writinG

I write books and articles about design, creativity, intersections of art and technology, and ways of reinventing your life through exploration and the stories you tell yourself.

non-fiction Books

Books
M23 Myōgadani (2024)
M23 Myōgadani (2024)

A photographer's love letter to the Myōgadani Station neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan.

Cherry Blossom Cocktails (2024)
Cherry Blossom Cocktails (2024)

Spring is a state of mind! Celebrate the beauty of spring with aromatic craft cocktails and creative techniques.

One-Day Sabbatical (2023)
One-Day Sabbatical (2023)

This simple program and workbook will guide you through your one-day sabbatical — based in human-centered design (HCD) and complementary creative, cognitive, and somatic practices.

INKyōto 京都墨 (2019)
INKyōto 京都墨 (2019)

Brilliant scenes swimming in the ink of traditional and modern Kyōto by night.

Design / sabbaticals / creativity

Featured
[LIMINADE] 2. Trainspotting. On waiting as transformation.
liminade, storytelling, life design, creativity
[LIMINADE] 2. Trainspotting. On waiting as transformation.
liminade, storytelling, life design, creativity

From my Substack: Liminade. This edition is a meditation on the liminal theme of: waiting.

liminade, storytelling, life design, creativity
Letter from Future You: A Simple Tool for Reimagining Your Life
storytelling, life design, creativity, design
Letter from Future You: A Simple Tool for Reimagining Your Life
storytelling, life design, creativity, design

How do you imagine your best life? Fake it til you make it, goes the classic aphorism — the idea that “acting as if” you are the person you want to be can help make it be so, make it be true.

storytelling, life design, creativity, design
First Days as a Nomad Creative
life design, creativity, storytelling
First Days as a Nomad Creative
life design, creativity, storytelling

These first days and weeks are about getting my sea legs as a nomad —acclimating, soaking up environments and beauty, and getting some holiday rest after a busy few transitional months moving and such prior to leaving for the trip.

life design, creativity, storytelling
Of homes and passages or, an update of sorts.
storytelling
Of homes and passages or, an update of sorts.
storytelling

Macro and micro reflections on how powerful the forces of "home" are on human beings — what and where we call home, where we find home, and the homes that we carry in our hearts.

storytelling
Story Laundering, or How to Get Out of Your Own Head to Tell Better Stories
storytelling
Story Laundering, or How to Get Out of Your Own Head to Tell Better Stories
storytelling

How often do we tell and retell stories of our lives — in the same ways, again and again?

storytelling
How to Ask Someone to Be Your Mentor (and What Not to Do)
career
How to Ask Someone to Be Your Mentor (and What Not to Do)
career

Really good ways to go about it — and some really wrong ways to do it.

career
Making Ambient Music with Plants
Making Ambient Music with Plants
Play, Slay, Sashay: 3 New Principles for Thinking about Work or, How to Find Your Groove in All…
life design, career
Play, Slay, Sashay: 3 New Principles for Thinking about Work or, How to Find Your Groove in All…
life design, career

Reinventing yourself? Pivoting? Finding your footing in your career? Maybe these principles will resonate with you, too — or inspire you to craft your own.

life design, career
PRFAQ is a Design Tool
writing, storytelling, design
PRFAQ is a Design Tool
writing, storytelling, design

Let’s turn a business document into a design tool! Use it in your own toolkit — or to help build a design-as-partner culture at your company.

writing, storytelling, design
“Thanks for your feedback”: How to really mean it as a designer
design
“Thanks for your feedback”: How to really mean it as a designer
design

Of design jobs being sales jobs and leading with curiosity.

design
Cuban Mops or, the Top 5 Things that Made Me a Designer
design
Cuban Mops or, the Top 5 Things that Made Me a Designer
design

Why did you start doing what you’re doing? Is that still true?

design
How to Sabbatical, Pt. 3: Re-Entry + What I Learned
sabbatical, life design
How to Sabbatical, Pt. 3: Re-Entry + What I Learned
sabbatical, life design

It’s now 3 years after the sabbatical and re-entry to workforce, and it continues to be vocationally the best thing I’ve ever done.

