Hi, I’m the one person behind Pleat Reader.

I save articles. I download PDFs. I bookmark the hour-long talk.

I want to learn the thing. Then I open it — and close it again.

• The article sits in a tab.
• The PDF sits in the folder.
• The video sits in Watch later.
• That company update your boss sent? Still unread.

It's not that the material is too hard. It's that the way it's laid out is working against me.

Bigger text. Having it read aloud. Bolder colours.

None of it helps.

The problem isn't how the text looks — it's that you can't see its shape. A wall of text read aloud is still a wall of text.

Before an exam, I used to copy the textbook out by hand, word for word. Afterwards I could remember where each word sat on the page.

I wasn't remembering the words. I was remembering the shape.

• I re-read the same paragraph three times and remember nothing.
• I highlight everything, which means I've highlighted nothing.

I make software. When something doesn't exist, I build it.

Open a long page or video. See its shape first, then go to the part I need.

• The parts, listed before the words.
• One part at a time.
• Read it, hear it or watch it.

It worked well enough that I thought other people probably have this same problem. So I cleaned it up and put it out. It started as Unwall; now it is Pleat Reader.

I've read a lot of long articles and PDFs, and sat through a lot of long videos. Each one left me with a list of small things that got in the way.

None of that is here by accident. Each of those things is in because it was missing somewhere else.

The reading font, the folded parts, the dimmed page, reading aloud — all on purpose.

Struggling with dense text has nothing to do with intelligence. Text that is laid out well really does help.

A small tool made by one person can be better than one made by a big company.

• No one to sign things off.
• No tricks to keep you clicking.
• Just what's actually useful.