The hottest Design Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Design Topics

#75 The pursuit of simplicity

Design Lobster • 139 implied HN points • 05 Jul 21
🪑 Design Product Simplicity Communication Art
  1. Simplicity in design involves more than just removing elements - it's about reducing something to its most essential to make important relationships clearer.
  2. Apple's approach to product design involves a step-by-step process of refinement, similar to Picasso's method of simplifying his artwork to the most essential elements.
  3. Ensuring that a design communicates its purpose even when simplified is crucial - elements like width and handle design can guide users to understand functionality.

Don't trust the (design) process

The faintest idea • 2 HN points • 30 Jun 24
🪑 Design Graphic design User Experience Product Design
  1. Don't rely too much on the design process. It can make you follow rules that might not lead to the best outcomes.
  2. Focusing too much on user research and processes can distract from actual design work. It's important to make something people will enjoy using.
  3. Embrace a flexible approach to design. Sometimes skipping steps or being messy can lead to better results and creativity.

#62 A design by Florence Nightingale

Design Lobster • 159 implied HN points • 05 Apr 21
🪑 Design History Furniture Visual communication
  1. Florence Nightingale made an important contribution to data visualization through the Rose Diagram during the Crimean War. Communicating data effectively is key in design.
  2. Arne Jacobsen's Egg Chair is an iconic piece of furniture design from the mid 1950s. Reinterpreting traditional shapes can create modern classics.
  3. Consistency in design, both visually and behaviorally, is crucial for usability. Users should know what to expect when interacting with a design.

#60 What is idea sex?

Design Lobster • 159 implied HN points • 22 Mar 21
🪑 Design Creativity Quotes Tools Inspiration
  1. Human prosperity thrives on the exchange of ideas between groups and individuals, leading to innovative creations like the mouse emerging from a combination of various specialized knowledge.
  2. Idea Sex, as popularized by James Altucher, involves combining existing ideas in unexpected ways to generate new and valuable concepts. It's about the magic of recombining familiar thoughts.
  3. Design problems are best tackled by creating prototypes quickly, testing them, and refining based on feedback. Remember, less time in your head, more time on iterations when it comes to design.
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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

Finalizing design and eye gazing

Splattern • 19 implied HN points • 27 Sep 23
🪑 Design Graphic design User Experience Product Design Team Collaboration
  1. Clear communication and a concise agenda improve meeting efficiency. It helps keep discussions on track and reduces confusion among team members.
  2. Maintaining calm and focus is important when facing tight deadlines. Asking the right questions and taking a moment to breathe can lead to more productive conversations.
  3. Building personal connections, like participating in eye gazing, can foster a sense of unity and support, enhancing emotional well-being.

#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.

#57 The smallest car in the world

Design Lobster • 159 implied HN points • 01 Mar 21
🪑 Design Design
  1. Design is not always a straightforward problem-solving process. The definition of a problem can change and evolve as designers work on it, leading to different outcomes.
  2. Consider the possibility of making designs smaller. The world's smallest car, the Peel P50, was a response to fuel shortages and offers a unique perspective on transportation needs.
  3. Love for users can be reflected in designs. Building a connection with users can lead to creating designs that they will love.

#68 Making your presence felt

Design Lobster • 139 implied HN points • 17 May 21
🪑 Design Product Ceramics Emotion Memory Craftsmanship
  1. Software can represent human presence in abstract ways, like live cursors that show where others are focusing.
  2. Design can communicate human presence through physical elements, like thumbprints on a teapot showing the maker's touch.
  3. Design has the potential to touch emotions and souls, creating a deeper connection beyond just functionality.

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.

#72 Design in the bathroom

Design Lobster • 119 implied HN points • 14 Jun 21
🪑 Design Psychology Functionality Innovation Inspiration
  1. Toothpaste stripes are created through thixotropic rheology which helps maintain consistent viscosity for perfect stripes every time.
  2. Striped toothpaste was an innovative marketing strategy to suggest multiple functions, even if the active ingredients are evenly mixed throughout.
  3. Rejection can lead to new opportunities - Jony Ive's rejected bathroom basin design paved the way for his success at Apple.

