The Other Stuff with internetVin Kepano: The Interconnectedness of Everything | The Other Stuff #28
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Dec 10, 2025 
Steph Ango (Kepano), designer and CEO of Obsidian, walks through a life of making from Winamp skins to furniture and software. He explores linked-note design, Obsidian features like Bases and sync, his piano-learning app Capiano, and why constraints and craftsmanship fuel deep learning. Plus a detour into his perfected deluxe chocolate chip cookie.
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Early Internet Communities Changed How Creators See Impact
- Early internet communities let niche creators (skins, mods) reach hundreds of thousands, reshaping their sense of impact and identity.
- Steph Ango described making a Winamp skin at ~16 that hundreds of thousands downloaded, which changed his view of what one person can influence.
Winamp Skin Sparked A Design Career
- Making Winamp skins was Steph Ango's first big success and seeded his career path into design and Obsidian.
- He created the popular Impulse skin (with coder Peter Clark) as a teenager and later made an Obsidian theme that connected him to the founders.
Why Interfaces Moved From Wild Skins To Blobs
- Interfaces evolved from wildly creative, unique skins (Winamp) to standardized 'blob' designs (Bootstrap) to improve usability at scale.
- Steph contrasts Winamp5's freeform skins with modern UI consistency driven by frameworks and reusable components.
