All posts in: Design

17 Jan 2021

Blog Roundup

  • The Kamala Harris Vogue Cover Has Issues [Refinery29]
  • The Grammy Awards Have Been Postponed [Nylon]
  • The Unlikely Connection Between Wellness Influencers and Pro-Trump Rioters [Cosmopolitan]
  • A Reservation for Insurrection [Intelligencer]
  • 10 Things You Never Knew About IKEA [Cool Material]
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
  • The Best Sandwich in Every State [Food & Wine]
  • Governor’s Ball 2021 Announced For September [The Fader] honestly how
  • Why Do I Spend Weeks Avoiding Tasks That Will Take Me 10 Minutes To Do? [VICE]
  • You Know Awkwafina, But Have You Met Nora Lum? [Harper’s Bazaar]
  • How Instant Ramen Became An Instant Success [Business Insider]
  • How TikTok’s ‘For You’ Algorithm Works [Wired]
  • Netflix Promises At Least One New Movie Every Week in 2021 [The Verge]
  • Yelp Will Display How Well A Restaurant Is Observing COVID-19 Guidelines [Eater]
  • Ariel Pink Goes On Tucker Carlson [The Fader] And no, we don’t feel bad for the guy at all.

04 Jan 2021

Blog Roundup

  • The Astonishing Duality of BTS [The Atlantic]
  • How the Pandemic is Forcing Women Out of the Workforce [Vox]
  • The 10 Most Popular Recipes of 2020 [Bon Appetit]
  • 5 Small Changes to Make for a Happier New Year [The Every Girl]
  • Remembering the Startups We Lost in 2020 [TechCrunch]
  • Money Lessons From A Truly Terrible Year [The Cut]
29 Dec 2020

Hype Simulator

This desire to know what it’s like to be viral is so sensationalized that an app was designed to create that experience for users. Using [Hype Simulator] people will have the opportunity to see what it’s like to have 15 minutes of online fame. After downloading the app, you can choose between viral or celebrity. The app itself helps you generate a TikTok username that you decide on and within seconds, you will be bombarded with likes and follower notifications. Why this is something that people are wanting to create for themselves, I’m not so sure. However, something seems to be working because a few works ago, this was a top-rated app. In addition to follows and likes, you’ll also receive DMs similar to what people would write on the TikTok app. The entire thing is baffling to me still.

[Source]

27 Dec 2020

Iran’s Hormuz Island

If you’ve grown up in a big city all your life, you often times forget about how different living spaces can look across the world. This [post] on Iran’s Hormuz Island stopped me dead in my tracks because of how unique and colorful this communal living community was. Designed as a multi-purpose project called “Presence in Hormuz” the vibrant bulb structures sit along the Persian Gulf.

Each structure serves to be used for a different purpose whether it is communal dining, laundry or for prayer. When asked about the intentions for this project, [ZAV Architects] answered:

In a country where the state struggles with political disputes outside its borders, every architectural project becomes a proposal for internal governing alternatives, asking basic questions: What are the limits of architecture and how can it suggest a political alternative for communal life? How can it attain social agency?

In our current climate, this type of living doesn’t seem possible. However, once we’re past COVID-19 it will be interesting to see whether or not ideas like this could be executed upon. And through the pandemic if other types of living are more accommodating.

[Source]

25 Dec 2020

Blog Roundup

  • The 40 Best K-pop Songs of 2020 [Paper Mag]
  • The Year Instagram Became Facebook [The Verge]
  • Some Cities Will Pay You $10,000 to Relocate [NPR]
  • The Missed “Magical Negro” Trope in “The Queen’s Gambit” [Bitch Media]
  • Steve Yuen on the Honesty of ‘Minari’ and His Eclectic Career [Variety]
  • Meet Pdogg, the Musical Dynamo Helping Shape BTS’s Greatest Hits [Fast Company]
  • Your State’s COVID-19 Epidemic, Explained in 4 Maps [Vox]
  • The 100 Best Songs of 2020 [Pitchfork]
  • The Best K-Pop Moments of 2020 [Teen Vogue]
  • 10 Remote Airbnbs As Stunning As They Are Secluded [Architectural Digest]
  • ‘The Bachelorette’ Stylist Shares How the Fashion Came Together for this Unprecedented Season [Fashionista]
  • The Journalist and the Pharma Bro [Elle]
  • Why Dave Chapelle Doesn’t Want You to Stream Chapelle’s Show [Vox]
  • Best House of 2020 [Arch Daily]
  • My Unusually Normal Life in Taiwan Amid the Global Pandemic [Bloomberg]
24 Dec 2020

My Thoughts On Micro Apartments: Then and Now

Like [Doobybrain] I once loved the idea of a micro apartment. I remember first being interested in them when I was college and learning that my neighborhood was planning on building spaces specifically like these. At the time, I was constantly on the move. The studio I was living in wasn’t more than 400 sq feet, maybe 350 at most. Since I was between school and work constantly, I was really only in my apartment when I wasn’t at those places or to sleep.

