profile

Solo Field Notes, a newsletter to help solopreneurs stand out

You only get 32 pixels. What will you say?

Published about 2 months ago • 2 min read

In the early 1980s, Steve Jobs’ team at Apple Computer was creating the revolutionary computer that would become the Macintosh.
​
They knew that a crucial part of creating a personal computer “for the rest of us” would be visual symbols instead of arcane computer code. So Andy Hertzfeld called up Susan Kare, a former high school artist chum (Weak ties! See the recent issue), and told her to go get the smallest graph paper she could find.

​

Kare’s task was deceptively simple: make the computer understandable through symbols. Each icon had to convey a complete idea within a 32×32-pixel grid of black-and-white squares. The scissors that meant “cut.” The floppy disk. The trash can. The smiling Mac.

​

These weren’t drawings so much as compressed visual metaphors, she explained, that “if you could tell someone what it is once, they don't forget it.”

When we study how Kare worked, two things stand out:

​
First, she started on paper.
Kare sketched icons on graph paper before ever touching the computer. Analog thinking was her superpower. She could explore shapes, metaphors, and gestures without the friction of learning early digital tools.

​

Only once a symbol worked on paper did she translate it into pixels. That hand-to-pixel process created icons that feel direct, functional, and filled with emotion, even today.

​

Second, the constraint wasn’t a limitation. ​
It was a forcing function. With so few pixels to work with, every decision mattered. A diagonal line wasn’t a diagonal. It was a staircase of tiny squares that had to read as one motion. A curve was a visual illusion.

​

To make an idea legible, she had to understand what truly defined the idea. What detail could never be removed? What detail was a distraction?

This is why Kare’s work endures. She wasn’t designing what a paintbrush looked like. She was designing what a paintbrush meant.

​

What’s the lesson for a solo business?

Most solopreneurs operate inside their own version of a 32×32 grid. Limited time. Limited resources. Limited attention from the people they want to reach. You don’t get acres of canvas. You get your version of a handful of pixels. You can either let these constraints skrink you or sharpen you.

​

The magic of Kare’s icons lies in the meaning she packed into so little space, with emotion and a bit of whimsy. That’s the skill every solopreneur needs: compressing ideas without flattening them. Stripping your message, offer, or expertise down to its essence.

Your “icon” might be a signature framework. A single sentence that defines what you do. A recurring theme in your content. A visual style. A repeatable way you solve a problem. Anything that works like Kare’s pixel grid. Small, tight, and unmistakably yours.

​

Kare didn’t set out to build a career around icons. She set out to solve one problem with uncommon clarity. Everything else followed.

​

It’s a reminder that great work doesn’t start with infinite freedom. It starts with boundaries. How we define ourselves within those boundaries is what the game is all about.

Until next week: Stay small. Play big.

​

Terri

​

P.S. When you’re ready for more, here are a few resources from the Solo Business School:

​

​

Want to send a question or comment? Please do — I read (and respond to) my email.

​

Got this from a friend? Subscribe to get future issues.

​

​Unsubscribe | Update your profile | Make International LLC, West Irving Park, Chicago, IL 60613

​

Authority By Design is a registered trademark, and Content Velocity and Working Solo are trademarks, of Make International LLC. Issue #090.

Solo Field Notes, a newsletter to help solopreneurs stand out

Solo Field Notes is your weekly design and visibility lab — part of the Solo Business School, and dedicated to helping solopreneurs stand out with smart systems, sharp visuals, and AI that unlocks your edge. Each week, you get fresh ideas to help you stay small and play big.

Read more from Solo Field Notes, a newsletter to help solopreneurs stand out

Most of my stress last week came from one thing: working at the wrong pace. Have you noticed that feeling too? Pushing forward, but not sure why? When this happens, I’ve learned to stop asking what I need to do next. The better question is: What pace am I working at right now, and who chose it? Most solopreneurs never consciously choose a pace. We inherit one, often from client expectations or inboxes that never empty. Other cues also come from algorithms that reward constant presence, or...

7 days ago • 3 min read

The new year always brings big energy. But this time, I’m hearing something quieter: fatigue. Not burnout exactly, just the weight of staying “on” all the time. Like there’s always something to respond to, keep up with, or post to stay visible. None of these activities is wrong. But they add up. Ambition carries a cost, not just in effort but in attention. And when so much of that attention goes to anticipating a response, clarity doesn’t come from finding better answers. It comes from...

14 days ago • 3 min read

This is one of those weeks that feels like a pause. The holidays are fading. The new year is at hand, but real momentum hasn’t kicked in yet. There’s less noise than usual, and that quiet can feel both calming and uncertain. If you’re not feeling ambitious, that’s okay. What this moment asks for is something simpler: clarity. A way to see what matters before everything speeds up again. So instead of talking about goals or resolutions, I want to offer something smaller and more practical for...

21 days ago • 4 min read