Louie Mantia, Jr.

“A fun, if aggressive, follow.”

Icon designer, type designer, artist, blogger.

My Studio: https://www.parakeet.co
Blog: https://lmnt.me
Games: https://www.junior.cards
Fonts: https://crowntype.com

Public Key

npub14qxu8d0zjj22ptx8andv83rt9hhkgjzcnfa90ykuvmclmfp89f7seyv8wz

NIP-05 Address

louie_at_pdx.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs2srwrkh3ff99q4nr7ekkrc34jmmmyfpvf57jhjtwxdu0a5snj5lgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsw0wweq

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub14qxu8d0zjj22ptx8andv83rt9hhkgjzcnfa90ykuvmclmfp89f7seyv8wz

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Last Notes

2026-03-03 22:24:21 UTC

I always wondered— do potential customers of fonts like these “waterfall” demo images, or is it something type designers just love to make?
Anyway, here’s Atencio.
→ https://crowntype.com/atencio/ ←
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/116/167/583/887/397/627/original/9c06fa763b1043df.png

2026-01-20 10:36:31 UTC

This whole Trump Greenland thing is batshit bananas. I cannot understand it, no matter how I try. (Of course there’s no way to rationalize this imperialist bullshit. I just can’t understand why of all things in the world, this is the hill he wants to die on.)

2025-12-24 05:56:46 UTC

In 2000, Apple introduced a service called iReview where they would review / rate websites so people could find which ones were good or useful.
I almost feel like we’re in desperate need of some way for independent organizations and individuals to review / rate websites. It should affect search ranking, probably.
There’s too much bullshit with the advent of AI slop, and without intervention, we’re just going to end up surfing in a sea of garbage. We should be able to demote trash.

2025-12-05 03:38:02 UTC

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My last name is “Mantia” not “Manton”

2025-12-04 04:25:44 UTC

Was talking with a friend a few months ago about Alan Dye and how he even got that job to begin with, and I said this: “But like there’s Steve Lemay or Patrick Coffman, and neither of them got this job for some reason.”
Anyway, it’s great that Lemay finally got the job.
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/115/659/396/999/918/976/original/2c67dd56b3d863f4.png

2025-09-29 01:14:01 UTC

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Really, just do it. https://lmnt.me/blog/make-a-damn-website.html

2025-09-29 01:12:25 UTC

I don’t care how bad you think you are at HTML (and CSS). A website that you wrote the HTML yourself is infinitely better than any template-based website you pulled from somewhere else.
If you think it’s going to be too much work, I promise you, fiddling with a template-based solution is going to—somehow—be more work, especially to maintain as the framework, template, or font changes without you knowing.
Write it yourself. One of my all-time favorite websites is this: https://vitalesbakery.com

2025-09-28 23:52:17 UTC

I assume a fair bit of people don’t know I make fonts. Even if you don’t have a need for fonts, I recommend checking out the website I made for my type foundry, Crown. A lot of work went into this website to make it a great showcase for the work Ender and I are doing together.
🔗 https://crowntype.com/

2025-08-28 04:31:18 UTC

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I’m not saying if people developed real Mac apps again that we’d be able to have app icons with different silhouettes again too. But I am saying that whenever I’m disappointed about Mac app for being just an iPad app that runs on the Mac, I look at its icon and think, well... yeah. Here we are, aren’t we?
iPhone is great. But it sucked all the air out of the room. It shifted all the talent away from the Mac, and people followed the money (and worked for bigger companies with bigger salaries).

2025-08-28 04:22:20 UTC

As we collectively look back on what the Mac once was, I don’t want to conflate the repercussions of Apple’s design decisions with the massive fundamental shift that occurred in 2008 when developers chased after the iPhone market, leaving the Mac behind.
Yes, app icons don’t look like this anymore, but also... very few apps are developed for the Mac these days. I would love to create an app icon like this again, but I’d like to see *apps* that were like this again.
https://mastodon.social/@noleli/115102574956284169

2025-08-12 02:29:35 UTC

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Perhaps it’s a good time to re-share this post, which I really love:
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/why-do-you-like-disneyland.html

2025-08-12 02:28:09 UTC

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Other parks around the world have tried to replicate this to some extent but none of them quite hit the mark that Disneyland in California is able to attain.
It’s not that having a container for a lost tooth is particularly special. It’s that to get to the point where you are considering a container for a lost tooth, you have taken care of so much already. If you decide to “stop” before you get to that point, then something like this can never happen.

