Laura Kalbag

https://mastodon.laurakalbag.com/@laura

½ of Small Technology Foundation. Designs, talks, and writes about web, rights-respecting tech, inclusivity, privacy, and dev. I wrote a book: Accessibility For Everyone: http://a4e.link she/her

Pronounce: ˈlɔːrə ˈkælbæɡ
Pronouns: she/her
My website: https://laurakalbag.com
Read my book for free at: https://accessibilityforeveryone.site

Public Key

npub17q033a2p5md4gnt3ls2x0rzz7a09ezk8m6rxtu6yt99lguggxlcq39mla0

NIP-05 Address

laura_at_mastodon.laurakalbag.com@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs0q8cc74q6dk65f4clc9r833p0whju3traapn97dz9jjl5wyyr0uqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntr9nek0

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub17q033a2p5md4gnt3ls2x0rzz7a09ezk8m6rxtu6yt99lguggxlcq39mla0

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Last Notes

2026-06-24 15:12:10 UTC

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thanks! I’m already a pilates fan, and very happy to do any physio exercises to help me improve, so that will definitely help! I was lucky to only wait two hours in the hospital before the procedure.

2026-06-24 15:08:03 UTC

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Thank you for the tip. I was lucky that the food was really good! (And they had options for dietary requirements.)

2026-06-24 15:06:50 UTC

One week since my surgery and I’m so happy. The nerve pain was gone the second I woke up. Today I took an 8 minute walk, no pain, for the first time in 6 months. The hardest part now is restraining myself so I can recover properly!

2026-06-12 09:30:35 UTC

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that does sound a lot like what I’ve got. I hope your MRI shows an issue you can get fixed quickly!

2026-06-12 09:29:39 UTC

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I’m so excited for that part!

2026-06-12 09:29:23 UTC

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amazing, thank you!

2026-06-11 15:24:47 UTC

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that’s great to hear! It should only be 1-2 nights’ stay. I should be mobile very quickly, but have also been warned that it’ll take 4 weeks before I’m doing light exercise.

2026-06-11 13:20:17 UTC

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that sounds scary. Fingers crossed you find a way to get rid of the pain!

2026-06-11 11:05:21 UTC

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I hope you find the cause soon! I get how frustrating it is. The back pain got really bad in February, and only turned into nerve pain in March. I put off getting an MRI and was handling it like it was muscular for too long. Fortunately once I went for an MRI, it clearly showed the disc bulging and pressing on the nerve.
I’ve found lying on the floor with my legs at a 90 degree angle (resting on a footstool) helps decompress the spinal area. (Monitor overhead!) But that’s quite specific!

2026-06-11 08:55:30 UTC

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(Yes, it turns out the disc was the cause of the back pain and awful sciatica!)

2026-06-11 08:54:42 UTC

Anyone here had a lumbar discectomy? I’m having the surgery in 6 days and I’m a bit nervous! Not so much about the surgery itself or general anaesthetic, but the stay in hospital and what the recovery will involve. I’d appreciate any insight or advice from people with experience!

2026-06-02 08:21:25 UTC

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it’s on my long todo list for when I’m back on my feet!

2026-05-18 15:03:56 UTC

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this is so good

2026-01-28 10:34:50 UTC

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you have massively underplayed the amount of work you did on this site. You took what other smart devs had made for generating a book from an epub, made it work using Kitten, and put up with my feature requests.
I was only able to continue working on the design and dev because Kitten is such a joy to work with 😸

2026-01-27 13:17:19 UTC

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Mega thanks to @npub1p09…m5vl for getting the site up and running for me. It uses Kitten! Small Technology Foundation are now the publishers of Accessibility For Everyone, and you can support our teeny tiny not-for-profit organisation at https://small-tech.org/fund-us

2026-01-27 13:16:16 UTC

My book, Accessibility For Everyone, is now free and online as a website.
https://accessibilityforeveryone.site
The book was first published by A Book Apart in 2017 but it holds up! It covers web accessibility for designers, developers, content folks, and really everyone who works in tech.

2026-01-22 15:04:31 UTC

Time for more @npub1rfc…7tmz kits. This time for colours. If you’ve been confused about whether you should be using design tokens or colour assets in Penpot (or what are tokens and assets!) I wrote this deep dive tutorial for you.
https://penpot.app/blog/penpot-deep-dive-color-tokens-vs-asset-colors/
And, as a bonus, I created two templates for creating reusable colour palettes in Penpot:
Using design tokens: https://penpot.app/penpothub/libraries-templates/color-palette-kit
Using colour assets: https://penpot.app/penpothub/libraries-templates/color-palette-kit-assets
https://cdn.masto.host/laurakalbag/media_attachments/files/115/939/361/080/453/414/original/3c91a01b16571e63.png

2026-01-05 15:08:35 UTC

New year, new @npub1rfc…7tmz template: Typography design tokens starter kit!
https://penpot.app/penpothub/libraries-templates/tipography-tokens-starter-kit
Including 29 tokens, documentation, tips for use, and set up for a proportional typographic scale.
Please let me know what you think of this template! And if you have any requests or suggestions for future/alternative versions.
#penpot
https://cdn.masto.host/laurakalbag/media_attachments/files/115/843/100/154/677/326/original/eaea6d45fd3e54ea.webp

2025-11-25 12:16:42 UTC

For the hundredth time I’ve ended up with an unnecessary 1000 words on a complete tangent. And it came out so easily.

