DIY Smartphone Stand From and Egg Box
Paul Priestman teaches us how to make a DIY smartphone stand from an egg box for video calls.
Singularity
(via Maria)
♥ / Master UX/UI Design Without Leaving Home
A big thank you to Parsons at Open Campus for sponsoring my blog this week.
Human behavior is an incredible phenomenon, and now you have the opportunity to build web experiences and digital products revolving around that. Parsons Open Campus, The New School’s home for continuing and professional education, offers an array of 100% online certificate programs to help you acquire skills that are in greater demand than ever before, including a certificate in User-Centered Design (UX/UI).
In this online program, you will:
– Become familiar with the UX design process, which begins with research and discovery and moves to concept and strategy brainstorming, then to prototyping, and finally to user testing
– Apply principles of human-centered design to increase users’ satisfaction and encourage interaction with systems, services, or products
– Learn how to design effective usability tests and conduct research surveys to gain the input and insights needed for successful product development
– Prototype software products (apps or websites), services, or physical products
– Build a portfolio to share with potential employers and clients
The program kicks off in June. Registration just began! Get started now.
(Interested in sponsoring a week of my blog and RSS feed, learn more here.)
Link Pack
(via)
– Mark Epstein: The Importance of Uncertainty
– This article makes my heart ache for all of the restaurant owners out there: My Restaurant Was My Life for 20 Years. Does the World Need It Anymore? (I recommend you listen to it, with an introduction by Gabrielle at the beginning!)
– This is WONDERFUL: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice, from no other than Kevin Kelly
– How to Deal With Career Anxiety in Uncertain Times
– I enjoyed some of the nuggets of wisdom Neil Gaiman shares in this video compilation.
– How incredible talented is Jocie Juritz?
– Here’s where you can screen Beyond the Visible, a movie on Hilma AF Klint.
– New York Is Wounded. I Miss It More Than Ever.
– I enjoyed this TED talk by Caroline McHugh on The Art of Being Yourself. Also, her outfit is incredible!
– NYT architecture critic leading virtual tours of Manhattan’s skyscrapers (via Dezeen)
– This feels about right.
– I feel this so much: Why do video meetings might feel more “exhausting” than in-person meetings.
– Refillable on the go hand sanitizer bottles.
– I recently wrote about how much my kids love Blinks. They just launched a Kickstarter for 20 new games!
– I have finally given Marco Polo a try. What a super fun way to stay in touch with friends and family.
– I like the look of Super solid object 1.
– Whoa, this bike! Obviously not practical but fun to look at.
– You can attend a plethora of free virtual FieldTrips over on CreativeMornings. They are soul-nourishing, warm, funny, generous. See for yourself. This community is generosity and kindness personified.
– On a personal note: Ever since we went into lockdown, over 5 weeks ago, I have been the one fulfilling Tattly orders. Every Monday I enter our empty office, with a heavy heart, but *so* grateful that there are still orders coming in. I am not sure what the future holds. I had to let most of my staff go, which is something I haven’t been public about, as I am feeling a lot of shame and guilt around it. I am hoping to find a way for Tattly to live on, even considering it might be someone else leading it into its next chapter. The brand is strong and loved and full of potential. Trying to trust and be open to all of the possiblities. Hugs to everyone who is going through a similar experience.
Earlier this week:
– I want this desk.
– I am fascinated by the idea of the idea of a more feminine economy.
– “The universe is conspiring behind your back to make you a success. This will be much easier to do if you embrace this pronoia.” — Kevin Kelly
– A big thank you to Parsons at Open Campus for sponsoring my blog.
The Universe Is Conspiring
“The universe is conspiring behind your back to make you a success. This will be much easier to do if you embrace this pronoia.”
— Kevin Kelly
Pronoia is a neologism coined to describe a state of mind that is the opposite of paranoia. Whereas a person suffering from paranoia feels that persons or entities are conspiring against them, a person experiencing pronoia feels that the world around them conspires to do them good
12 Principles for Prototyping a Feminist Business
Framework for the practical application of the tenants of the feminine economy:
1. You have a body.
2. You are connected with the earth, the plants, and all living beings.
3. Integrate!
4. Institutionalize empathy: Build frameworks that support feelings.
5. Embody your values.
6. Reclaim happinesss: New definitions of success.
7. Consider everything an experiment.
8. Free yourself from the myth of the meritocracy.
9. Tell the truth.
10. Cultivate abundance.
111. A business can be a healing for yourself & others.
A holistic vision for a new economic paradigm, founded on feminine and feminist principles. By Jennifer Armbrust.
