Impetus.

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Emily:

I recently discovered these sculptures by Mariko Kusumoto, a Massachusetts-based artist. I love the weightless, ephemeral quality of these sculptures, and how they seem to resemble a weightless coral reef. Kusumoto’s pieces are being installed into the permanent collections of the Decorative Arts Museum in Paris, as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. To view more of her work, you can also check out her Instagram.

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Sid:

“Samsung has worked with public relations and marketing consultancy firm Edelman in producing a new design for the save icon, as part of the global campaign for Samsung Memory, the tech giant’s flash data storage unit.”

I think this campaign is so interesting. It’s been common conversation whether the save icon (currently a floppy disk) is outdated, as younger generations may have never even come across a floppy disk or know the function of them. I’ve been waiting to see if anyone was willing to take on reinventing the floppy-disk save and enjoy the evolution. It’s Nice That states “The new icon is placed at the centre of the campaign and has been updated to suit the modern world – switching from the floppy disc and incorporating design elements from SD cards, SSDs and download iconography.”

Via It’s Nice That

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Sid:

I came across the Syrian Design Archive and was so excited about it! A lot of the attention on Syria tends to focus on negative events, and I think its wonderful that there’s more attention being brought to the cultural/artistic side of the country. Arabic has so much wonderful versatility.

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Emily: 

Wanting to say goodbye to your quarantine hair? This ad campaign by Locks of Love may convince you to do so. I love websites that include illustration, so I really connected with this one. 

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Val:

Cognitive Bias and the Design Process

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Val:  How to find what drives you as a designer!

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Emily:

Lamajeure by K72

Recently I discovered K72, a Montreal-based design agency. Not only am I obsessed with the user experience of their website, but you have to check out their exhibit, Lamajeure. You may need some headphones and a bit of Google translate, but it's totally worth it!

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Emily: 

80's-inspired Diet Coke Campaign  Diet Coke's confident and nostalgic 80's-inspired campaign made me smile this morning. I wish it were possible to travel back in time!

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Sid: I came across Fingerspelling and loved the UX of it! Its the best case I’ve seen of using your website to map parts of your body so you can learn ASL. Its really makes the experience feel like a game!

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Sid: Stumbled across ZenDesk’s “Museum of Annoying Experiences” and couldnt help but giggle. ZenDesk did a great job thinking forward and creating an experience that we could all smile at.

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I try to pull the language into such a sharpness that it jumps off the page. It must look easy, but it takes me forever to get it to look so easy. Of course, there are those critics — New York critics as a rule — who say, Well, Maya Angelou has a new book out and of course it’s good but then she’s a natural writer. Those are the ones I want to grab by the throat and wrestle to the floor because it takes me forever to get it to sing. I work at the language.

Maya Angelou

Val:

To inspire and validate you when it feels like a lot of work to make something look easy or simple. 

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Danielle:

Dove created a campaign called The Selfie Talk in order to empower teachers & parents with resources to talk about photo editing with teens. The brand also created a spot titled “Reverse Selfie” showing a teenage girl taking and editing a picture of herself in reverse. Dove surveyed 10- 17-year-olds found 80% of girls edit photos before sharing them by the time they are just 13. 

Powerful campaign and ad addressing a huge problem as TikTok and Instagram filters become more and more realistic. Dove continues to make waves in the body positivity space 15+ years after the original Real Beauty campaign launched. 

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Sid: A little late to the party, but I just stumbled across the Miami Heat new uniforms and I love the synthwave vibe to them! Such a refreshing look to a sports team and perfect for the city!

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Val:

Instead of prefacing a request with “I know you’re busy, but…” Simply start with “Can you…” And rely on the other person to let you know if the request is too much.

Afraid to say “no”? Try “Here’s what I can do for you…”

Feel uncomfortable accepting a compliment on your work? Say “I’m glad you like it.”

Check out the article for more details.

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Emily:  How Many Plants is an awesome website I discovered that is a resource for all your house plant questions. Whether you have a green thumb, just love plants, or can’t keep one alive to save your life, you will still enjoy this website. How Many Plants is a very successful combination of what can be done with an intense passion for plants and design!

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Emily:

Design Vault is a library of UI patterns from the world’s most popular apps and websites. This is a great resource for designers and developers who may be trying to solve a UI problem, or looking for some extra inspiration!

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Sid: I stumbled across this website for a pest control company called Pest Stop Boys. Its really bright and poppy and has some really great interactivity! Its such a fun/aesthetically appealing approach to an industry I’d not normally consider playful. Definitely recommend checking it out!