The hottest Design Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Culture Topics

Directions for the UX Profession

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 21 implied HN points • 08 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Design AI Professional Growth Problem Solving Ethics
  1. AI is viewed as a valuable tool in UX, enhancing designers' capabilities while keeping core principles intact.
  2. UX design practice is evolving towards decentralization, embracing generalist approaches, and integrating with business strategy.
  3. Continuous learning, adaptation, and leveraging personal strengths are crucial for professional growth in the UX field.

#79 Design in ruins

Design Lobster • 139 implied HN points • 02 Aug 21
🎨 Art & Illustration Design Creativity History
  1. In design, historical elements like spolia can add depth and connection to the past, bringing a sense of continuity and richness to modern creations.
  2. Everyday objects can be repurposed creatively in design, transforming the mundane into something unique and intriguing.
  3. Just like cities are built on top of ruins, digital technology and computer code have layers of complexity and history woven within them, reminding us that things are not always as sleek and clean as they seem.

Runway Project

De Novo • 66 implied HN points • 27 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Gaming Aerospace Engineering Art Design
  1. Runway Project is a combat tournament and art show based in Kerbal Space Program
  2. Craft design in Runway Project requires balancing firepower, thrust, maneuverability, resilience, and artistic potential
  3. Important design tips for Runway Project include considering round rules, incorporating art into craft design, testing designs, ensuring craft resilience, and tuning AI

#55 Toys designed for work

Design Lobster • 179 implied HN points • 15 Feb 21
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Designers can make work more playful by incorporating games and activities like Workshop Tactics designed for design teams.
  2. In design, bringing delight through witty use of physics laws, like the Thumb Pot does, can enhance user experiences.
  3. Designing software should focus on empowering users to improve and excel at things they want to be better at.
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How to build your portfolio website as a designer

Seeking beauty • 2 HN points • 01 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Web Development Design HTML
  1. Start with simple goals for your website like an About page, email info, and a link to your work. You can always expand it later.
  2. To build a website, you need to write code using HTML. It's like giving instructions to a computer in a specific language.
  3. When coding HTML, use tags like head, title, body, h1, p, and a. These tags define how different elements on your website will appear.

Fast Dining: Marc Lore’s Wonder in the Shift from Food Trucks to Food Halls

Gad’s Newsletter • 20 implied HN points • 26 Feb 24
💼 Business Food & Drink Technology Finance Health & Wellness Design
  1. Wonder shifted from food trucks to food halls, adapting the model for fast, convenient dining with centralized kitchens and localized preparation.
  2. Maintaining quality and variety while scaling to a trillion-dollar firm will be a challenge for Wonder due to operational complexities and the intricacies of offering 'fast fine' food.
  3. Labor shortages in the restaurant industry present a major constraint to growth for Wonder, necessitating strategies to manage turnover and ensure consistent quality and food safety.

Mushrooms, Recursion and You

Cybernetic Forests • 39 implied HN points • 25 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Music Design Creative Writing Media Critique
  1. The post explores the interaction between mushrooms, synthesizers, and human design in creating music.
  2. Recursion, the act of repeating levels of systems, is highlighted as complex but essential for intentional decision-making.
  3. The music created reflects layers of feedback and exchange from the mushroom, synthesizer, cables, designer, and listener, emphasizing collaboration and interconnectedness.

Culture & Cars in the Digital Age

The Digital Anthropologist • 19 implied HN points • 11 Oct 23
🎭️ Culture Cars Design Technology Cultural impact Cultural Evolution
  1. Cars are deeply ingrained in global cultures, impacting trends in autonomous vehicles and ownership models.
  2. Consumers prefer traditional knobs and buttons over touchscreens in cars, despite the automotive industry's shift towards digital interfaces.
  3. The shift towards non-ownership models for cars, such as monthly subscriptions, requires significant cultural change on a global scale.

Stubs (II)

Only Wonder Knows • 19 implied HN points • 28 Jul 23
🔬 Science Engineering Simulation Analysis Design
  1. In time domain analysis of stubs, keeping stub delay less than half the signal rise time leads to undistorted waveforms.
  2. Rules of thumb for stub analysis suggest keeping stub delay below half the signal rise time for minimal effect.
  3. In high-speed designs, stubs usually aren't an issue if good engineering practices are followed, but caution is needed when boards are very high-speed.

#068 ✰ Objects for the long haul

Objet • 19 implied HN points • 12 May 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Design Fashion Craft Furniture Culture
  1. Objet focuses on exploring the intersection of consumerism, myth, satisfaction, desire, taste, joy, meaning, and pride.
  2. High-quality materials in furniture like Eames plywood chairs can be generational heirlooms worth cherishing and restoring.
  3. Taking care of wood furniture with coats of wax can help maintain its health and longevity.

The Problem with Chat

Maximum Tinkering • 19 implied HN points • 04 May 23
🕹 Technology User Experience Artificial Intelligence Design Product Development
  1. Chat interfaces offer a user-friendly way to interact with computer systems, making tasks easier than traditional forms.
  2. As chat interfaces become more common in software products, the challenge of providing guidance amidst endless possibilities arises.
  3. Innovations like starting conversations with pre-set questions and providing a menu of interactive options help address the issue of choice overload in chat interfaces.

