leaflet microgrants!
some things we learned from these microgrants!
I wanted to raise the bar for what people can do with Leaflet…it's a great tool for a lightweight things like a grocery list, but it really shines when you take the time to make ambitious things with more content and structure.
I think the micro-grants worked for this; we ended up with both ones in use cases we imagined being cool, and several that defy categorization, surprising sui generis delightful docs!
some things we learned from these microgrants!
I wanted to raise the bar for what people can do with Leaflet…it's a great tool for a lightweight things like a grocery list, but it really shines when you take the time to make ambitious things with more content and structure.
I think the micro-grants worked for this; we ended up with both ones in use cases we imagined being cool, and several that defy categorization, surprising sui generis delightful docs!
Some thoughts this experiment either reinforced or provoked—
theming makes a big difference; visuals matter!
all our winners customized the feel of their Leaflets, both fun and key for vibes; I feel like many became more memorable due to relatively simple but thoughtful themes
there's more we can do here; for one, we just added per-page theme settings :) we can also explore fonts etc.
nested pages work well for many reasons
both aesthetically and structurally; for both readers and writers — Nathan mentioned how it's great for "deep dives" that can branch, tree-like, a kind of more intuitive footnotes
useful both for adding asides to a main thing, and making an easily navigable hierachy of lots of content (e.g. in Substrates or Beeswax Wraps)
we can make complex things feel simple and approachable
feels like a real strength of Leaflet is making it feel easy and lightweight to make, and easy to navigate for readers, even when a doc has a lot going on
a few here that were pretty long and in-depth but didn't feel overwhelming / tedious to read the way they would in e.g. a google doc
a form factor beyond "documents"
there are lots of things that fit the mold of a Leaflet that we wouldn't typically think of as a "document" — detailed documentation, personal catalogs / archives, winding stories, evolving visual process logs…
documents give us a nice anchor but a Leaflet can be something more / different; we need to better describe that! best current attempt: between a doc and a website
a balance of making and sharing
Leaflet is both an artifact-maker and an artifact-sharer, and this feels like an important balance to strike going forward
again, it's fine for simple ~plaintext things but not what it's best at; easily sharing things that are not only fast but impressive — that's cool!
one balance still TBD is to what degree we focus on making collaborative creation / editing equally great
10 delightful documents — winners of our first microgrant experiment ✨🍃
On PARK POWER!! 🌳⛅️🤝🥤, by Ashley
"half case-study, half manifesto"; inspiring IRL collaboration; beautiful documentation on the power of parks…but really about solidarity & generosity & collective action
MANIFESTO for a life well lived, by Mia
fun personal manifesto; a series of self-reminders — to walk more, to pay attention, to seek inspiration, to make time for reading, to grow things, to learn…
Bisita Field Notes, by Nikki & Rachel
two friends making a public worklog for reimagining their web studio! great vibes; love the "manifestations" section with dream projects & questions…also, a custom playlist!
Between the lines, by Connie
cool nested narrative experiment…all inside a container mailbox! nice mix of docs and canvas, some fun easter eggs, and the theme definitely adds to the poetic vibes
through the weltering dark, by Nathan
fascinating, unique, hard to classify; starts as oddball research project & turns into multimedia detective story…on eels?! great reading list & images & more
A Chronology and Study of Being Online, by Star
made in our "docs as gifts" writing meetup! nice premise for a syllabus (how to be online better) and I like the more casual "syllabus for friends" framing, more friendly and less academic (but can also imagine how it could grow)
First in a series of musings called Urban Phenomena, by Sushma
a catalog of observations; the start of a tiny personal newsletter (w/ our experimental 'mailbox' feature); inspiration to observe + create…
Substrates, by Eileen
unique and fun to explore! an extensive personal collection of creative materials, with potential project ideas & creative possibilities / intentions implied…so many cool books, objects, and materials, like "toys that would make good daydreams"
How I learned to stop worrying and love the process, by Laura
cool mix of research + design pages (color coded) arranged as a timeline (top to bottom) — I love that it's an ongoing WIP process log; fun to have as a running thread + see how it evolves!
Beeswax Wraps, by Jake
awesome DIY project + documentation; like a journal but also a recipe! lots of detail, from "prologue" to research and experiments to final product, and some fun detours on craft