Issue 19

An upcoming design crit, novel interfaces, tools for tracking time, directories of design inspiration, and an app to put them in.

Tune in to our next virtual hang, "CRIT" this Friday, October 23rd @ 11am EST | 8am PST

CRIT is our "show and tell" format where people can come and show what they're working on for feedback. Come hang out with us to yap and look at some cool work that folks are tinkering on. If you got something to show, come through! RSVP with the button below.

stay ready

via pedro

1 — an open pond

There are so many ways today to save what you find on the internet. Back then we had Pinterest (I keep forgetting it's still around ngl), and now we have tools like the wonderful Are.na or even Cosmos to help you collect all the digital bits you find. Pond is a bit different from all of these, in which it's fully open-source with every file you save being local and analyzed on-device. Also includes some interesting features like plugging in an MCP, supporting 3D files, smart folders, etc. Give it a look.

2 — the shape of apps

Did you know I started my path of being a designer by making iOS icons for jailbroken iPhones? Shoutout to my iPhone 3GS and Photoshop CS2 for kickstarting my career. Anyways, I came across this article by Parakeet that goes into details of the history of app iconography, and how squircles and corporate icons today have become the unfortunate (but also fortunate) norm.

3 — whats recent in design

Does the world wide web need yet another directory of things for people to scroll through? Maybe…maybe not. I'm not here to answer that, but instead, to show you yet another directory of design inspo.

stay curious

via taurean

1 — cue, the timer

My last manager said the only way to get better at estimating how long tasks take is to record yourself doing everything, a lot. My problem is that I either forget to start a timer and end up guessing, or worse, forget to turn it off. Cue is a cute little solution to that: it starts a timer and triggers focus modes when you put your headphones on. It’s got a few other neat tricks, like customizable Pomodoro cycles, blocking distracting apps, and weird little guys that climb all over your stuff. I banished them from my computer, though.

2 — lightbulb

AI? Projected interfaces? Weird new form factors? Close enough, welcome back Humane AI Pin! Lightbulb Computer is a computer shaped like a lightbulb. It projects onto whatever surface is handy, and you interact by pointing: play a board game, set a timer and read a recipe while cooking, or point at a smart light to turn it on. I’m not sure how useful it would be in practice, and I’m sure it takes some getting used to, but I love seeing people think about software from entirely new perspectives. Literally.

3 — sprout

I’ve established my love for reviving dead electronics and single-use gadgets so I was amped about this as soon as I saw it. Modding ipods to breathe new life inot them has been around for a while but this takes it a step further with a new motherboard you swap in. There’s two tiers available depending on your size/gen/type of ipod but the largest of them is actually a Rasberry Pi bringing a bunch of dope stuff in one quick (physical) install: HiFi DAC for the audiophile psychos, bluetooth audio, music streaming w/ apple music and spotify, podcasts (downloads and streaming), airplay, and probably a bunch more. I can’t wait to get this in my hands.

October is almost wrapped up… come talk shop and share your latest works-in-progress this Friday in our next CRIT.

✌ Pedro & Taurean
bluesky ✦ lu.ma ✦ youtube