The hottest Design Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Culture Topics

Takamoto and Disney and the War

Animation Obsessive • 19733 implied HN points • 02 Mar 26
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. He endured Japanese American internment as a young man and used his drawing talent to get a start at Walt Disney after the war.
  2. At Disney he became a meticulous cleanup and quality-control artist who refined key characters and kept films visually consistent, shaping looks like Lady and Aurora.
  3. He later moved to Hanna-Barbera, where he designed iconic TV characters (most famously Scooby-Doo) and left a lasting legacy in animation.

'A Film for All Times'

Animation Obsessive • 14710 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Small, incidental gestures and tiny, “unnecessary” movements make puppet characters feel alive and give scenes real emotional weight.
  2. A simple script can become timeless when a thoughtful director, expressive design, and devoted animators collaborate and pour genuine feeling into every moment.
  3. The animation world remains vibrant but unsettled, with restorations, festivals, and new projects alongside losses and political and economic pressures shaping what gets made and seen.

Sauce physics

Blackbird Spyplane • 959 implied HN points • 24 Oct 24
🪞 Fashion & Beauty Design
  1. Choosing the right fabric can really change how a piece of clothing feels and looks. It's important to think about material when picking out clothes.
  2. Teamwork is powerful, and sometimes big achievements come from people working together. Community connections can help create amazing things.
  3. There are unique, quality clothing pieces being made by independent designers, which can be really cool to discover and support. These designers often use sustainable materials and have interesting stories behind their creations.

The Return of the Weirdo

The Honest Broker • 31949 implied HN points • 22 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Culture has grown bland and risk-averse, with design, fashion, and media favoring smooth sameness instead of boldness.
  2. Companies and algorithms push predictability because it’s profitable, so they keep recycling the past and often hide behind empty buzzwords like “diversity.”
  3. The sameness is temporary — weird, risk-taking people and movements tend to re-emerge and disrupt the monotony, bringing real change.

The anti-It Bag

Blackbird Spyplane • 1059 implied HN points • 20 Oct 24
🪞 Fashion & Beauty Design
  1. There's a new bag called the 'anti-It Bag' that is stylish and practical. It's made from leftover materials, easy to clean, and looks unique.
  2. Comfortable organic-cotton sweatpants made in the USA are highlighted as a great choice for relaxing. They come with warm knit accessories perfect for the colder months.
  3. Tips are shared on how to style your existing sweaters in fresh ways. There's also a cool wool snap cardigan mentioned as a great addition to your wardrobe.
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Why Everyone Loves Japan

Noahpinion • 24059 implied HN points • 26 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Japanese popular culture and products — from anime and manga to food, fashion, and design — have become globally mainstream and shape how many young people express identity.
  2. A huge tourism boom and rising interest in moving to Japan are making the country more familiar and foreigner-friendly, creating a real opportunity to attract foreign investment and new residents.
  3. Japan’s cities offer a unique urban experience — extreme commercial density, walkability, safety, punctual transit, and vertical mixed-use "zakkyo" buildings — that feels like an appealing "alternative modernity" to people from other rich democracies.

Now Shipping: Exeter Hammers

The American Peasant • 1477 implied HN points • 14 Oct 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Exeter hammers are now available for purchase. They are great for woodworkers, especially those making furniture.
  2. These hammers were developed over three years, ensuring a perfect design for specific tasks.
  3. They are well-suited for driving small nails and adjusting tools, making them a handy addition for builders.

Shirts lookin' INKY!

Blackbird Spyplane • 1019 implied HN points • 17 Oct 24
🪞 Fashion & Beauty Design
  1. James Coward has released an exclusive capsule collection that includes jackets and button-ups. The pieces are made with high-quality materials from a reputable mill.
  2. Canoe Club and Engineered Garments are launching their second collaboration featuring hooded jackets inspired by classic outdoor styles. These jackets are designed for comfort and practicality.
  3. A giveaway event is being held for four jackets from the Canoe Club x Engineered Garments collection. Interested participants can enter through a simple button click in the email.