2025-08-11 22:06:37 UTC

Honestly, it really is things like this that make it clear how special Disneyland is, specifically in California. 70 years of institutional knowledge of what happens and what to do. Disneyland often does what the rest of the world won’t. And I love that so much.
https://social.panic.com/@cabel/115012391326651989

2025-07-23 20:58:56 UTC

hi my name is louie and it’s my opinion that text fields should always be super-duper extra frosted or completely opaque, no matter what
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/904/552/812/482/359/original/5433ee8baf9e2088.png

2025-07-03 09:51:10 UTC

I’ve got better things to do than write about Liquid Glass (again), and yet, here I am.
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/ive-got-better-things-to-do-than-this-and-yet.html

2025-06-29 05:30:53 UTC

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very, very few people appreciate a joke in response to a question.

2025-06-28 23:43:01 UTC

Is Dr. Dre still an employee at Apple?

2025-06-28 09:07:01 UTC

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But here we are with a new visual design language that somehow manages to compromise on both the content area *and* the UI.
I’m *living* on macOS Tahoe and I’m here to tell you that the apps that are a pleasure to use are the ones that haven’t adopted Liquid Glass (in essence... all the third-party apps.)
This should be a blog post. But I need to collect my thoughts and write it all better. So consider this a beta version. lol

2025-06-28 09:00:10 UTC

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The problem is not the introduction of glass as an element of the visual design language. If used as the Dock background alone, it would be totally fine! But because someone said “UI should get out of the way” and no one challenged it—instead of content literally being the focus, Apple has to intentionally put content *out of focus* (blurring) to make the glass elements visible. They have to put a gradient behind the glass so you can see it. That should’ve been the “oh, it doesn’t work” moment.

2025-06-28 08:36:41 UTC

You know, I could write a whole blog post about this—and I might—but I think we need to start addressing the very likely possibility that the *entire thesis* that “UI should get out of the way” and “apps should focus on content” is wrong.
Apps aren’t just for looking at photos or videos. They’re for navigating through these things, organizing them, editing them. The tools to do those things should not get out of the way. They should be clearly defined and separate from the content.
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/760/076/392/968/268/original/5cd8d53b5071ab07.png

2025-05-23 04:57:54 UTC

There’s an unkillable idea in Silicon Valley now that a theoretical future device will replace or add to the computer + phone combo. Billionaires keep pretending like they’re doing research to find it, but …I suspect there may never be such a device.
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/the-dystopian-dream-team.html

2025-04-27 02:43:44 UTC

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Womprat is capable of so much. It’s an extremely extensive toolbox of styles and characters. It supports 100 languages, has 400 icons, and 2000 ligatures. It’s as crazy as it sounds.
Make cohesive logos without manually selecting from the glyph panel. Just change stylistic sets for different looks!
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/407/625/290/105/598/original/849277c43920752c.webp
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/407/625/342/702/778/original/72760935904d6ab4.webp
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/407/625/314/683/273/original/53f3c727e313e9d4.webp
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/407/625/310/593/475/original/51429ab519ec881a.webp

2025-04-27 02:35:42 UTC

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The Crown website is very new, and this page is bonkers! Browse samples, view stylistic sets (and hover to see without). Test your own text. Select from 26 OpenType features. Browse and filter the character set. Hold the Option key to change checkboxes into radio buttons. This is practically an app!
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/407/593/666/168/578/original/87a2eab5eba002c1.webp
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/407/593/711/641/921/original/a2f993efcb712c5a.png
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/407/593/720/803/851/original/0f5ec9aa7e872153.png
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/407/593/727/124/830/original/f4bf0764241d678f.png

2025-04-27 02:23:49 UTC

Friends, it’s time again for the Womprat Dune Sea Special!
This week only, get Womprat—the best Star Wars font in the galaxy—for a special discounted price, just $100.
Womprat is ideal for podcasts, fan films, gaming streams, t-shirts, cosplay clubs, and ...more!
https://crowntype.com/womprat/dune-sea-special/
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/407/546/998/103/721/original/f5cff67379314751.webp