This is One Smart Cutting Board
I love this cutting board, or Schneidebrett as the Germans call it. It comes with a “drawer” for your sliced and diced veggies.
Questions to Consult For Major Purchases
Next time you buy anything, ask yourself these questions:
1. Can I work around the problem with a repair, modification, or change in use?
2. If I buy this, what else am I not buying?
3. Can I afford this?
4. Will this item help me do things I can’t do now?
5. Will buying this item significantly increase my enjoyment of X?
6. How often will I use this in the next year? In the next five years?
7.Will this item become obsolete in the near term?
8. Is this item repairable?
9,Do I really need ‘the best’? What is a good second choice?
10. Can I buy something used that will do the job?
11. Am I supporting a business I know and like? Do our values align?
From this article: Buy less, do more with good enough gear.
(via Dense Discovery, currently hands-down my favorite newsletter)
The Earth Puzzle
Oh, I love this circular Earth Puzzle.
Stimulus [ ] Response
(via Chris)
Please Be My Desk
This aesthetic! Gah! Georg stool and desk, please be mine!
♥ / Becoming a Professional Storyteller in the Digital Age
A big thank you to Parsons at Open Campus for sponsoring my blog this week.
With the unpredictable changes to your work day, more time at home means more opportunities to master new skills! That just became easier with Parsons Open Campus, The New School’s extension for continuing and professional education. This summer, you can bring your data to life with the Infographics and Data Visualization certificate, a noncredit program that will help you transform your data into beautiful visuals. The best part? It’s 100% online and super flexible!
During the program, you will:
– Learn how to strategize and adapt large quantities of data into a visual medium
– Enhance your skills in color theory, typography, design hierarchy, balance, symmetry, composition, and grid
– Draw upon elements of graphic design, statistics, and computer science to bring complex data to life
– Learn under the guidance of our distinguished faculty, experienced practitioners in the field.
– Develop a digital portfolio of data visualization projects that showcase your ability to perform in the contemporary Data Viz workplace
Navigating the world of data and design starts in June. Registration is open now! Get started here.
(Interested in sponsoring a week of my blog and RSS feed, learn more here.)
The Importance of Uncertainty
“I think it’s so easy to extrapolate from this moment as if we know what’s going to happen in a week, or a month, or three months, or six months, or a year. And this is one of those situations. The Buddha was always talking about it, of the importance of uncertainty. That really, we don’t know what the next moment is going to bring.”
— Mark Epstein
Massimo Vignelli Subway Posters
This series of six posters was designed by Massimo Vignelli, Beatriz Cifuentes and Yoshiki Waterhouse in 2013. Each is a tight crop of the New York City Subway Diagram at matching scale. Lovely!
(Thanks Jesse!)
5-in -1 Tool
I am not particularly handy but wish I was. So, I started following Youtube channels run by carpenters. Let me tell you, I am discovering a whole new world. I am enjoying videos like the one above by the Honest Carpenter. File this under ‘the things you discover during a pandemic”.
A Message of Hope From Neil Gaiman
"We are tougher than we seem. We are tougher than we think. Our stories will outlive us. Let's make them good."
A reflection from Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) on the fragile but powerful resilience of humans: pic.twitter.com/2hnwSXathS
— TED Talks (@TEDTalks) April 23, 2020
A Bit of Relief: I Forgive You, New York
This love letter to NYC deeply touched me.
Link Pack
– So much respect for Threadless: Artist-Designed Face Masks by Threadless Give Medical Supplies to Communities in Need
– This thread is everything: David Bowie as ice lollies.
– An incredible collection of Do Not Disturb signs from around the world. (Via)
– Layering a nylon stocking over a homemade cloth mask can boost its ability to filter out small particles in the air, a new study finds.
– This is a visually pleasing and smartly designed toilet paper stand. Also, by the same brand, Umbra, a toilet paper holder that mounts to the wall.
