Articles.
Weekend viewing: Coherence
Eight friends meet for dinner on the evening of a cosmic event. When they find themselves suddenly without power or reception, they realize that something profoundly strange has happened and scramble to put the puzzle together. What makes Coherence more interesting than its simple premise might imply, is that these eight actors have never met, don’t have a script, and don’t know what’s going to happen next.
Weekend wellness: Beauty of Joseon
One of the things I learned from the pandemic was to build balance into my day. To start the day off slowly with morning rituals, take meaningful breaks during the day and wind down with low-stress activities before bed. Today, skincare is part of this balance, but it was not always like this. For many years pre-pandemic, skincare was functional since my margin for self-care was non-existent; sleep in until the very last second, slap on some vitamin C and sunscreen and run out the door as fast as possible. Beauty of Joseon, a minimalist Korean skincare brand, changed this for me practically overnight.
Weekend listening: Poolsuite FM
I am, without a doubt, a summer person. I love warm weather, cold cocktails, sunglasses, the scent of sunscreen and the mood in the air as people emerge from hibernation and head outdoors. I kick open the door to my balcony, pour myself a glass of homemade iced tea and watch the party boats go by on the Spree. Summer has its own soundtrack, perhaps not unlike Christmas playlists; it sounds very specific, with upbeat tempos, uplifting lyrics and a sprinkling of swing, synth and Caribbean vibes. Poolsuite.net is a web radio that only plays summer tracks, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There’s something about Poolsuite which really gets me into weekend mode and reminds me that although Summers in Germany can be short, the spirit of Summer lives on.
The design of Windows 11
Back in 1987, five-year-old me stood in front of a beige box in my grandmother’s bedroom and marveled at the animations I saw on the connected SVGA monitor. I was playing Math Blaster Plus and saving the universe from critters using the power of math, which I don’t recall being particularly good at but I enjoyed nonetheless. Within a few short years, we replaced DOS with Windows 3.1 and I took a tiny first step in digital art with MS Paint. These early games and versions of Windows were my first interactions with computers and defined not only my childhood but my experience with technology many years later. Like many designers, I eventually switched to the Mac, but now - over 30 years on - I’m looking at Windows 11 to find out how I feel about switching back to the operating system of my youth.
Weekend download: Living Worlds
The iPad in my kitchen is a window to another universe. Every month this window opens onto another chapter of a story which follows a brave adventurer as they venture deeper into a new world they arrived at through a mysterious rift. The world is beautiful, fascinating and dangerous, filled with mysterious species who live on waterfalls or wonderous caverns full of crystals and toxic sea creatures. I can’t help but feel sorry for this adventurer because I know this story is circular; they enter this new world in January and leave it in December, only to find themselves back again for another year. This is Living Worlds, once a digital calendar and now an app with Art by LucasFilm visionary Mark Ferrari.
The ties that bind
I often think about the way the COVID-19 pandemic has changed us as individuals and how this change has already shaped the world around us and will continue to do so in the next decade. Have we become more introverted as a result of social isolation? What does that mean for our creative endeavors and for entrepreneurship?
For some of us the answer is clear; the pandemic is a time for (socially distanced, COVID-regulations approved) connection, not disconnection - and now is as good of a time as any to start a business. My friend Sasha has done just that, starting not one but two businesses in the height of the pandemic lockdown, both focused on bringing people together for in-person connection. I sat down with him (virtually) to ask about his motivations and challenges.
Untitled: Chapter 1
Throughout the history of humanity, and far before our time, there has always been a search for the theory of everything, the grand universal truth. Few species have come close to finding this universal truth, and indeed, many species have come across truths that seem truer to some than to others, but one truth is truer than the rest: Space is wide and seemingly without limit. From tiny, insignificant solar systems like Sol to supermassive stars that form galaxies so vast that time bends as it stretches across black holes.
This vastness has a knack for putting you in your place, whichever place that might be at the time. For Boras Gelpien of Drak, for example, that place was kneeling over a toilet in a backstreet Berlin bar after a long night of Texas hold ‘em and cheap shots of something called ‘Mexikaner’. This wasn’t exactly where he intended to end up on a Saturday night; he had actually been looking forward to a slow night at the hotel, poring over paperwork and a glass of milk. Instead, he decided to follow a group of rowdy tourists who looked like they knew where they were going into a shady-looking bar, of which Berlin had plenty. This was his evening, and he was spending it losing money, his sobriety, and much of his dignity.
Why do designers wear black?
My friend Lars, a software engineer, only wears black. One day I was rummaging through his bookshelf and found a copy of Why Do Architects Wear Black? by Cordula Rau, a compilation of quotes from architects on their choice of wardrobe colors, black or otherwise. This seems to extend to designers and innovators; Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, would only ever present on stage wearing his iconic black turtleneck. This inspired Elisabeth Holmes, disgraced founder of failed technology company Theranos to do the same. Certainly my home city of Berlin is known for both its creative scene and wardrobes full of identical black T-shirts.
Over the years I’ve tried introducing other colors into my closet. A red dress, a blue jacket. Despite my honest efforts, they seem to remain unworn.
So why do designers wear black? Are we minimalists, purists, or perhaps simply unimaginative? I’ve asked a few of my fellow designers.
Weekend viewing: The Congress
There are a handful of books and movies which are difficult for me to recommend. Not because they’re not worth one’s time, but because they are so unique in their storytelling and leave such a profound impression that I stumble for words when trying to describe them. The Congress (2013) is at the top of that list.
Introducing Studio Interviews
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I hosted get-togethers at my apartment in Berlin. My friends thought that I was simply throwing a party, but I always had an ulterior motive. I feel incredibly lucky to know such interesting people, and wanted to introduce my friends and acquaintances from different circles to each other, and see sparks fly.
I don’t throw these parties any more, but still love to have conversations with the fascinating people in my network about interesting topics. With that in mind, I’m excited to introduce a series of articles called Studio interviews, which will feature conversations on a variety of topics, such as business, design and storytelling, with some of my favorite people. Hopefully this will also spark some meaningful connections.
Motivating others to ideate in creative workshops
You probably know the scenario: you’re a designer (or another creative role) facilitating a workshop with project managers, leadership or stakeholders. Try as you might to encourage participants to ideate around user journeys, the room pivots to discussions on technical hurdles or focuses on individual silos instead of an end-to-end product vision. You may have even heard “I can’t draw” at least once during the workshop.
The truth is that motivation to ideate creatively doesn’t come as easily to some as it does to others, and encouraging others to ideate has as much to do with setting as it has to do with facilitation. Here are a few ways in which you can plan and run your workshops in order to enable participants - even the most conservative ones - to try their hand at creative thinking.
Weekend reading: An unconventional design library
Sometimes we can find lessons on design where you’d least expect them, hidden in children’s books, graphic novels and memoirs, among others. These five books have something to tell us about how we apply design, even if the message might be a bit under the hood.
A post 20 years in the making
All Israelis are drafted into the military at the age of 18, and it was no different for me as I joined the Spokesman’s Unit of the Israeli Defense Forces in late 2000, just as the Second Intifada had erupted onto the streets of Ramallah, Tel Aviv and elsewhere. The internet had become available in most homes a few years beforehand, and as such, the age of information in Israel had not yet begun. As a child I was unaware of the complexity of the conflict, and being confronted with its reality and breadth during the first months of my military service hit me like a ton of bricks.
So I blogged about it, and laid bare how vulnerable and afraid I was.