2025-04-24 05:45:49 UTC

I’m a total and complete wreck.
Goodbye, my little co-pilot.
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/goodbye-chief.html

2025-03-25 11:31:24 UTC

🖥️
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/222/843/942/164/738/original/9a3667b7c4b9ff2a.jpg

2025-03-14 00:35:36 UTC

Making a new app that demanded a nostalgic icon. I think it’s looking preeeeetty great.
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/sketchbook/buddies.html

2025-02-16 07:57:30 UTC

🍄 Super Storage icons are here! Hard drive icons featuring motifs from Super Mario characters. I love them so much. I just wish I had 34 hard drives so I could use them all!
❤️ If you love them like I do, please make a donation!
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/icons/super-storage.html
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/114/012/497/406/784/527/original/a051f511ce1bbdda.png

2025-02-05 09:38:25 UTC

Be careful not to fall in love with your operating system! But it’s okay to love this wallpaper. (I do!)
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/wallpapers/os1.html
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/950/608/758/256/550/original/ff87e0a7251a97fa.png

2025-01-21 10:29:57 UTC

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Thank you! I hope you enjoy those. ☺️

2025-01-21 08:52:49 UTC

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I’m embarrassed to admit this took about two full days to make, so if it is even a tiny bit amusing to you that I spent that much time on it, please click the donate button at the bottom of the post.
(I’m sorry, but the donate button actually didn’t work at the time I originally posted it. Now it does. Sorry about that, if you tried! It works now.)

2025-01-21 08:30:22 UTC

✍️ This may be the silliest post I’ve ever written.
But I had to figure out what the “most Mario” colors were. Follow me on this bizarre journey of useless discovery.
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/the-most-mario-colors.html
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/865/406/533/938/950/original/9709ef09b0e2f32f.png
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/865/406/553/231/621/original/3ce4ecc78e18bf3f.png
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/865/406/563/136/120/original/55f39b6ac9d4ee0a.png
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/865/406/569/526/835/original/fb04c00bed4c48a0.png

2025-01-13 03:06:03 UTC

Now I’ve gone and done it!
🔗 https://lmnt.me
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/818/832/736/067/509/original/c6686efcf0489236.mp4

2025-01-12 02:19:40 UTC

As we get increasingly more tired with social media companies who keep inventing problems, I’m still wondering why more people don’t have websites and RSS feeds. It’s the way out.
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/range.html

2025-01-03 07:45:23 UTC

⏳ Moments
🔗 https://lmnt.me/moments/

2024-11-05 14:42:59 UTC

🎮 Right about now feels like a great time for fun and games. So here they are— Nintendo Controllers, a set of 20 icons that depict various button arrays from different systems over the years.
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/icons/nintendo-controllers.html
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/430/873/824/731/511/original/246f86430b622892.png

2024-10-30 09:47:48 UTC

💻 Finders Keepers, Vol. 2
An expansion pack of 12 Finder icons, including Ceramic, Gold, Silver, and Sapphire Glass. Kabuki? Picasso? *Phantom of the Operating System*? Yep.
💸 These icons are free, but please donate if you enjoy them! ♡
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/icons/finders-keepers-vol-2.html
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/395/739/195/777/984/original/231a50c7819581c1.png

2024-10-28 23:22:12 UTC

This is a long shot but is there any chance that anyone downloaded (and still has) these “Nintendo Revolution” / Wii icons of mine from around April 2007? It’s one of the only downloads I can’t seem to find anymore.
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/387/616/949/503/831/original/a2882a47aacc2022.gif

2024-10-23 11:30:15 UTC

I reject the seriousification of companies and their products. I don’t want fast food joints to look upscale. I’m not saying they have to look trashy, but they should look fun and silly.
I don’t want things to be devoid of fun and whimsy, I want them to exhibit that. It has appeal! When everything is presented so seriously, it makes everything seem quite bland. How about some flavor! Some enthusiasm! Some style!

2024-10-18 12:42:51 UTC

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Laurent!! Thank you so much for doing this. I’m really, really glad you took the time to make this page.

2024-10-16 10:48:13 UTC

I made a Finder icon in the style of a Blueberry iMac G3, because... why wouldn’t I?
(Yes, I did make the other flavors. Yes, there’ll be a new download for them soon.)
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/sketchbook/blueberry-finder.html
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/316/704/397/547/670/original/d4c50f9b93891f85.png

2024-10-14 13:40:32 UTC

Yesterday I was thinking: what’s the most well-known music composition from Japan of all time?
It has to be the Super Mario Bros. overworld theme?? What else could it be?? And isn’t it crazy if it’s that?

