The hottest Design Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Discomforts of Great Design Management

Product Composition • 117 implied HN points • 03 Mar 23
🪑 Design Management Trust Responsibility Scalability Authenticity
  1. Your work in design management is naturally unquantifiable, leading to anxiety and dissatisfaction in many managers.
  2. As a design manager, prioritize building trust with your team, even in challenging situations.
  3. Design managers need to be responsible for the output, not just facilitate, and balance scalable with unscalable practices.

FontDiscovery 🖼️ 143: Perfect Font for Reading

FontDiscovery • 39 implied HN points • 27 Oct 23
🪑 Design Typography Graphic design Color Inspiration Branding
  1. The featured font for the week is Alegreya, perfect for text-heavy projects like blogs and newsletters.
  2. Alegreya has multiple styles including serif and sans serif versions, making it versatile for various design projects.
  3. Alegreya is recommended for logos, branding, marketing graphics, and publishing projects due to its different weights and styles.

Sustainable Papers, Printers, and How to Evaluate Climate Solutions

Green Graphic Design • 78 implied HN points • 06 Jun 23
🪑 Design Climate Packaging Creativity
  1. Canopy's Eco-Paper Database lists thousands of international stock options ranked by eco-friendly standards.
  2. Canopy ranks printers in North America, providing a starting point for finding a sustainable printer.
  3. A Better Source offers resources for sustainable packaging design, including experimental solutions and smaller-scale suppliers.

Real and spectacular

My Home Office Hacks • 5 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🪑 Design Organization
  1. Professional organizer tip: Spend a few minutes daily organizing your desk and workspace for better efficiency.
  2. Consider top-of-the-line headphones like Sony WH-1000XM5 for quality and features, or more budget-friendly options like Soundcore Space One Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones.
  3. Inspirational quote: 'The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.' - Plutarch

Eco-Inspired Fonts, and Turning Scallop Shell Waste into Innovative Materials

Green Graphic Design • 58 implied HN points • 13 Feb 23
🪑 Design Fonts Sustainability Recycling Materials Creative
  1. Discovering inspiring eco-themed fonts can add a unique touch to design projects.
  2. Repurposing scallop shells into helmets for fishermen showcases innovative recycling solutions.
  3. Localized recycling initiatives can have a significant positive impact on specific communities and environmental sustainability.

What have I been up to lately?

Basta’s Notes • 40 implied HN points • 09 Apr 23
🪑 Design Painting Progress
  1. The author is updating followers about recent activities and plans on their newsletter.
  2. The author is renovating their garage and upgrading for electrification to accommodate new electric vehicles.
  3. The author has purchased a new electric motorcycle and is excited to share more about it and post motorcycle content.

An Ode to Great Gear

From the Desk • 18 implied HN points • 26 Sep 23
🪑 Design Philosophy Acquisition Quality Usability
  1. Gear is an integral part of our lives and can be nostalgic, tied to experiences and memories.
  2. Gear enthusiasts have philosophies in acquiring gear, like brand loyalty or minimalism.
  3. Having a 'Point of Unrecognized Satisfaction' helps assess optimal spending on gear based on usability.

Algae Ink: The best plant-based ink around?

Green Graphic Design • 39 implied HN points • 04 Apr 23
🪑 Design Sustainability Color Production Environmental Impact Marketing
  1. Algae Ink is now commercially available and offers high-contrast blacks, carbon sequestration, and light-fastness.
  2. The production process of Algae Ink replaces petroleum-derived pigments with plant-based pigments, making it a more sustainable ink option.
  3. Algae Ink has environmental benefits like being carbon-negative, sequestering carbon, and potentially offering recyclability advantages over petroleum-based inks.

#3 - The benefits of white space

A Good Interface • 19 implied HN points • 23 Aug 23
🪑 Design UX Graphic design User Experience
  1. White space is crucial in design, existing between elements to enhance clarity and organization.
  2. White space is not wasted space; it guides users, showcases important information, and brings a sense of calmness to interfaces.
  3. Effective use of white space improves user experience, leads users through logical grouping, focuses attention on key elements, and reflects a game's branding and tone of voice.

Sustainable Winter Cities

The Third Place • 1 HN point • 20 Mar 24
🪑 Design Urban planning Public spaces Community Engagement
  1. Swedish winters can be challenging with prolonged darkness, cold temperatures, and limited vegetation, affecting mental health and activity levels.
  2. Improving public spaces in winter cities involves creating pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, clear bike lanes, and mixed-use development for vibrant and efficient neighborhoods.
  3. Cities worldwide are implementing creative approaches to make winter more enjoyable, such as ice skating rinks, winter sports events, snow parks, festivals, and illuminated paths, fostering community engagement and appreciation for the season.

Unreasonable Support: Design for the Unhappy Path

The Kahneman Bot • 2 HN points • 19 Feb 24
🪑 Design UX Product Customer Support User Experience
  1. Designing for the unhappy path in user experiences is crucial for creating user loyalty and retention.
  2. Unhappy path design can trigger a sense of reciprocity in users, leading to positive responses to issues or faults.
  3. Providing what users perceive as unreasonable levels of support can result in long-term loyalty and cost-effective retention strategies.

Coming soon

Only Wonder Knows • 19 implied HN points • 18 Apr 23
🪑 Design Newsletter
  1. A design tips newsletter called 'The wonder of electronic design' is coming soon
  2. The newsletter is by Luis Miguel Brugarolas
  3. Subscribe to 'Only Wonder Knows' on onlywonderknows.substack.com

How to design better destructive action modals

UX Psychology • 79 implied HN points • 01 Nov 21
🪑 Design UI/UX User Interface
  1. Error prevention is crucial in user interface design to enhance usability and prevent user mistakes.
  2. Using confirmation dialogs before destructive actions can help users understand consequences and avoid errors.
  3. Improving destructive action modals involves clear microcopy, visual cues for destructive buttons, and allowing users to undo actions or confirm through text input.

Two wheels and a handle

subtract • 5 implied HN points • 23 Oct 23
🪑 Design Innovation Art Travel
  1. Innovations in suitcase design have come from incremental improvements over generations.
  2. Artists like Alfred Krupa and Anita Willets-Burnham made significant contributions to the modern suitcase.
  3. The addition of wheels and handles to suitcases has revolutionized travel convenience.

An Interview with Ian Fieggen, Shoelace Expert

Syntopikon • 11 HN points • 17 Apr 23
🪑 Design Illustration Web Design Graphics User Experience
  1. Ian Fieggen, known as 'Professor Shoelace,' has compiled extensive shoelace information in various formats for over two decades.
  2. Fieggen uses outdated tools like an old PC running Windows 8 and ancient graphics software to continue his work.
  3. Shoelaces, often underestimated, have led to creative solutions and improvements for different needs, like hiking or running.