2 min read

Launching the Writing section on Yokko Lab

A new home for notes on the apps I ship, the decisions I wrestle with, and the design observations I want to share.

  • announcement
  • meta
  • next.js

I'm starting to write on Yokko Lab. Bit by bit, I'm turning the notes that had been scattered across my process into pieces other people can read alongside me.

What you can read here

  • What I learn while building apps — the run-up to launch, the unexpected reactions, the things I change because of them
  • Engineering experiments — Next.js, TypeScript, iOS and Android — what worked, what failed, what was worth the time
  • Operating notes — numbers, small bets, hard calls, and the single sentences that shaped a decision

I'm not aiming for grand theory. The bar is more modest — pieces that quietly help my own future work, and maybe a little of someone else's too.

How the site is organised

Alongside Writing I now keep two more sections with different purposes.

  • Work — the apps I plan, build, and run
  • Columns — long-form essays on AI, technology, design, and marketing

Splitting "what I'm making now (Work)," "what I learn (Writing)," and "what I think through (Columns)" felt right because the writer's mindset for each is genuinely different.

What runs underneath

The site is built on Next.js 16 App Router with Content Collections for MDX. Type-safe frontmatter, automatic readingTime, and clean App Router integration sold me on it.

Schemas are in Zod. The article schema is a small object.

const articleSchema = z.object({
  content: z.string(),
  title: z.string(),
  description: z.string(),
  publishedAt: z.string(),
  tags: z.array(z.string()).default([]),
  draft: z.boolean().default(false),
});

A quick check from the CLI is enough during writing.

npx content-collections build

I picked local-file content because the goal was to drop the writing friction as low as it could go. Edit in any editor, commit, push — that is the whole flow.

What is coming

  • Real numbers and user reactions from the apps I ship
  • Next.js, TypeScript, and Vercel observations that earned their keep
  • Long-form essays on AI, tech, design, and marketing (over in Columns)

This launch note is the first entry. From here I'll add a handful each month — quietly, with care. Drop by anytime, and feel free to stay if anything catches your eye.