– Six Great Questions to Ask Our Elders (via Chris)
– My dear multi-talented friend Jocelyn is offering a 12 week course to reconnect with your body, open your heart, and bring your intuition online. It’s called Hi-Fi. (She is also the force behind Hurry Slowly. She has a magic touch.)
– I love that Basecamp came out with a personal tier: Basecamp Personal is the 100% forever-free version of Basecamp you can use with up to 20 people to manage 3 projects together. Home improvement, travel, freelance, hobbies, even making your own EP.
– This pandemic is a pivotal moment for CreativeMornings: Not only are our hosts fearlessly moving our events online, our community is also stepping up and teaching each other, for free. Check out this incredible list of upcoming FieldTrips. They are all free. Completely, totally free.
– This is a beautiful Nordic Teapot.
– This is wholesome.
– Studio Ghibli Releases Backgrounds for Video Conferencing
– I hope Tattly will make it through this time. With all stores that carry us closed, the only source of income we have is online sales. Most don’t realize that wholesale is our biggest source of revenue, so stores being closed hurts us real bad. I thank all of you who have generously placed an order in the past few weeks and left a note during the check-out. I see them all, as I am personally fulfilling every order that comes in.
Together Apart with Priya Parker | Virtual CreativeMornings New York
Yesterday was an emotional day: The New York CreativeMornings chapter hosted our first ever virtual CreativeMornings event and welcomed over 1,000 community members on Zoom and YouTube Livestream.
Who would have thought that it would take a pandemic to make me embrace a digital format and host CreativeMornings from my bedroom.
After 11.5 years of putting on IRL (in real life) events here in NYC, I felt ANXcited about the challenge of adapting our events to a digital format. What can we translate from the regular events to virtual? What needs to change? What are the opportunities here? What is at the core of the magic of CreativeMorning?
At 9am yesterday, people tuned in from around the world. We kicked everything off with a lighthearted, fun pre-show, hosted by Christina and Kyle, former CreativeMornings/Toronto hosts and now members of our HQ team.
Our amazing ASL interpreter volunteer Canara helps us keep our events accessible for our hearing impaired. (We love you Canara!)
The pre-show includes audience participation and we had planned to create a virtual ‘coffee line’ and have everyone go into breakout rooms to meet each other, but Zoom didn’t cooperate. Oh well, we improvised by engaging the audience in the chat.
You can see NYC based Sarah Goldstone perform one of her songs at around 20:10.
The pre-show ends at around 25:00 and I get introduced. (Remember to unmute, Tina!)
At around 30:25 I introduce Holley Murchison to read our manifesto. (We adapted the manifesto slightly to match the digital world.)
I thank our sponsors around 33:00 with analog hand-drawn signs. We appreciate you, Harvest, Mailchimp, WordPress.com and Basecamp.
At our regular events we play the “stand up if” game, but for this digital landscape we adapted it to a a”raise your mug if” at around here.
At 40:19 I introduce our theme. And at 41:07 I introduce the remarkable Priya Parker, which then unfortunately lost her internet connection the minute she was supposed to come on! We got this. We stayed calm and stretched for a minute and then she dialed back in 2 minutes later from her phone.
This is the moment where my cat jumped on my desk and spilled my giant cup of coffee all over my desk and my pants. It was dripping EVERYWHERE! This is where I own it.
One of my favorite moments of the morning was when Priya’s husband Anand walks into the room and tries to troubleshoot her wifi. Look at this! Glorious!
After Priya’s segment was over, we launched into our 30 second pitches, where we hand 3 of our audience members the mic for 30 seconds so they can pitch the room anything they want.
We danced out of the event to a Justin Timberlake song, which was an incredibly heartfelt experience, but unfortunately we can’t show this as YouTube would instantly take the video down. So, just imagine 450+ audience members dancing goodbye after our first ever CreativeMornings/NYC event.
If you are interested in attending any of the upcoming virtual CreativeMornings events around the world, check out our upcoming chapter events and our FieldTrips.
And if you’re interested in how to meaningfully gather in a world of physical distancing, suggest you follow Priya and listen to her podcast Together Apart.
And if you have experienced interesting new creative ways of gatherings, or have some interesting ideas on how it could be done, please share them here in this Twitter Thread.
Serving Tray
Yes, there is a global pandemic happening but looking at this this minimal, beautifully designed serving tray gives me so much temporary peace of mind. Indulge me, please.