ShopTalk 728: BIMI, Good Favicon Practice, and CSS @Layer Exploration
10 snips
Aug 17, 2026 They dig into BIMI and practical ways to get branded email icons without costly verification. Discussion of favicon design, SVG pitfalls, and how to keep icons legible across themes. Exploration of CSS @layer, horizontal thinking for design tokens, and quirks with shadow DOM and theming. Conversation about using AI agents for code maintenance, automated PRs, and emerging edge AI hardware.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
BIMI Implementation Hit By Unexpected Fee
- Chris describes implementing BIMI to make email logos show across clients and getting blocked by a $1,500/year verification step.
- They set Google Workspace org icons and got decent Gmail coverage without paying the BIMI fee.
Protect Favicons With A Solid Backing
- Avoid using icons without a solid background because dark-mode toolbars can render them invisible.
- Chris fixed CodePen's favicon by adding a white backing rect in the SVG so it remains legible in all UI themes.
Why Emojis And Certain Favicon Colors Work Everywhere
- Emojis are designed to be legible on varied backgrounds via outlines or drop shadows, so they often work on light and dark UIs.
- That design constraint explains why some favicon colors like orange/yellow tend to be more resilient.