presents these days.

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