Brand Safe AI

Addition • 19 implied HN points • 07 Jun 23
🕹 Technology AI Design Risk mitigation Safety AI Applications
  1. Brand safety in AI is not a one-size-fits-all concept; it varies based on the specific use case and how AI is implemented.
  2. Design decisions play a crucial role in aligning the level of risk in an AI system with what the organization is willing to accept.
  3. Addressing brand safety creatively involves different approaches like incorporating safety checks, narrow use cases, and extensive testing to mitigate risks.

Branding You

The Intersection • 19 implied HN points • 22 Jul 23
💼 Business Branding Design Presentation Consistency
  1. To build a personal brand as a designer, focus on relevance by offering something unique and valuable that stays relevant over time.
  2. Differentiate yourself by having fresh ideas, articulating them well, and giving them simple and memorable names.
  3. Pay attention to your presentation by consistently showcasing your brand, both visually and through your work, to establish recognition.

To Rebrand or Not to Rebrand?

The Intersection • 19 implied HN points • 27 Mar 23
💼 Business Branding Design Marketing Global expansion Mergers
  1. When considering rebranding, it is essential to have a clear trigger such as a change in the business direction or a product update for successful outcomes.
  2. Rebranding efforts should not be triggered by superficial reasons like a new CEO or CMO, but rather by substantial changes in the company's core.
  3. A successful rebranding requires a thoughtful integration with the product or service, not just a surface-level change for the sake of change.

#70 Design illusions

Design Lobster • 139 implied HN points • 31 May 21
🎨 Art & Illustration Design Architecture Typography Perception Context
  1. Design can deceive our eyes through various techniques like overshooting in type design and visual illusions in architecture.
  2. Human visual perception quirks are important to consider in design to create effective and impactful visuals.
  3. Context and wit can be leveraged in design to playfully interact with surroundings, adding depth and interest to the design.

#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.

Joe Iovino: Rivelino Hyper-Vigilance Apparatus

Do Not Research • 39 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. The Rivelino Hyper-Vigilance Apparatus provides real-time information on your stance angle, indicating strength or weakness.
  2. The apparatus uses an LED strip and accelerometer to communicate your stance's security to friends.
  3. There is no need for post-processing green lines with this cumbersome but effective invention.

First Principles Thinking: Tesla Unboxing the Assembly Line

Gad’s Newsletter • 47 implied HN points • 29 May 23
🕹 Technology Manufacturing Innovation Automotive Modularity Design
  1. Tesla is introducing a new 'unboxed' assembly method to reduce production costs and factory space.
  2. The unboxed system involves larger sub-assemblies being brought to the assembly line for quicker integration.
  3. The shift to the unboxed system challenges traditional assembly line methods and requires precision to avoid quality issues.

#73 Constraints are beautiful

Design Lobster • 119 implied HN points • 21 Jun 21
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Constraints can lead to beautiful designs, as seen in the architecture of Alberto Ponis and graphic design of Willem Sandberg.
  2. Embracing constraints can bring about unique and surprising solutions in design.
  3. Constraints, rather than hindering, can actually be keys to solving design problems effectively.

10 Proteases for the Price of One

The False Consensus Effect • 19 implied HN points • 15 Jan 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Painting Visual art Design Literature Poetry
  1. The artist painted microscopic proteases for a chemistry lab, creating Pacman-like images that were well-received by the lab founder.
  2. The artist, though not a graphic designer, was able to produce paintings that impressed the lab founder and received positive feedback.
  3. The artist's journey into writing and art reflects his desire for originality and recognition in the creative world, drawing inspiration from historical figures and personal experiences.

#82 Sit down design

Design Lobster • 99 implied HN points • 23 Aug 21
🎨 Art & Illustration Design Comfort Symbols
  1. Design is not just about functionality, but also about the symbolic power designs hold over us.
  2. Comfort is a culturally determined concept, not universally defined, which impacts design decisions.
  3. Inspiration for design can come from unusual sources, like the impression left in snow leading to the creation of the Karuselli chair.

Don't lie to the computer

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 21 Feb 22
🕹 Technology Software Programming Design Algorithms Engineering
  1. Lying to computers can lead to big problems. Computers take everything at face value and won't understand when you're not being honest.
  2. This can happen in many areas, like bug reporting or software design. For example, making up a fake bug level instead of addressing real issues is misleading.
  3. It's easy to want to cut corners to save time, but being dishonest can cause issues down the line. Just like in personal relationships, honesty is usually the best policy.

Understanding, explaining and simplicity

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 31 Jan 22
🕹 Technology Design User Interface Code Understanding
  1. Explaining something to someone else helps you see how well you really understand it. If you can break it down clearly, then you know it well.
  2. Simplicity is important in design and communication. To simplify, you need to break things down to their basic parts and only keep what is essential.
  3. Before adding more to a design or an idea, try taking things away first. This helps in understanding the core of the problem and making things simpler.

From Software Engineer to Watchmaker, This Entrepreneur Is Diving Into Horology

Startup Strategies • 14 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🪞 Fashion & Beauty Entrepreneurship Design
  1. FOLIOT is a watch brand founded by a software engineer who transitioned into watchmaking, blending technical expertise with a passion for horology.
  2. The Scubanaut collection by FOLIOT offers high-quality, affordable dive watches designed for modern adventurers, with unique features like independently adjustable hour hands and full GMT functions.
  3. FOLIOT's founder emphasizes delivering well-made watches at an unbeatable price and hints at future releases inspired by exploration and adventure.