For Paid Subscribers Only

The American Peasant • 1557 implied HN points • 08 Oct 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. The first 100 Exeter hammers are on sale for $133 and come numbered. It's a great buy if you're into woodworking.
  2. You can learn more about the different types of hammers and their uses on the website provided. Knowing the right tool can really help your projects.
  3. Shipping for the hammers is free in the U.S., and you might want to check out the new T-shirts they offer too. It's a fun way to support a brand you like.

New Emoji: Distorted Face 🫪

Did Someone Say Emoji? • 293 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Distortion has long been an artistic tool for conveying deeper truths and emotions—artists from Da Vinci and Bacon to animators and SOPHIE warp faces to express what normal features can’t.
  2. Online distortion like fisheye selfies, .5 selfies, and deliberate filters acts as an emotional shorthand and a way to reclaim control over your image, signaling authenticity or resistance to airbrushed perfection.
  3. New emojis such as Distorted Face, Melting Face, and Dotted Line Face make internal tension and complex psychological states visible, giving us a shared visual language for feelings ordinary expressions can’t capture.

The Saturday Selection, Vol. 94

Why is this interesting? • 361 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. A new Rilke-inspired collection called Letters to a Young Creator gathers short pieces of advice from leading designers, executives, and artists to help guide creative work.
  2. Rolex has opened an intensive watchmaking school in Texas to address a shortage of professional watchmakers, and entry to the program is extremely competitive, on par with elite universities.
  3. The roundup highlights striking science and culture stories — from a potential stem-cell therapy that eases frailty to archaeological evidence about Hannibal’s war elephants — showing broad, unexpected developments across fields.

Bridges

Software Design: Tidy First? • 4728 implied HN points • 16 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. When you want to connect with someone, reach out and share something real, but only go halfway and then wait to see if they meet you.
  2. Gripping too hard or staying completely withdrawn both come from fearing loss, so practicing patience and small, measured steps lets connections grow without leaving you exposed.
  3. The same bridge idea works for collaboration and design: propose a direction and invite others to move toward it instead of forcing your solution, because sustainable buy-in requires shared movement.

The Monday Media Diet with Anu Lingala

Why is this interesting? • 3680 implied HN points • 05 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. A trend strategist converts cultural signals into practical plans for product, marketing, and company strategy. They build workflows that track trends and translate them for different teams and timelines.
  2. An intentional, categorized media diet prevents overload and improves signal capture by grouping core, fashion, macro, and category sources, auto-labeling newsletters, and saving deep reads for focused time. Specific trend items are logged into a single database for later synthesis.
  3. Deep, creative research practices fuel original thinking: long rabbit holes into history and culture, focused reading, moodboarding from magazines, and visiting immersive art generate the insights that become essays, briefs, and product ideas. Personal curation and rituals turn scattered inputs into distinctive narratives.

The AI Mexican Standoff

Machine Learning Everything • 1379 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Design
  1. AI is blurring the lines between engineers, product managers, and designers because it can handle many tasks from each role.
  2. People who learn a bit of multiple disciplines and master AI orchestration become far more valuable — a super-empowered generalist can design, code, and ship products alone.
  3. Jobs are just bundles of tasks, and those tasks will shift with AI, so you must keep swapping skills (like AI-assisted coding and orchestration) to stay relevant as roles evolve.

A quieter phone

Silentium • 199 implied HN points • 16 Oct 24
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. A quieter phone can help bring more peace into your life. Reducing distractions allows you to focus better.
  2. Quiet wallpapers can serve as a gentle reminder to seek calmness. They can enhance your phone's look while promoting tranquility.
  3. Taking time for silence can lead to better mental health. Embracing quiet moments can help reduce stress and anxiety.