#80 Design in motion

Design Lobster • 99 implied HN points • 09 Aug 21
🪑 Design Psychology Innovation Technology Sports
  1. The Doherty threshold is the idea that faster computer response times improve productivity, with a 400ms threshold mentioned.
  2. The Nike Air Zoom Victory shoe stirred controversy in professional sports due to its innovative design technology, emphasizing the importance of focusing on design details.
  3. Motion communicates stories and is a crucial aspect for designers to consider in their work.

#47 Why does red mean stop? 🚦

Design Lobster • 119 implied HN points • 21 Dec 20
🪑 Design History Innovation Creativity
  1. Traffic lights use the color red for stop because it was easiest to see from a long distance in the early 19th century due to its long wavelength.
  2. The development of the bagless vacuum cleaner by James Dyson involved overcoming challenges in the lucrative vacuum bag market and partnering with a Japanese company.
  3. Designing something well is akin to being a good host - anticipating the needs of users like guests at a party, as mentioned in a quote by Charles Eames.

#50 Can we make social media kinder?

Design Lobster • 99 implied HN points • 11 Jan 21
🪑 Design Social media Product Design User Experience Technology
  1. Designing social media for kindness involves features like allowing users to easily admit mistakes, offer apologies, and forgive one another.
  2. Emphasize on usability and functionality in design processes to avoid overlooking critical issues, like the interference problems faced by the 1930's Radio Nurse baby monitor.
  3. Focus on how people use a designed product rather than just its appearance, as prioritizing usability can prevent unintended consequences and improve overall user experience.

Making architecture easy

The Works in Progress Newsletter • 18 implied HN points • 22 Nov 24
🪑 Design Architecture Urban planning Aesthetics
  1. Architectural styles should prioritize ease of appreciation for the public, as buildings are experienced by many, not just their owners. This makes it important for styles to be friendly and accessible to everyone.
  2. There's a difference between 'easy' and 'challenging' styles in architecture. Easy styles are enjoyable without much effort, while challenging styles can be difficult to appreciate for most people.
  3. Modern architecture often tends to be less appealing to the general public, leading to a need for styles that blend traditional principles to ensure buildings fit well into everyday environments.

#49 Why is your design going nowhere?

Design Lobster • 99 implied HN points • 04 Jan 21
🪑 Design Product Design Design Philosophy
  1. Design work can be held back by the organizational structure of a company - consider what parts of your organization might be hindering your design progress.
  2. Drawing inspiration from personal memories and experiences can bring character and charm to design work.
  3. Design is not just about creating objects, but also about embodying values like doing the right thing - it symbolizes civilization and progress.

Toxicity in Digital Design: A Status Report

Far From the Valley • 59 implied HN points • 30 Nov 21
🪑 Design Education Inclusion Ethics
  1. The article sparked important conversations in the digital design community, revealing concerns about toxicity in design education, inclusion, and ethics.
  2. Despite expecting backlash, the author received mostly positive reactions to their article, showcasing a potential lack of true engagement with industry issues.
  3. The author's network expanded significantly, allowing for valuable collaborations with experts in the field, highlighting the importance of connections in addressing complex industry challenges.

#45 Birth, redesigned

Design Lobster • 99 implied HN points • 07 Dec 20
🪑 Design Product Design
  1. Living in the moment can be encouraged through design, like the Dispo app's unique approach to photo-taking.
  2. Design can challenge cultural assumptions and prioritize user needs, like the reBIRTH Birthing tool designed to make birthing more comfortable globally.
  3. For companies today, product design is crucial for success and differentiation from competitors, as stated by Peter Levine from Andreessen Horowitz.

Let's stop keeping Pantone relevant. Adobe can disappear along with it.

The 21st Century Proletarian • 19 implied HN points • 04 Nov 22
🪑 Design Digital Design Color Theory Software Tools Intellectual Property
  1. Question the necessity of traditional industry standards like Pantone and Adobe in the digital age. Consider alternatives and challenge the status quo.
  2. Empower individuals to create their own color systems and liberate design from corporate influence. Encourage innovation and free access to color.
  3. Advocate for a design revolution by rejecting outdated, overpriced software, and working towards a more inclusive and progressive design community.

Are Single-Stair Buildings the New ADUs?