2024-09-30 19:33:19 UTC

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pReTtY sUrE tHiS iS oPtIcAlLy AlIgNeD

2024-09-20 00:19:44 UTC

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please clap

2024-09-20 00:08:17 UTC

holy shit, inbox zero. I did it. it’s been a while.
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/166/968/038/734/837/original/9aea6d6ba3e22ceb.png

2024-09-18 07:58:07 UTC

📖 Arbitrarily Adapting
No, I don’t think putting the URL field at the bottom of Safari years ago was “smart,” it’s just a reality of the situation we’re in now (jumbo phone hell).
🔗 https://lmnt.me/blog/arbitrarily-adapting.html

2024-09-18 02:14:32 UTC

Is anyone else having a rough time on the betas getting the Apple Intelligence Siri to do *anything* you want it to that old Siri could?
Like, It can’t understand me when I’m asking for directions, it says it “doesn’t know where” I am, despite having location services turned on for it. It can’t show me pictures of me, let alone pictures of anyone else, it just searches Bing for images instead. I can’t get it to do... anything.

2024-09-13 12:34:19 UTC

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So if you don’t have the time to learn how to make art, fine. Don’t make art. Don’t pretend to make art. Don’t generate images that sucked up all the art that we all sweat over for our entire lifetimes.
Artists have absorbed so much of the world around them to create what they have. When you use generative AI to make you an image, you’ve decided that the output from artists is yours to take. You’ve outsourced interpretation. You’ve not expanded your imagination, but instead limited it.

2024-09-13 12:29:49 UTC

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Stealing the result, using the result in training AI... it doesn’t have the context of the life experience behind it. Every piece of art has a thousand or more little things in your life that influenced it. And the thief doesn’t know about those. The AI doesn’t know about those.
I’ve had people insist they drew one of my icons. I’ve seen a penny press machine with my stolen art on it. My brush strokes on it. Like... no one can tell me they made it, because I remember the decisions that made it.

2024-09-13 12:25:54 UTC

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And non-artists, non-creative people may never, ever understand this. They’ll never get why this matters to you, why you wouldn’t fight against someone stealing your work. They’ll never get why you get upset about it. They’ll say stupid shit like, “imitation is the sincerest form of—” bullshit. Or misuse quotes like, “great artists steal.”
They will never understand that the work you put into something isn’t just about the tangible result, because the result hides years of life experience.

2024-09-13 12:23:02 UTC

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I can’t count how many instances I’ve seen of an artist helplessly flailing on social media because some big company stole their art and just shipped it like it’s no big deal. It’s happened to me, and I’ve also helplessly flailed on social media about it. It sucks. You can’t do anything because they’re just so much more powerful than you.
But this is the kicker. The time you’d spend rectifying it, against those odds... will just take time away from doing what you feel you have to do: make art.

2024-09-13 12:21:28 UTC

Basically all artists I know of—myself included—neglect so many other important things in their lives so they can make time for making art instead. Artists usually give up quite a lot to be artists. Making art is often not the most lucrative profession, so people who choose that path are doing so almost purely because they love it. They feel—deep down—that they need to do it.
After all that dedication, having your work stolen, used by companies and individuals... it its gut-wrenching.

2024-09-09 22:24:16 UTC

It’s 2024 and QuickLook on a folder in Finder doesn’t let you preview its contents in any way. You just get a jumbo folder icon.

2024-09-07 00:10:15 UTC

Leave me alone. I hate that you can’t dismiss this.
https://cdn.masto.host/pdxsocial/media_attachments/files/113/093/365/807/653/594/original/696fe8e3aa7dd3ce.png

2024-09-04 08:41:32 UTC

when ai summarizes your email is the goal that you dont read the actual email or that it helps you decide when to read it?
and how will you know if it summarized it accurately, without missing some key piece of information that would have not made you skip over it?
what I don’t quite understand is how you’ll know whether or not it’s doing a good job, thereby making you unsure if you’re doing a good job.

2024-08-04 22:28:13 UTC

Do you still use Twitter?