The Saturday Selection, Vol. 93

Why is this interesting? • 241 implied HN points • 21 Feb 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Science and AI are turning curiosities into clear answers — explaining why skies look different across planets and even decoding the rules of ancient games.
  2. Hidden, tangled infrastructure under city streets can derail projects, so cities are making detailed maps to locate and fix buried utilities.
  3. Design and culture shape everyday life and identity — from chaotic women’s sizing to diplomats using clothing as a signal and the lasting cultural presence of long-running shows.

Doomscroll: Trevor Paglen

Joshua Citarella's Newsletter • 437 implied HN points • 02 Oct 24
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Trevor Paglen discusses how art connects technology and politics, showing us what can often be hidden or ignored. His work helps us think about the important issues behind new tech.
  2. He talks about 'psyops capitalism', where media creates content based on user behavior, which can shape our views and experiences.
  3. Paglen compares early UFO stories to today's social media disinformation, highlighting how misinformation has always been a part of our society.

An Illustrated Guide for Unhinged Times

OK Doomer • 216 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. An illustrated survival guide is now available as a printed beta and downloadable PDF, released under a Creative Commons license so anyone can print or adapt it.
  2. Small independent publishers are invited to access the source files to create internationalized versions, with the simple request that they give due credit.
  3. The project is sustained by reader support and grants, and ongoing development relies on donations, subscriptions, and community backing.

Success means you get to do it again tomorrow

Austin Kleon • 6554 implied HN points • 10 May 24
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Success is about doing what you love and getting to keep doing it, day after day. It's not about reaching a final goal, but enjoying the process.
  2. Understanding what you like can help you feel less stressed about being liked, which can make your work more authentic and free.
  3. Artists like Steve Albini believe that goals can create unnecessary stress. Instead, focusing on enjoying the process can lead to true success.

The AI Device Wars Just Kicked Off In A Big Way

Big Technology • 2627 implied HN points • 05 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Apple's design leader moving to Meta might signal a competitive shift in AI devices. This could lead to intense rivalry among tech giants like Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Google.
  2. The race for creating the next big AI device is heating up, with companies focusing on wearables like smartglasses rather than traditional phones.
  3. Good AI models are crucial for the success of these devices, and the competition will depend on who can improve their AI systems the most.

The Saturday Selection, Vol. 92

Why is this interesting? • 241 implied HN points • 14 Feb 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Jony Ive put physical buttons, aluminum toggles, and glass controls back into Ferrari’s first electric car as a pushback against the touchscreen-everything trend.
  2. New York’s congestion pricing is creating unexpected winners by speeding up trips in suburbs and easing traffic in outer boroughs.
  3. Well-crafted, beautiful design often loses because decisions are made by people who won’t have to live with the results, so systems tend to punish good design.

Your Review: Islamic Geometric Patterns In The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

Astral Codex Ten • 11494 implied HN points • 18 Jul 25
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Islamic geometric patterns are unique and have specific rules that make them stand out. These rules help ensure that the designs appear continuous and harmonious, preventing them from looking random or poorly made.
  2. The process of creating these patterns involves understanding and applying geometry, symmetry, and the right techniques. Artists often go through trial and error, refining their methods to create appealing designs.
  3. In museums, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the display of art can blend the authentic with the recreated, creating an experience that might feel less genuine. It's essential to recognize the craftsmanship and history behind the art, even if some pieces show imperfections.

The Film and Studio That 'Should Not Exist'

Animation Obsessive • 13095 implied HN points • 13 Jun 25
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Cinema Fantasma, a unique stop-motion studio in Mexico, created the first Mexican stop-motion feature film called 'I Am Frankelda.' Their work shows how creativity can thrive even with tight budgets.
  2. The film has a fun, imaginative storyline with memorable characters and songs that resonate with audiences. Its premiere at the Annecy Festival was met with excitement and applause.
  3. The Ambriz brothers, who run Cinema Fantasma, faced many challenges but remained determined to bring their vision to life. They hope their success inspires more stop-motion projects in Mexico in the future.