sabbatical, life design
How to Sabbatical, Pt. 2: F*ck It, I’m Going Around the World
sabbatical, life design
How to Sabbatical, Pt. 2: F*ck It, I’m Going Around the World
sabbatical, life design

This is one of the best things I’ve ever done in life, spiritually and professionally.

sabbatical, life design
Measuring Magic: How We Can Do Better than “I Know It When I See It”
design
Measuring Magic: How We Can Do Better than “I Know It When I See It”
design

So how do we know what is… “cool” or “creepy”, “seamless”, “intuitive”… or even “magical”?

design
How to Sabbatical, Pt 1: Jump Off the Train
sabbatical, life design
How to Sabbatical, Pt 1: Jump Off the Train
sabbatical, life design

Last summer I did one of the scariest things I’ve ever done: I quit my job to restore my health, live my dreams, and find my way to my next professional life.

sabbatical, life design

Photography

Featured
How to Make a Photography Zine (VIDEO)
How to Make a Photography Zine (VIDEO)

Make an 8-page mini photography zine from one sheet of paper.

Make an Eternal Calendar with Seasonal Photos (VIDEO)
Make an Eternal Calendar with Seasonal Photos (VIDEO)

Thought I’d share a photo display concept that I call Eternal Calendar.

How to Make a Short Film on Ricoh GR in 1 Day
How to Make a Short Film on Ricoh GR in 1 Day

Romanticize your everyday life! Wouldn't it be satisfying to make a short film in one day? Here’s how you can do t and how I did it.

Ricoh GR x NYC-SPC Meet-Up in Tokyo
Ricoh GR x NYC-SPC Meet-Up in Tokyo

Excited to be featured by Ricoh GR x NYC-SPC from this incredible meet-up in Tokyo.

BOOK: M23 Myōgadani
BOOK: M23 Myōgadani

Video peek at my new photobook M23 Myōgadani — a photographer's love letter to the Myōgadani Station neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan.

The Indecisive Moment: Street Photography & AI
The Indecisive Moment: Street Photography & AI

Of rhythms and algorithms. / Reprinted in PetaPixel and DIY Photography.

Graphical Notation
Graphical Notation
1-Minute Creative: Upcycle Your Low-Res Photos? AI Says Yes.
1-Minute Creative: Upcycle Your Low-Res Photos? AI Says Yes.

How to make your low-resolution photos effectively high-res if you wanna print or publish them.

Paris 1988
Paris 1988
Be the Camera: Adventure in Passive Street Photography
Be the Camera: Adventure in Passive Street Photography

Building a wearable automatic Raspberry Pi time-lapse camera that I could pin to my shirt.

Babel
Babel
NEW BOOK: Tokyo: Shibuya Shimokitazawa Harajuku (September 2017)
NEW BOOK: Tokyo: Shibuya Shimokitazawa Harajuku (September 2017)
What’s the Story? 5 Ways to Make Better Street Photos
What’s the Story? 5 Ways to Make Better Street Photos

Here are some quick tips to take your street shooting and editing to the next level. / Reprinted in PetaPixel. 

Coney Island
Coney Island
Tokyo Street Photography: A Brief Tour
Tokyo Street Photography: A Brief Tour

Story of the Street street photography collective asked me to guest host their account for the week of October 1, 2016.

Oslo Opera House
Oslo Opera House
Hallgrímskirkja
Hallgrímskirkja
On Being a Female Street Photographer
On Being a Female Street Photographer

Being a women makes me vulnerable on the street, but is an advantage as a photographer. / Reprinted in PetaPixel, DIY Photography, Digital Rev.

Don’t Take My Picture: Street Photography and Public Privacy
Don’t Take My Picture: Street Photography and Public Privacy

As an active street photographer and generally a private person myself, the question of what is a fair subject for my lens is constantly on my mind. And in the age of social media, what is fair or ethical to share to the public. / Reprinted in PetaPixel. 

Everything is Amazing: The Zen of Street Photography for Everybody
Everything is Amazing: The Zen of Street Photography for Everybody

The Zen of street photography for everyone.