I loved the idea of staying minimal. Having a smaller space meant that I needed to be better at managing my own belonging and knowing when to get rid of things. It’s 10 years later and having gone through a pandemic where I’ve spent the majority of my time indoors and at home, I’ve had a change of heart. Watching a video of these micro apartments doesn’t evoke the same kind of desire I had for them once before. In fact, it’s much farther than what I actually want. Even as we shift towards a more remote workforce, I still am not sure if these will be as appealing.

13 Dec 2020

Blog Roundup

  • These Are the 11 Best Korean Dramas of 2020 [Hypebae]
  • Our Shared Unsharing [The Cut] The things I felt, but didn’t want to share myself
  • The Real Reason Americans Aren’t Quarantining [The Atlantic]
  • How Did Breakdancing Become an Olympic Sport? [LifeHacker]
  • The Search for the Next ‘Jeopardy’ Host [The Ringer]
  • 11 Skate Parks Around the World [Arch Daily]
  • Anime Fans Can Now Book ‘Sailor Moon’ Themed Wedding Receptions [Hypebae]
  • Chanel Miller on Slowing Down and Creating in Quarantine [Girls’ Night In]
  • Essential Things You Should Keep In Your Car [Life Hacker]
  • Major Brands Describe 2020 in One Word [Hypebeast]
  • Entertainer of the Year: BTS [TIME]
  • Everything Diners Need to Know About the Bay Area’s New Coronavirus Lockdown [SF Eater]
  • The Songs and Albums That Defined K-Pop’s Monumental Year in 2020 [TIME]
  • Twitter Will Now Let Users Share Tweets on Instagram and Snapchat [Hypebeast] Good, cause I’m tired of having to screenshot everything.

10 Dec 2020

Airbnb Hosts Ring Our Opening Bell

https://youtu.be/pAsRj6oDhZ4

It was a loud week of IPOs between [Airbnb] and [Doordash]. While both tech companies were celebrating major wins, I happened to catch wind of a video that Airbnb’s team had made to celebrate this moment and to acknowledge their community. Essentially, Airbnb is as successful as they are because of their community of hosts.

I love their take on “ringing the bell” and using this interpretation to tie it right back to their business. It’s really beautifully done as are the rest of the videos in their catalog.

10 Dec 2020

Pantone Names Two Colors of the Year for 2021

It has been a tough 2020 so why not name two colors for the following year? Some may consider it an interesting combo, but “Illuminating” and “Ultimate Gray” compliment each other.

“Illuminating is a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power,” describes Pantone, adding that it fills people with optimistic promise of a sunshine-filled day. “Ultimate Gray is emblematic of solid and dependable elements which are everlasting and provide a firm foundation. The colors of pebbles on the beach and natural elements whose weathered appearance highlights an ability to stand the test of time, Ultimate Gray quietly assures, encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness and resilience.”

“Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a color combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encouraged and uplifted, this is essential to the human spirit,” describes Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. 

I love the rationale behind how these colors were selected. If I’m being honest, I didn’t always see the meaning in these types of decisions. Instead, I saw it as the color being selected and how this would drive future trends in fashion and design for the following year. Nothing beyond that. As we near the end of 2020, I hope they’re right! Hopefully these colors will inspire a better and stronger year for all of us.

[Source]

06 Dec 2020

A Bready Croissant Lamp

I’m 100% positive that I’m too old to be needing a night lamp, both in terms of age and what I would need to fall asleep. However, when I come across designs like these, I can’t help myself! They are so cute and I figured if I can’t buy it myself, maybe it will find itself into the home of someone who will need it. Pampshade is a Japanese homeware brand and with their new creation, they’ve outdone themselves. Their new series of mini croissant lamps are made from real bread. First question: how?

Made at Liberté bakery in Kyoto, the pink, raspberry-flavored creations are handmade by Pampshade founder and baker Yukiko Morita. Though the lamps look good enough to eat, please don’t — they’re coated in anti-bacterial and anti-fungal resin. Stamped with Daphinette’s logo on the bottom, the battery-powered LED light makes a delicious topper for a nightstand or side table. “We are extremely excited to be bringing these joyful (and timely, if I do say so myself!) little objects to people’s homes in time for the holiday and cozy winter months,” Dauphinette designer Olivia Cheng said.

The explanation itself doesn’t exactly share how the “bread” is involved, but I’m okay with a little mystery! For your own mini croissant lamp ($120), you can submit your pre-order [here].

[Source]