15 things I consumed this week

Maybe Baby • 685 implied HN points • 23 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. A weekly roundup lists 15 things consumed that span articles, recipes, and music.
  2. Grim or heavy pieces are grouped together at the top so readers can choose how much to read without mixing them with lighter content.
  3. The featured recommendation this week is to use non-overhead lighting to improve ambiance.

The Saturday Selection, Vol. 88

Why is this interesting? • 723 implied HN points • 17 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Running a neighborhood coffee shop often seems charming but can quickly become overwhelming and destructive to your life.
  2. Modern TVs are far cheaper than they were 25 years ago, driven by big advances in technology and manufacturing even before you adjust for inflation.
  3. Curated link roundups can tie together nostalgic music and media, artisanal craft, and surprising historical stories to make everyday culture feel fresh and revealing.

MacBook Neo: Key Developments at a Glance

philsiarri • 67 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Apple launched the MacBook Neo as its cheapest Mac laptop at $599, using a phone-class A18 Pro chip with a 13‑inch display, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB base storage option.
  2. The Neo creates a new entry point in Apple’s lineup, effectively replacing the M1 MacBook Air’s role and widening the gap between budget, midrange, and high‑end MacBooks as other models get pricier.
  3. Reactions are mixed — some see the Neo as a smart move to fill a neglected price segment, while others read the low price as an economic caution; Apple also appears to be treating Neo as a platform for low‑cost experimentation with future features like touchscreens and newer chips.

Why Is the Tesla Cybertruck So Depressingly Ugly?

The Honest Broker • 30021 implied HN points • 09 Nov 24
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. The design of the Tesla Cybertruck is seen as ugly and intimidating, making it resemble a military vehicle rather than a car. This choice of design seems to prioritize power over aesthetic beauty.
  2. Many modern designs, including the Cybertruck, lack the nuances and curves that characterize beautiful art and architecture. Instead, they often appear harsh and cold, making them feel less welcoming.
  3. The trend towards ugly and aggressive designs reflects a cultural shift towards asserting power and dominance in society, which affects creativity and art negatively.

The Curious Case of the Pearl Jam Posters

Webworm with David Farrier • 10299 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. An artist was asked to make posters for a Pearl Jam tour but was offered an unusual form of payment.
  2. There were mixed reactions from artists who had similar deals with bands like Pearl Jam, with some feeling undervalued.
  3. The case raises questions about fair compensation for artists and the value of their work, sparking a conversation about artist payment standards.

Book Review: From Bauhaus To Our House

Astral Codex Ten • 24089 implied HN points • 04 Dec 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Modern architecture started as a reaction against traditional styles and aimed to be functional and non-bourgeois, but many people ended up disliking it.
  2. Even though architects thought their designs were better for society, many real workers preferred the old styles and often complained about the new ones.
  3. The focus on modern architecture continued because top schools and institutions pushed it as the only acceptable style, ignoring the opinions of the general public.

The Saturday Selection, Vol. 89

Why is this interesting? • 361 implied HN points • 24 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. The roundup highlights surprising, small facts and curiosities that stick with you. Examples include robot hands needing fingernails and blood products making up a measurable share of exports.
  2. It mixes cultural taste and design items—big-name art auctions, curated restaurant playlists, and advice on why lived-in rooms feel more appealing than showy ones.
  3. The links span human stories from shocking true-crime episodes to generational headaches about inheriting money and lots of unwanted stuff, showing both dramatic and everyday consequences.

The objects we love and live with

Austin Kleon • 2517 implied HN points • 14 May 24
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. The objects we own can reveal a lot about who we are and what we value. They reflect our interests and memories.
  2. Having meaningful items at home, like a piano, can enrich our lives and provide emotional outlets, especially for children.
  3. Commercials or ads that show destruction of beloved items can be shocking and evoke strong feelings, reminding us of our attachments to the things we cherish.

