Est. 2010. Same fight.
Thoughtless Delineation began as a graphic design blog. For fifteen years it has made one argument: people outline someone else without thought, and the outline sticks. In 2017 that argument turned to adoption.
A person was outlined by others, without thought. Thoughtless Delineation draws the line back.
The record
A design blog
Started on thoughtless.co.cc, then thoughtlessdelineation.wordpress.com, with the earliest dated posts in July 2010. The subject was graphic design and the people who override the person doing the work: problem clients, logos redrawn by committee, design treated as something anyone can do.
The name came from drafting. To delineate is to draw an outline. A thoughtless delineation is an outline drawn by someone who isn't paying attention.
The turn to adoption
On 17 January 2017, “What adoption did to me” went up on the blog, followed by “Adoption is a psychological barrier”, “Dear adoptive mother” and “Mother's Day for an adoptee”. The argument stayed the same. The person being outlined without thought was now the adoptee, on paper, by the state.
Adoption, trauma and healing
From 2018 to 2021 the writing moved between personal accounts of adoption trauma, healing and spiritual work, reunion, and the first pieces on systems and power. The site at thoughtlessdelineation.com went dark in 2021 as the work moved to Medium and then Substack.
A forensic publication
Today Thoughtless Delineation reads the records and names the systems: sealed files, inquiry evidence, policy, the language institutions use. It publishes on Substack, with the podcast The Experience of Adoption, films on YouTube, and the Framework Canon.
In November 2026 the look changed to match. It goes back to where TD began: skate, punk, David Carson, with a little of Bali. The writing stays forensic.
One sentence, fifteen years
The stated purpose has kept the same shape since the first year. Only the subject changed.
The sole purpose of this blog is to lift standards in graphic design by promoting it's worth and denouncing the miscommunication of ideas forced upon Graphic Designers by the general public.2010 · “The purpose” page
The sole purpose of Thoughtless Delineation is to lift standards of ethics by promoting truth and denouncing the Conservancy of inhumane ideologies.2019 · site tagline
A person was outlined by others, without thought. Thoughtless Delineation draws the line back.2026 · current
The new look
Where to find it
Dates come from the Internet Archive's captures of the original blog and site.