Frame & Function is a slow newsletter about doing software carefully.
I’m Imogen Bauer, a designer and engineer in Berlin, Germany. Frame & Function is where I write down the things I keep relearning — about type, design systems, motion, and the unglamorous craft of making software that feels considered.
There’s no content calendar and no growth strategy. Essays land when an idea has finished arguing with itself, which is every few weeks, more or less. If you care about the parts of an interface that users feel but can’t name, you’re in the right place.
Everything here is written in public and revised in public. When I change my mind — and I do — the old posts stay up, dated, so you can watch the thinking move.
Type & rhythm
How letters carry voice, and why choosing a typeface is really choosing a posture.
Systems & tokens
Design systems that scale without ossifying — and the discipline of naming things.
Motion
Animation that explains change instead of demanding applause — and knows when to stop.
Performance
The ethics of weight: building for the slow connection and the old device.
A few essays link to tools I use and trust. Some of those are affiliate
links — here is the full, honest list, kept in one registry
(src/lib/affiliate.config.ts) so nothing is hidden.
The fastest way to follow is the newsletter or RSS — no algorithm, no inbox clutter, just new essays when they’re ready. Or write to me; I read everything, even if I’m slow to reply.