Tidy Together Reboot

Software Design: Tidy First? • 331 implied HN points • 29 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Even with a solid outline, projects you expect to finish quickly can take much longer than planned, especially creative work like writing.
  2. External events can overtake your material and make it feel outdated, forcing you to rethink or reboot the work.
  3. Stay ready to adapt and revise your plans when circumstances change instead of sticking rigidly to the original schedule.

What's in the cards

Austin Kleon • 5215 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Creating your own library checkout cards can be a fun project. You just need pockets, typewriters, and the right cards!
  2. New books by favorite cartoonists are now available. Check out Liana Finck's children's book and Kevin Huizenga's re-released work.
  3. Enjoying nature can be comforting, like watching baby eagles hatch on a live cam. It's a great way to connect with the world around us.

The Key Art Edition

Why is this interesting? • 1266 implied HN points • 25 Nov 25
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Key art on streaming services is important because it quickly tells viewers about the show. Good key art attracts attention and invites viewers to explore.
  2. Streaming platforms like Netflix use different key art for each user based on their preferences. This can cause confusion and disagreement about what to watch since each person sees a different version.
  3. There's a worry that Netflix's approach to choosing key art through algorithms leads to less creative and interesting images. Instead of unique artwork, we might just end up with bland thumbnails.

Substack Reads: The double exposure effect, a mustard obsession, and the color of Neptune

read • 4894 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Nominees with great performances in multiple roles can lead to extra praise, known as the double exposure effect.
  2. Mustard packaging has a rich history dating back centuries, with brands like Grey Poupon and Maille showcasing timeless design.
  3. Neptune's true color is not actually blue as previously thought, but a milky, unmemorable interstellar cataract, challenging our perceptions.

Staying Relevant in a Post-AI World

Let's talk games & AI. • 15 implied HN points • 17 Mar 26
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Surface-level polish can hide core flaws and create false positives. Always put a bare prototype in front of users first and make evaluation an explicit, scheduled step before you add polish.
  2. AI speeds up production but not judgment, so faster generation shouldn’t force faster review. Don’t let generation volume set your review pace—deliberate discernment must be preserved.
  3. As AI and automated testing scale, volume and measurement can replace human taste, making distribution the real advantage. Build and nurture an audience now because reach will matter more once creation commoditizes.

Apple, Design, and the Future of the Device

Big Technology • 4878 implied HN points • 08 Jun 25
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Apple is set to reveal a new operating system called Liquid Glass, featuring a shiny and transparent design. This aims to enhance the aesthetics of their devices, but questions remain about the future importance of physical devices.
  2. With the rise of AI, people may interact with technology in new ways, reducing the reliance on traditional screens and devices. AI's development may outshine the need for beautiful hardware.
  3. Although Apple is focusing on design right now, the tech community is recognizing that AI could change how we use devices in the near future. Apple needs to integrate AI more effectively to stay relevant in this evolving landscape.

The Saturday Selection, Vol. 86

Why is this interesting? • 361 implied HN points • 03 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. A weekend roundup curates eleven standout links that span culture, design, nature, and true crime.
  2. Standouts include a deep dive on Coca‑Cola’s formula change and its corporate fallout, an odd personal anecdote about a ping‑pong champion, and an amateur’s claim to connect two famous cold cases.
  3. The mix balances light, clickable pieces—like book dedications and snowy‑owl videos—with longer investigative and historical reads, so you can skim or dive deep.

A literary history of fake texts in Apple's marketing materials

Read Max • 3398 implied HN points • 16 Jul 25
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Apple's marketing uses fake texts to create a sunny, perfect world where everyone happily communicates with their devices. This makes you wonder who these people are and why they text like that.
  2. Over the years, the themes of these fake texts often include sharing photos and planning trips or parties, showing a culture of cheerful connection among users.
  3. The fake conversations are oddly formal and lack the casual, funny vibe found in real texts. This creates an interesting contrast with how most people actually communicate today.