The Hagumi Lab Journal

Notes on design, automation, and the systems behind modern studios.

Field notes on design engineering, automation, and AI agents — written as we build and self-host the tools behind Hagumi Studio. Static-first. Sources cited. Built to be read by humans and machines alike.

A folded cream-paper map with translucent search-result cards and a thin teal signal path between them.

Featured · 11 MIN READ · May 2026 SEO & GEO

Designing for AI search: a practical GEO/AEO playbook for 2026

Search stopped being ten blue links. Here's how we structure a static site so ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google's AI Overviews actually cite it — schema, llms.txt, answer-first writing, and the edge gotchas that silently block AI crawlers.

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Layered cream paper sheets and modular web-layout cards pinned in a grid, with a thin teal thread connecting them like a build pipeline.

Design Engineering 7 MIN READ

Static-first: the case for Astro over a CMS

Why we stopped reaching for WordPress and Ghost — and what a git-based, zero-database stack buys a small team.

Hagumi Lab · Apr 2026

Neatly arranged matte-black server hardware blocks with braided cables and blank cream paper labels, lit by a single teal status light.

Self-hosting 12 MIN READ

Self-hosting your studio stack on a single server

One Proxmox box, a dozen services, and the architecture that keeps client data on infrastructure we control.

Hagumi Lab · Mar 2026

Physical design-token swatch chips and a printed spec sheet bridging toward the edge of a dark matte screen, joined by a thin teal alignment line.

Design Engineering 8 MIN READ

From Figma to production: our design-engineering handoff

Tokens, Code Connect, and the handoff ritual that kills the 'that's not what I designed' loop.

Hagumi Lab · Mar 2026

A physical workflow diagram built from cream index cards on a dark pin-board, connected by taut teal thread between nodes.

Automation 6 MIN READ

n8n workflow automation: five workflows every small business needs

Lead routing, invoicing, review requests — the unglamorous automations that quietly save a day a week.

Hagumi Lab · Feb 2026

A tabletop of small labeled brass and matte-black switches, relays and a precision dial wired together, with one teal indicator light glowing.

AI Agents 10 MIN READ

Building AI agents that do real work, not demos

Tool-calling, guardrails, and the difference between a flashy chatbot and an agent you'd trust with a workflow.

Hagumi Lab · Feb 2026

A single minimalist analog gauge in cream and matte black with a teal needle resting at maximum, isolated on dark negative space.

Performance 7 MIN READ

Core Web Vitals in 2026: how we hit 100/100

The font-loading, image, and edge tactics behind sites that score perfect without a performance team.

Hagumi Lab · Jan 2026

A systematic grid of cream paper type-specimen cards and color swatch chips, mostly neutral with exactly one teal chip standing out.

Design Systems 9 MIN READ

Brand systems that scale: tokens, not screenshots

How to hand a client a brand that survives contact with real software — variables, not static mockups.

Hagumi Lab · Jan 2026

A tangle of mismatched cables and keys dissolving into one neatly braided cable with a single teal tag, on a dark surface.

Opinion 5 MIN READ

SaaS sprawl vs. owning your tools

The quiet tax of fifteen subscriptions, and a pragmatic case for hosting the boring parts yourself.

Hagumi Lab · Dec 2025

Cream paper envelopes sorted in a precise row with faint routing lines between them and one teal wax-seal accent.

Automation 8 MIN READ

Email that lands: deliverability for founder-led newsletters

SPF, DKIM, DMARC and the sending discipline that keeps your newsletter out of spam and in front of people.

Hagumi Lab · Nov 2025

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