The hottest Design Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Culture Topics

We Might As Well Get Good At It

Cybernetic Forests • 19 implied HN points • 21 Mar 21
🕹 Technology Design
  1. The documentary 'We are as Gods' explores technologist Stewart Brand's controversial optimism about technology and the need for us to solve problems with it.
  2. The film raises questions about the role of technology in environmentalism and challenges the ideas of pessimism and hopelessness around its use.
  3. It emphasizes the importance of balancing tech optimism with skepticism to drive the design of safe, autonomous, environment-restoring technology.

Ultimate Visual Brainstorming with DALL•E 3 and ChatGPT

Year 2049 • 11 implied HN points • 03 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Ultimate Visual Brainstorming with DALL•E 3 and ChatGPT combines text and image generation for creative processes
  2. The power of preserving context in AI conversation leads to efficient and iterative design processes
  3. AI tools like ChatGPT can help quickly generate designs, logos, storyboards, and more, enhancing creativity

The Maintenance Race was just the beginning

The Works in Progress Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 15 Jun 23
📚 Literature Design
  1. A new platform called Books in Progress has been launched for collaboration with authors on draft chapters.
  2. Stewart Brand's upcoming book 'Maintenance: Of Everything' will explore the philosophy and practice of maintenance.
  3. The platform offers the first section of Chapter 2 on vehicles, focusing on what motorcycles can teach about maintenance.
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How to Create a Killer Landing Page for Your SaaS Product

Friends Of SaaS • 14 implied HN points • 09 May 23
💼 Business Design
  1. To create a killer landing page for your SaaS product, focus on first impressions like design, headlines, and compelling content.
  2. Include social proof like customer testimonials and showcase to influence others' decisions.
  3. Utilize tools like landing page generators, A/B testing, and email marketing tools to enhance your landing page and optimize conversions.

Apple Tysons Corner: A new chapter

Tabletops • 2 HN points • 18 May 23
💼 Business Design
  1. Apple Store at Tysons Corner underwent a comprehensive redesign, emphasizing the return of the Genius Bar and innovative product discovery spaces.
  2. Accessibility was a key focus, with lowered tables and widened aisles to enhance wheelchair accessibility, along with hearing loop systems for those hard of hearing.
  3. The store showcases fresh takes on traditional Apple Store features, such as Avenues and Apple Pickup, with new design elements like sustainable materials and updated layouts.

Honkai: Star Rail

Have You Played? • 2 HN points • 23 May 23
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Honkai: Star Rail is a sci-fi turn-based RPG with rich 3D worlds and an abundance of content.
  2. The game follows JRPG characteristics like linear story, turn-based battles, and specific character backstories.
  3. Despite some confusing battles and monetization tactics, the game impresses with its polished writing and immersive world.

#36 What can we learn from an experimental violin?

Design Lobster • 19 implied HN points • 05 Oct 20
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Native American design often uses four-fold symmetry, with spiritual significance tied to the natural world and cardinal directions.
  2. Experimentation in design, like the Chanot Experimental violin, can lead to creative solutions even if they don't become mainstream.
  3. Design work should be seen as a form of care, as described by Pavel Samsonov, highlighting the ethical responsibility designers have towards people's lives.

#35 When the designer is... an algorithm

Design Lobster • 19 implied HN points • 28 Sep 20
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Explore the future of design with AI-generated text like GPT-3 and consider the implications for designers.
  2. Take risks in design to effectively communicate a message, like the clever Galt Toys poster from 1961.
  3. Acknowledge the multifaceted role of a designer as an observer, catalyst, and survivor, as exemplified by Sarah Little Turnbull.

#31 Disaster parks, PH-Lamps and Bruno Munari

Design Lobster • 19 implied HN points • 31 Aug 20
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Parks in Tokyo serve as vital infrastructure for disaster relief, cleverly concealing bunkers, emergency resources, and multifunctional benches.
  2. Poul Henningsen's PH-Lamp showcases the importance of light quality and atmosphere in design, with over 100 variations designed to create soft, warm lighting.
  3. Bruno Munari's quote highlights the impact of design on improving living conditions, encouraging taste development, and leaving a lasting connection between designer and user.