2025-11-19 10:52:02 UTC

The good people at @npub1ece…xse6 have put my #axe-con presentation, Design for Everyone, live for all! (With captions and American Sign Language.)
This is one of my favourite talks. It covers accessible and rights-respecting design, sort of a culmination of many of my other talks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAL7ac40gAc

2025-10-23 15:41:07 UTC

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it’s already available from the Playlist link on the course site: https://peertube.kaleidos.net/w/p/wbGB5eiMUVBdu8SARS4A93?playlistPosition=1
(New unit, new playlist!)

2025-10-23 11:23:20 UTC

The next unit for the UI Design with @npub1rfc…7tmz course is now out!
It’s Text & Typography, and I’m sorry I’m a bit late in telling you…
https://penpot.app/courses
https://cdn.masto.host/laurakalbag/media_attachments/files/115/423/212/312/740/603/original/021704897c5302a3.mp4

2025-06-29 16:31:25 UTC

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to my best friend, my fluffy shadow, my sweet grumpy companion of 13 years. Osky will always be the bestest boy. I miss him so much.
Please give your dog friends extra tummy rubs and carrots from me.
https://cdn.masto.host/laurakalbag/media_attachments/files/114/767/585/770/622/766/original/8ad79fa4dccd311d.jpg
https://cdn.masto.host/laurakalbag/media_attachments/files/114/767/590/167/627/661/original/91aa0384e69c104e.jpg
https://cdn.masto.host/laurakalbag/media_attachments/files/114/767/594/958/080/009/original/142f9d3cacfcb924.jpg

2025-06-26 14:45:21 UTC

⏰ Live in 15 minutes!
https://peertube.kaleidos.net/w/k58AQVU4Gct9ZcfaDWQwCy

2025-05-02 09:39:29 UTC

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this is the only one I’m aware of: https://penpot.app/penpothub/libraries-templates/mastodon-app
I’ve not tried it myself.

2025-04-29 10:53:33 UTC

Developers: what do you always wish designers knew or did when you’re working together?
Is there anything that really frustrates you? Something one designer did that made your work easier?
I’m exploring some ideas for a talk, but as someone who does a bit of both design and frontend, I don’t have much insight into more separate roles…

2025-03-10 11:28:02 UTC

If the house style is US English, but I’m speaking English with a British accent, should the captions and transcripts use US English or British English spelling?

2025-02-17 10:36:01 UTC

Next week I’ll be doing a live @npub1rfc…7tmz hands-on demo covering advanced layouts with Flex.
Are there any layouts you’ve struggled to create? Join me live or post an example in the post below and I’ll do my best to recreate it!
https://community.penpot.app/t/advanced-flex-layouts-hands-on-demo-february-27th/7831

2025-01-08 09:30:27 UTC

Designers: where do you go to learn and stay updated on design? Are there specific sites or feeds you find valuable? Anywhere you’d recommend to beginners starting out in the field?

2024-12-11 12:04:21 UTC

I’m speaking at axe-con next February! It’s free, online, and the line-up is fabulous.
Register now so you don’t forget to join…
https://www.deque.com/axe-con/
https://cdn.masto.host/laurakalbag/media_attachments/files/113/634/082/270/794/742/original/2eb92a76ef373d6e.mp4

2024-12-03 11:23:32 UTC

Next week I’m doing a live @npub1rfc…7tmz hands-on session where we’ll create a UI from start to finish. But I need some ideas!
If there’s any Penpot specifics you want to learn, please add your suggestions. Otherwise I’ll be forced to come up with my own weird ideas…
https://community.penpot.app/t/ui-design-with-penpot-hands-on-demo-dec-11/7221

2024-10-14 19:10:03 UTC

Here’s to 38…
https://cdn.masto.host/laurakalbag/media_attachments/files/113/307/351/972/699/396/original/7005e21d77420d17.jpeg

2024-09-11 15:53:08 UTC

Some students have emailed me as Accessibility For Everyone is on their class reading list and they need a copy.
If this is you, please send me an email or message on here and I can get an ebook or audiobook to you.
I’m still working through the fun fun fun self-publishing distribution, but I promise the book will be back up and easy to access as soon as possible!
(PS I am giddy that my book is on reading lists!!)

2024-09-02 12:17:27 UTC

Just updated https://accessibilityforeveryone.site/ with git push because Kitten is the best.

2024-06-28 16:02:09 UTC

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Stay tuned to the @npub1rfc…7tmz community (I won’t pretend I’m any good at updating my own socials) for more tutorials, articles, videos, templates, and other exciting projects we’ve got in the works. And if you’re a new or existing Penpot user, please let me know what would help *you* get started. I’ll take requests 😉

2024-06-28 16:01:47 UTC

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I’ve been working with the genuinely wonderful Penpot team on educational content and materials to help my fellow designers and developers learn how to use Penpot. It’s so much fun. (They’ve got flex and grid layouts in a visual design tool that exports to real HTML and CSS… yeah, blew my mind too 🤓) And Penpot is open source!

2024-06-28 16:01:33 UTC

Now that I’ve got a whole row to myself on the @npub1rfc…7tmz Libraries & Templates page, I thought I should probably update the world on what I’ve been up to for the last few months!
https://cdn.masto.host/laurakalbag/media_attachments/files/112/695/080/186/431/211/original/6565dd4c286e9aad.png