The New Urban Order • 2 HN points • 10 May 24
🪑 Design Architecture Urban planning Climate Resilience Affordable Housing
  1. Building codes influence the architecture of cities, leading to big, boxy buildings with uniform designs.
  2. Advocates are pushing for building code reforms to allow single-stair buildings, which are common in European countries with fewer fire deaths per capita than the US.
  3. Recent changes in cities like Seattle, Tennessee, and Austin show a shift towards enabling single-stair buildings as a way to promote gentle density and climate resilience.

WTF- A short comic strip analysis

Turnaround • 98 implied HN points • 09 May 20
🪑 Design UI/UX Web Design Product Design Tech stack
  1. Browsers are getting more powerful, so make sure your product/app embraces this shift towards client-driven applications with fast startup times.
  2. Simplify design by making buttons more prominent, reducing text, and ensuring users intuitively know how to interact without needing explanations.
  3. Prepare for the future of faster speeds with 5G connectivity - speed will be a critical factor in user experience going forward.

On choosing typography

subtract • 5 implied HN points • 01 Jul 25
🪑 Design Typography Book design Graphic design Creative Process Visual communication
  1. Choosing the right typography is crucial for a book's design. A clear heading and body type can greatly impact readability and the overall feel of the book.
  2. Personal preferences can guide typography choices, especially for personal projects. It's okay to stick with what you love even if it's commonly used.
  3. Experimenting with different typefaces is key to finding the best fit. Pairing a grotesque type with a serif can create a nice contrast and enhance the visual appeal.

Introducing The Vault – AI Experiments by Designers ✨

A Generalist newsletter • 5 implied HN points • 02 Jul 25
🪑 Design UI Design Product Design Graphic design Digital Tools AI Applications
  1. The Vault is a space for designers to showcase their AI-powered tools and creations. It's like a community for sharing innovative apps built with design and AI.
  2. This initiative encourages designers to combine their skills with AI to create functional tools, not just beautiful designs. It's about doing both as the next step in design.
  3. Designers are invited to get involved by sharing their AI projects. The goal is to build a community that fosters creativity and collaboration in the design world.

Three data visualisation tips

A Bit Gamey • 27 implied HN points • 17 Mar 24
🪑 Design Data Visualization Graphic design
  1. Maximize the data-ink ratio by minimizing non-informative ink like excessive grid lines and decorations, to enhance clarity and comprehension.
  2. Align graphic components to create stronger organization and cohesion in design, ensuring nothing is placed arbitrarily.
  3. Utilize small multiples technique to present series of similar graphics or charts in a grid format, enabling easy comparison and revealing patterns within the dataset.

#38: Agathonicity

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 79 implied HN points • 22 Jul 20
🪑 Design Product Design User Experience Sustainability Innovation
  1. Agathonicity means some things get better with use. For example, your favorite pair of worn-in shoes or a well-loved book can provide a richer experience over time.
  2. Many modern products are designed to be thrown away instead of repaired. This throwaway culture makes us less likely to seek out items that improve with age and care.
  3. Designers can create products that require more from users, leading to a stronger, more loyal connection. By asking users to engage more, items can become more valuable and enjoyable over time.

What have I been up to lately?

Basta’s Notes • 40 implied HN points • 09 Apr 23
🪑 Design Electrification 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.

Portfolio secrets for product designer

A Generalist newsletter • 8 implied HN points • 04 Jan 25
🪑 Design Product Design Visual Design User Experience Branding
  1. Have your own website instead of just using platforms like Behance. It makes you stand out and shows you're serious about your brand.
  2. Show only a few of your best projects in your portfolio. Focus on what you did in each project so employers can see your skills clearly.
  3. Let your personality shine in your portfolio. Share interesting things about yourself that make you unique and memorable.

Five product design concepts

A Bit Gamey • 20 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
🪑 Design Product Simplicity Thinking
  1. Simple design is often harder than complex design but worth it in the end. It's about stripping away unnecessary elements and focusing on core functionality.
  2. First principles thinking, 80/20 rule, MVP, and understanding user journey are important product design concepts. They help in focusing on what truly matters to users and building valuable digital products.
  3. When designing digital products, prioritize simplicity, test underlying assumptions, focus on high-value features, build MVPs for initial user feedback, and ensure a smooth user journey.