#26 Irony, PoMo clocks and meaningful order

Design Lobster • 19 implied HN points • 27 Jul 20
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Design can change the way people perceive the world by creating unexpected and thought-provoking experiences.
  2. Playfulness in design can add personality and uniqueness to a product, sparking interest and intrigue.
  3. Design can either impose meaningful order or disrupt it, but it's essential to be intentional and consistent with design choices.

The Last 1% of Work

Multimodal by Bakz T. Future • 2 implied HN points • 01 Feb 25
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. The 'last mile' of work is crucial and often reveals what a project could have been if given more time and resources. It's when you see the potential and realize what didn't quite work out.
  2. Reworking a project multiple times to reach its true essence is important. Sometimes, the best results come from refining and improving what you've created.
  3. We should value quality over simply finishing a project. It's better to hold back and not share something that isn't good rather than just celebrating completion.

#20 Fractals, f-holes and design morality

Design Lobster • 19 implied HN points • 12 Jun 20
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Design can use fractal patterns to communicate meaning, like African designers do, enhancing spatial sequences and politeness in designs.
  2. Iteration is key in design; like the evolution of violin F-holes from circular to F-shaped, small changes can significantly impact performance.
  3. Design choices have ethical implications, influencing human actions and shaping moral practices, emphasizing the ethical responsibility of designers.

Visualizing Brand Pivots

Creative Destruction • 11 implied HN points • 01 Mar 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. The post discusses using AI to visualize major brand pivots like Tesla promoting car-free cities, McDonald's offering healthy vegetarian food, and more.
  2. The visuals created with Generative AI spark divergent thinking and creativity by envisioning brands in unconventional ways.
  3. The post also imagines unique brand collaborations, such as Oatly and Patagonia, Ganni and Airbnb, and Ikea and Ben & Jerry's.

The Generalist Unicorn

A Generalist newsletter • 5 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Being a generalist allows for high leverage in times of AI.
  2. Hybridizing expertise in multiple areas can lead to unique contributions.
  3. Generalized specialists like Shakespeare and Da Vinci excel by adapting to various environments.

Rabbit Holes 🕳️ #40

Creative Destruction • 7 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. The Age of Reorientation focuses on shifting our perceptions and imaginations to prefigure a better future.
  2. Earth-Centered Design calls for designing with nature in mind to promote sustainability and cooperation.
  3. Practicing Non-Duality involves recognizing the interconnectedness of self and the world to bring empathy and a sense of letting go.

Rabbit Holes 🕳️ #53

Creative Destruction • 5 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Design
  1. Spirituality can be a missing element in sustainability efforts, focusing on inner development rather than just external actions.
  2. Technology and convenience may create a feeling of disconnection and lack of control in our lives, rather than making things easier.
  3. Open-source urban design encourages flexible, adaptable, and nature-inspired city planning that involves the community in ongoing development.

Does Your Startup's UI/UX Need a Unique Point of View?

Build Startup In Public • 3 HN points • 24 Apr 24
💼 Business Design
  1. Having a unique point of view in your design helps your startup stand out. Copying trends makes you blend in and reminds people of bigger brands.
  2. While it can be okay for startups to follow popular design trends for the sake of efficiency, it's important to eventually develop a distinct style that reflects your values.
  3. Design should evoke positive emotions and engage the audience. A warm and friendly interface can make a significant difference in user experience.

How culture and technology collaborate

subtract • 5 implied HN points • 01 Sep 23
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. Technology creates culture, culture creates technology, and they interact in a circular way.
  2. Culture can resist technology if it feels intrusive or narcissistic.
  3. Technology and culture influence each other, shaping our experiences and society.

