Contemporary design has lost its soul

Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.

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Sep 27, 2021

“It appears the more we have learned about user behavior, and the better technology has become regarding analytics and data, the more websites have morphed into neutered cookie-cutter versions of their former free-spirited roots. Akin to our open-minded younger selves tamed by education, responsibilities, and peer pressure, convinced that the only way to succeed is to blend in.”

Contemporary design has lost its soul →

The UX Collective is an independent ad-free design publication that elevates unheard design voices, reaching over 400k+ designers every week. Curated by Fabricio Teixeira and Caio Braga.

Editors’ picks

What do we call this thing? →
A tactical playbook for user-centered product naming decisions.
Interfaces should be about feeling →
Humans take actions in the world, and the world responds.
Do profile pics affect hiring decisions? →
Smiling can make us look more competent.

FastCompany just announced the winners of its Innovation by Design awards.

Make me think

A content model is not a design system →
“Remember when having a great website was enough? Now, people are getting answers from Siri, Google search snippets, and mobile apps, not just our websites. Forward-thinking organizations have adopted an omnichannel content strategy, whose mission is to reach audiences across multiple digital channels and platforms.”
A gentle introduction to graph neural networks →
“Neural networks have been adapted to leverage the structure and properties of graphs. We explore the components needed for building a graph neural network - and motivate the design choices behind them.”
The power of pen and paper sketching →
“When designing for digital spaces, it’s natural to default to digital mockup tools, but doing so cuts out a world of possibilities. Analog drawing can unleash your imagination and allow you to focus on what’s most important at the start: the ideas.”

Little gems this week

Layout in ancient writing: UX inspiration from history →

Brainwashed by design →

Gill Sans: the sacred and the profane →

Tools and resources

Pluto app →
Access XR applications, and use them with anyone.
Motion.dev →
A new animation library, built on the Web Animations API.
Building better leaderboards →
Understanding one of the mainstays of video games.

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