Stream

Regular quicklinks to things we find interesting and valuable.

29th January, 2020 #

Yes, another article about design systems, but you know our angle by now. With Architects, gardeners, and design systems, Jeremy Keith adds his voice to those wondering if this relentless pursuit of efficiency will edge us closer to redundancy.

10th January, 2020 #

Our friend, Frank Chimero, is writing almost daily about his live redesign. Every post is worth your time, but this dive into typeface selection — specifically typographic atmosphere and setting criteria — is exceptional. Few can articulate this stuff like Frank.

3rd January, 2020 #

In Systems, Mistakes, and the Sea, Robin Rendle finds that most design systems are like hyperobjects (one of our favourite ways to think about overwhelming things) within which we must see ourselves and our mistakes.

1st January, 2020 #

If the world is a mess, why isn’t angry music more culturally present? Frank Chimero goes in search of caustic music for the times and finds two EPs from Dry Cleaning, "that feel completely appropriate for the Brexit era."

18th December, 2019 #

Almost a year on from The World-Wide Work, Ethan Marcotte reflects on that brave talk and considers what's happened since — the hope he feels as workers continue to organise, and his frustration at the aggressive response from tech companies.

17th December, 2019 #

Rob Weychert is generating a unique color scheme for every day of the last 30 years. "Colors would change with the seasons and fade over time. In effect, every single day of the past 30 years would have a unique color scheme, each day looking slightly different than the day before."

17th February, 2019 #

Patterns in Islamic Art draws from the rich heritage of architectural decoration in the Islamic world. The collected geometric patterns and borders are an inspirational treat.

12th February, 2019 #

Jeremy considers beauty, moving from Rams to Sagmeister and ending with Keats. If you like this, we also recommend reading John Berger's The White Bird.

22nd January, 2019 #

Few really communicate the grain of the web like Jeremy Keith. His recent State Of The Browser talk is a powerful reminder that we must build the future of the web together.

17th January, 2019 #

Without the humanities, without ethics, we face “a new generation of technologists with the same blindspots as those who are currently in charge.” A compelling viewpoint from Mitchell Baker, head of the Mozilla Foundation.

13th January, 2019 #

Short film exploring the steep rise in nostalgia for physicality. In film, a feature of this aesthetic is grain. "The grain is always moving; it's swimming," notes Spielberg.

11th January, 2019 #

Future Ethics dives into the ethics of emerging technology from Cennydd Bowles. As recent events have demonstrated, technology is far from neutral, yet we sleepwalk into uncertainty.

9th January, 2019 #

The insightful Real Life web mag regularly challenges our lazy preconceptions about the most problematic aspects of living with technology.

2nd January, 2019 #

Warp and Weft is a terrific post from Paul Robert Lloyd, considering what it means for something to be of the web. This kind of intelligent reflection about the web (and our investment in its possibilities) is all too rare.

2nd January, 2019 #

How Japan's otherworldly architecture reflects its embrace of strange, weird and experimental design. “Not strange or weird in the lazy, clichéd way, but strange in their delight in anything that challenges them to see the world anew.”

30th December, 2018 #

Distinct design underpins the exceptional six-issue Migrant Journal exploring the circulation of people, goods, information, fauna and flora and the transformative impact they have on space.

22nd December, 2018 #

The Clock is a 24-hour montage of thousands of film and television images of clocks, edited together to function as a working timepiece. Moments you recognise come and go in real time, and that feels weird!

19th December, 2018 #

Modern philosophy can unlock comforting ways to better understand dark times. It can be hard work, but the effort is worthwhile. This piece on Bruno Latour is terrific.