Dark mode is here

trydeepwork • 2 implied HN points • 27 Aug 24
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Dark mode is a new feature that many users will appreciate. It changes the screen to a darker theme that can be easier on the eyes.
  2. The design of dark mode is said to be beautiful and visually appealing. Users are encouraged to check it out themselves.
  3. If users encounter any issues or odd experiences while using the new feature, they are invited to provide feedback to improve the service.

My first $10,000 Internet dollars

A Generalist newsletter • 5 implied HN points • 29 Jul 23
💼 Business Design
  1. Jim H.'s advice: Don't fall into the build trap when starting an online business.
  2. To be successful in product management, understand how human beings think and feel.
  3. Overcome challenges in designing for B2B and Enterprise SaaS by following pointers in the design process.

How to market... your price?

Mehdeeka • 3 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
💼 Business Design
  1. Positioning and displaying pricing on websites requires careful thought to avoid overwhelming visitors. Highlighting value propositions, using tier layouts effectively, and integrating FAQs can enhance clarity.
  2. Incorporating pricing details into sales materials like pitch decks and business case templates reinforces the value proposition and aids in presenting a clear investment summary to potential clients.
  3. For complex products, consider creating in-depth documents or web pages that outline proposed options with detailed inclusions, FAQs, and explanations to assist customers in making informed decisions.

Grace of Shadows Edition

As Ever • 5 implied HN points • 01 May 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. Randomness plays a significant role in art creation, infusing even the most controlled mark-making with a sense of perfection.
  2. Incorporating chance into art leads to a more realistic and solid feel, adding depth and complexity to the work.
  3. The process of balancing skill and embracing randomness in art is a journey that requires ego-death, acceptance of mistakes, and a dance between control and spontaneity.

...Mantic Pixel Dream Girls

Donkeyspace • 4 implied HN points • 28 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture Design
  1. The author is exploring the intersection of AI and art, with a focus on past and present artistic influences related to AI.
  2. AI is seen as more than just a tool, but as an aesthetic that can transform industries like gaming, similar to how synthesizers revolutionized music.
  3. The tent metaphor symbolizes a space of exploration where the author contemplates the impact and future of AI within creative fields like art and game design.

GPU 2D Drawing: Rectangls. Masking. Rotations.

Hasen Judi • 2 HN points • 04 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Rectangles can be defined in different ways for SDF purposes, but simplifying it to (center, half_size) helps in calculations such as distance to edges or corner points.
  2. Simple transformations like growing, bordering, and inversion, along with masking and rotations, can create interesting visual effects and shapes.
  3. Combining these shape manipulation techniques can lead to the creation of more complex shapes and effects in GPU-rendered graphics.

№.5 Limitless Trim

AFFALÉ • 2 HN points • 21 Apr 23
🪞 Fashion & Beauty Design
  1. The importance of accessories in transforming a dress into something unique
  2. The significance of viewing accessories as part of a continuum creatively and logistically for designers
  3. The potential of additive manufacturing to revolutionize limitless trim in fashion design

Today’s AI sucks at math, but developing cars and planes with it is still a good idea

Assisted Everything • 2 HN points • 23 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Today's AI can assist in engineering tasks and lead to faster and safer product design.
  2. Assisted Engineering involves AI assisting engineers in brainstorming, retrieving information, triggering simulations, reviewing work, system modeling, and documenting.
  3. To ensure safety, AI in engineering should be complemented with math, engineering structure, and proper verification processes.

Intermission: It's 2024!

Mehdeeka • 1 implied HN point • 03 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Design
  1. 2024 is here, and it's time to get back to work
  2. Marketing tools and trends are evolving, challenging traditional beliefs
  3. Engage in upcoming content and share your feedback for Mehdeeka

Intermission: links to help you avoid work

Mehdeeka • 1 implied HN point • 06 Dec 23
💼 Business Design
  1. The post shares fun links to help avoid work, including a Snoopy x Retrospekt collab.
  2. There's a debate about Meatball vs Worm being the nicknames of NASA logos.
  3. Head designer of Spotify Wrapped revealed details about the design process starting in June.